International Scientific Association

Fan Club
Name:	The International Scientific Association
Dates:	1928-1938
Founder(s):	Aubrey Clements and Raymond A. Palmer
Leadership:	Aubrey Clements, Frank Eason, Raymond A. Palmer, William S. Sykora
Country based in:	United States
Focus:	Science Fiction, practical science
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The International Scientific Association, originally called the Science Correspondence Club, was founded in 1928 with a focus on science and less so, science fiction.

History

Creation and Rise

A science fan club founded by Aubrey Clements, in Alabama; another similar club was founded a month later in Chicago by Walter Dennis, Paul McDermott and Sydney Gerson. In 1929, under the organization of a member of Clements' club, Raymond A. Palmer, the two clubs merged their memberships (25 from Alabama and 24 from Chicago), forming the SCC. Another club, the Bay State Science Club of Boston founded by Richard Leary in 1928, later joined as well. In May 1931, it was announced in Astounding Stories that the club's name had been changed to the International Scientific Association. The club produced what has been named as the "first" fanzine (the club's emphasis on science-fact means this claim is disputed), The Comet (first published in May 1930).

According to Fancyclopedia 1, published in 1944, the ISA:

...sought to combine amateur scientists and fans, and found the latter becoming dominant. It was scarcely international, the chief branches being the NYB-ISA [New York Branch-ISA] and the PSFS [Philadelphia Science Fiction Society]. Sykora was the chief leader, but numerous later Futurians and others were prominent members. The ISA backed its members who were among the young authors taking legal action against Wonder Stories for non-payment, and when some were expelled from the SFL warred against the SFL, and also against the Fantasy Magazine group, who leaned toward the pros. The ISA put on the first two conventions, and was the outstanding organization in the First Transition

"ISA" by Jack Speer in Fancyclopedia 1 (1944)

In his Recollections on the Origins of Science Fiction Fandom 1917 to 1948, one of the original members, Aubrey MacDermott, describes how things (actually) came about:

In the fall of 1925 I had a serious head injury and moved the next April to our summer shack in the hills south of Los Gatos to recuperate. There I saw the second issue, May, of AMAZING STORIES. ARGOSY-ALL STORY had a letter column but it gave names only, never addresses. But Gernsback had something new. He printed names and addresses of correspondents. I had for years been writing to authors and now I could write to fans. When I returned to East Oakland in April 1928 the first thing I did was to contact fans, Clifton Amsbury in Berkeley, Louis Smith in East Oakland and Lester Anderson in Hayward. That was the start of our fan club which, under various names lasted until early 1937.

Forrest J Ackerman had a letter published in the Science Fiction Quarterly in 1929. We thought he must be an adult, so a few members of the club arranged to travel to San Francisco to visit him. We arrived at 530 Staples Avenue. His mother led us back to the kitchen and downstairs to the basement room. There, behind an enormous desk, sat a very small boy. He was about 12 but looked 8. It was 4/E.

Raymond A. Palmer, later editor of AMAZING, told me some years later that after I had organized the Eastbay Club in April 1928 Aubrey Clements in Georgia and Walter Dennis, Paul McDermott and Sid Gerson in Chicago had also formed fan clubs, and Richard Leary formed one in Boston. Ray was the eighth member of Clements’ club.

...

In the spring of 1929 Ray Palmer organized the Science Correspondence Club, based on Clements’ and Dennis’ clubs. Later Richard Leary’s Bay State Science Club of Boston joined. But our own club voted not to merge. Clifton, Lester and myself joined immediately. Eventually most of the other club members joined.

At last some signs of life from New York. Allen Glasser formed the “Scienceers Club” on December 11, 1929. He proclaimed that it was “the first real club”, ”real” meaning that it took place in New York City. It soon fell apart. However, Sam Moskowitz in his “Immortal Storm” accepts Allen’s statement at face value. Others in their histories of fandom copied Sam’s mistake without checking.

In May 1930 Palmer and Dennis published the COMET as the official organ of the Science Correspondence Club. The second issue was entitled “?” and announced a title contest. It became COSMOLOGY. As far as I know this was the first fan magazine. In July the Bay State Science Club of Boston issued the ASTEROID, Richard Leary editor.

In May 1931 the Science Correspondence Club became the International Scientific Association. We had members all over the world.

 

Fall and Disbanding

Near the end of 1935, according to Sam Moskowitz's The Immortal Storm, then-president Raymond A. Palmer transferred leadership to William S. Sykora, head of the International Cosmos Science Club. The ICSC absorbed the ISA, taking on its name, membership, history and prestige, as well as perpetuating the perception that Sykora started the group.

At this stage, according to Moskowitz (who was Donald A. Wollheim's sworn enemy at the time he began writing The Immortal Storm), Sykora teamed up with Wollheim and John B. Michel to leverage the ISA's power against the Science Fiction League, which had expelled all three of them after Wollheim had spread propaganda accusing the SFL of being corporatized. While Michel and Sykora hadn't actually been involved, their expulsion drove them firmly into Wollheim's camp.

After the Science Fiction League was more or less destroyed, Sykora resigned as head of the ISA in 1937. Jack Speer's Fancyclopedia (1944) reports that he needed to focus on his college workload, and was also protesting the ISA's shift towards science fiction for science fiction's sake, and away from steering SF fans into practical scientific careers. Wollheim, now the only active officer, found the club in such poor condition that he obtained a consensus from the other members to dissolve it.

Just arrived -- latest and last "International Observer" of the ISA. Gives full details of reasons for discontinuing ISA. Report also just received states that Will Sykora (who resigned owing to the club being too interested in science-fiction and not science) has started a counter ISA with HQ in Philadelphia in an endeavour to build the club into a science-fiction association. If that isn't screwy, what is?

GHOST GONE WEST. Novae Terrae #16 pg. 8. Aug-Sept. 1937.

Sykora returned in 1938 to argue that the club had never been officially dissolved because only New York members had been polled, but he wasn't able to gain enough to support to restore it. His failed motion was presented at the First National Science Fiction Convention. By this time the Queens Science Fiction League had split apart, and the Futurians vs. New Fandom feud was in full swing.

A developement that has created a furore in all progressive stf. circles is the proposed reorganization of the old International Scientific Association. This, the most active stf. club ever formed, was recently dissolved under obscure circumstances not known to the average stf. reader. The ISA Committee for Reorganization is attempting to solve the problem of the questionable legality of this dissolution. It is sparing no hardship or sacrifice to secure to the majority of its members, who are still in the dark, a fair and square deal for all, All former members of the ISA, and all sincere readers of stf. and fantasy literature desiring further information about this worthwhile club should communicate at once with "The ISA Committee for Reorganization" c/o the Editor of this publication.

William S. Sykora: Stf Newsflashes! Fantascience Digest #3 pg. 16 (March-April 1938)

It was unanimously agreed [at the Newark Convention] that there must be some organization to sponsor the [World Convention] next year, but whether this organization will be the ISA or a new fan club is a debatable point. Naturally, the Wollheim group could not permit the ISA to be reorganized as this would be reconstructing what they destroyed. However, the ISA will be reorganized, and only the future can tell whether the World Convention will be sponsored by this great organization.

There were a large number of magazines, pamphlets, etc. distributed at the convention. Most of them were quite good, both of manner of reproduction and material contained therein. However, there were a few utterly stupid handbills distributed by the CPASF (Communist Party's Agitators in Science Fandom-thanks to Jack Speer) telling all fans to write to TWS because a certain employee received his walking papers. Too bad. Another asked "Who are the Friends of the ISA?" and denounced those who plan to reorganize it as deadly enemies of the organization. Such inane and stupid statements as: "We oppose firmly snf [sic] unhesitatingly all attempts made to slander, befoul and besmirch the name of the ISA," and "dragging its proud flag into the dust," etc. This type of Wollheimish drivel goes on for five paragraphs, and then requests all those who sympathize with them to join the "Friends of the ISA". And he expects the fan world to consume that baloney!

Robert A. Madle: "Fantaglimmerings" in Science Fiction Collector #19 pp. 29-31 (May 1938)

At the last convention I met many old friends besides making new ones. Among the former was Dave Kyle, who happens to be a personal friend. Having exhausted the usual conversation, the talk turned toward the organization of a new club to take the plans of the defunct ISA.... I was enthused enough over the idea to warrant the transferring of my attention from the reorganization of the ISA to this new project.

During the convention Mr. Kyle brought this idea to the attention of the chairman, but it was finally put off until the discussion afterwards. Indeed the flames of discord had already begun to smoulder, bursting forth during the discussion....

John James Weir: "Signing the Petition" in Science Fiction Collector #23 pp. 6-8 (Jan. 1939)

The Futurians suspected Sykora would try to resurrect the ISA once again at the first Worldcon in 1939. That does not appear to have happened. Nor was the ISA resurrected by anyone else.

Notable Fanworks

Zines

• The Comet (aka Cosmology) - 1930-1933
• International Observer of Science and Science Fiction (1934-1937)

Conventions

• First Eastern States Science Fiction Convention (Philadelphia, 1936)
• Second Eastern States Science Fiction Convention (New York (1937)