Sheldon Jaffery (April 22, 1934 – July 10, 2003) was an American

bibliographer Bibliography (from and ), as a discipline, is traditionally the academic study of books as physical, cultural objects; in this sense, it is also known as bibliology (from ). English author and bibliographer John Carter describes ''bibliograph ...

. An attorney by profession, he was an aficionado of''

Weird Tales ''Weird Tales'' is an American fantasy and horror fiction pulp magazine founded by J. C. Henneberger and J. M. Lansinger in late 1922. The first issue, dated March 1923, appeared on newsstands February 18. The first editor, Edwin Baird, printe ...

'' magazine,

Arkham House Arkham House was an American publishing house specializing in weird fiction. It was founded in Sauk City, Wisconsin, in 1939 by August Derleth and Donald Wandrei to publish hardcover collections of H. P. Lovecraft's best works, which had ...

books, the

weird menace Weird menace is a subgenre of horror fiction and detective fiction that was popular in the pulp magazines of the 1930s and early 1940s. The weird menace pulps, also known as shudder pulps, generally featured stories in which the hero was pitted a ...

pulps, and related topics.

Biography

Jaffery was born April 22, 1934 in

Cleveland, Ohio Cleveland is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County, Ohio, Cuyahoga County. Located along the southern shore of Lake Erie, it is situated across the Canada–United States border, Canada–U.S. maritime border ...

. He earned a B.A. in English from

Ohio State University The Ohio State University (Ohio State or OSU) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Columbus, Ohio, United States. A member of the University System of Ohio, it was founded in 1870. It is one ...

in 1957 and a B.S. in education at

Kent State University Kent State University (KSU) is a Public university, public research university in Kent, Ohio, United States. The university includes seven regional campuses in Northeast Ohio located in Kent State University at Ashtabula, Ashtabula, Kent State ...

in 1959, then taught at

Cardinal High School Cardinal High School is a public high school in Middlefield, Ohio, United States. Students come from Middlefield village, Middlefield township, and the townships of Parkman and Huntsburg. Athletics Ohio High School Athletic Association State ...

Middlefield, Ohio Middlefield is a village in Geauga County, Ohio, United States. The population was 2,748 at the 2020 census. It is part of the Cleveland metropolitan area. Middlefield is known for being the center of the world's fourth largest Amish settlemen ...

for two years. He earned his law degree from Western Reserve University Law School in Cleveland in 1964, and practiced law in Cleveland for the remainder of his career. Jaffery was also a private book dealer until 1987 with a particular interest in horror, science fiction and pulp. His bibliography work was a natural outgrowth of this. He published several volumes during his lifetime, including bibliographies of the publishers

DAW Books DAW Books is an American science fiction and fantasy publisher, founded by Donald A. Wollheim, with his wife, Elsie B. Wollheim, following his departure from Ace Books in 1971. The company claims to be "the first publishing company ever devoted ...

, and the magazine ''

''. He also published several pulp fiction anthologies. In 1998, the Horror Writers Association honored him with its Silver Hammer Award for his volunteer services to the organization. Jaffery was married and had three children. He died in

Beachwood, Ohio Beachwood is a city in eastern Cuyahoga County, Ohio, United States. As of the 2020 census the city's population was 14,040. A suburb of Cleveland, it is a part of the Cleveland metropolitan area. History The land that eventually became Beachwo ...

, on June 23, 2003 of

septic shock Septic shock is a potentially fatal medical condition that occurs when sepsis, which is organ injury or damage in response to infection, leads to dangerously low blood pressure and abnormalities in cellular metabolism. The Third International C ...

contracted while being treated for lung cancer. His archives are held at

Bowling Green State University Bowling Green State University (BGSU) is a Public university, public research university in Bowling Green, Ohio, United States. The main academic and residential campus is south of Toledo, Ohio. The university has nationally recognized progr ...

in Ohio.

Works

* ''Double Trouble: A Bibliographic Chronicle of Ace Mystery Doubles'', Starmont Popular Culture Series no. 11, Borgo Press, 1987. . * ''Collector's Index to

'' (with Fred Cook). Bowling Green State University Popular Press, August 1985. . * ''Future and Fantastic Worlds: Bibliography of

'', Starmont Reference Guide, No. 4, 1987. . * ''Horrors and Unpleasantries: A Bibliographical History & Collector's Price Guide to

'', Bowling Green State University Popular Press, 1982. . * ''Selected Tales of Grim and Grue from the Horror Pulps'', Bowling Green State University Popular Press, 1987. . * ''Sensuous Science Fiction From the Weird and Spicy Pulps'', Bowling Green State University Popular Press, 1984. . * ''The Weirds'', Starmont House Inc., 1987. . * ''Hugh Cave's The Corpse Maker'' (anthology of stories by

Hugh B. Cave Hugh Barnett Cave (11 July 1910 – 27 June 2004) was an American writer of various genres, perhaps best remembered for his works of horror, weird menace and science fiction. Cave was one of the most prolific contributors to pulp magazines of t ...

) Starmont House, 1988. * ''The

Companion: Fifty Years of Arkham House'', Starmont House Inc., 1989. . (A revised, updated and expanded edition of ''Horrors and Unpleasantries'').

Unpublished work

*''Double Futures: An Annotated Bibliography of the Ace Science Fiction Doubles''. Planned for release by Borgo Press in 1999 (assigned ), but never issued.

References

External links

Sheldon Jaffery profileSheldon Jaffery archives at Bowling Green State University
{{DEFAULTSORT:Jaffery, Sheldon 1934 births 2003 deaths American bibliographers