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From: Charles Packer <mailbox@cpacker.org>
Newsgroups: rec.arts.sf.written
Subject: Re: Question about ISFDB statistic
Date: Mon, 14 Apr 2025 08:00:41 -0000 (UTC)
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On Sun, 13 Apr 2025 14:42:33 -0400, William Hyde wrote:

> Charles Packer wrote:
>> Why the wide swing in the number of titles in the ISFDB by year of
>> publication -- 50% jump -- from 1938 to 1939?
>> It's hard to believe that it reflects a step function in public
>> interest. The context is as follows:
>> 
>> year 1936 count 4738 1937  4628 1938  4117 1939  6245 1940  6685 1941 
>> 5746 1942  5513
>> 
>> 
> There was a bit of a boom in SF magazines about this time.  Unknown, for
> example, was launched in 1939 as were Startling Stories and Planet
> Stories.  I presume there were others I don't know about.
> 
> Secondary publication and reprints became more popular, as I mentioned
> elsewhere.
> 
> Pohl's two magazines at this time were launched in 1940, too late to
> account for the step function, but part of the 39-41 boom which came to
> an end due to wartime paper shortages.
> 
> William Hyde

A dip into the newpaper archives confirms what you're saying.
First, there's a lot of writing about writing in those days.
And I found easily comments about the increasing audience for
SF. I also noticed that the postwar boom coincided with the
1947 flying saucer frenzy. I suspect it's not a coincidence.