THE HEARSE ENTHUSIAST, Issue #1-8
Northampton, Massachusetts: 1999-2004. The first four issues are later printings; the final four are presumed to be first printings. It is unknown whether more than eight issues were published.
In the introduction to the first issue, editor David Strong writes, "I decided to start this 'zine as an outlet for my obsession with hearses. However, it is not intended as merely that, but also as an outlet and information source for other like-minded hearse folks [...] I personally find them to be a perfect embodiment of beauty in dark melancholy. To me they are both aesthetically and emotionally pleasing (well, at least as far as cars go), and I feel a certain draw and kinship with them that I can't even fathom experiencing with any other sort of vehicle"
The Hearse Enthusiast was described by Sallie James in a 2003 article for the Washington Post as "a self-published specialty magazine with about 50 subscribers. The magazine includes articles on unusual hearses, maintenance and weird tales."
Filled with numerous black-and-white illustrations, this run includes a two-part article on how to buy a hearse, a brief history of the hearse in the United States, a piece on hearse harassment in the "Witch City" (Salem, Massachusetts), accounts of haunted hearses, book reviews, etc.
Digest size (5 1/2" x 8 1/2"), eight issues, each with [16] p. Photomechanically reproduced and bound with two staples in color paper wrappers. Light fading and wear along the extremities, with a very faint spot to the front panel of the first issue; otherwise very good. Scarce, no copies of any issue are to be found in OCLC or in commerce. Item #76987
Price: $400.00