Just like to put in an aside to your exegesis on the origin of "prop
head." The use of propeller beanies as specific to science fiction
fans was taken up by Ray Nelson, a writer, cartoonist and fan, who
used the imagery in his cartoons for many years, adding a sardonic
flavor to the idea. Since the idea was that only young kids read
science fiction, and swallowed the pseudo-science whole, his
cartoons featured gosh-wow, boy-o-boy enthusiasm that was more than
a little self-mocking.
Many of the people printing Ray Nelson cartoons in their fanzines
grew up to be the writers, editors and publishers of science
fiction; still more became the quintessential geeks of the
burgeoning computer industry, and adopted the mocking
self-description. (It is probably no accident that the Mac splat is
also known as a propellor or beanie.)
Ray's cartoons were often used by veteran editor Terry Carr in his
fanzines, and Terry carefully hand-stencilled the art on mimeo
masters, adding texture and depth with carefully selected tools.
Years later, when Terry was a senior editor for Ace Books and the
idea of a collection of Ray Nelson cartoons was raised, Ray
dutifully put together some of his original illustrations and sent
them off to Ace. Both he and Terry agreed that there was something
missing, and the project was cancelled. Years later, in telling the
story, Ray said, "I finally realized the missing piece -- the art
wasn't hand-stencilled by Terry Carr."
There, that's more than you wanted to know about prop heads,
propeller beanies, and the early years of science fiction fandom.
Best,
Loren MacGregor
And here's a second view on the origins of the term, from Robert J. Vitello
in New York.
