EXCLUSIVE REPORT FROM SFM WAR OF THE WORLDS EXHIBIT
We all know there have been more incarnations of War of the Worlds than there are stars in the sky (slight exageration I know) so Paul Allens Science Fiction Museum and Hall of Fame is currently running an exhibition on our favourite story and many of it's incarnation. Stefan A. Gefter has writen a report on the Exhibtion for War of the Worlds Online. Your Source for the Martian Invasion.

Nestled at the base of the Seattle Space Needle, the Science Fiction Museum and Hall of Fame (SFM) occupies two floors of the Experience Music Project (EMP) building. Both institutions were founded by Microsoft co-founder, Paul Allen, who is both a music and science fiction enthusiast. In fact, most of SFM’s vast array of memorabilia and artifacts come from his personal collection! Additional information about these museums may be found at www.sfhomeworld.com and www.emplive.com.

The War of the Worlds exhibit is prominently located on the inside and outside walls of the Interplanetary Lounge, which, appropriately, is in the Them! display area.

The Interplanetary Lounge is a hexagonally shaped alcove. As one steps inside, one notices that along one side is a display of famous movie and TV aliens. The other side contains three panels with wall and case displays showing the literary history, popular culture, and subsequent works relating to The War of the Worlds. However, all three panels on the exterior side of the Interplanetary Lounge are exclusively dedicated to the original Alvim Corrêa illustrations from the 1906 L’Vandamme Edition, which I loaned to SFM earlier this year! More on them in a moment…

Returning to the interior of the Interplanetary Lounge, it is evident that SFM’s War of the Worlds collection is not terribly large. However, as Jacob McMurray, SFM’s senior curator told me, their intention is to enlarge and enhance the exhibit with additional artifacts over time. Nevertheless, here is a glimpse at the items they currently have on display:

Interior Left:

The wall display includes a photo of HG Wells and first edition copies of 'The Martian' and 'The War of the Worlds'.

The bottom display contains a conceptual model from the upcoming Pendragon movie; an 1897 serial (magazine version) in its bound format (may be the British Pearson's magazine version or the American Cosmopolitan version published at the same time); an original Amazing Stories magazine; and an original Cosmopolitan magazine.

Interior Center:

This display highlights the 1938 Orson Welles broadcast (can heard on the earphones) and the 1953 movie. The wall display features an original copy of the New York Times story about the infamous broadcast, which caused nationwide panic when people believed the alien invasion was real!

Inside the glass case is the last remaining flying machine model from the 1953 movie. Also on display are an old-time radio and a copy of Click magazine, which has an interesting article on mass hypnosis by radio waves. The author theorized that this is why the Germans appeared to be going mad in the 1930's. Visitors may also listen to the 1938 Welles broadcast on the supplied headset.

Interior Right:

An original poster from the 1953 movie and the impressive Thomas Kidd oil painting adorn the wall of this section.

This display showcases some of the War of the Worlds books written over the years by various authors. Another Pendragon model is featured here.

As I mentioned above, the exposure SFM has given to the Alvim Corrêa illustrations is fantastic! They are currently displaying nine (9) of 31 illustrations in the collection (three (3) to a panel). SFM had the illustrations professionally restored, mounted, and framed, which only enhances their impact on the viewer. It is my hope that SFM will rotate the display among the 31 illustrations, so that visitors may enjoy a different selection each time they return! By way of background, below is a biographical timeline of Corrêa’s life and career:

1876: H. Alvim Corrêa is born to a wealthy family in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

1892: Corrêa and his family, who are considered monarchists by the new Brazilian republic, exile themselves to Lisbon, Portugal. He would never return to Brazil during his lifetime. Sometime during the preceding years, Corrêa contracts tuberculosis.

1893: Alvim Corrêa moves to Paris, France, where he studies under Jean Baptiste Édouard Détaille (1847-1912), an important academic artist best known for his paintings depicting French military life.

1896: Corrêa’s first exhibit of military paintings opens at the “Sallon de Paris”.

1898: Despite strong family objections, Corrêa marries Blanche Gernande Brabant, and is virtually disowned. To make ends meet, he begins producing caricatures and erotic lithographs under the pseudonym “Henry Le Morte” (Henry the Dead).

1900: As their economic situation improves, Alvim Corrêa and his family move to Boitsfort, a suburb of Brussels, Belgium.

1903: Corrêa travels to London to meet H.G. Wells and show him some conceptual sketches he had made after reading the Davray (French) edition of The War of the Worlds. His vision so impressed Wells that the author befriended Corrêa and chose him to illustrate the 1906 deluxe edition of The War of the Worlds that would be printed by L. Vandamme, a leading Belgian publisher.

1906: The L. Vandamme Edition is published in only 500 signed copies. The last drawing in the book, highlighted by the word “Fin”, depicts a seated H.G. Wells and a standing Alvim Corrêa. Of the artist, Wells declared, “A. Corrêa contributed more to this work with his brush than I did with my pen.”

1910: With his health in perpetual decline since 1905, Alvim Corrêa secludes himself at his home in Boitsfort and dies of advanced tuberculosis at age 34.

1945: Alvim Corrêa’s descendents return to Brazil and bring with them 31 of 32 original illustrations from the L’Vandamme Edition, plus the majority of the artist’s other works which survived two world wars.

1990’s: Sebo Fino Livraria Antiquária, Brazil’s oldest active antiquarian bookseller, acquires the illustrations and other articles relating to the 1906 L’Vandamme Edition from the Corrêa family.

In the center panel of the Corrêa display is a large glass case featuring a photo of the artist, a signed and numbered copy of the 1906 L’Vandamme Edition, and a postcard from HG Wells to Alvim Corrêa. Although aficionados of the various editions of The War of the Worlds are already familiar with Corrêa and his work, the SFM exhibit should greatly increase awareness of his contributions to the genre, especially within the mainstream science fiction community. If anyone has occasion to visit Seattle, a quick trip to SFM to view the War of the Worlds and numerous other exhibits is well worth the price of admission!

The Corrêa collection is on loan to the Science Fiction Museum through October 2005. Any inquiries should be made to Stefan A. Gefter at AcoiraC7@aol.com, as I represent the Collection on behalf of Sebo Fino.

Thanks for Stefan Gefter for this review and all the photography seen here.