Title: Discovery of the Future - Speech
Written: July 1941    Pages: 82
 
Description:
File contains cover sheet for “The Discovery of the Future”, Guest of Honor speech for the 3rd World Science Fiction Convention. Contains print copy of Guest of Honor speech, “What Does This Convention Mean?”, for 1940 Chicago WorldCon by E. E. “Doc” Smith printed for 1941 Denver WorldCon. 17 page transcription of RAH’s speech. Notecard about rights to speech referring to Forrest Ackerman by initials (on back of notecard from 1973 about health problems of a man named Eberhard). Letter from RAH to Forest J. Ackerman dated November 17, 1973 about rights to and sale of the speech—a very forthright letter ending with “Keep your hands off my property”, underlined (3 copies of the same letter). Rough draft of same letter with considerable hand-edits. 12 page typewritten copy of speech. 16 page transcription of speech in German. April 1973 edition of “Vertex” with speech published.
 
Publication:
Originally published in 1941 by Forrest J. Ackerman as small (7x8.5") stapled fanzine mimeod in green ink; reprinted in the first issue of Vertex magazine (1973) and again in Requiem. In addition, the Heinlein Archive holds a German-language fanzine translation of this speech, titled ADie Entdeckung der Zukunft@ von Robert A. Heinlein, A production of ASonderdruck der Fanzines, combined effort of SF-Times and Teleskop.
 
Notes: Transcription prepared by Forrest J. Ackerman from audio disks recorded by Dr. Walter Daugherty of Heinlein's Guest of Honor speech at Denvention, 2nd World SF convention, given in Denver, Colorado, July 4, 1941