Early Furry Fan Photos – by Fred Patten.
by Patch O'Furr
Submitted by Fred Patten, Furry’s favorite historian and reviewer.
Greymuzzle Stickmaker (Rodford Edmiston Smith), an attendee and photographer of many World S-F Conventions and other s-f conventions of the 1980s through the 2000s, has been posting his photos on Flickr since late September.
Most are of interest to s-f fans, but some contain pictures of furry fans at bygone s-f conventions. (I’m in there, but never mind where – I don’t photograph well.)
A fox fursuiter (but the word “fursuit” didn’t exist yet) at the 1991 Worldcon in Chicago. (link)
Paul Kidd in the Bushranger hat at back, and Jim Groat under his GraphXpress banner, at the 1989 Worldcon in Boston. Steve Martin (?) drawing. (link)
Jim Groat again, at the 1991 Worldcon in Chicago. (Link)
Terrie Smith next to Jim Groat’s GraphXpress booth at the 1991 Worldcon. The ConFurence’s Sydney Fisher in the background. (link)
Jim Groat and Mel. White at the 1991 Worldcon. (link)
Cheryl and Terrie Smith at the 1993 Worldcon in San Francisco. (link)
Jim Groat again, at the 1995 NASFiC in Atlanta. (link)
Stickmaker at the 1999 NASFiC in Anaheim. (link)
Ashley Grayson (s-f literary agent) and Mark Merlino, at the 1999 NASFiC. (link)
Here is a tigress costumer at the 1989 Worldcon in Boston. The Japanese word “cosplay” hadn’t caught on in America yet. (link)
A faun. (link)
A rabbit fursuiter next to a Klingon at the 1991 Worldcon. (link)
A thunderbird costumer at the 1991 Worldcon’s Masquerade. (link)
A big caterpillar at the 1991 Worldcon’s Masquerade. (link)
This is just a fraction of the fans and costumes that Stickmaker has photographed, along with s-f authors and artists like Isaac Asimov, Hal Clement, and Frank Kelly Freas. Check ‘em out.
Stickmaker has thanked DP for spreading his old photos around. He says that the tigress and her companion (not furry fans) at the 1989 Worldcon were a female Calvin and a female Hobbes.