Monday, September 10, 2007

When Dell Said Goodbye to UFOs


Once upon a time, the name DELL was not synonymous with computers. Dell Publishing Co. was a major publisher of books as well as magazines, and in fact the company, like so many publishers, has merged with another print conglomerate. Back in the sixties, for a brief time, Dell ventured into the UFO area and published an occasional magazine on the subject. I don't recall how many, maybe four in total, but not many, at any rate. In late 1967 I wrote Dell about the importance of the 1956 United Artists motion picture, "U.F.O." and encouraged them to offer something about it in their periodical. What an unpleasant surprise I received, however, when a Dell representative replied with the news that its UFO magazine would appear no more. Assurance was offered that I would be contacted if anything were to see print in the future, but that's the end of the story at this point, for I never heard from them again. If there were future Dell UFO periodicals, which there may be, they don't come to mind at the moment -- but I'll likely find them in a box someday, long forgotten, if they exist. Just for history's sake, I'm including the Dell letter and its once familiar letterhead logo here, with apologies that I can't seem to offer a more enhanced copy of its text (the original is very faint now, some 40 years later).