“My dear Mr. Baird: I don’t mind admitting that I was a little leary about WEIRD TALES when I first heard of it. The fact of the matter is, I picked up the first copy with a good deal of prejudice against it. The reason for this prejudice is clear enough. I have always had a healthy respect for mystery stories and believe they are the hardest kind to write—and to judge.
“For this reason I am moved to write you and tell you how very much my view point has changed. You have not only sold me, you have enthused me. There is no question about your future. I’ve talked to many friends who have read the March issue, and I know.”—A. M. Oliver, 148 North Portage Path, Akron, Ohio.
“Dear sir: I asked my newsdealer for something different in the magazine line today, and he handed me a copy of the April WEIRD TALES. I’ve read many so-called mystery stories, but none can compare with those I found in your magazine. It is something altogether new and most fascinating. I especially enjoyed ‘The Snake Fiend’ and ‘The Conquering Will.’ Those sort of stories appeal to me. For anybody that is looking for something different I heartily advise your magazine. May you prosper!”—P. W. Burrows, Kearney, Nebraska.
“Dear sirs: ... I was in the business section of Des Moines one evening recently when my eye fell upon a copy of WEIRD TALES. Struck by its unusual appearance, I bought one. When I arrived home it was rather early, and I sat down to read. Well, I had not finished a half dozen pages before I knew I had found a marvelous book—in fact, my ideal magazine. Before I had finished the second story I was as much in its power as our detective friend seems to be in the power of ‘The Whispering Thing.’...
“But here I have been taking up your time with praise of the Wonder Magazine and haven’t spoken of the most vital thing—the thing which makes such mighty entertainment possible. Please find enclosed three dollars for which please enter me for a year’s subscription to WEIRD TALES, beginning with your third issue.”—J. C. Wolquist, 1544 Walker Street, Des Moines, Iowa.
“Dear Mr. Baird: Three weeks ago I bought a copy of WEIRD TALES, and I am shaking yet, as you probably can tell by my scribbling!... The first story I read was ‘The Thing of a Thousand Shapes.’ It happened to be eleven-thirty when I finished the first installment, and I went to bed quaking in every limb, firmly resolved never to lay eyes on another copy of WEIRD TALES.
“A few days later I passed a news stand. There, glaring into my eyes, was the interesting cover of WEIRD TALES. I was about to turn away when curiosity whispered in my ear, ‘What happened to Billy?’
“Being a woman, curiosity, of course, won, and home I went, with the copy tucked snugly under my arm.... And now I look on WEIRD TALES as a friend indeed. I daren’t let my little brother get the magazine before he does his lessons, or they would never get done, while such an absorbing magazine is around.”—Miss Marguerite Nicholson, 635 North Frazier Street, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
“Dear Mr. Baird: Congratulations! Your new magazine is simply splendid. I have often wondered just when I would be able to go to a news stand and buy a real magazine. Now all my worry has ceased.... There is one trouble with it, and that is that it doesn’t come weekly or semi-monthly.”—M. Nawrocki, 854 Robinson Avenue, Milwaukee, Wisconsin.
“Dear Mr. Baird: ... I have thoroughly enjoyed DETECTIVE TALES, every issue of it, and believe that there is more good reading matter in it than in any other magazine published, and when I saw a copy of WEIRD TALES at the news stand, with your name or it, I could not resist getting it. And it has lived up to my expectations. I could not put the magazine down until I had finished every story, and that was about three o’clock the next morning.”...—Mary Sharon, 1912 Main Street, Galena, Kansas.