The
Last Man’s
Bottle

This bottle is reserved for science-fiction fandom’s “Living Legend” Robert A. (Bob) Madle, who in 1958 suggested the idea of forming an organization called First Fandom, a fun-loving group of science-fiction fans of the Golden Era.  Founders of First Fandom included C. L. (Doc) Barrett, Don Ford, Lou Tabakow, Ben Keifer and Lynn Hickman.  The first person to join the group other than the founders was Robert Bloch.

First Fandom would give recognition awards to the great authors of the past, publish a magazine and keep the history of science-fiction in front of today’s fans.  It would be a “last man’s club” with the final member “knocking off a privately held fifth of liquor.”

Bob served as the first president of First Fandom for more than twenty-five years.  It is ironic that more than sixty years since its inception, Bob Madle is now the sole surviving genuine member of First Fandom.

Let us raise a glass and offer a toast to Robert A. Madle and all of those young science-fiction fans from the early days who experienced the “sense of wonder,” and on whose shoulders fans proudly stand today.