While still in High School, Erle and Mark were successful in their bid to host the next year’s World SF Convention in their home town of Chicago, helping establish the Convention as an annual event that would be hosted by different cities.  This was in a time when even the writers of SF were fans, and Erle got to know and eventually work with many of them.

After High School, these two fans joined the Forestry Service, and then after Pearl Harbor, they enlisted in the US Army.  Erle was in some of the fiercest battles that were fought in Europe during World War Two.  And, he carried in his pocket and his foxholes a photograph of a female SF fan he had known.

Erle was loyal to his vision of SF.  Overcoming adversity, he made the annual migration to attend the World SF Convention, no matter where it was being held, and he was the only fan to have attended each of the first 15 World Conventions.  He also served during those times as Convention auctioneer.

He became a pioneering seller of rare books and magazines, enjoying a good reputation as Melvin Korshak.  Erle founded a book imprint, Shasta: Publishers, and surrounded himself with great people who helped produce what are widely regarded today as some of the most beautiful small press hardbound books in the history of the field.

He went to the University of Chicago, earned his law degree and became an attorney.  He married the lovely Irene and they had one child, Stephen.  Erle continued attending conventions, and was a member of the Committee of Seven (planning the 1952 World SF Convention which was held in Chicago).

Over the course of ten decades, Erle got to know many of the big-name authors, artists and fans, including Hugo Gernsback, Frank R. Paul, A. Merritt, Raymond A. Palmer, Virgil Finlay, Hannes Bok, Farnsworth Wright, Isaac Asimov, Arthur C. Clarke, Ray Bradbury, Robert Bloch, Robert A. Heinlein, E. E. Smith, and many others.

For decades, he traveled extensively throughout the world, making friends and contacts.  He became good friends with many important people outside of the SF field: world leaders, captains of industry, entertainers, actors.  Erle was so well-connected that he could place a phone call or write a personal letter to directly influence important matters nearly anywhere in the world. 

Erle was always fascinated with the images that accompanied SF stories.  He commissioned original illustrations for the covers of the books he issued for Shasta, and he held on to the artwork for decades, sharing it with his son.  Together, in the ensuing years, the Erle and Stephen Korshak have amassed one of the world’s finest collections of illustrations of imaginative literature.  They have published several beautiful books featuring examples from their collection, and even prepared traveling exhibits to share large selections of their collection with other fans in cities around the world.

Erle was a champion of First Fandom, the organization of the early SF fans. He attended reunions, participated in programs at conventions, helped with the Worldcon display and award presentations, and served for years as the International Vice-President of First Fandom.  Through his direct efforts, many notable people joined the organization, and it became revitalized. 

It is reasonable to say that, along with his life-long friend Robert A. Madle, Erle M.  Korshak was the last of his kind…a unique and original living link in the unbroken chain that connects all fans with the golden age.  It is fair to say that few people today can recall a time in SF before Erle M. Korshak was active.  And, even fewer people could imagine the future of Science Fiction in general without all of Erle’s many important and unique contributions.