loph, I urge you not to give up. Really, I am sure he would have wanted us to continue.
Should the locations be revealed, we will need all the help we can get to discover them quickly before the troves.
wilhouse
______________________
Byron Preiss, you will not be forgotten.

having gotten the email from Mark, i am in total disbelief.  i spent the better part of two years working on his puzzles, and it just seems very unreal that this has happened.  Egbert, im sure you must be in even more anguish than the rest of us, having actually met and spent time with this great man.
i honestly dont think i’ll be working on The Secret anymore.  doesnt seem right to me to continue.  im just glad that i had a chance to maybe make a little spark in his heart in him knowing that there is all of us out here still getting pleasure from one of his creations.  he’ll be sorely missed.
-todd

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Byron_Preiss
http://catalog.loc.gov/cgi-bin/Pwebrecon.cgi?v3=1&ti=1,1&SEQ=20060109153812&CNT=25%20records%20per%20page&CMD=isbn%200553014080&PID=23190&SID=1

Byron Preiss, 52, Digital Publishing Pioneer, Dies
By THE NEW YORK TIMES
Published: July 11, 2005
Byron C. Preiss, an author and a publisher who specialized in illustrated books by celebrities, graphic novels and science fiction, died in a traffic accident on Saturday in East Hampton, N.Y. He was 52 and lived in Manhattan.
Mr. Preiss was the president of Byron Preiss Visual Publications and Ibooks, and was recognized as a pioneer in digital publishing. He was among the first publishers to release CD-ROM’s and electronic books, said Barbara Marcus, the executive vice president of the publishing company Scholastic.
Born in Brooklyn, Mr. Preiss graduated magna cum laude from the University of Pennsylvania in 1972 and earned a master’s degree in communications from Stanford University. He produced “The Words of Gandhi,” an audio book that won a Grammy Award in 1985. He was also the co-author of “Dragonworld,” a novel published by Bantam Books in 1979.
Mr. Preiss published works by celebrity authors including Jane Goodall, Billy Crystal, Jerry Seinfeld, LeAnn Rimes and Jay Leno. He was active in local charities, and was co-chairman of UJA-Federation of New York’s publishing committee.
Mr. Preiss is survived by his wife, Sandi Mendelson, and two daughters, Karah and Blaire.

This is terrible news. I’m stunned.
http://www.comicbookresources.com/news/newsitem.cgi?id=5544

Byron Preiss led us all on a merry chase and will be missed…

Looking back at my calendar, I realize that I first heard of The Secret and Mr. Preiss a scant 4 months ago.  But in that four months, I gained such an appreciation for what he did on The Secret and the effect it had on me.  I had no idea of his background or his contributions other than The Secret – what a dynamo he was.
My hat is off and my head is down.  This hits me as if an old friend has passed on – it’s incredible the impact that one old, skinny book had on me in such a short period of time.

And me for 15 years+!
I spoke to him once, a nice man.
Mark

I find myself not knowing what to say when hearing this news.  I wish I could have told him how much joy he showed me by way of this crazy treasure hunt.

Wil-
Didn’t we know that already.
Wasn’t it determined that in facto privledges
for the Secret are with Bantom ?

I didnt realize that they had vacated the offices.  I’m slow on the uptake…
wilhouse

Publishers and Sinners. The late Byron Preiss’s publishing companies Ibooks and Byron Preiss Visual Publications both filed for bankruptcy and vacated their New York offices on 22 February
wilhouse

That is the big question. A 1982 newspaper article quoted Mr. Preiss as saying that in the event of his death, there were instructions to “open” the directions to the remaining treasures. What that entails, and whether it still applies 23 years later, we don’t know. But from what we know of Mr. Preiss’s personality, it is difficult to imagine him wanting the hunt to end. So it is hard to say what he would have wanted.
Others feel it would be more appropriate and respectful to abandon the hunt. I plan to keep searching until the solutions are made public, regardless of whether prizes are still available.

so is the hunt over?

Wow, that is bad news indeed.
I remember Byron Preiss from the 70’s and 80’s. I was a science fiction and comic book fan. I even remember reading Dragonworld back then. He also published illustrated science fiction novels that were precursors of the graphic novels you see today. He was definitely a visionary in that industry.
I’m not sure how I missed The Secret back then, but I did. When I found this forum earlier this year and saw that he had authored the book, it brought back a lot of memories. I’m very sorry to see him go.

I just borrowed Mr. Preiss’s novel Dragonworld from my local library.  Amazon has it, and Borders Books carries it (still in print).

In deepest sorrow for the loss of this great mind that created this hunt.  I have been struck by the juxtaposition of two news articles on this bb over the last 2 weeks.  The first being the very first article published about this hunt where they interviewed Mr. Preiss (an offering by blight’s work on the board).  He wanted to create a legendary hunt to rival England’s Masquerade. I also got the sense that he may have been dissappointed that the treasures were not found very quickly.  And only one was found in twenty years time.  The second bit of news from today is too sad for words.  It is my sincere hope that he realized that because the treasures were not found quickly and easily, because of the beauty and intricacy of these mysteries,  he did indeed reach his goal of creating a splendid and legendary treasure hunt.  One I feel honored to have been a part of it, and I hope it will continue into the future. If it does not–the legend will live on.  And I for one–will remember because it was my first hunt.

I’m…. stunned.
I haven’t checked in on the hunt for awhile now.  What horrible, horrible news.  My wishes go out to the family.

As for contacting the family, I should tell you that I sent a sympathy card to BP’s family after the tragedy, simply saying that it was from everyone on the website, and how sorry we were to have heard the terrible news.
My buddy Siskel actually has a strange connection (a friend of a friend) with BP’s wife, about which he didn’t discover until after BP’s death.  He may at some point decide to pursue that connection to inquire about The Secret, but he did not think it appropriate to do so now.
As for Wilhouse’s comments about what the family is going to do with the solutions, I have a revelation for all of you.  Unfortunately, the solutions were not in the safe deposit box where the jewels were, and BP did not know where they were.  He thought they may be at his apartment, but he did not try to locate them.  When Siskel and I went to get the jewel for finding the Cleveland treasure, we went down into the vault with BP, but of course were not allowed to enter the private room with him to see what was in the safe deposit box.  He was rummaging around in it (there were other things in the box besides Secret stuff), and mentioned that the pictures and solutions were not there.  I believe he was telling the truth — otherwise he would have shown us the Cleveland solution and photos (he took photos of the locations when he buried them).
So, it may be that we may never find the solutions, or that BP’s family finds them in an odd place.  My other thought is that I could contact John Jude Palencar, who drew the pictures, to see if he could lead us anywhere.  But, it is probably too soon after BP’s death to ask anyone to do anything.

Egbert, you are full of surprises.
That explains why he never specifically would say that I had found the exact location for the casque. He truly problably didn’t know!
I would sure pay to rummage around his desk!!
wilhouse

Thank you, Egbert.

Egbert

So, it may be that we may never find the solutions, or that BP’s family finds them in an odd place.  My other thought is that I could contact John Jude Palencar, who drew the pictures, to see if he could lead us anywhere.  But, it is probably too soon after BP’s death to ask anyone to do anything.

if…or when needed, here is contact information on John Jude Palencar.  Not sure if he could lead us anywhere tho…who knows.
John Jude Palencar
508 Floral Valley West
Howard , Ohio
43028
Ph # : 740.392.4271

OK, time to fess up.
I already did it.
A couple of weeks ago I was poking around on the BPVP.com page and noticed that there was an email address for a VP.  I wrote him and explained how sorry all of us on this board were to hear about BP and that our hearts went out to the family.  I told him how much we admired and respected him and that we would all miss him.
I then went on to say that if the company / family had any idea of what they were planning to do with the solutions to the Secret, that I would be happy to let the people on this board know.  I made it clear that I did not speak FOR the board, but that I would communicate with them.  I also explained about this board a bit and said that the general concensus was that we would prefer to keep looking for the casques and still be eligible for the jewels.
Sorry to say that I have not heard anything back.  Since I kept a copy of the email I will try again and resend it.
If the general concensus is that I should drop it, I will. But I think it’s worth another couple shots at it.
wilhouse

Fox, in the article that Forest posted from 1982, Preiss said that he left information on the locations to be revealed when he passed.
Hopefully that won’t happen.
wilhouse

Oh my gosh!!!  I just got back online and saw this post and am just shocked!  I am so sorry to the family of him and hope all is well with them.  He brought us a great treasure hunt and will surely be missed by all.
I read in another post that the locations may be disclosed.  Has anybody heard anything more on this?

Might it be possible for one who had been in contact with Mr. Preiss to inquire with his estate regarding this matter?
I’m thinking right now of either Egbert or Wilhouse, but maybe others are in as good a position.  We could at least seek clarification on any instructions he might have left, especially considering that things may have changed since 1982.
Pine

I have heard of no such news.  Where exactly did you read that sand?

I would approach this very carefully. First, it has not been long since Mr. Preiss passed, and I’m sure everything hasn’t been worked out yet. Second, reminding them about The Secret at this point may even prompt an end to the hunt and announcement of all the casque locations, which I’m sure we don’t want.

Good thinking FB.  I think the time just isnt right to be bringing this up to the Priess family right now….grieving takes time and I feel the last thing their family wants to hear right now is “Is the hunt still on?”  Let us just continue working on the hunt and let nature take it’s course.  I am sure that anyone else involved in The Secret knows of these boards and will post any information when the time is right.

Obviously we should be careful in our timing and respectful in our approach.
And obviously the approach wouldn’t be a boneheaded “Is the hunt still on?” sort of thing.
This is why I believe that when we make any contact, we should do so through a person who is already a known entity, such as Egbert and Wilhouse.  And done in a decent manner, it might actually be something that Mr. Preiss’s family and associates appreciate.  We are essentially a group of admirers coming up to explain that we very much appreciate his work, and would like for the hunt that he created to go on for as long as possible.  It isn’t that different from people you don’t know coming up to you to tell you how much your deceased Grandfather meant to them.
Contrary to Fox’s last sentence, I’m not at all sure that others involved with The Secret (two decades ago) or with Mr. Preiss’s company today would have knowledge of these boards.  Egbert or Wilhouse may be able to enlighten us.
It is entirely possible that he still left explicit instructions regarding the disclosure of the answers and the timing thereof.  If so, then so be it.  If not, then perhaps there could be a different outcome.
Pine

Publisher Byron Preiss Dies
(from
The Book Standard
)
July 11, 2005
By Anna Weinberg
Byron C. Preiss, president of Byron Preiss Visual Publications and ibooks, died in a traffic accident on Saturday, July 9, in East Hampton, N.Y., on his way to Shabbat services. He was 52 years old.
Preiss, who is survived by his wife Sandi Mendelson, a partner in the literary public-relations firm Hilsinger-Mendelson, and two daughters, Karah and Blaire, was a pioneer in digital publishing, as well as an important figure in the rise of graphic novels in the United States. As a publisher, Preiss worked with authors as diverse as Stan Lee, Isaac Asimov, Ray Bradbury, Jane Goodall, Jerry Seinfeld and Billy Crystal. As a trailblazer in multimedia and digital publishing, Preiss was also one of the first publishers to release electronic books. As long-time friend Jim Steranko, a comic-book artist, wrote in a farewell column (
http://www.comicbookresources.com/news/newsitem.cgi?id=5544
): “For more than three decades, [Preiss] spearheaded a multiplicity of mediaforms . . . that fused words and images like few other individuals would achieve in the entertainment arts. . . . American popular culture lost one of its most productive and visionary champions.”
A Brooklyn native, Preiss graduated from the University of Pennsylvania in 1972, and went on to earn a master’s degree in communications from Stanford. He was a writer for National Lampoon, co-author of the novel Dragonworld and the producer of the Grammy Award–winning audio book The Words of Gandhi. Preiss also conceived and executed the 1982 armchair treasure-hunt book The Secret, in which readers were challenged to locate 12 secret treasures buried around the U.S. (In the 23 years since, two have been found.) More recent projects include graphic-novel versions of children’s classics such as The Black Stallion and The Wonderful Wizard of Oz.
Funeral services for Preiss will be held at 11:00 a.m. on July 12 at Sutton Place Synagogue in New York. The family requests that donations in his honor be made to the United Jewish Federation of New York (
http://www.ujafedny.org/site/PageServer
).

Here is a link to another bulletin board talking about Byron Preiss:
http://www.comicon.com/cgi-bin/pulse.cgi?http%3A//www.comicon.com/cgi-bin/ultimatebb.cgi%3Fubb%3Dget_topic%26f%3D36%26t%3D003970

For everyone who has enjoyed “The Secret” for the past 23 years or even just for the last 23 days, I want to tell you how I have come to admire the way you’ve all shared ideas and thoughts on this board in the way Byron Preiss had wanted, with fun……  It is that kind of dedication and enthusiasm, that I hope Byron Preiss’ legacy will be just that.  Reading the posted bullitin boards, I think it will.  Before anyone opens the vault, let’s find one more.  In the name of Byron Preiss and the words of John Belushi, from National Lampoon’s Animal House, “Let’s Do It!”

I was working in a  bookstore in McClean Virginia in 1982, I can remember opening the box “The Secret” came in The Assistant Manager and I had spent lots of time discussing Masquerade, so when we saw “The Secret”  we were quite happy to have another treasure hunt to work on. We were sure the verse which ended up being Chicago’s was the verse for Washington  D.C.
Off and on I have read and thought about the pictures and verses for 23 years. As I resolved clues and found hints I felt like I was getting to know the Author as I felt I got closer to the SF casque.
The greatest thrill of the hunt were the AHA moments, the moments when you found something that you are sure is correct. The instant when a piece of the puzzle drops into place smoothly. My first AHA moment was when I figured out The dress in picture 1 has a map of Golden Gate Park. Then little things like her hands are crossed over, and cross over drive goes through GGPark. The silouette of JFk, I thought it was lincoln but someone pointed out it looks more like JFK and I had another AHA JFK Blvd runs right through the park also.
With everybody ‘adopting verses I only 5 verses to choose from to pick which one went with Picture 1, and I had another AHA moment when I realized Aces High was Highway 1 also called Cross over drive. that lead to the next AHA high points are three and I realized you coulds see Sutro Tower from anywhere in the park. There were lots of Little AHAs Like the time I was sittng next to Highway one on JFK blvd trying to decipher what it was I was supposed to go accross when I looked up and reailzed I was sitting under a huge cross and that first across actually meant first  a cross.  Still I had no luck finding a Giant pole or a Giant step…
it was only help from this board that I learned about The totem pole Goddess of the Forest.
The Journey I felt was almost over.  I had another Aha – The picture takes you to the general location. Then the verse takes you down a specific path that narrows until you are at the casques location.
The only clue I felt I really needed was The object of Twains Attention. That would let me know which direction to dig from the totem pole to find the casque. Unfortunately Mark Twain lived in San Francisco for two years. You cant throw a rock with out hitting something he commented on. So I tried the big ones. The Pacific (west) Cliffhouse Northwest, Fort Point North Missisipi East, Mexcio South. Everybody said why dont you just dig a trench around it.  Well over time I pretty much did. I spent about a year reading everything Mark Twain wrote about San Francisco. (If nothing else I owe Byron Priess thanks for that.) and I seem to have run into a road block.- no more aha moments.  After Finishing Mark Twain’s San Francisco work I decided to go ahead and start in on the other stuff. So About 3 weeks ago I picked up Mark Twain’s “Innocents Abroad and started reading. and, Well I’ll let Mark tell you…
“Toward dusk we drew near Milan and caught glimpses of the city
At last, a forest of graceful needles, shimmering in the amber sunlight,
rose slowly above the pygmy housetops
-the Cathedral! We knew it in a moment.
Half of that night, and all of the next day, this architectural autocrat
was our sole object of interest.
no other object can chain your whole attention.”
One last Aha!, Milan is northWest of San Francisco, The great circle root plots at 31 degrees or just a straight line to Milan from SF is about 60 degrees, so effectively the object of Twain’s attention was NorthEast of the totem pole
Last Saturday we went digging. and 1 giant step Northwest of the Totem pole is a PVC water line that had been trenched in about 10 years ago. we dug a very large whole around the area but no luck.
So I didn’t find a casque – But Im pretty sure we solved it. Maybe we’ll find out someday soon. I suspect the remains of the casque are buried somewhere along the trenchline, a trencher would have turned the casque to powder. who knows  Maybe the trencher actually spotted it and took it home. Id like to think that rather than thinking it got destroyed.
Later I found out that the accident happened at the same time we were digging. That was kind of sad, I had a whole bunch of family there  and we were having a picnic and digging and having a great time. The shock when I found out about it was visceral.
I felt like I had lost a friend of 23 years.
I just want to say Thanks Byron! Its been a great Hunt!

The Byron Preiss Visual Publications website is down now. I have been checking their Press Release section periodically for updates on
The Secret
, but nothing was ever posted. I guess nothing ever will be now.
http://www.bpvp.com/

Unknown

Unknown:
If we bide our time I have a feeling it will be much more rewarding for all.

I’ll second that. But I still want to see whatever reply wilhouse gets.

y’all know if I get a reply, I’ll post it here.
I have not tried to contact the family.  I would try to work through BPVP rather than do that, for now.
wilhouse

I’m sitting here with tears in my eyes, looking at the computer in shock and disbelief.
Guys, I talked to him, electronically, just the other day.  I sent him my latest solution to the Houston treasure, along with a plea to confirm that I am in the right location before they demolish the Children’s Zoo next year.  Here is what he said:
—– Original Message —–
From:
[email protected]
To: wilhouse
Subject: Re: A final plea before it’s too late
Date: Fri, 8 Jul 2005 16:43:38 EDT
>
>  it would not be a waste of time to dig there, but I cannot make any guarantees whatsoever
>
thank you Byron, we will continue to look for that treasure and all the treasures you have given us.
affectionately, with great sadness,
wilhouse and DocLove

Shock, disbelief & sadness is what I found when finally checking in with these boards.  The Secret community has lost a great man.  Thank you Mr. Preiss!  Thank you for a classic adventure that has consumed us all for such a long time.  It is sad that Mr. Preiss did not see all of his 12 treasures found.  At least he knew (with the fairly recent interest in his 20 year old hunt) that there were many people such as myself that have been consumed with this book since picking it up.  I will include the entire Priess family in my prayers tonight.  You will be missed Mr. Preiss.
THANK YOU MR. BYRON PREISS