EXTREMELY RARE SCIENCE FICTION CORNERSTONE
292
●
WELLS, H.G.
The First Men in the Moon.
Illustrated with 12 inserted plates
by Claude Shepperson. 8vo, original gilt-stamped dark blue cloth, minor rubbing to spine
tips and corners with light exposure, else boards and spine clean and bright with no fading;
original printed dust jacket, spine panel slightly tanned, overall light surface soiling, small
dampstains confined to spine panel extremities, tiny nicks at flap fold corners, short closed
tear along lower front panel; mild foxing to fore-edges and front and end matter, black
endpapers; preserved in custom
1
/
4
calf drop-back case.
London: George Newnes, 1901
[18,000/25,000]
FIRST ENGLISH EDITION
,
FIRST PRINTING IN THE FIRST STATE BINDING AND IN AN
ENTIRELY UNRESTORED AND EXCEEDINGLY SCARCE DUST JACKET
.
The U.S. Bowen-
Merrill edition preceded the English edition by approximately one month. Very few copies
known in first edition in original dust jacket. A remarkable survival.“A masterful fantasia on
the theme of biological engineering and one of the first credible accounts of space travel” (Smith,
p. 577). Currey, p. 518.
