Signed Limited Edition of the Works of H.G. Wells; Finely Bound
The Works of H.G. Wells.
Wells, H.G.
Item Number: 18094
London: T. Fisher Unwin, 1924-27.
The Atlantic edition, one of 1,050 copies, signed by H.G. Wells in volume one. Octavo, 28 volumes. Bound in three-quarters morocco over marbled boards, gilt titles and tooling to the spine, top edge gilt. Frontispiece illustrations including author portrait in volume one. In fine condition.
H.G. Wells is best remembered for his science fiction novels, and is called the father of science fiction, along with Jules Verne. His most notable works include The Time Machine (1895), The Island of Doctor Moreau (1896), The Invisible Man (1897), and The War of the Worlds (1898).
Other Books by this Author
"As I wandered about that lovely place, I passed by an unknown little lady sitting and reading in a shady corner": First Edition of H.G. Wells' Meanwhile (The Picture of a Lady); in the rare original dust jacket
Wells, H.G.
Meanwhile (The Picture of a Lady).
New York: George H. Doran Company, 1927.
First American edition of Wells’ 1927 novel detailing a house-party Casa Terragena, an Italian villa with a famous garden on the Italian Riviera. Octavo, original cloth. Very good in the original dust jacket which is in good condition with some wear to the extremities.
Price: $50.00
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“All men, however highly educated, retain some superstitious inklings": First Edition of H.G. Wells The Invisible Man
Wells, H.G.
The Invisible Man.
London: C. Arthur Pearson, 1897.
First edition, first issue, with the title page printed in orange and black and pages 247 and 248 being publisher’s ads. Octavo, original cloth. In very good condition with some toning to the spine and wear to the extremities.
Price: $2,000.00
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"You can live in another and a wiser fashion if you choose to think it out and work it out. You are not awake to your own power": First Edition of H.G. Wells' A Short History of the World; Signed by Him
Wells, H.G.
A Short History of the World.
New York: The Macmillan Company, 1922.
First edition if Wells’ classic work, which Albert Einstein recommended for the study of history as a means of interpreting progress in civilization. Octavo, original cloth. Boldly signed by H.G. Wells on the half-title page. In near fine condition. With an original pamphlet from the publisher laid in. First editions are uncommon, signed examples exceptionally so.
Price: $4,800.00
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First Edition of H.G. Wells' The Salvaging of Civilization; Signed by Him
Wells, H.G.
The Salvaging of Civilization: The Probable Future of Mankind.
New York: The Macmillan Company, 1921.
First American edition, which preceded the British edition of of this work which addresses the possibility of a future world state . Octavo, original cloth. Boldly signed by H.G. Wells on the half-title page. In near fine condition.
Price: $850.00
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First edition of H. G. Wells' Men Like Gods; Inscribed by Him to His Mother-In-Law
Wells, H.G.
Men Like Gods.
London: Cassell and Company, 1923.
First edition of Wells’ utopian scientific fantasy. Octavo, original blind-stamped green cloth, gilt titles to the spine. Association copy, inscribed by the author on the half-title page, “H.G. to his Mother in law.” The recipient M.C. Robbins, was the mother of Wells’s second wife Jane. Near fine in the original dust jacket which shows a few small chips and wear to the extremities. An excellent association.
Price: $3,000.00
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First Edition of H.G. Wells' The Undying Fire: A Contemporary Novel; Signed by Him
Wells, H.G.
The Undying Fire: A Contemporary Novel.
New York: The Macmillan Company, 1919.
First edition of Wells’s modern retelling of the story of Job. Octavo, original cloth. Boldly signed by H.G. Wells on the half-title page. In very good condition with light rubbing.
Price: $475.00
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"A strange disease had come upon them, and had made all the children born to them blind": First edition of H. G. Wells' The Country of the Blind and Other Stories
Wells, H.G.
The Country of the Blind and Other Stories.
London: Thomas Nelson and Sons, 1911.
First edition of this classic collection of short stories featuring one of Wells’ best known tales, The Country of the Blind. Octavo, original blindstamped cloth, gilt titles to the spine, pictorial endpapers, engraved colored frontispiece. In very good condition, stamp to the title page. A very bright example.
Price: $300.00
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"There is no absolute limit to either knowledge or power": The World Set Free; Signed by H.G. Wells
Wells, H.G.
The World Set Free: A Story of Mankind.
London: Macmillan and Co., Limited, 1914.
First edition, second printing, published the same month as the first. Octavo, original cloth, gilt titles to the spine and front panel, gilt topstain. Boldly signed by H.G. Wells on the dedication page. In near fine condition with light rubbing to the spine tips. Uncommon signed.
Price: $1,250.00
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"The whole thing was an affair of misty shadows": First edition of H. G. Wells' The Food of the Gods and How it Came to Earth
Wells, H.G.
The Food of the Gods and How it Came to Earth.
London: Macmillan and Co, 1904.
First edition of Wells’ satiric utopian novel. Octavo, original blind-stamped green cloth, gilt titles to the spine and front panel. In near fine condition with light rubbing to the extremities.
Price: $275.00
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“Looking at these stars suddenly dwarfed my own troubles and all the gravities of terrestrial life": First Edition of H.G. Wells' The Time Machine
Wells, H.G.
The Time Machine: An Invention.
London: William Heinemann, 1895.
First English edition, first issue of Wells’ groundbreaking “scientific romance”- a work generally credited with the popularization of the concept of time travel by using a vehicle that allows an operator to travel purposely and selectively forwards or backwards in time. Octavo, original cloth, front panel and spine stamped in purple with sphinx vignette. In near fine condition, bookplate. First issue with first priority sixteen-page publisher’s catalogue at end. Cover artist by Ben Hardy. Housed in a custom half morocco clamshell box. An exceptional example.
Price: $6,500.00
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“All men, however highly educated, retain some superstitious inklings": First Edition of H.G. Wells The Invisible Man
Wells, H.G.
The Invisible Man.
London: C. Arthur Pearson Limited, 1897.
First edition, first issue, with the title page printed in orange and black and pages 247 and 248 being publisher’s ads. Octavo, original cloth. In very good condition with some toning to the spine and wear to the extremities.
Price: $2,500.00
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“And in friendship and still more here, in this central business of love, accident rules it seems to me almost altogether”: First Edition of The Passionate Friends; Inscribed by H.G. Wells to His Cousin
Wells, H.G.
The Passionate Friends.
London: Macmillan and Co, 1913.
First edition of this novel, which was the first introduction of Wells’s notion of an “open conspiracy” of individuals to achieve a world state through an “open conspiracy against potentates and prejudices and all the separating powers of darkness.” Octavo, original green cloth, gilt titles to the spine, gilt topstain. Inscribed by the author on the front free endpaper to his cousin, “H.G. Wells to his cousin Jane Knight.” Bookplate of Larry McMurtry on the front pastedown. In near fine condition with light offsetting to the endpapers. A nice association and with noted provenance.
Price: $2,000.00
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First Edition of H.G. Wells' Washington and the Riddle of Peace
Wells, H.G.
Washington and the Riddle of Peace.
New York: The Macmillan Company, 1922.
First edition. Octavo, original cloth, gilt titles to the spine. Boldly signed by H.G. Wells on the half-title page. In fine condition. Scarce and desirable signed.
Price: $1,750.00
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First Edition of H.G. Wells' Tales of Space and Time; Inscribed by Him with Two Drawings
Wells, H.G.
Tales of Space and Time.
London: Harper & Brothers Publishers, 1900.
First edition of this collection of three short stories and two novellas. Octavo, original cloth, with 2 pages publisher’s advertisements at end. Presentation copy, warmly inscribed by the author on the front free endpaper, “W.E. Henley with affectionate regards from H.G. Wells” along with an original drawing of Ugh-lomi and Eudena, the protagonists of A Story of the Stone Age, one of this volume’s five collected short stories. In very good condition with some toning to the spine.
Price: $9,800.00
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"No one would have believed in the last years of the nineteenth century that this world was being watched keenly and closely by intelligences greater than man's": First Edition of H.G.Wells Classic Novel; The War of the Worlds
Wells, H.G.
The War of the Worlds.
London: William Heinemann, 1898.
First edition, first issue of this science fiction cornerstone. Octavo, original grey cloth lettered in black. Currey’s state (A) with 16 pages publisher’s advertisements at end dated Autumn 1897. In excellent condition condition with some rubbing and wear. Housed in a custom half morocco clamshell box.
Price: $5,000.00
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"To improve is to change; to be perfect is to change often": Winston Churchill’s Collected Works; 38 Volumes In Full Vellum In the Original Slipcases; Inscribed by Clementine and Mary Soames
Churchill, Winston S.
The First Collected Works of Sir Winston Churchill: Centenary Limited Edition.
London: Library of Imperial History In association With Charles Scribner's Sons and The Hamlyn Publishing Group Limited, 1973-76.
Centenary limited edition of Sir Winston S. Churchill’s collected works, inscribed by both his wife and youngest daughter in the year of the centenary of his birth to the winner of the 1974 C & G Gimcrack Horse Race at that very race. Octavos, 34 volumes bound in the original full vellum with gilt titles and gilt-stamped Churchill coat of arms to the spines and front panels, all edges gilt, marbled endpapers. Each volume housed in the original dark green slipcase which is also gilt-stamped with the Churchill coat of arms. One of only 3,000 sets produced, this is number 143. Volume I, which contains My Early Life and My African Journey is inscribed by The Baroness Clementine Churchill opposite her preface, “Inscribed by Clementine Spencer Churchill” as well as her youngest daughter Mary, “presented by her youngest daughter Mary Soames, “and presented by her daughter to Mr. Ravi Tikkoo at York Races August the 22nd 1974.” The inscribed volume is housed in a custom oak and vellum clamshell box with ornate claw feet, velvet lining, and gold plaque which reads, C and G Gimcrack Stakes 1974 Presented to Mr. Ravi Tikkoo Owner of Steel Heart (Habitat – A. I. by Abernant) Winner of the C & G Gimcrack Stakes 1974, by Lady Soames in the Centenary Year of the Birth of Her Father Sir Winston Churchill.” In excellent condition. A brilliant set with exceptional provenance.
Price: $9,800.00
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Rare First Edition of Mathematical Collections and Translations, which includes the first translation in English of Galileo's System of the World" (Dialogo)
Galilei, Galileo; Salusbury, Thomas.
Mathematical Collections and Translations.
London: William Leybourn, 1661.
First edition of Thomas Salusbury’s Mathematical Collections and Translations. Salusbury compiled and translated important writings by Archimedes, Descartes, Galileo, Kepler, Tartaglia, Torricelli into English for the first time, greatly influencing the English-speaking world. This volume contains the first English translation of Galileo’s 1632 The Dialogue Concerning the Two Chief World Systems (Dialogo sopra i due massimi sistemi del mondo). Also included is Galileo’s 1615 letter to the Grand Duchess Christina of Tuscany, published in 1636 as Nov-antiqua sanctissimorum patrum et probatorum theologorum doctrina, which asserted the independence of science from religious authority. This short but important Epistle to the Grand Dutchesse Mother concerning the Authority of Holy Scripture in Philosophical Controversies (known today as the Letter to Christina), was only the second work of Galileo’s to be published in England. It preceded the Latin edition, published in London by Thomas Dicas, by two years and remained the only vernacular translation for two centuries. Apart from the two works by Galileo, Salusbury included other translations from Italian and Latin in this volume of his Collections, such as Johannes Kepler’s and Didacus a Stunica’s “Reconcilings of Scripture Texts,” and Foscarinus’ Epistle to Father Fantonus reconciling the Authority of Scripture. Folio, bound in full calf, with 4 engraved plates. Lacking the half-title, contents leaf, fly-title to The System of the World, and the errata leaf found at the end of the first part in some copies. 2 parts in one volume. In very good condition with the contents showing some light browning in the upper margins. First editions are exceptionally rare.
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Rare First Edition of Edmond Halley's Astronomical Tables with Precepts both in English and Latin for Computing the Places of the Sun, Moon, Planets, and Comets
Halley, Edmond.
Astronomical Tables with Precepts both in English and Latin for Computing the Places of the Sun, Moon, Planets, and Comets.
London: Printed for William Innys, 1752.
First edition in English of Halley’s classic work. Quarto, bound in contemporary full calf, gilt titles to the spine, gilt embossed stamp of The Society of Writers to the Signet on the front and rear panel, copper-engraved frontispiece portrait. Edited by John Bevis. In very good condition with light rubbing and wear.
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"If I loved you less, I might be able to talk about it more": THE COMPLETE WORKS OF JANE AUSTEN; Finely Bound
Austen, Jane.
The Works of Jane Austen (Pride and Prejudice, Sense and Sensibility, Northanger Abbey, Persuasion, Mansfield Park, and Emma).
London: Robert Riviere & Sons, c. 1920.
The works of Jane Austen, all six novels of Austen, bound in five volumes. Octavo, bound in three quarters leather, gilt titles and tooling to the spine, raised bands, marbled endpapers, illustrated colored frontispieces, half-titles. Contains Pride and Prejudice, Sense and Sensibility, Northanger Abbey, Persuasion, Mansfield Park, and Emma. In near fine condition. A very nice set.
Price: $1,750.00
