Lot 258
WELLS, H.G. The Time Machine, an Invention. New York: Henry Holt, 1895.
Sale 855 - Literature from a Private New Orleans Collection
Mar 19, 2021 10:00AM CT
Online / Chicago
Estimate
$3,000 - $4,000

Sold for $6,250

Sold prices are inclusive of Buyer’s Premium
Lot Description
WELLS, H.G. The Time Machine, an Invention. New York: Henry Holt, 1895.

12mo. Half-title; frontispiece illustration; 6pp. publisher's advertisements at end. (Short marginal tear to half-title.) Original publisher's tan buckram stamped in purple (some staining to edges). Provenance: Genevieve C. Cobb (signature); Larry McMurtry (b. 1936), American Novelist (bookplate, his sale, Heritage, 9 April 2015). 

FIRST AMERICAN EDITION, FIRST ISSUE, with the author's name misprinted "H. S. Wells" on title-page. CURREY'S BINDING A in tan buckram, rather than the red cloth found in later issues. The American edition preceded the English edition by 2 weeks.

"The Time Machine might be considered the first work of modern science-fiction, and it is still the classic statement of an important subgenre. A remarkable work, and necessary reading" (Bleiler, Science Fiction 2325). Currey p.524.

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