Robert Crome
The Crack of Doom
Digby, Long and Co., London: 1895
- $489
London, Digby, Long and Co., 1895. First Edition. First Impression. Hardback. A very good copy. One of the earliest science fiction novels examining nuclear war. "this novel of a nuclear device to shake civilization marks the first occurrence of a theme which would dominate the next century." [Clute, SFE, p81] "historically very significant for its clear fictional statement of matter and energy." [Bleiler, Early Years, p506]. Some sunning to the spine and a little softening to the spine tips and corners. Owner's inscription in pencil, and a little foxing. 8pp ads to the rear dated May 1895. [11081, Hyraxia Books].
More from Hyraxia Books
The New Adam
London, Stanley Paul, 1926. First Edition. First Impression. Hardback. A very good copy. In the rare dustjacket. A Superman novel, who ends up destroying himself with a force field he invented. Presumed first state jacket, though there's no printed price so it's hard to tell. A few chips and some lengthy closed tears, along with some general handling wear. The book's faded to the spine suggesting a marriage. Translated from the French by P.O. Crowhurst [11038, Hyraxia Books].The Dispossessed: An Ambiguous Utopia
New York, Harper & Row, 1974. First Edition. First Impression. Hardback. A near fine copy. Inscribed by the author 'To Alex / Ursula K Le Guin / 11 Xi 85'. The books additionally bears the ownership signature of Erland Anderson. Anderson was a poet and the husband of editor Susan Anderson, who with Vonda McIntyre, edited the anthology Beyond Equality. Winner of both the Hugo and the Nebula. An important text in the realm of Utopian fiction and Feminist SF - to which the book fits neither template happily. Spine a touch sunned, a slight reading lean, light bumping to the tips and some dustiness to the top of the block. Cover art by Fred Winkowski [11131, Hyraxia Books].Metropolis
London, Hutchinson, nd [1927]. Second Edition. First Impression. Hardback. A good copy. There doesn't seem to be a definitive answer to whether the Hutchinson edition precedes, or the Reader's Library, but the consensus seems to be that this is the second edition. Lacking the jacket. Three stills from the film included, as issued. Some wear to the spine, particularly at the top. A little sunning to the spine, [11128, Hyraxia Books]. nd [1927]Love is a Spirit
New York, Harper & Brothers, 1896. First Edition. First Impression. Hardback. A very good copy. ".takes place largely on the spiritual plain, worth reading merely to get a good picture of [Hawthorne's] bizarre religious beliefs that impact to one degree or another (but usually without the cloying parts) most of what he wrote." [alt.books.ghostfiction] Uncommon. In Spectrum [II:p58]. Some rubbing to the boards and a mottling, spine tips bumped. Internally neat. [11082, Hyraxia Books].Prince Ricardo of Pantouflia Being The Adventures of Prince Prigio’s Son
London, J.W. Arrowsmith & Simpkin, Marshall and Co., nd [1893]. Limited Edition. Hardback. A very good copy. Fairy tales set in Lang's own secondary world. Deluxe edition, this being number six. Spine scratched and heavily worn to the spine, a little scuffing here and there. Collector's plate of Charles B. Foote to the front pastedown. Endpapers foxed. Illustrations by Gordon Browne [11043, Hyraxia Books]. nd [1893]The Time Wanderers
New York, Richardson & Steirman, 1986. First Edition. First Impression. Hardback. A very good copy. First English-language translation, published the previous year in Russian. Marred only really by some paste markings to the flaps and rear pastedown and endpaper - maybe from a jacket protector. Otherwise, a nice copy. [11061, Hyraxia Books].The Three Days of Terror
London, John Long, 1901. First Edition. First Impression. Hardback. A good copy. Britain gets destroyed by terrorists. 8pp catalogue to the rear. A few marks to the cloth, and bumps to the spine tips. Owner's name to the endpaper. Paper a little tanned. [11035, Hyraxia Books].Fairy Tales and Romances
London, Henry G. Bohn, nd [1849]. First Edition. First Impression. Hardback. A very good copy. Uncommon in the original binding. Containing: The Four Facardins, Zeneyda (incomplete; Hamilton never finished it), The History of the Mayflower, The Ram, and The Enchanter Faustus. Translated By M. Lewis, H. T. Ryde, And C. Kenney from the French (Hamilton wrote them in the mid-18th Century). 7pp ads to the front, 7pp ads to the rear. Cloth a touch rubbed and worn, Collector's plate to the front pastedown, covering some of the ads. A little dusty. [11130, Hyraxia Books]. nd [1849]The Son of a Star; A Romance of the Second Century
London, Longmans, Green & Co., 1888. First Edition. First Impression. Hardback. A very good copy. Three volumes. Inscribed to 'Lady Jenner' by the author to half-title. Our protagonists encounter a Roman Utopia by means of submarine. Cloth in decent shape, a little bumped to the tips. A little light foxing to the endpapers. Volume one a little pulled at the endpaper, with a little splitting - likely replaced. [11036, Hyraxia Books].Island of the Burning Damned [Night of the Big Heat] Original Screenplay
London, Planet Film Productions, nd [c1967]. Manuscript. Unbound. Near fine. Pip Baker's copy. Baker was one of three screenwriters associated with the adaptation of Lymington's 1959 science fiction novel. Tall untitled red wrappers with a die=cut title window. Noted as final shooting script. 104pp, rectos only. Mimeograph duplication. Brad bound. Directed by Terence Fisher starring Peter Cushing and Christopher Lee. [11047, Hyraxia Books]. nd [c1967]The Devil Upon Crutches in England, or Night Scenes in London. A Satirical Work. Written upon the Plan of the celebrated Diable Boiteux of Monsieur Le Sage.
London, Philip Hodges, 1756. SECOND Edition. First Impression. Hardback. A fine copy. Based on Alain-Rene Lesage's comic novel, 'The Devil Upon Two Sticks' (1707), set in Madrid (compared to the current version set in London. Later full calf, with original endpapers. Internally very nice. Owner's plate to the front pastedown. 66pp. Some scuffing to the lower board. [11084, Hyraxia Books].Tourmalin’s Time Cheques
New York, D. Appleton & Co., 1891. First Edition. First Impression. Hardback. A very good copy. Some bumping to the spine tips and corners, a spine lean, two collector's plates to the fron pastedown. Some pulling to the hinges and a creasing to the front endpaper. [11106, Hyraxia Books].The Death Watch – A Script
Edgar Wallace No Place, No Publisher, No Date [c1930]. Manuscript. Unbound. Very good condition. Seemingly a haunted house mystery; a recently murdered gangster has $2m stashed in an old house. 119pp, typed, single-sided. Page two absent. A little edge wear and toning, but largely in nice shape. Filmed in 1933 as Before Dawn, with Wallace's script being adapted by Garrett Ford. [11040, Hyraxia Books]. No Date [c1930]- $620
- $620
Vignettes
G.E. [Geraldine Emma] Hodgson London, T. Fisher Unwin, 1894. First Edition. First Impression. Paperback. A near fine copy. Quite uncommon. Dedicated to Lucifer, apparently. So there's that. Ex Tenebris Lux. Hodgson was not only a prolific writer but a suffragist and educator, though little remembered now. Collects six short pieces: The Reformer, Sarah Ann, Underground Workers, Dorothy, Making the Empire, and Among the Sand Dunes. In excellent shape with a little creasing to the spine, as printed, but also a little worn there too. One gathering a little pulled. Otherwise just fairly trivial edge wear. [11133, Hyraxia Books].- $261
- $261
Typed Letter Signed [TLS] to Claudia Bush with Manuscript Postscript
Philip K. Dick Fullerton(?), California, No Publisher, 1975. . Unbound. A three-page (3pp) typed letter signed. A fantastic letter. Dated July 24th 1974. The letter is signed by PKD with six corrections and a postscript all in the author's hand. Addressed to Claudia Bush. Bush commenced her dialogue with PKD whilst writing her thesis on him for her MA at Idaho State University. The thesis was published as "The Splintered Shards: Reality and Illusion in the Novels of Philip K. Dick." Much of the Bush correspondence is held in the Willis E. McNelly collection at California State University Fullerton; they are scarce in commerce. This letter is written in the aftermath of his VALIS visions of 1974, which happened shortly after a wisdom tooth operation. Dick received a home delivery of opioids from a woman wearing a Christian Ichthys necklace. The symbol emitted a pink beam of light which was the catalyst for months of visionary experiences, including Dick’s belief that his mind had been invaded by a benign but separate consciousness. The period of PKD's visions began in February or March of 1974, and continued for anywhere between two and 12 months. In What if Our World is Their Heaven, Dick asserts that this separate consciousness was present “for one year. From February 1974 to February 1975” (p. 149). The present letter discusses the dream PKD had, recounted in vivid detail, regarding the fork and spaghetti / trident and yarn. After recounting the events PKD interprets it using Greek Mythology. The thread PKD attributes to Ariadne, which ties into the next section regarding a letter from Philip Jose Farmer that arrives the subsequent morning ("The morning after I had this dream." with PKD having underlined the word after) wherein Farmer is suggesting a meta-physicial way the PKD can retrieve his daughter from his ex-wife, "You're in the labyrinth, but your Ariadne's thread is your imagination (Farmer)." The letter continues to talk about his earlier dream regarding double-domed men with golden skin, and in particular a cyclops figure (again tying into the Greeks), about whom he concludes only appeared to him in a dream, not reality (phew). PKD then goes on to recount how he wondered if these people in his dream were from outer space, but, alas, concludes they are merely ancient Greeks. The letter then moves onto PKD's analysis of a couplet from the previous dream "you have to put your slippers on / To walk toward the dream." PKD assigns this to not being scared, which is the later theme of the letter, and quite sweet. We then wind down the letter with another dream recounting, this time of Athena, Medusa or Demeter. All in all a fascinating insight into PKD's mind and psyche at the time following the VALIS encounter. A wonderful letter. [11073, Hyraxia Books].- $6,200
- $6,200
He Who Sees
London, Harrap, 1935. First Edition. First Impression. Hardback. A very good copy. Together with a copy of the proof. Involving seeing the future by means of a Buddhist manuscript. A few short tears and small chips to the jacket, nice overall though. A little bumping to the spine tips and a gift inscription. Proof has some loss to the spine, a little foxing and general handling wear. Cover art by Nina Miller Davidson [11037, Hyraxia Books].The Hermetic Legislature: A Homage to Bruno Schulz
Bucharest, Ex Occidente Press, 2012. Limited Edition. Hardback. A very good copy. Signed by Ghetu. One of 122 copies. This copy out of series [it came from the collection of contributor Rhys Hughes] Some bumping to the spine tips. [11062, Hyraxia Books].The Puppet Masters
Robert A. Heinlein [Adapted by Ted Elliot, David S. Goyer and Terry Rossio] Burbank, CA, Buena Vista Pictures, 1993. Manuscript. Unbound. Near fine condition. 118 leaves (116 numbered pages), Xerographc reproduction, rectos only. Yellow untitled wrappers. Rosio and Elliot were the original writers with Goyer revising it. Based on the 1951 novel wherein mind-controlling aliens (slugs) take humans as hosts. Donald Sutherland starred. A handful of manuscript annotations. [11050, Hyraxia Books].- $294
- $294
The Novel, Sensational, Emotional, Farcical, Musical, Melo-Dramatical, and Substantial Burlesque of Rip Van Winkle, or, Some Nambulistic Knickerbocker
John Strachan & Henry Dave Newcastle, Privately Printed, 1866. First Edition. First Impression. Paperback. A good copy. Lacking any wrappers, starting with a title page. Ending with the final page of text. Some staining and tanning to the leaves. Feint stamp, some staining to the lower edge. 44p. [11083, Hyraxia Books].- $98
- $98
Kowa The Mysterious
Charles Foley London, Everett & Co., 1909. First Edition. First Impression. Hardback. A very good copy. A Yellow Peril thriller, where we find a city of Chinese inhabitants beneath an American city. Pretty straightforward racism. Translated by William Frederick Harvey. A little knocking to the board edges and corners. Trivial foxing to the top edge, some offsetting to the endpapers. [11039, Hyraxia Books].- $196
- $196
Typed Letter Signed [TLS] to Claudia Bush
Philip K. Dick Fullerton(?), California, No Publisher, 1975. . Unbound. A three-page (3pp) typed letter signed. A fantastic letter. Dated February 16th 1975. The letter is signed by PKD with nine amendments in the author's hand. Addressed to Claudia Bush. Bush commenced her dialogue with PKD whilst writing her thesis on him for her MA at Idaho State University. The thesis was published as "The Splintered Shards: Reality and Illusion in the Novels of Philip K. Dick." Much of the Bush correspondence is held in the Willis E. McNelly collection at California State University Fullerton; they are scarce in commerce. This letter is written in the aftermath of his VALIS visions of 1974, which happened shortly after a wisdom tooth operation. Dick received a home delivery of opioids from a woman wearing a Christian Ichthys necklace. The symbol emitted a pink beam of light which was the catalyst for months of visionary experiences, including Dick’s belief that his mind had been invaded by a benign but separate consciousness. The period of PKD's visions began in February or March of 1974, and continued for anywhere between two and 12 months. In What if Our World is Their Heaven, Dick asserts that this separate consciousness was present “for one year. From February 1974 to February 1975” (p. 149). The present letter commences with a page of PKD warning Bush not to be too free with her ideas, for fear of plagiarism; having been the victim himself, with a Ubik adaptation. The letter continues with a discussion of a nine page treatment for a novel PKD was working on called To Scare the Dead, which he sends to Bush (not included in this offering). The letter than meanders, in PKD's usual style, to a discussion of Jesus as Zeus as Zagreus followed by a short discussion of the transition from paganism to Christianity. The letter gets interesting further still with a discussion of the mysterious word 'Albemuth' (later appearing in the title of one of his works). Dick claims the word came to him in a dream, and then continues to deconstruct the word itself attributing an interpretation, meaning and even the cryptology of the world. A fascinating insight into PKD's mind. Small liquid stain to the edges, but it doesn't detract. [11094, Hyraxia Books].- $4,568
- $4,568
The Crack of Doom: https://rarebookinsider.com/rare-books/the-crack-of-doom/