Last and First Men a Story of the Near and Far Future, First Edition (21 results)

Hardcover. Condition: Good. No Jacket. First American Edition. Xvi, 371 Pp + 8 Pp Catalog At Rear. Yellow Cloth, Spine Lettered In Brown. First American Edition, Secondary Binding State. Worn, Tiny Frays At Corners, With 2" Clossd Split Along Top Of Rear Spine Edge. No Marks.

Hardcover. Condition: Very Good. 1st Edition. Dark blue cloth binding. Some foxing to extremeties and half-title and title page.

Blue Cloth. Condition: Very Good +. No Jacket. First Edition, First Issue. Xi, 355 Pp + 8 Pp Catalog At Rear. First Edition, An Attractive, Bright Very Good + Copy With The First State Of The 8 Pages Of Ads At The Rear, Dated 6/30. Previous Owners Name (Spencer) In Pencil With 11/17/30 Date On First Front Free Endpaper.

Small octavo, pictorial wrappers. Third (first paperback) edition, first impression. Pelican Books A3. "LAST AND FIRST MEN and STAR MAKER soar far beyond the accepted limits of science fiction . Stapledon is the great classical example, the cold pitch of perfection as he turns scientific concepts into vast ontological epic prose poems, the ultimate SF writer." - Aldiss, Trillion Year Spree: The History of Science Fiction, p. 198. Satty and Smith A3.3.1. This paperback was issued with a dust jacket that is not present. Wrapper just a bit rubbed, mild tanning to text paper, a nearly fine copy. (#173427).

8vo. pp. xi, 355. cloth (edges rubbed with some fraying, previous owner's signature on front free endpaper). First Edition.

Hardcover. Condition: Very Good. No Jacket. 1st Edition. FIRST EDITION 1930, TEXT UNMARKED, SMALL AMOUNT OF FOXING, DARK BLUE BOARDS WITH GILT LETTERING ON SPINE, HINGES TIGHT BOARDS UNDAMAGED.

Hardcover. Condition: Very Good. 1st edn. ~Original blue cloth gilt, unfaded. No dustwrapper. Old bookplate to inside front board. Page edges slightly toned. ~Robust packaging. Overseas tracking available on request. Size: xii, 355pp. Binding sound, text unmarked.

Hardcover. First Edition, First Impression. 5 x 7.5in. xi. 355pp. 8pp., ads. Publisher's cloth boards. FAIR only in Fine/As New facsimile dust jacket. The book itself shows the edges shelf worn, slight furrowing of the cloth, a split down the cloth at the hinges, front and back hinge repaired, former owner name at the front endpaper, endpapers slightly toned, otherwise the binding is strong and the text is clean and unmarked. The facsimile dust jacket is flawless. As pictured.

Hardcover. Condition: Very Good. No Jacket. 1st Edition. Hardback 1st ed 1st printing. xi, 355 pp no ads. Bound in blue cloth with gilt titles the book is in very good condition. There is a small nick on the spine and a small name on the front end paper.

Hardcover. Condition: Near Fine. No Jacket. First edition. A sharp, near fine copy. No signatures, no bookplates. First issue with ads date 630.

Hardcover. Condition: Very Good. No Jacket. 1st Edition. 355pp + xi prelims. Dark blue cloth covered boards with gilt lettering on spine. Shelf wear to cloth at top and tail of spine. Slight wear to front spine hinge and corners. Untrimmed and light toning to fore edge and lower page edges. Spotting to title and contents pages. Slight crease to corner of rear past down. Tightly bound with five Time Scales Diagrams in place. No inscriptions.

Hardcover. Condition: Very Good. 1st Edition. 1st Ed. xi + 355pp. + 8pp. publ. publishers catalogue dated June 1930. With the ownership inscription of D.M. Sommerville 1931, from the library of Jack Meadows, some light browning, original bright gilt lettered cloth, sl. faded spine bumped. The relative success of the above work prompted Stapledon to become a full-time writer. He wrote a sequel, Last Men in London.

HARDCOVER. Condition: Fine. Dust Jacket Condition: Good+. 1st American edition. First American Edition, "First Published in America 1931" to copyright. 371pp, small octavo in beige/tan cloth. boards remain clean, faintest wear to fore-edge corner tips yet still sharp, tight binding, interior clean throughout, Fine. dj covers lightly worn yet clean, 0.5"x1" chip just above 'Last' and 0.5" chip above 'and' at top front edge, minor chipping to dj spine ends and top rear, mild wear along bottom 1" of rear cover, dj price-clipped, in mylar cover, Good+. 1st American Edition.

8vo., First Edition; navy cloth, boards framed in blind, gilt back, fore-edge faintly spotted else a near fine copy. With personal bookplate on front paste-down. Without advertisements at end. Remarkably bright, crisp copy of a sci-fi classic; the work which launched Stapledon as a full-time author. VERY SCARCE IN THIS CONDITION.

Cloth. Condition: Near Fine. None (illustrator). First edition. An exceptionally lovely first edition of Olaf Stapledon' hugely influential science fiction novel, described by H. P. Lovecraft as a 'dizzying' and 'marvellous piece of imagination' A wonderful first edition of British philosopher Olaf Stapledon's important 1930 science fiction novel. The first issue of this work, with the eight page publisher's catalogue date '630' to the final leaf.Stapledon's work of speculative fiction provides a history of mankind from the present day to two billion years in the future, following a repetitive cycle in which numerous civilisations rise from and descending back into savagery over millions of years, before human life ultimately ends.With the inscription of Sydney Stonehaven to the front pastedown, dated 1931.This novel has been specifically referred to by famed literary figures including Brian Aldiss, C. S. Lewis, H. G. Wells and H. P Lovecraft, with Arthur C. Clarke stating 'no other book had a greater influence on my life'. In the publisher's original cloth binding. Externally, excellent, with shelf wear to back strip head and tail. Contemporary inscription to front free endpaper. Internally, firmly bound. Light spotting to publisher's advertisements, with pages otherwise clean and bright. Near Fine. book.

HARDCOVER. Condition: NEAR FINE IN VERY GOOD+ D.J. FIRST EDITION. CURREY'S "A" BINDING ISSUE IN PURPLE CLOTH WITH "JONATHAN CAPE/ HARRISON SMITH" ON THE SPINE PUBLISHER'S ORIGINAL PURPLE CLOTH COVERED BOARDS WITH GILT SPINE TITLES, AND TOP EDGE STAINED GREY. OTHER THAN A SLIGHT COLOR-FADE TO THE SPINE THE BOOK IS FINE. D.J. HAS A COUPLE OF SHALLOW CHIPS AT THE TOP OF THE HAROLD HAWKINS ILLUSTRATED REMARKABLE FRONT PANEL, SOME MODERATE TONING TO THE REAR PANEL AND SOME MODEST SUUNNING TO THE SPINE PANEL WHICH HAS SOME SHALLOW CHIPPING AT THE TOP AND THE BOTTOM PARTIALY AFFECTING THE TITLE AND PUBLISHER NAME, BOTH SET VERY NEAR THE EDGES OF THE SPINE, AND NOT PRICE-CLIPPED. A VERY NICE COPY OF THE BOOK AND D.J. THE D.J. MUCH NICER THAN USUALLY ENCOUNTERED.

Hardcover. Condition: Very Good. Dust Jacket Condition: Very Good. First edition. Very good or better book in jacket. First issue with ads at rear date marked 630. Dust jacket with minor wear to spine ends, brief tear touching on the AS of "LAST" closed neatly in protective mylar. A nice copy of a classic.

Octavo, pp. [i-iv] v-xi [xii] 1-355 [356: printer's imprint] + 8-page publisher's catalogue dated "630" at bottom of page 8 inserted at rear, original dark blue cloth, front panel stamped in blind, spine panel stamped in gold. First edition, first impression. Variant with 8-page publisher's catalogue dated "630" inserted at rear. Published 23 October 1930. 2036 copies printed. The author's first novel, "one of the most remarkable imaginative works in the field of futuristic fiction: an account of human development during the next hundreds of millions of years." - Clarke, Tale of the Future (1978), p. 58. "On his own terms, Stapledon is unequaled, and he certainly has been one of the major influences on contemporary science fiction." - Survey of Science Fiction Literature III, pp. 1140-43. "LAST AND FIRST MEN and STAR MAKER soar far beyond the accepted limits of science fiction. Stapledon is the great classical example, the cold pitch of perfection as he turns scientific concepts into vast ontological epic prose poems, the ultimate SF writer." - Aldiss, Trillion Year Spree: The History of Science Fiction, p. 198. Stapledon's "influence, both direct and indirect, on the development of many concepts which now permeate genre SF is probably second only to that of H. G. Wells." - Clute and Nicholls (eds), The Encyclopedia of Science Fiction (1993), pp. 1151-53. Aldiss, Trillion Year Spree: The History of Science Fiction, p. 198. Anatomy of Wonder (1976) 3-56; (1981) 2-98; (1987) 2-109; (1995) 2-119; and (2004) II-1069. Bleiler, Science-Fiction: The Early Years 2086. Clareson, Science Fiction in America, 1870s-1930s 718. Clarke, Tale of the Future (1978), p. 58. Clute and Nicholls (eds), The Encyclopedia of Science Fiction (1993), pp. 1151-52. Gerber, Utopian Fantasy (1973), p. 151. Locke, A Spectrum of Fantasy, pp. 204-05. Sargent, British and American Utopian Literature, 1516-1985, p. 190. Stableford, Scientific Romance in Britain 1890-1950, pp. 200-03. Survey of Science Fiction Literature III, pp. 1140-43. In 333. Bleiler (1978), p. 185. Reginald 13553. Satty and Smith A3.1.1. A fine, bright copy in near fine, bright yellow-orange printed dust jacket with light shelf wear at upper spine end and a circular closed tear at center of spine panel repaired internally with tape which is no longer present but which has left tape stains on the inner surface and mild discoloration on the outer surface. Still a very nice above average copy of an influential book which is quite scarce in jacket. (#134275).

Octavo, pp. [i-iv] v [vi] vii-ix [x] xi [xii] xiii-xvi 1-371 [372: blank], original purple cloth, all panels ruled in blind, spine panel stamped in gold, top edge stained black, fore and bottom edges rough trimmed. First U.S. edition, first binding. "The author's first work of fiction, inaugurating those anatomies of the future that blend romance and philosophy, spectacle and prophecy, cosmological in scope, teleological in tone, for which the term 'novel' is wholly misleading. With its telescopic focus, the Stapledonian romance eschews characters and dialogue, replacing them with Man and Evolution. The half-century to come, as predicted by the author in his foreword, would indeed be critical, coinciding with the high watermark of those social engineering schemes that seemed so congruent with the kind of utopian visions emblazoned here." - Robert Eldridge. ". one of the most remarkable imaginative works in the field of futuristic fiction: an account of human development during the next hundreds of millions of years." - Clarke, Tale of the Future (1978), p. 58. "On his own terms, Stapledon is unequaled, and he certainly has been one of the major influences on contemporary science fiction." - Survey of Science Fiction Literature III, pp. 1140-43. "LAST AND FIRST MEN and STAR MAKER soar far beyond the accepted limits of science fiction . Stapledon is the great classical example, the cold pitch of perfection as he turns scientific concepts into vast ontological epic prose poems, the ultimate SF writer." - Aldiss, Trillion Year Spree: The History of Science Fiction, p. 198. Stapledon's "influence, both direct and indirect, on the development of many concepts which now permeate genre SF is probably second only to that of H. G. Wells." - Clute and Nicholls (eds), The Encyclopedia of Science Fiction (1993), pp. 1151-53. Aldiss, Trillion Year Spree: The History of Science Fiction, p. 198. Anatomy of Wonder (1976) 3-56; (1981) 2-98; (1987) 2-109; (1995) 2-119; and (2004) II-1069. Bleiler, Science-Fiction: The Early Years 2086. Clareson, Science Fiction in America, 1870s-1930s 718. Clarke, Tale of the Future (1978), p. 58. Clute and Nicholls (eds), The Encyclopedia of Science Fiction (1993), pp. 1151-52. Gerber, Utopian Fantasy (1973), p. 151. Locke, A Spectrum of Fantasy, pp. 204-05. Sargent, British and American Utopian Literature, 1516-1985, p. 190. Stableford, Scientific Romance in Britain 1890-1950, pp. 200-03. Survey of Science Fiction Literature III, pp. 1140-43. In 333. Bleiler (1978), p. 185. Reginald 13553. Satty and Smith A3.2.1. Spine panel sunned, a very good copy. Bookplate of Kenneth Sylvan Guthrie dated 5-12 July 1931 affixed to the front free endpaper and extensive underlining and annotations in Guthrie's hand throughout the text, especially the latter half of the book. Guthrie (1871-1940), American mystic, classical scholar, popularizer of philosophy and occult teachings, publisher, and editor and publisher of GOOD NEWS FOR ALL, a long-running bimonthly inspirational magazine, wrote and self-published A ROMANCE OF TWO CENTURIES: A TALE OF THE YEAR 2025 (1919), a major early twentieth century American utopian novel that presented a very detailed blueprint of the future. An interesting association copy. Accompanied by a signed handwritten 12-line letter (ALs) from Stapledon to "Dear Sir" [i.e. Kenneth Sylvan Guthrie], dated 31 August 1931, answering Gutherie's letter of 16 July. "It is very gratifying that your Forum has discussed my book [LAST AND FIRST MEN], and found it helpful to some extent in spite of its omissions. I was interested to see the June number of your 'Good News for All,' and I feel that though there are many differences between our points of view, we are also working in the same direction in many respects." (#130811).

Octavo, pp. [i-iv] v [vi] vii-ix [x] xi [xii] xiii-xvi 1-371 [372: blank], original purple cloth, all panels ruled in blind, spine panel stamped in gold, top edge stained black, fore and bottom edges rough trimmed. First U.S. edition, first binding. "The author's first work of fiction, inaugurating those anatomies of the future that blend romance and philosophy, spectacle and prophecy, cosmological in scope, teleological in tone, for which the term 'novel' is wholly misleading. With its telescopic focus, the Stapledonian romance eschews characters and dialogue, replacing them with Man and Evolution. The half-century to come, as predicted by the author in his foreword, would indeed be critical, coinciding with the high watermark of those social engineering schemes that seemed so congruent with the kind of utopian visions emblazoned here." - Robert Eldridge. ". one of the most remarkable imaginative works in the field of futuristic fiction: an account of human development during the next hundreds of millions of years." - Clarke, Tale of the Future (1978), p. 58. "On his own terms, Stapledon is unequaled, and he certainly has been one of the major influences on contemporary science fiction." - Survey of Science Fiction Literature III, pp. 1140-43. "LAST AND FIRST MEN and STAR MAKER soar far beyond the accepted limits of science fiction. Stapledon is the great classical example, the cold pitch of perfection as he turns scientific concepts into vast ontological epic prose poems, the ultimate SF writer." - Aldiss, Trillion Year Spree: The History of Science Fiction, p. 198. Stapledon's "influence, both direct and indirect, on the development of many concepts which now permeate genre SF is probably second only to that of H. G. Wells." - Clute and Nicholls (eds), The Encyclopedia of Science Fiction (1993), pp. 1151-53. Aldiss, Trillion Year Spree: The History of Science Fiction, p. 198. Anatomy of Wonder (1976) 3-56; (1981) 2-98; (1987) 2-109; (1995) 2-119; and (2004) II-1069. Bleiler, Science-Fiction: The Early Years 2086. Clareson, Science Fiction in America, 1870s-1930s 718. Clarke, Tale of the Future (1978), p. 58. Clute and Nicholls (eds), The Encyclopedia of Science Fiction (1993), pp. 1151-52. Gerber, Utopian Fantasy (1973), p. 151. Locke, A Spectrum of Fantasy, pp. 204-05. Sargent, British and American Utopian Literature, 1516-1985, p. 190. Stableford, Scientific Romance in Britain 1890-1950, pp. 200-03. Survey of Science Fiction Literature III, pp. 1140-43. In 333. Bleiler (1978), p. 185. Reginald 13553. Satty and Smith A3.2.1. Private owner's bookplate affixed to front paste-down. A fine copy in fine pictorial dust jacket (designed by Arthur Hawkins). A stunning copy of a very handsome book. (#114650).

First edition. Octavo, pp. [i-iv] v-xi [xii] 1-355 [356: printer's imprint], original dark blue cloth, front panel stamped in blind, spine panel stamped in gold. Laid into this copy are two brief notes signed by Stapledon, one dated 1929 and one dated 1930, a brief signed telegram, newspaper tear sheet with a long review for the book from John O London's Weekly, dated 15 November 1930 and a small newspaper clipping with the author's obituary. Variant without publisher's catalogue inserted at rear. Published 23 October 1930. 2036 copies printed. The author's first novel, "one of the most remarkable imaginative works in the field of futuristic fiction: an account of human development during the next hundreds of millions of years." - Clarke, Tale of the Future (1978), p. 58. "On his own terms, Stapledon is unequaled, and he certainly has been one of the major influences on contemporary science fiction." - Survey of Science Fiction Literature III, pp. 1140-43. "LAST AND FIRST MEN and STAR MAKER soar far beyond the accepted limits of science fiction. Stapledon is the great classical example, the cold pitch of perfection as he turns scientific concepts into vast ontological epic prose poems, the ultimate SF writer." - Aldiss, Trillion Year Spree: The History of Science Fiction, p. 198. Stapledon's "influence, both direct and indirect, on the development of many concepts which now permeate genre SF is probably second only to that of H. G. Wells." - Clute and Nicholls (eds), The Encyclopedia of Science Fiction (1993), pp. 1151-53. [Reference: Aldiss, Trillion Year Spree: The History of Science Fiction, p. 198. Anatomy of Wonder (1976) 3-56; (1981) 2-98; (1987) 2-109; and (1995) 2-119. Bleiler, Science-Fiction: The Early Years 2086. Clareson, Science Fiction in America, 1870s-1930s 718. Clarke, Tale of the Future (1978), p. 58. Clute and Nicholls (eds), The Encyclopedia of Science Fiction (1993), pp. 1151-52. Gerber, Utopian Fantasy (1973), p. 151. Locke, A Spectrum of Fantasy, pp. 204-05. Stableford, Scientific Romance in Britain 1890-1950, pp. 200-03. Survey of Science Fiction Literature III, pp. 1140-43. In 333. Bleiler (1978), p. 185. Reginald 13553. Satty and Smith A3.1.1]. A little darkening to end papers, mild foxing to page edges and to early and late leaves, a nearly fine copy in a good to very good dust jacket, light wear with minor loss at corner tips, two tiny chips at upper spine panel, slight color fade to spine panel, large chip along upper rear panel 70 mm long x 15 mm deep, verso of head of spine and upper corner fold have brown stains from tape (no longer present) with some bleed through at the corners. (28417).