Wednesday 24 November 2010

The Time Machine Part IV

A comment on the first post in this series leads to a further look at the 1931 Random House edition of The Time Machine.

Published in 1931 as a limited edition of 1200 for $12.50 (when hardcovers sold for $2.00), the Random House edition has a new preface by Wells. The AIGA web site gives the design details for the book. Lloyd Currey in his Science Fiction and Fantasy Authors (Boston: G.K. Hall, 1979) says the limited edition was issued in unprinted tissue paper DJ and paper slipcase. There are also copies without the limitation statement on page [88]. My copy is the latter one. This also came with a slipcase but I don't know if it is different from the limited edition's slipcase.

A division of Random House, The Modern Library, published a trade paperback edition in 2002 that reproduces the 1931 edition.

Below is the 1931 edition's front cover, slipcase and the four colour plates plus the Modern Library edition.








2 comments:

  1. Thank you so much! This certainly answers some of my questions. I've always thought it was a beautiful book and I knew there was something special about it. Is your book numbered?

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  2. Thanks. Glad it helped.

    No the book isn't numbered.

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