The First Men in the Moon
H.G. Wells. Indianapolis, Bowen-Merrill, 1901.

Illustrated by E. Herring with 12 plates. (8vo) 18.5x12 cm. (7¼x4½”), original dark blue cloth, spine gilt-lettered and front cover illustration in gilt; dust jacket. First Edition, second state binding.

Exceptionally rare first edition in dust jacket. A milestone in modern science fiction. The Bowen-Merrill edition preceded the London edition by about one month. This is the Currey second state binding with “Bobbs Merrill” on the spine.

Bleiler comments, “After ‘The First Men in the Moon’, Wells’s science fiction novels are never quite the same” and that “the last and most complex [of Wells’s early scientific romances] is ‘The First Men in the Moon’. The two first men, Bedford and Cavor are well-contrasted, the civilization of the Selenites is excellent both as horror and satire; and the novel abounds with wonderful passages of unforced description at which Wells is unrivaled. This lovely book also contains much of Wells’s delightful humor; it has kept the joints of his discourse oiled to this day”.