"THIS WAS THE BOOK THAT ESTABLISHED HIS REPUTATION": FIRST EDITION OF THE MARTIAN CHRONICLES, SIGNED BY RAY BRADBURY

BRADBURY, Ray. The Martian Chronicles. Garden City: Doubleday, 1950. Octavo, original light green cloth, original dust jacket. Housed in a custom clamshell box. $6800.

First edition of this scarce science fiction classic, Bradbury’s second book, signed by him and dated October 21, 1980.

Bradbury's first novel and second book, "which could be regarded as an episodic novel, made Bradbury's reputation… Its closely interwoven stories, linked by recurrent images and themes, tell of the repeated attempts by humans to colonize Mars… All the Bradbury themes that were later to be repeated find their earliest shapes here" (Clute & Nicholls, 151). "This was the book that established Bradbury's reputation… He put far more emphasis on style and mood than he did on technical detail or scientific plausibility… His reward was a stunning popular and critical success" (Pringle, Science Fiction 100 3).

Cloth lightly toned at spine. Shallow wear to head of dust jacket spine, rubbing to rear panel, foxing to flaps, front panel bright and clean. A near-fine signed copy. Scarce.