A VOYAGE TO ARCTURUS.
London: Methuen & Co. Ltd., [1920]. Octavo, pp. [1-8] [1] 2-303 [304: printer's imprint]. + 8-page undated publisher's catalogue inserted at rear, original red cloth, spine panel stamped in gold, front cover stamped in blind. First edition. 1250 copies printed of which this is one of 500 to 600 in the first issue binding. Lindsay's masterpiece. "Lindsay's A VOYAGE TO ARCTURUS is one of the most extraordinary works of literature, let alone fantasy, ever written. In form and in some of its symbolic techniques it is highly indebted to the work of George MacDonald: but for sheer inventiveness and intensity of imagination its burns like some literary supernova." - Colin Greenland, Scottish Fantasy Literature, p. 153. "A classic allegorical romance in which the landscapes and inhabitants of the planet Tormance provide an externalization of the moral and metaphysical questions that preoccupied the author. Its incarnate theological system influenced Lewis's OUT OF THE SILENT PLANET (1938), and it also bears some similarity to George Macdonald's LILITH (1895), although it is very much a work sui generis." - Anatomy of Wonder (1995) 2-72. "Some of the imagery is borrowed from Norse mythology (Surtur and Muspel) but the metaphysics that is gradually elaborated is basically a transformed evolutionary theory that applies a harsh metaphorical Darwinism to the business of personal intellectual development. A masterpiece, unparalleled in its graphic imagery and in its ambition." - Barron (ed), Fantasy and Horror (1999) 5-184. "VOYAGE ... has become one of the most widely discussed and debated fantasies of the twentieth century, and it is well on its way to becoming one of the most influential." - Survey of Modern Fantasy Literature IV, pp. 2039-45. Anatomy of Wonder (1987) 2-63 and (2004) II-673. Barron (ed), Fantasy Literature 3-221. Bleiler, The Guide to Supernatural Fiction 1019. Cawthorn and Moorcock, Fantasy: The 100 Best Books 31. Clareson, Science Fiction in America, 1870s-1930s 509. Locke, A Spectrum of Fantasy, p. 140. Negley, Utopian Literature: A Bibliography 693. Schlobin, The Literature of Fantasy 666. Survey of Science Fiction Literature V, pp. 2383-88. Tymn (ed), Fantasy Literature, p. 127. Bleiler (1978), p. 124. Reginald 09074. A bit of mild foxing and soiling to edges of text block, a bright, nearly fine copy in good first issue 8/6 dust jacket printed in black on gray paper stock with several closed tears along folds, tiny chips at edges, tanned spine panel, and some general dust soiling. Laid in is a Methuen "cash receipt" made out to "Mr. S. Down" dated 14 September 1920 for 8/6, as well as a Methuen "compliments" slip requesting the buyer remit "cost of postage." We know of only two surviving examples of this rare first issue jacket. Now housed in a custom clamshell box. (22173). Item #22173
Price: $27,500.00