WINSTON SCIENCE FICTION
THE WINSTON SCIENCE FICTION SERIES
An important book series which influenced a new generation who would become science fiction enthusiasts and collectors
The Winston series, know as the “Winston juveniles,” started in 1952. The series was announced in Publisher’s Weekly (January 26, 1952): “Five compelling tales designed TO SELL to the expanding science fiction market! Only writers who have won the respect of the science fiction audience have been signed to write these accurate yet absorbing books. Each contains an explanation of new terms and a discussion of its scientific aspects…for all ages.”
The series had a uniform look with its rocket ship logo and endpapers (for the first editions) by Alex Schomburg. They were perfect for the time. Boys adventure novels with a science fiction element, with entertaining stories and terrific period artwork for the dust jackets. This was aimed at moving an audience away from the old pulp marketplace to new respectability. They were the total package.
The books were edited by Cecile Matschat and Carl Carmer, although neither had a background in science fiction. Behind the scenes was Lester Del Rey who not only wrote nine of the novels but supposedly supplied outlines for many of the books. Of further note is that the series published the first hardcover novels of Jack Vance, Evan Hunter (who achieved much fame with his Ed McBain pseudonym), Poul Anderson, Ben Bova, Chad Oliver, Donald A. Wollheim and Lester Del Rey.
While originally called children’s novels these were later explicitly described by the publisher for a teen-age audience. So these become an early example of what would later become known as the YA novel. Which today is a huge market.
This period was a burgeoning time for science fiction. The mainstream publishers had started releasing science fiction novels on a regular basis, notably Doubleday, who had in their stable of authors Ray Bradbury, Isaac Asimov and Robert A. Heinlein’s adult novels. Other publishers were also releasing science fiction geared towards a young audience, but clearly Winston was a leader, for during the 1950’s they accounted for one quarter of the science fiction published for children.
“Children’s science fiction, as it exists today, is indebted to the Winston Science Fiction Series, for the success of the Series not only demonstrated the existence of a real market for hard-cover children’s science fiction but also brought exposure and respectability which significantly aided in the genre’s eventual acceptance by mainstream children’s literature.” – Francis J. Molson (“The Winston Science Fiction Series and the Development of Children’s Science Fiction,” in Extropolation, Vol. 25, #1, Spring 1984).
THE VAULT OF AGES.
Philadelphia, Toronto: John C. Winston Company, [1958]. Octavo, jacket illustration by Paul Orban, cloth. Later, second printing. "Five hundred years after 'the Doom,' barbarian tribes mine the cities for metal. Two boys use the technology from a time vault to defeat invaders and cause the lifting of the taboo on the old knowledge. Philosophical wisdom also stored in the vault will prevent its misuse this time." - Brians, Nuclear Holocausts: Atomic War in Fiction, 1895-1984, p. 119. "Brisk adventure, well written ..." - Anatomy of Wonder (2004) II-28. Anderson's first book. Part of the classic Winston science fiction series for young readers published between 1952 and 1961. Anatomy of Wonder (1976) 5-3; (1981) 4-3; (1987) 5-4; (1995) 5-4.
THE STAR CONQUERORS.
Philadelphia, Toronto: The John C. Winston Company, [1959]. Octavo, cloth. First edition. The author's first book. Part of the classic Winston science fiction series for young readers published between 1952 and 1961.
THE WORLD AT BAY.
Philadelphia, Toronto: The John C. Winston Company, [1954]. Octavo, cover illustration by Alex Schomburg, cloth. First edition. Part of the popular Winston juvenile series published between 1952-1961, which introduced many young readers to science fiction.
ISLANDS IN THE SKY.
Philadelphia, Toronto: The John C. Winston Company, [1952]. Octavo, jacket and endpaper illustrations by Alex Schomburg, cloth. First edition. Part of the classic Winston science fiction series for young readers published between 1952 and 1961. Anatomy of Wonder (1995) 5-31.
THE LOST PLANET.
Philadelphia, Toronto: The John C. Winston Company, [1956]. Octavo, illustration by Alex Schomburg, cloth. First edition. Part of the popular Winston juvenile series published between 1952-1961, which introduced many young readers to science fiction.
THE LOST PLANET.
Philadelphia, Toronto: The John C. Winston Company, [1957]. Octavo, jacket illustration by Alex Schomburg, cloth. Later, second printing. A clandestine band of humans work behind the scenes to prevent a war between Earth and the octopus-like inhabitants of Poseida. Part of the popular Winston juvenile series published between 1952-1961, which introduced many young readers to science fiction.
THE MYSTERIOUS PLANET by Kenneth Wright [pseudonym] ...
Philadelphia, Toronto: The John C. Winston Company, [1958]. Octavo, jacket illustration by Alex Schomburg, cloth. Later, second printing. A planet with technology superior to that of the Solar Federation's space navy enters our solar system, threatening billions of humans living on the planets orbiting our Sun. Part of the classic Winston science fiction series for young readers published between 1952 and 1961.
THE MYSTERIOUS PLANET by Kenneth Wright [pseudonym].
Philadelphia, Toronto: The John C. Winston Company, [1953]. Octavo, jacket illustration by Alex Schomburg, cloth. First edition. A planet with technology superior to that of the Solar Federation's space navy enters our solar system, threatening billions of humans living on the planets orbiting our Sun. Part of the classic Winston science fiction series for young readers published between 1952 and 1961.
ATTACK FROM ATLANTIS.
Philadelphia, Toronto: The John C. Winston Company, [1958]. Octavo, jacket illustration by Kenneth Fagg (flap credit) or Paul Orban (title page credit), cloth. Later, second printing. Sea-dwelling Atlanteans astride creatures thought to be extinct for millions of years capture an atomic powered submarine on its first depth test run and drag it to their giant "city of no return" on the ocean floor. Part of the popular Winston juvenile series published between 1952-1961, which introduced many young readers to science fiction.
MAROONED ON MARS.
Philadelphia, Toronto: The John C. Winston Company, [1958]. Octavo, jacket illustration by Paul Orban, cloth. Later, fifth printing. A Robinsonade set on Mars where Earth's stranded first mission to the seemingly lifeless Red Planet is menaced by rodent-like Martians. Part of the popular Winston juvenile series published between 1952-1961, which introduced many young readers to science fiction.
MOON OF MUTINY.
New York: Holt, Rinehart & Winston, [1961]. Octavo, jacket illustration by Ed Emshwiller, cloth. First edition. The account of an expedition exploring a remote region of the lunar surface during the early years of human colonization of the Moon. "Well done." - Analog. Part of the Winston Juveniles series and the last published volume in the series.
STEP TO THE STARS.
Philadelphia, Toronto: The John C. Winston Company, [1959]. Octavo, cloth. Later, third printing. A story of the political intrigue, danger and construction of Earth's first orbital space station. Part of the popular Winston juvenile series published between 1952-1961, which introduced many young readers to science fiction.
FIND THE FEATHERED SERPENT.
Philadelphia, Toronto: The John C. Winston Company, [1952]. Octavo, cloth. First edition. Signed by Hunter on the half title page. The author's first book. "A time travel tale involving a Wellsian time machine." - Anatomy of Wonder (1995) 5-78.
FIND THE FEATHERED SERPENT.
Philadelphia, Toronto: The John C. Winston Company, [1952]. Octavo, jacket illustration by Henry Sharp, cloth. First edition. The author's first book. "A time travel tale involving a Wellsian time machine." - Anatomy of Wonder (1995) 5-78.
FIND THE FEATHERED SERPENT.
Philadelphia, Toronto: The John C. Winston Company, [1952]. Octavo, jacket illustration by Henry Sharp, cloth. First edition. Signed inscription by Hunter to a well known collector and bookseller George Locke on half title leaf. A time travel tale involving ancient Vikings and Mayans and two twentieth-century time travelers in the Caribbean. The author’s first book. Part of the classic Winston science fiction series for young readers published between 1952 and 1961.
FIND THE FEATHERED SERPENT.
Philadelphia, Toronto: The John C. Winston Company, [1952]. Octavo, jacket illustration by Henry Sharp, cloth. First edition. The author's first book. "A time travel tale involving a Wellsian time machine." - Anatomy of Wonder (1995) 5-78. Part of the classic Winston science fiction series for young readers published between 1952 and 1961.
PLANET OF LIGHT.
Philadelphia, Toronto: The John C. Winston Company, [1958]. Octavo, jacket illustration by Kenneth Fagg, cloth. Later, second printing. Sequel to SON OF THE STARS (1952) in which a conference of the Galactic Federation, meeting on Rorla, a planet in the Andromeda galaxy, will decide the fate of Earth, whose civilization is considered dangerous by some who believe Earth's destruction is necessary. Part of the popular Winston juvenile series published between 1952-1961, which introduced many young readers to science fiction.
THE YEAR WHEN STARDUST FELL.
Philadelphia, Toronto: The John C. Winston Company, [1958]. Octavo, jacket illustration by James Heugh, cloth. First edition. "Cosmic dust from an approaching comet disturbs the surface tension of all metals, causing them to blend together. The resulting destruction of virtually all machinery breeds violence and chaos. Ken Maddox, his chemist father, and a few other scientists find a remedy ... Best of the author's three novels in the Winston 1950s series." - Anatomy of Wonder (2004) II-579. Part of the Winston juvenile series. One of the more uncommon titles.
FIVE AGAINST VENUS.
Philadelphia, Toronto: The John C. Winston Company, [1958]. Octavo, jacket illustration by Virgil Finlay, cloth. Later, fourth printing. A Robinsonade in which an "average American family" on their way to the Moon is stranded on Venus, an unpleasant, unexplored planet with a hostile environment including bat people and flesh eating plants. Part of the classic Winston science fiction series for young readers published between 1952 and 1961. Anatomy of Wonder (1976) 5-54.
MISSING MEN OF SATURN.
Philadelphia, Toronto: The John C. Winston Company, [1958]. Octavo, jacket illustration by Alex Schomburg, cloth. Later, second printing. A hundred years after the members of the first expedition to the dreaded planet Saturn vanished one by one, the second expedition's spaceship lands on its moon Titan. "Subsequently, the crew is exposed to a series of terrifying incidents, and members disappear. Gradually, it becomes apparent that Saturn is inhabited, and both the Saturnians, an old civilized race, and the descendants of Captain Dearborn, first explorer of Saturn who disappeared mysteriously, do not want any interlopers. The crew, however, is set free as the Saturnians decide rapprochement is inevitable. Suspenseful, well-written mystery for two-thirds of the book; then speculation about the possibility of life on Saturn intrudes." - Anatomy of Wonder (1995) 5-90. Part of the popular Winston juvenile series published between 1952-1961, which introduced many young readers to science fiction. Anatomy of Wonder (1976) 5-55.
EARTHBOUND ...
Philadelphia, Toronto: The John C. Winston Company, [1952]. Octavo, jacket illustration by Peter Poulton, cloth. First edition. A space cadet, the son of one of the first space captains, is forced by circumstances to help interplanetary criminals plunder the very space liners he was trained to protect. Part of the classic Winston science fiction series for young readers published between 1952 and 1961.
EARTHBOUND.
Philadelphia, Toronto: The John C. Winston Company, [1958]. Octavo, jacket illustration by Peter Poulton, cloth. Later, third printing. A space cadet, the son of one of the first space captains, is forced by circumstances to help interplanetary criminals plunder the very space liners he was trained to protect. Part of the classic Winston science fiction series for young readers published between 1952 and 1961.
SPACEMEN, GO HOME.
New York: Holt, Rinehart and Winston, [1961]. Octavo, jacket by Ed Emshwiller, cloth. First edition. Earth's brief two hundred years in space is now past history. Humans have been banned from space for a violation of intergalactic law by the Star Brain, the machine that rules the galaxy. Reed Ballinger, a ruthless ex-space captain with a secret spaceport deep in the jungle of Central America plans a war to regain Earth's place in space. Can project Nobel, a dangerous scheme to thwart Ballinger succeed? Part of the classic Winston science fiction series for young readers published between 1952 and 1961. The next to last title published in the series.
STADIUM BEYOND THE STARS.
Philadelphia, Toronto: The John C. Winston Company, 1960. Octavo, cover illustration by Mel Hunter, cloth. First edition. Following the perfection of translight starships twenty generations ago, human civilization has spread to 120 other star systems. En route to the Interstellar Olympic Games, a starship carrying Earth's team encounters an apparently derelict spaceship carrying an intelligent nonhuman race that can teleport and communicate telepathically, and the crew member who discovered them is thrust into the midst of interstellar conflict and intrigue. Part of the popular Winston juvenile series published between 1952-1961, which introduced many young readers to science fiction. One of the last Winston juveniles done, the last one by John C. Winston before becoming part of Holt & Rinehart (& Winston).
THE STAR SEEKERS.
Philadelphia, Toronto: The John C. Winston Company, [1953]. Octavo, jacket illustration by Paul Calle, cloth. First edition. Civilization has deteriorated and the superstitious sixth generation of people aboard mankind's first starship must take immediate action or the ship, a hollowed out meteorite composed of four concentric circles, is doomed to crash. Part of the popular Winston juvenile series published between 1952-1961, which introduced many young readers to science fiction.