Available Copies from Independent Booksellers
Asimov, Isaac. Pebble in the sky. Doubleday, 1950.
Price: US$30.00 + shipping
Condition: Very Good
Description: No jacket, as issued. Part of The Isaac Asimov Collection issued in 1991, but only has the 1950 copyright notice on the copyright page. This is not the leatherette bound version.
Seller: Uncle Hugo's SF/Uncle Edgar's Mystery, Minneapolis, MN, U.S.A.
Asimov, Isaac. Pebble in the Sky. Doubleday, 1950.
Price: US$35.00 + shipping
Condition: Very Good
Description: Reissue, part of Isaac Asimov Collection Series, faint scratches in front cover, small fade spot on spine
Seller: Second Chance Books, Independence, OR, U.S.A.
Asimov, Isaac. Pebble in the sky. Doubleday, 1950.
Price: US$50.00 + shipping
Condition: Very Good
Description: No jacket as likely issued - printed covers. Very mild shelfwear. We try to note every flaw we can find, and we are quite picky, so buy with confidence! 100% guaranteed!
Seller: Chris Korczak, Bookseller, IOBA, Easthampton, MA, U.S.A.
Isaac Asimov. pebble in the sky. Doubleday Science Fiction, New York, 1950.
Price: US$112.95 + shipping
Condition: Very Good
Description: Doubleday Science Fiction, New York, 1950, Hardcover 2nd Edition. Young Moderns Edition. Very Scarce - as much so as the First Edition. Asimov's First Book. Book condition: wear along the bottom boards & at the top just at the spine, previous owner's signature on the front paste down and ffep, age toning to the pages, otherwise a very good internally clean copy. Dust jacket condition: a number of chips out - please see photos - and some faint discoloured spots on the rear - just a good dustjacket - comes in an archival Brodart mylar sleeve - a rare item.
Seller: Anthony Clark, Wolfville, NS, Canada
Price: US$450.00 + shipping
Condition: As New
Description: PC from the signed limited fortieth anniversary edition of 1,500 copies; signed by Asimov at the limitation page. 223 pages. Grey cloth with orange spine titles, fine. Spine square. Binding sound. Dust jacket near fine with light toning, light sunning to spine. Pages bright, unmarked. In brown cloth slipcase with slight edgewear.
Seller: The Book Bin, Salem, OR, U.S.A.
Asimov, Isaac. Pebble in the Sky. DOUBLEDAY & CO, INC, GARDEN CITY, NY, 1950.
Price: US$450.00 + shipping
Description: Asimov's first Sci Fi, stated 1st edition DATE PUBLISHED: 1950 EDITION: FIRST ED 223
Seller: Princeton Antiques Bookshop, Atlantic City, NJ, U.S.A.
Asimov, Isaac. Pebble in the Sky. Doubleday & Company, New York, 1950.
Price: US$550.00 + shipping
Description: 20.5 x 13.5 cm. Octavo. 223pp. Grey cloth in dust jacket. Stated first edition. Previous owner's name on front free endpaper. Some spotting to bottom foredge. Bit of edgewear to the jacket. Tail of jacket spine lightly chipped. All four flaps of the jacket are slightly clipped, original price of $2.50 is still present. Asimov's first science fiction title. Very Good in Very Good Dust jacket
Seller: Midway Book Store (ABAA), St. Paul, MN, U.S.A.
ASIMOV, ISAAC. Pebble in the Sky. Doubleday & Company, Garden City, 1950.
Price: US$565.55 + shipping
Condition: Near Fine
Description: Octavo. Beige cloth, red spine titles, pp. 223. Signature of Harry J. Boyle, Canadian broadcaster and author to front free endpaper, else a near fine copy in a price-clipped dust jacket with shallow nicks and spider-lines to head & tail of spine and a short (1/4") closed tear to the top and bottom of rear panel and top of front panel, otherwise it is very good without sunning, etc.
Seller: Karol Krysik Books ABAC/ILAB, IOBA, PBFA, Toronto, ON, Canada
Asimov, Isaac.. PEBBLE IN THE SKY. Doubleday., Garden City, NY:, 1950.
Price: US$600.00 + shipping
Description: HC in dust jacket. 1st Printing. The jacket has some rubbing to the front panel, 2 short closed tears along the top edge and some chipping at the head and heel of the spine. Still, and attractive copy of Asimov's first novel. A very good copy in a very good dust jacket.
Seller: Kathmandu Books, Winter Park, FL, U.S.A.
Isaac Asimov. Pebble in the Sky. Doubleday & Company, 1950.
Price: US$650.00 + shipping
Condition: Near Fine
Description: First edition. First printing. A near fine copy, only with the slightest foxing to the top edge of the outer text block. The contents fine. In a very good only, unclipped dust jacket. Some scuffing and a few faint blemishes, the extremities a bit worn and chipped. Discrete tape reinforcements at the verso. A very nice copy still. The very first of Asimovs science fiction novels, which would see numerous reprints. Pebble in the Sky launched the Empire Series, imagining a future Galactic empire which has forgotten that Earth was humanity's original home. Asimov would go on to write over 500 books, and is remembered as one of the Big Three writers of science fiction, alongside Robert Heinlein and Arthur Clarke.
Seller: Canton Books, Princeton, NJ, U.S.A.
Asimov, Isaac. PEBBLE IN THE SKY.. Garden City, NY: Doubleday, 1950. dj, 1950.
Price: US$650.00 + shipping
Description: Hardcover first edition - First printing. Asimov's first published novel - the first of many! An accident in a research facility, sent Joseph Schwartz to a far future earth, still inhabited but the people of Earth are outcasts, because their tiny world is radioactive. Classic science fiction combining both time travel and post-apocalyptic themes. 223 pp. Very good in very good dust jacket A short closed tear to the base of the spine affecting both the book and the dj (dj has tape repair to interior), some other minor rubbing and wear mostly to the folds of the dj and the ends of the spine)
Seller: Bookfever, IOBA (Volk & Iiams), Ione, CA, U.S.A.
Asimov, Isaac. Pebble in the Sky. Doubleday, 1950.
Price: US$650.00 + shipping
Condition: Very Good
Description: Stated first edition. 8vo. 223 pp. Grey cloth boards. Illustrated jacket. Asimov's first book of science fiction. Staining to the boards - very good - in a near fine, price-intact jacket. Red and yellow colors of the spine have faded. The jacket has benefited from a little professional repair.
Seller: Paul Johnson Fine Books, IOBA, Temecula, CA, U.S.A.
Asimov, Isaac. PEBBLE IN THE SKY. Doubleday & Company, Inc., Garden City, 1950.
Price: US$650.00 + shipping
Description: Octavo, jacket illustration by Richard Powers, cloth. The author's first SF novel. Anatomy of Wonder (1995) 3-15. A near fine copy, corners very gently bumped, some mild age darkening to text pages in a very good price clipped dust jacket, with some shelf wear and rubbing, rub/color mark across front panel lettering of Pebble. (10659)
Seller: John W. Knott, Jr, Bookseller, ABAA/ILAB, Laurel, MD, U.S.A.
Asimov, Isaac. PEBBLE IN THE SKY. Doubleday & Company, Garden City, 1950.
Price: US$650.00 + shipping
Description: Octavo, cloth. First edition. The author's first book and first SF novel. In the far future "Earth is largely a radioactive wasteland, populated by a few million inhabitants who are discriminated against by the rest of the galactic empire which has forgotten that Earth was humanity's original home." - Brians, Nuclear Holocausts: Atomic War in Fiction, 1895-1984, p. 122. Anatomy of Wonder (2004) II-51. Sargent, British and American Utopian Literature, 1516-1985, p. 237. In 333. A fine copy in very good dust jacket with wear at spine ends and corner tips, short closed tears with associated wrinkles at top and bottom edges of front panel, and clipped price. (#158275)
Seller: Currey, L.W. Inc. ABAA/ILAB, Elizabethtown, NY, U.S.A.
Asimov, Isaac. Pebble in the Sky. Doubleday & Company, Garden City, New York, 1950.
Price: US$671.80 + shipping
Condition: Very Good
Description: FIRST EDITION STATED on copyright page. True first edition, with 1950 appearing on both title page & copyright page. Author's first book, SCARCE in DUSTJACKET. A science fiction time-travel novel. Bound in original grey cloth with orange lettering to spine, in publisher's unclipped pictorial dustjacket. Pictorial dustjacket with "Doubleday Science Fiction" printed to upper right corner of front panel, b&w photograph of Asimov & biographical description to rear panel, UNCLIPPED with original published price of $2.50 intact on upper inner front flap, lower inner front flap states "This novel has not appeared in any form prior to book publication", inner rear flap with ad for "The Big Eye" by Max Ehrlich. Printed in the USA at The Country Life Press, Garden City, N.Y. Book: VERY GOOD / Dustjacket: GOOD ONLY. Top edge of boards faintly stained (not affected internally), dustjacket along top edge also stained, large (10cm) horizontal closed tear to front panel, slight edgewear with small closed tears & chipped along upper front panel & spine ends, inner front flap split & almost detached from front panel, otherwise overall a nice clean tight solid hardcover copy. The dustjacket is now protected in a removable clear Bro-dart cover. 223pp. Uncommon first edition in dustjacket. RARE.
Seller: Bookwood, Melbourne, VIC, Australia
Asimov, Isaac. Pebble in the Sky. Doubleday & Company, Inc, Garden City, NY, 1950.
Price: US$800.00 + shipping
Description: First edition. 223 pp. Bound in publisher's gray cloth with red spine lettering. Near Fine, former owner's name and address written on paste down, thumbsoil to title page, slightly bumped corners, in a Very Good dust jacket with rubbing along edges (most notably along spine panel), sunning to spine panel, light edge wear, unclipped ($2.50). The author's first novel.
Seller: Burnside Rare Books, ABAA, Portland, OR, U.S.A.
Asimov, Isaac. PEBBLE IN THE SKY. Doubleday, Garden City, 1950.
Price: US$850.00 + shipping
Description: Octavo, jacket illustration by Richard Powers, Hardcover. Author's first book. Anatomy of Wonder (1995) 3-15. A very good plus copy, some foxing to end papers in a very good dust jacket, shelf wear, small 'v' chip to upper spine panel; with some creases, mild loss to spine ends and corners, light rubbing, fading to color of spine panel lettering. (8225)
Seller: John W. Knott, Jr, Bookseller, ABAA/ILAB, Laurel, MD, U.S.A.
Asimov, Isaac. PEBBLE IN THE SKY. Doubleday & Company, Garden City, 1950.
Price: US$850.00 + shipping
Description: Octavo, cloth. First edition. The author's first book and first SF novel. In the far future "Earth is largely a radioactive wasteland, populated by a few million inhabitants who are discriminated against by the rest of the galactic empire which has forgotten that Earth was humanity's original home." - Brians, Nuclear Holocausts: Atomic War in Fiction, 1895-1984, p. 122. Anatomy of Wonder (2004) II-51. Sargent, British and American Utopian Literature, 1516-1985, p. 237. In 333. A fine copy in very good dust jacket with wear and rubbing at edges, mostly along top edge, several small nicks and abrasions at upper edge of rear panel, mild tanning to rear panel, and orange lettering on spine panel mostly faded to white. (#142710)
Seller: Currey, L.W. Inc. ABAA/ILAB, Elizabethtown, NY, U.S.A.
Asimov, Isaac. Pebble in the Sky - First Edition. Doubleday & Company, 1950.
Price: US$950.00 + shipping
Condition: Very Good
Description: Very Good Hardcover with Very Good dustjacket, stated first edition, author's first book, 1950, unclipped dustjacket, slight tape residue on DJ flaps, stamp on endpaper
Seller: The Book House, Inc. - St. Louis, St. Louis, MO, U.S.A.
ASIMOV, ISAAC.. Pebble In The Sky. Garden City: Doubleday, 1950, 1950.
Price: US$1000.00 + shipping
Description: First Edition of the author's first book. Near fine in a very good dust jacket with some interior tape strengthening at the edges; inscribed by the author in 1981. All books described as first editions are first printings unless otherwise noted.
Seller: Peter L. Stern & Co., Inc, Newton, MA, U.S.A.
Asimov, Isaac. PEBBLE IN THE SKY. Doubleday & Company, Inc., Garden City, New York, 1950.
Price: US$1250.00 + shipping
Description: Octavo, jacket illustration by Richard Powers, cloth. The author's first book. Anatomy of Wonder (1995) 3-15. An about near fine copy, moderate dust soiling to top edge, free end papers show some offsetting in a very good plus dust jacket some mild rubbing to fold and extremities, light shelf wear to head of spine panel, small closed tear with fold to upper right corner, touch of color fading to spine panel lettering. (6247)
Seller: John W. Knott, Jr, Bookseller, ABAA/ILAB, Laurel, MD, U.S.A.
Asimov, Isaac. PEBBLE IN THE SKY. Doubleday, 1950.
Price: US$1310.80 + shipping
Description: PEBBLE IN THE SKY, Doubleday, 1950, first edition, fine in vg+/near fine dust-wrapper save for some rear tape stain bleed through at the dust-wrapper spine extremities which wraps around somewhat to the corresponding sections of the front and rear dust-wrapper panels. The authors first commercial book (an earlier book, THE KINETICS OF THE REACTION INACTIVATION OF TYROSINASE DURING ITS CATALYSIS OF THE AEROBIC OXIDATION OF CATECHOL, the author's Ph.D Dissertation, was first published in 1948) in a long and marvelous career which unfortunately came to a premature halt just about 500 books later. Laid in is a typed postcard SIGNED by Asimov, about 60 words, thanking the recipient for the photos (actually misspelled or a typo), hoping that he, the recipient, will like (his novel) NEMESIS, mentioning that the next FOUNDATION novel will be FORWARD THE FOUNDATION, a sequel to PRELUDE, and finally stating that his increasing age keeps him from making any long travel possible. A cornerstone book for the serious SF collector.
Seller: THE FINE BOOKS COMPANY / A.B.A.A / 1979, ROCHESTER, MI, U.S.A.
Asimov, Isaac. PEBBLE IN THE SKY. Doubleday, 1950.
Price: US$1363.75 + shipping
Description: PEBBLE IN THE SKY, Doubleday, 1950, first edition, some light tanning to the upper and lower margins of the covers, very faint tape ghosts to same, some faint off-setting to the end-papers, else a solid very good copy in just about fine dust-wrapper with has been trimmed 1/2 centimeter. The authors first book (save for THE KINETICS OF THE REACTION INACTIVATION OF TYROSINASE DURING ITS CATALYSIS OF THE AEROBIC OXIDATION OF CATECHOL, the author's Ph.D Dissertation first published in 1948) in a long and marvelous career which unfortunately came to a premature halt just about 500 books later. INSCRIBED by the author to a well known member of First Fandom and equally well known Burroughs Bibliophile. Along with PEBBLE IN THE SKY, Bantam, 1957, first soft-cover edition, a near vg copy in full color pictorial wraps.
Seller: THE FINE BOOKS COMPANY / A.B.A.A / 1979, ROCHESTER, MI, U.S.A.
Asimov, Isaac. PEBBLE IN THE SKY. Doubleday, 1950.
Price: US$1495.00 + shipping
Condition: Fine
Description: Asimov's uncommon 1st book of fiction preceded by the publication of his doctoral dissertation. A sharp copy with slight wear to the dj.
Seller: Tim's Books, Grand Rapids, MI, U.S.A.
Asimov, Isaac. PEBBLE IN THE SKY. Doubleday, 1950.
Price: US$1628.50 + shipping
Description: PEBBLE IN THE SKY, Doubleday, 1950, first edition, just about fine in like dust-wrapper with 2 closed tears. The authors first book (save for THE KINETICS OF THE REACTION INACTIVATION OF TYROSINASE DURING ITS CATALYSIS OF THE AEROBIC OXIDATION OF CATECHOL, the author's Ph.D Dissertation first published in 1948) in a long and marvelous career which unfortunately came to a premature halt just about 500 books later.
Seller: THE FINE BOOKS COMPANY / A.B.A.A / 1979, ROCHESTER, MI, U.S.A.
Asimov, Isaac. PEBBLE IN THE SKY. Doubleday & Company, Inc., Garden City, 1950.
Price: US$2000.00 + shipping
Description: Octavo, jacket art by Richard Powers, cloth. The author's first SF novel (and first book). In the far future "Earth is largely a radioactive wasteland, populated by a few million inhabitants who are discriminated against by the rest of the galactic empire which has forgotten that Earth was humanity's original home." - Brians, Nuclear Holocausts: Atomic War in Fiction, 1895-1984, p. 122. Anatomy of Wonder (2004) II-51. Sargent, British and American Utopian Literature, 1516-1985, p. 237. In 333. A fine copy in a fine dust jacket with a touch of rubbing to upper right corner tip and a two small closed tears, one to the base of the front panel (6 mm) and base of spine panel (8 mm). (16890)
Seller: John W. Knott, Jr, Bookseller, ABAA/ILAB, Laurel, MD, U.S.A.
Asimov, Isaac. PEBBLE IN THE SKY. Doubleday & Company, Garden City, 1950.
Price: US$2000.00 + shipping
Description: Octavo, cloth. First edition. The author's first book and first SF novel. In the far future "Earth is largely a radioactive wasteland, populated by a few million inhabitants who are discriminated against by the rest of the galactic empire which has forgotten that Earth was humanity's original home." - Brians, Nuclear Holocausts: Atomic War in Fiction, 1895-1984, p. 122. Anatomy of Wonder (2004) II-51. Sargent, British and American Utopian Literature, 1516-1985, p. 237. In 333. A fine copy in fine dust jacket with a touch of rubbing to upper right corner tip and two small closed tears, 6 mm at the bottom edge of the front panel and 8 mm at lower spine end. (#155200)
Seller: Currey, L.W. Inc. ABAA/ILAB, Elizabethtown, NY, U.S.A.
Asimov, Isaac. PEBBLE IN THE SKY. Doubleday & Company, Garden City, 1950.
Price: US$2750.00 + shipping
Description: Octavo, cloth. First edition. This copy is inscribed by Asimov the year of publication: "For: Dave / Speaker / Regards, in / two installments / Isaac Asimov / 12/3/50." The author's first book and first sf novel. In the far future "Earth is largely a radioactive wasteland, populated by a few million inhabitants who are discriminated against by the rest of the galactic empire which has forgotten that Earth was humanity's original home." - Brians, Nuclear Holocausts: Atomic War in Fiction, 1895-1984, p. 122. Anatomy of Wonder (2004) II-51. Sargent, British and American Utopian Literature, 1516-1985, p. 237. In 333. A fine copy in nearly fine dust jacket with light rubbing to the spine ends, small closed tear at upper left front corner, and touch of rubbing to lower right corner. (#138511)
Seller: Currey, L.W. Inc. ABAA/ILAB, Elizabethtown, NY, U.S.A.
Asimov, Isaac. Pebble in the Sky. DOUBLEDAY & CO, GARDEN CITY, NY, 1950.
Price: US$3000.00 + shipping
Description: General wear: small bookplate, foxing, browning, previous owner marking EP Signed by Author in beautiful script on title page! DATE PUBLISHED: 1950 EDITION: FIRST ED 223
Seller: Princeton Antiques Bookshop, Atlantic City, NJ, U.S.A.
Asimov, Isaac. Pebble in the Sky. Doubleday & Company, Inc., New York, 1950.
Price: US$3500.00 + shipping
Condition: Fine
Description: First Edition, First Printing SIGNED by Isaac Asimov on the title page. A wonderful copy that is just SIGNED, NOT inscribed to anyone. This ORIGINAL dustjacket is rich in color with minor wear to the edges. The book is bound in the publisher's original cloth and is in great shape. The binding is tight with NO cocking or leaning and the boards are crisp with a hint of wear to the boards. The pages are clean with NO marks or bookplates in the book. A lovely copy SIGNED by the author.
Seller: Magnum Opus Rare Books, Missoula, MT, U.S.A.
Price: US$5895.00 + shipping
Condition: Near Fine
Description: Doubleday, New York, 1950, 1951, and 1952 The Empire series is a set of three books written by Asimov, although not published in order. “Pebble in the Sky” is young Isaac Asimov’s first novel, full of wonders and ideas, and is the book that launched the novels of the Galactic Empire, which culminated in the Foundation series – however it is chronologically the last book of the Empire series even though it was published first. Asimov also noted that the books “were not written in the order in which (perhaps) they should be read”. This trilogy, their respective publication dates and the dates of the actual storylines are shown below: The Stars, Like Dust (1951) – first novel, set in the 49th century (4850), thousands of years in the future before the founding of a Galactic Empire The Currents of Space (1952) – second novel, set in the 112th century (11129), set thousands of years in the future during Trantor’s unification of the galaxy into a Galactic Empire Pebble in the Sky (1950) – third novel but published first, set in the 125th century (12411), primarily set thousands of years in the future on Earth, when the galaxy is unified into a Galactic Empire This is Golden Age SciFi at its finest, with the third and final book in the Galactic Empire series (Pebble In The Sky) considered the spectacular precursor to the classic Foundation series. One moment Joseph Schwartz is a happily retired tailor in Chicago, 1949. The next he’s a helpless stranger on Earth during the heyday of the first Galactic Empire. Earth, as he soon learns, is a backwater, just a pebble in the sky, despised by all the other 200 million planets of the Empire because its people dare to claim it’s the original home of man. And Earth is poor, with great areas of radioactivity ruining much of its soil–so poor that everyone is sentenced to death at the age of sixty. Joseph Schwartz is sixty-two. Described below by order to read the trilogy and not by publication date: CONDITION STATED FIRST EDITION, First Printings: FINE/Near Fine, clean crisp books all in near fine vibrant dust jackets for the complete first edition set of the Galactic Empire Trilogy, with the copy of Pebble in the Sky signed by Isaac Asimov on a laid in signature “Isaac Asimov / 2 Sep 83”. ADDITIONAL IMAGES AND A FULL DESCRIPTION AVAILABLE UPON REQUEST. Please see our ABE store for other landmark SciFi listings.
Seller: Meier And Sons Rare Books, New Canaan, CT, U.S.A.
Asimov, Isaac. Pebble in the Sky. Doubleday & Company, Garden City, New York, 1950.
Price: US$8500.00 + shipping
Condition: Near Fine
Description: Advance uncorrected proof of the first edition of Isaac Asimov's first published book. Unbound gathered and folded sheets with publisher's review slip labeled "uncorrected proof" stapled to upper sheet, likely used as a review copy. Near Fine with toning and light soiling to front and rear. Unbound folded and gathered signatures
Seller: Burnside Rare Books, ABAA, Portland, OR, U.S.A.