Available Copies from Independent Booksellers
WELLS, H. G. [RACKHAM, Arthur]. Wonderful Visit.. J. M. Dent, London, 1895.
Price: US$100.00 + shipping
Description: [viii], 251 pp. 8vo, original cloth. First edition--one of a "few, possibly advance, copies" (Wells) with the title gilt-stamped on the front cover above a gilt-stamped figure of the Angel. Wells 5; Bleiler p. 205. Outer edges of front cover sun faded; light soiling to the covers; small scratch on the spine, affecting a few letters in the author's name; publisher's imprint on spine a bit faded; some rubbing and wear; sewing starting in the gutter before the first leaf of gathering "r."
Seller: Jeffrey H. Marks, Rare Books, ABAA, Rochester, NY, U.S.A.
Price: US$192.40 + shipping
Description: FIRST EDITION. FIRST ISSUE. (Uncorrected error p198). Publisher's red bevel edged cloth with gilt pictorial cupid design by Arthur Rackham and gilt lettering on upper cover, gilt lettering on spine, top edges gilt, others uncut. Spine and covers slightly damp marked, corners slightly bumped, endpapers slightly browned, otherwise a VG copy with upper cover cupid still bright. 8vo. 251pp.
Seller: Bookstand, Poole, United Kingdom
Wells, H. G.. The Wonderful Visit. J. M. Dent & Co., 1895.
Price: US$200.00 + shipping
Condition: Good
Description: First edition in red cloth, variant state Currey (B) with angel illustration by Arthur Rackham at front panel, in gilt. Cloth a little grubby, darkened to spine, with points of slight fraying to bottom fore-edge corners. Gilt titling and decoration is sharp and bright. Spine cocked forward slightly. Slight cracks to binding at front inner hinge and page 64-65; binding else sound. Gilt top edge of pages, a little dusty. Interior lightly toned, with a small purple scribble at verso of FFEP; small rust stains to top margin of dedication page, contents listing, and first page of text, consistent with a paper clip having previously been laid-in; text unmarked. No jacket. Photographs available upon request.
Seller: The Book Bin, Salem, OR, U.S.A.
Wells (H.G.).. The Wonderful Visit. J.M. Dent & Co.,, 1895.
Price: US$202.03 + shipping
Description: Cloth with some soiling, end-papers browned, end-papers and first and last few leaves with some foxing, otherwise a nice copy; inscription on half-title H.G. Wells Society Bibliography 5; Curreys B binding Upper cover with gilt angel by Arthur Rackham, top edge gilt, others uncut First Edition, First Issue with the error uncorrected on page 198.
Seller: Bertram Rota Ltd, Kintbury, United Kingdom
H. G. Wells. The Wonderful Visit. J. M. Dent & Co., London, 1895.
Price: US$205.23 + shipping
Condition: Good
Description: The first edition of this satirical fantasy novel by the celebrated H. G. Wells. The first edition, first issue with the misprint on pp. 198 spelling 'eader' instead of 'reader'.In the publisher's original cloth with the gilt angel to the front designed by Arthur Rackham.This work was written by the noted H. G. Wells (Herbert George Wells), known as the father of science fiction and the writer of 'The Time Machine'. This satirical fantasy novel tells the story of an angel who spends time on Earth, to find himself hunted and greeted by the realities of humanity. This work was based of a remark attributed to John Ruskin, where he stated that is an angel came to earth, we would be sure to shoot it. In the publisher's original cloth. Externally smart with fading to the spine, a lean, marks to the boards including a tidemark to the joint of the rear board, bumping to the extremities resulting in minimal loss to the cloth to the head and tail of the spine and minor rubbing to the joints. Offsetting and scattered spotting to the endpapers with a past owner's name in ink to the front free endpaper. Rear hinge weak and front starting. Internally generally firmly bound with signs of strain in places and the odd page starting. Pages bright and generally clean with light spotting to the front and the odd minor handling mark. Good
Seller: Rooke Books PBFA, Bath, United Kingdom
Price: US$250.00 + shipping
Description: Octavo, pp. [i-vii] viii 1-251 [252: blank], title page printed in orange and black, original pictorial red buckram over bevel-edged boards, front and spine panels stamped in gold, t.e.g., fore and bottom edges untrimmed. First edition, variant binding (possibly later) with gilt angel (designed by Arthur Rackham) on front panel. A dark satire based on a remark attributed to John Ruskin, that if an angel came to earth someone would be sure to shoot it. ". an underrated work that deserves to be more widely read." - Survey of Modern Fantasy Literature V, pp. 2162-4. Barron (ed), Fantasy Literature 2-155. Bleiler, The Guide to Supernatural Fiction 1675. Locke, A Spectrum of Fantasy, p. 228. Schlobin, The Literature of Fantasy 1096. Bleiler (1978), p. 205. Reginald 15116. Currey (2002), p. 426 (binding B). Hammond B2. Wells 5. Wells Society 5. Wells and Hammond have the binding information reversed: copies of this book with the angel on the front cover are not advance copies and are far more common than those without the figure. Slight spine lean, spine panel just a bit tanned, several mild spots and scuffs to cloth, a bright, tight, very good copy. (#171116)
Seller: Currey, L.W. Inc. ABAA/ILAB, Elizabethtown, NY, U.S.A.
Wells (H.G.).. The Wonderful Visit. J.M. Dent & Co.,, 1895.
Price: US$269.36 + shipping
Description: Spine sunned and a little marked, a little foxing and lower hinge starting, otherwise a very nice, bright copy; booksellers small label on front pastedown H.G. Wells Society Bibliography 5; Curreys B binding Upper cover with gilt angel by Arthur Rackham, top edge gilt, others uncut First Edition, First Issue with the error uncorrected on page 198.
Seller: Bertram Rota Ltd, Kintbury, United Kingdom
Price: US$300.00 + shipping
Description: First Edition. Wells H. G. First Edition THE WONDERFUL VISIT 1895. Octavo 8vo. pp. [i-vii] viii 1-251 [252: blank], Gilt lettering on spine and front of the bright red buckram (bevelled edge) with a beautiful angel designed by Arthur Rackham boldly and cleanly stamped on the front. Title page is printed in red and black and all pages uncut with the top edges in gilt. There is some darkening and rubbing to the bevel edges. The spine is darkened with age, and has some rubbing to the top and bottom and middle. The uncut edges are also darkened at the edges from age. There is no previous markings or owner on this edition. A solid book for any collector. THE WONDERFUL VISIT was H.G. Wells' second fantasy/sci-fi book written after his TIME MACHINE 1895 and before his famous creation, The Island of Doctor Moreau (1896). It is about an angel who comes to Earth.
Seller: TBCL The Book Collector's Library, Montreal, QC, Canada
Price: US$350.00 + shipping
Description: Octavo, pp. [i-vii] viii 1-251 [252: blank], title page printed in orange and black, original pictorial red buckram over bevel-edged boards, front and spine panels stamped in gold, t.e.g., fore and bottom edges untrimmed. First edition, variant binding (possibly later) with gilt angel (designed by Arthur Rackham) on front panel. A dark satire based on a remark attributed to John Ruskin, that if an angel came to earth someone would be sure to shoot it. ". an underrated work that deserves to be more widely read." - Survey of Modern Fantasy Literature V, pp. 2162-4. Barron (ed), Fantasy Literature 2-155. Bleiler, The Guide to Supernatural Fiction 1675. Locke, A Spectrum of Fantasy, p. 228. Schlobin, The Literature of Fantasy 1096. Bleiler (1978), p. 205. Reginald 15116. Currey (2002), p. 426 (binding B). Hammond B2. Wells 5. Wells Society 5. Wells and Hammond have the binding information reversed: copies of this book with the angel on the front cover are not advance copies and are far more common than those without the figure. Collector's skull bookplate affixed to the front paste-down, old bookseller's catalogue description tipped in at lower edge of front free endpaper. Slight spine lean, spine panel just a bit tanned, else a bright, very good copy. (#156366)
Seller: Currey, L.W. Inc. ABAA/ILAB, Elizabethtown, NY, U.S.A.
H. G. Wells. The Wonderful Visit. J.M. Dent & Co, London UK, 1895.
Price: US$378.39 + shipping
Condition: Very Good
Description: A very good first edition, second state copy of The Wonderful Visit. Orginal red cloth boards with angel gilt on the upper board. Damp staining to the spine and front. Top edge gilt and uncut edges. Light red bleed on the hinge to the title and end papers. The contents are clean.
Seller: Rare And Antique Books PBFA, Exeter, DEVON, United Kingdom
Price: US$450.00 + shipping
Condition: Very Good
Description: Viii, 251 Pp. Red Cloth, Gilt, Top Edge Gilt. First Printing, Uncorrected Missing Letter On P. 198; Currey Reports That Wells & Hammond Is Incorrect, Reversing The Order Of The Bindings, And That This Is The First Binding And Far Commoner Than The Binding Lacking The Gilt Rackham Figure On The Front Cover; We'll Give Currey A Vote Of Authority On This. Light Wear And Dust, No Fraying, Gilt Bright, Some Fading To Spine Cloth. Large Illustrated Bookplate Of Walter Dexter Showing A Smiling Man With A Hook For A Right Hand.
Seller: Arroyo Seco Books, Pasadena, Member IOBA, Pasadena, CA, U.S.A.
Wells, H.G.. The Wonderful Visit. J. M. Dent & Co., London, 1895.
Price: US$490.00 + shipping
Condition: Very Good
Description: First edtion in red cloth bevelled boards, decorative gilt cover, spine titled in gilt, top edge gilt, fore and bottom edges untrimmed. Hammond, in describing this variant binding, remarks that "a few, possibly advance, copies of the first edition bear title and design of a figure of the Angel, both in gilt, on the front cover." London: J. M. Dent & Co. (1895), 251 pps. This VG copy has some spine lean, some sun fading to spine, and bookseller pencils on f.f.e.
Seller: SF & F Books, Chester, VA, U.S.A.
Price: US$577.20 + shipping
Condition: Very Good
Description: A wonderful limited edition 21-volume set of prose, plays and poetry, originally published by Thomas B. Mosher. A 21-volume set of the Testimonial Edition of The Bibelot in the original paper boards. Number 954 of 450 of this edition bound in boards Bibelot style. An anthology of literature: poetry, prose, plays and essays from a variety of poets and authors, most of which are well-known. Volume I (1895) contains, among other poems and prose, poems by William Blake, and ballad poems and a story by Francois Villon. Volume II (1896) contains sonnets from Astrophel and Stella, and poems by William Watson and Robert Bridges. Volume III (1897) contains poems by John Donne, stories by William Morris, and a selection of works by three Greek idyllists. Volume IV (1898) contains Saint Agnes of Intercession by D. G. Rosetti and a story by Robert Louis Stevenson. Volume V (1899) contains poems by William Morris and Percy Bysshe Shelley. Volume VI (1900) contains poems by Vernon Lee and Christopher Smart and stories by William Morris. Volume VII (1901) contains prose by John Addington Symonds and Charles Dickens. Volume VIII (1902) contains an essay by Robert Browning and poems by William Makepeace Thackeray. Volume IX ( 1903) contains poems by Arthur Symons and W. B. Yeats. Volume X (1904) contains poems by Oscar Wilde and an essay by Walt Whitman. Volume XI (1905) contains poems and prose by George Eliot, and Esther by Wilfred Scawen Blunt. Volume XII (1906) contains songs and sonnets by Algernon Charles Swinburne and poems by Thomas William Parsons. Volume XIII (1907) contains John Keats's seven odes and essays by Fiona Macleod. Volume XIV (1908) contains an essay by Andrew Lang and poems by Francis Thompson. Volume XV (1909) contains lyric poems and sonnets by Arthur Upson and an essay by Oliver Elton. Volume XVI (1910) contains The Two Boyhoods by John Ruskin and selections from Vagaries by Axel Munthe. Volume XVII (1911) contains poems by Sir Walter Scott and essays by Arthur Symons. Volume XVIII (1912) contains poems by Alfred Lord Tennyson and selections from Walt Whitman's Leaves of Grass. Volume XIX (1913) contains essays by Charles Lamb and plays by J. M. Synge. Volume XX (1914) contains essays by Hilaire Belloc and poems by Edmund Gosse. Volume XXI (1925) contains an index to the Bibelot and a list of subscribers to the Testimonial Edition. In the original paper boards. Externally smart, though a little worn and tanned to the extremities. The front board, front free end paper and first blank page is detached to Volume I. The front hinges of Volume XVI and XXI are splitting but still firm. A small faint stain to the spine of Volume VIII and some marks to the rear joint of Volume XIX. A scattering of marks to the front board and joint of Volume XIV, as well as a little silverfish damage to the spine. A stain to the rear board and closed tears to the spine of Volume XX. Internally, firmly bound. Pages are very bright and clean. Many of the pages are uncut. A small loss to the contents page of Volume V and VIII, not affecting the text. Very Good
Seller: Rooke Books PBFA, Bath, United Kingdom
Wells, H. G.. THE WONDERFUL VISIT. J. M. Dent/Macmillan, London/New York, 1895.
Price: US$600.00 + shipping
Description: First edition, variant binding (possibly later) with gilt angel designed by Arthur Rackham on front board. An early fantasy work by Wells. Bookplate of Charles Raymond Austen Leigh, a distant relative of Jane Austen. Red beveled cloth boards stamped in gilt on front and spine; top edge gilt. Very good to near fine with small stain to the slightly faded spine.
Seller: Quill & Brush, member ABAA, Middletown, MD, U.S.A.
Wells, H.G.. The Wonderful Visit. J.M. Dent, London, 1895.
Price: US$600.00 + shipping
Description: Rackham, Arthur. First Edition. 251pp. 8vo. Publisher's red cloth,with gilt angel (designed by Arthur Rackham) on front cover, t.e.g., rest uncut. Very Good
Seller: James Cummins Bookseller, ABAA, New York, NY, U.S.A.
WELLS, H. G.. The Wonderful Visit.. London: William Heinemann and J. M. Dent, 1895, 1895.
Price: US$641.34 + shipping
Description: First edition, first issue, of Wells's second book, with an autograph postcard signed by Wells to C. H. Norman window-mounted and tipped-in before the half-title. The postcard, sent from Odenwald, Germany to London, likely in 1911, is simply inscribed "Hooray!". The recipient, Clarence Henry Norman (1886-1974), was a fellow socialist and a member of the Social Democratic Federation who contributed to the left-wing magazines Social Democrat and New Age (where Wells was a fellow contributor), publishing articles on Wells in 1906 and 1909. Wells's satire The Wonderful Visit was inspired by the remark (attributed to John Ruskin) that if an angel were to visit late 19th-century Britain he would be immediately shot. This copy is from the first issue, with "reader" on p. 198 misprinted as "eader", and in the second state binding, with the angel illustration on the front cover designed by Arthur Rackham. Wells 5. Octavo. Original red cloth, spine and front cover lettered in gilt, front cover decorated with angel design by Arthur Rackham in gilt, top edge gilt, others untrimmed. A little bumped, spine and edges sunned, contents clean. A very good copy.
Seller: Peter Harrington. ABA/ ILAB., London, United Kingdom
Wells, H. G.. The Wonderful Visit. J. M. Dent & Co., Aldine House, London, 1895.
Price: US$690.00 + shipping
Condition: Very Good
Description: 8vo. 251pp. Red cloth, gilt spine title, and gilt upper board illustration by Rackham. First state, with the missing 'r' on p. 198. Spine sunned, rear inner hinge cracked, else this is a very good copy. Name of former owner, Dudley James, on front free endpaper, and the Haskell bookplate on the front pastedown. Currey, p. 426. Barron, 2-155. Wells Society 5. .
Seller: Thorn Books, ABAA, Tucson, AZ, U.S.A.
Price: US$750.00 + shipping
Description: Octavo, pp. [i-vii] viii 1-251 [252: blank], title page printed in orange and black, original pictorial red buckram over bevel-edged boards, front and spine panels stamped in gold, t.e.g., fore and bottom edges untrimmed. First edition, variant binding (possibly later) with gilt angel (designed by Arthur Rackham) on front panel. A dark satire based on a remark attributed to John Ruskin, that if an angel came to earth someone would be sure to shoot it. ". an underrated work that deserves to be more widely read." - Survey of Modern Fantasy Literature V, pp. 2162-4. Barron (ed), Fantasy Literature 2-155. Bleiler, The Guide to Supernatural Fiction 1675. Locke, A Spectrum of Fantasy, p. 228. Schlobin, The Literature of Fantasy 1096. Bleiler (1978), p. 205. Reginald 15116. Currey (2002), p. 426 (binding B). Hammond B2. Wells 5. Wells Society 5. Wells and Hammond have the binding information reversed: copies of this book with the angel on the front cover are not advance copies and are far more common than those without the figure. A fine copy. (#60177)
Seller: Currey, L.W. Inc. ABAA/ILAB, Elizabethtown, NY, U.S.A.
Price: US$2750.00 + shipping
Description: Octavo, pp. [i-vii] viii 1-251 [252: blank], title page printed in orange and black, original pictorial red buckram over bevel-edged boards, front and spine panels stamped in gold, t.e.g., fore and bottom edges untrimmed. First edition, variant binding (possibly later) with gilt angel (designed by Arthur Rackham) on front panel. Presentation copy with inscription in Wells's hand on the half title page: "With the Author's kind regards." Bookplate of Richard Le Gallienne (1866-1947), English literary critic, novelist, and man of letters, affixed to front paste-down. Wells reviewed Le Gallienne's first novel, THE QUEST OF THE GOLDEN GIRL: A ROMANCE (1896), which he called "a pretty piece of work." THE WONDERFUL VISIT is a dark satire based on a remark attributed to John Ruskin, that if an angel came to earth someone would be sure to shoot it. ". an underrated work that deserves to be more widely read." - Survey of Modern Fantasy Literature V, pp. 2162-4. Barron (ed), Fantasy Literature 2-155. Bleiler, The Guide to Supernatural Fiction 1675. Locke, A Spectrum of Fantasy, p. 228. Schlobin, The Literature of Fantasy 1096. Bleiler (1978), p. 205. Reginald 15116. Currey (2002), p. 426 (binding B). Hammond B2. Wells 5. Wells Society 5. Wells and Hammond have the binding information reversed: copies of this book with the angel on the front cover are not advance copies and are far more common than those without the figure. Binding leaned, a nearly fine, bright copy. (#142816)
Seller: Currey, L.W. Inc. ABAA/ILAB, Elizabethtown, NY, U.S.A.
Price: US$2750.00 + shipping
Description: Octavo, pp. [i-vii] viii 1-251 [252: blank], title page printed in orange and black, original pictorial red buckram over bevel-edged boards, front and spine panels stamped in gold, t.e.g., fore and bottom edges untrimmed. First edition, variant binding (possibly later) with gilt angel (designed by Arthur Rackham) on front panel. A dark satire based on a remark attributed to John Ruskin, that if an angel came to earth someone would be sure to shoot it. ". an underrated work that deserves to be more widely read." - Survey of Modern Fantasy Literature V, pp. 2162-4. Barron (ed), Fantasy Literature 2-155. Bleiler, The Guide to Supernatural Fiction 1675. Locke, A Spectrum of Fantasy, p. 228. Schlobin, The Literature of Fantasy 1096. Bleiler (1978), p. 205. Reginald 15116. Currey (2002), p. 426 (binding B). Hammond B2. Wells 5. Wells Society 5. Wells and Hammond have the binding information reversed: copies of this book with the angel on the front cover are not advance copies and are far more common than those without the figure. A fine "like new" copy. Accompanied by an important autograph letter signed (ALs) from Wells to his publisher, J. M. Dent, dated 24 September 1895, 4 pages on folded octavo sheet embossed "Lynton, / Maybury Road, / Working." A detailed discussion of Wells's financial arrangements with Dent for THE WONDERFUL VISIT. Wells discusses Dent's discount agreement with a retail bookseller and how is affects his royalty. "I'm afraid I can't accept 15% on what Smith's pay you, as you suggest, anxious as I am for the advertisement in their stalls . Publication at a nett price is entirely to their advantage (saving them the competition of the discount bookseller) & I certainly think it an unfair abuse of their monopoly for them to insist on terms that will not give you a profit & enable you to pay my royalty ." In the letter Wells mentions his financial arrangement with Heinemann for THE TIME MACHINE, and his "next" book, THE ISLAND OF DOCTOR MOREAU. Throughout his writing career Wells pestered his publishers over contract terms and commissions. This letter is a fine example of the sharp watch Wells kept over his financial arrangements with publishers. Approximately 240 words. The letter has two pin holes at top left corner; it is otherwise in fine condition. Book and letter enclosed in fleece lined cloth folder and quarter maroon pebbled morocco and red cloth slipcase, spine panel lettered and tooled in gold. (#80389)
Seller: Currey, L.W. Inc. ABAA/ILAB, Elizabethtown, NY, U.S.A.