£500
FIRST BRITISH EDITION, 8vo, pp. 271, [1]. Original green cloth, spine lettered in silver, pictorial dustjacket designed by Michael Ayrton printed in brown. Some foxing, mainly to edges and endpapers. Dustjacket a little rubbed and chipped to extremities, small repair to foot of spine panel. Author’s name pencilled to title-page.
The first UK edition of the debut book by Ray Bradbury (1920-2012), with a striking jacket design by Michael Ayrton (1921-1975). First published in 1947 by Arkham House in Wisconsin, who noted their 'especial pride in offering the first collection of stories by Ray Bradbury', this edition describes Bradbury as 'a young American with a remarkable gift for writing of the weird and macabre... [with] a haunting quality equalled by few writers in this genre'.
This copy has 'Ray Bradbury '48' in pencil on the title-page, possibly in an attempt to mimic the author's signature but not a particularly good match for known examples of his hand.
