THE ISLAND OF DR. MOREAU.
London: William Heinemann, 1896. First Edition. Hardcover. Octavo (8vo). Very good condition. Item #020566
x, 219 pages. Followed by [iii] (one of these pages contains a "Note" about the publication of the essential idea of the story in the January 1895 issue of the Saturday Review, as well as a statement about quasi-human monsters and the possibilities of vivisection). Followed by [ii] pages of publisher's advertisement, printed on one side only, for The Time Machine, and [xxxii] pages of double-sided publisher's advertisement starting with The Manxman and ending with Out of Due Season. The original binding is moderately shelfworn, soiled and discolored, with some spattered spots to the spine; protected in custom-fitted archival Mylar. First state binding, with the publisher's blind-stamped monogram "WH" on the rear board. Illustrated with a tissue-guarded frontispiece, which is foxed and/or toned, along with the adjacent title page, as are the endpapers. Minor soiling to the text, and a small bump to the bottom margin of the front endpaper and the half-title page (affecting just two pages). Early ownership inscription in pencil on front endpaper. Front hinge is slightly weakened. Bookseller's ticket neatly affixed to the inside rear cover. One of Wells' earliest works, published the year after The Time Machine and two years prior to The War of the Worlds. First edition. BIBLIOGRAPHY: Currey, 520.
Price: $2,500.00