Skip to main content
Go to accessibility notice

    Description

    "One of those specialty press productions that causes awe for many contemporary collectors"

    E. E. "Doc" Smith. The History of Civilization: Triplanetary, First Lensman, Galactic Patrol, Gray Lensman, Second Stage Lensmen, Children of the Lens. Reading, Pennsylvania: Fantasy Press, Inc., 1955.
    Special six-volume set in the publisher's rare original red cardboard box. Number 24 of 75 sets signed by the author on a limitation page bound into each volume. First volume contains a lengthy inscription from the author to a "friend of old and fellow-toiler in the vineyard of SF." Six twelvemo volumes.

    Publisher's original reddish-brown leather over maroon cloth, with original thick transparent plastic dust jackets, rarely seen on the books. Top edges stained red. All of the volumes show minor shelf wear from their storage in the box, and light yellow toning to the bottom edge. Overall, the set is in fine condition. The box and lid are worn, but remain intact, and are rarely seen with this set at all.

    "Printed by Eshbach from original plates on fine linen weave paper...then bound in red half-leather with a special autograph page, all signed by the author and numbered, 60 presold before publication and inscribed to specific people, three were bound in full blue leather, one for Smith (now owned by his daughter) and two still held by Eshbach; the other 12 not resold were sold to old friends and collectors, the last one at the 1962 World SF Convention in Chicago....The box was indeed a box, not a traycase or slipcase; although form-fitting and matching (albeit in cardboard, not buckram), it actually had a shoebox-like lid. Only three sets with a lid in tact are known. Copies had thick transparent plastic jackets without imprinting so the books show through...Many sets today lack the box, or plastic, or both (the plastic discolored if shelved in sunlight for years, so many owners remove them and lose them; the books remain fine, better if the plastic's left on even if it is ugly...A legend in specialty publishing and fine bookmaking. A collector's dream...One of those specialty press productions that causes awe for many contemporary collectors." (Chalker 226) From the Robert and Diane Yaspan Collection.


    Fees, Shipping, and Handling Description: Books & Catalogs (view shipping information)

    Sales Tax information  |  Terms and Conditions

    Bidding Guidelines and Bid Increments

    Glossary of Terms

    Auction Info

    Auction Dates
    February, 2008
    21st-22nd Thursday-Friday
    Bids + Registered Phone Bidders: 3
    Lot Tracking Activity: N/A
    Page Views: 1,640

    Buyer's Premium per Lot:
    19.5% of the successful bid (minimum $9) per lot.

    Sold for: Sign-in or Join (free & quick)

    Heritage membership

    Join Now - It's Free

    VIEW BENEFITS
    1. Past Auction Values (prices, photos, full descriptions, etc.)
    2. Bid online
    3. Free Collector newsletter
    4. Want List with instant e-mail notifications
    5. Reduced auction commissions when you resell your
      winnings 
    Consign now
    • Cash Advances
    • More Bidders
    • Trusted Experts
    • Over 200,000 Satisfied Consignors Since 1976
    Consign to the 2020 October 27 Domain Names Signature Auction - Dallas.

    Learn about consigning with us

    Heritage Auctions and Mr. Chad Reingold were...professional and courteous in all transactions and provided outstanding service in answering my many emails. I recommend them at the highest level.
    Killy M.,
    Melbourne Beach, FL
    View More Testimonials

    HA.com receives more traffic than any other auction house website. (Source: Similarweb.com)

    Video tutorial

    Getting the most out of search

    Recent auctions

    2018 March 17 Western Americana & Texana Grand Format Auction - Dallas
    2018 March 17 Western Americana & Texana Grand Format Auction - Dallas
    REALIZED SO FAR $327,896
https://historical.ha.com/itm/books/signed-editions/e-e-doc-smith-the-history-of-civilization-triplanetary-first-lensman-galacti/a/682-57011.s
historical.ha.com
crawl=CC-MAIN-2018-13
176574
application/http; msgtype=response
sha1:YNOCCVPGFJCZ3FIU5RMHC6UNPWLAV4PU
<urn:uuid:3d8aff1a-eddb-4a0f-8700-7c0a6a81c301>
2018-03-23T00:02:00Z
206.123.52.25
text/html
sha1:CNTLXVD6HT7K4W34BUI3R7HFFVSYTATQ
<urn:uuid:f6f3dde3-4b5e-41bd-9cdf-00f27485182e>
https://historical.ha.com/itm/books/signed-editions/e-e-doc-smith-the-history-of-civilization-triplanetary-first-lensman-galacti/a/682-57011.s
length
response
<urn:uuid:d8a99648-1c5f-4ecf-a416-22def2dcb1af>
robots: classic
hostname: ip-10-155-52-209.ec2.internal
software: Nutch 1.6 (CC)
isPartOf: CC-MAIN-2018-13
operator: Common Crawl Admin
description: Wide crawl of the web for March 2018
publisher: Common Crawl
format: WARC File Format 1.0
conformsTo: http://bibnum.bnf.fr/WARC/WARC_ISO_28500_version1_latestdraft.pdf