WELLS, H.G. (1866–1946). The Time Machine: An Invention. New York: Henry Holt and Company, 1895.
12mo. Half–title, frontispiece; 6pp. publisher’s ads at end. Original tan buckram stamped in purple (some sunning to extremities, few spots of rubbing near edges, discrete repairs to hinges); folding box.
FIRST AMERICAN EDITION, FIRST ISSUE, with the author’s name misprinted “H.S. Wells” on title–page. CURREY’S BINDING A in tan buckram, rather than the red cloth found in later issues. The American edition preceded the English edition by 2 weeks. “The Time Machine might be considered the first work of modern science–fiction, and it is still the classic statement of an important subgenre. A remarkable work, and necessary reading” (Bleiler).
THE AUTHOR’S FIRST NOVEL that is considered a “finer artistic and imaginative achievement than any of his later fiction” (Beronzi, The Publication of The Time Machine in SF: The Other Side of Realism by Clareson pp. 204–215). Bleiler, Science Fiction 2325; Currey pp. 524–525; Wells 4.