John Benyon Harris (1 results)

First Edition. First Impression. Octavo (20.25cm); red paper-covered boards, with titles stamped in gilt on spine; dustjacket; [8],9-251,[5]pp. Inscribed in a contemporary hand on the title page to Scandinavian fantasy bibliophile Sigvard Östlund: "Sigvard Östlund / with best wishes from John Wyndham." Hint of a forward lean, spine ends gently nudged, else a fresh, Near Fine copy. In the first state dustjacket, with ads for Man With a Background of Flames and The Last Adam on rear panel; price-clipped (with 11s. 6d. net price printed above the clip), gently spine-sunned and lightly edgeworn, with a few tiny nicks, tears, and attendant creases; Very Good+. Housed in a custom clamshell case. Wyndham's first collection of short fiction, gathering 15 stories touching on the fantastic, supernatural, and demonic; seven of these stories would be included in the American collection Tales of Gooseflesh and Laughter (Ballantine, 1956). A superb association copy, inscribed to Swedish bibliophile and science fiction fan Sigvard Östlund. Östlund learned English specifically so he would be able to communicate with fellow fans and authors during trips to England, where he would periodically make an appearance at the fabled White Horse, a small and somewhat dingy London pub where Wyndham, Leslie Flood, John Carnell, and others would regularly hold court. Östlund also regularly served on the judges panel for the International Fantasy Awards a precursor to the Hugo Award conceived and promoted by Wyndham, Leslie Flood, Frank Cooper, and G. Ken Chapman. While undated, we find it most likely that the inscription would have been written during one of the mid-1950's Awards ceremonies. Locke, A Spectrum of Fantasy, Vol.2, p.118; cf.Bleiler, Guide to Supernatural Fiction 1746.