A Lensman Website

Limited Edition Boxed Set

     Fantasy Press issued 75 numbered and signed sets of The History of Civilization , bound in leather, with fancy gilt spines, and the protection of clear plastic dust jackets and a box.  Sixty of these were presold before publication.  This is the holy grail of Lensman collectibles, and very rarely available.  The contents of these books are the same as the regular fantasy press hardcover editions (and the Old Earth Books facsimiles) but let's face it, the series just looks so damned substantial  bound in leather! 

Image courtesy of Sally Ann at Barry R. Levin Science Fiction and Fantasy Literature. 

For a larger image, click here. 

     This set epitomizes the shift in Doc's thinking of the Lensman series from ephemeral pulp magazine fare to something more enduring.  Not only were these books built to last, but the stories were rewritten so that instead of telling the tale of Kimball Kinnison slowly revealing the layers of the Boskonian conspiracy to the readers, it instead makes the former "secret" plain from the start, and details the workings of the Arisian plan to destroy the Eddorians.  By the early fifties, fandom already knew that the Eddorians were behind the whole thing, Fantasy Press was a publisher by and for fandom. 

     Here are the vital statistics:

     Smith, Edward E. "Doc." THE HISTORY OF CIVILIZATION.   Reading: Fantasy Press.  1955.  LIMITED TO ONLY 75 NUMBERED AND SIGNED SIX-VOLUME SETS.  All volumes are numbered and signed (the first volume usually also being inscribed). The set comprises the six-volume "Lensman" series: TRIPLANETARY, FIRST LENSMAN, GALACTIC PATROL, GRAY LENSMAN, SECOND STAGE LENSMAN, CHILDREN OF THE LENS.  Each volume is bound in quarter leather and has specially set "series" title pages and limitation pages.  This set was issued in clear plastic dust jackets instead of printed ones, and was packed in a gift box with a lid.  Chalker & Owings calls this set "a collector's dream."  One of the field's truly legendary rarities.  

     This set is very hard to find.  The late Gharlane of Eddore, a longtime Lensman fan and author of the Lensman FAQ, never saw one up for sale.  Fortunately, one has recently come onto the open market (sans box), and can be had for the right price.  Head over to Barry R. Levin Science Fiction and Fantasy Literature and scroll down to "SMITH, EDWARD E. 'DOC.'"

     This set was put up for auction on eBay a while back, but failed to reach the reserve price.  I include the auction record here for everyone's edification and amusement.