The Last Circus & The Electrocution [Galleys Set]
$1,020 · Offered by Biblio · No longer available
Signed · In dust jacket
Northridge, CA: Lord John Press, 1980. Hardcover. Fine/Near fine. Three copies of this collection, which prints a previously unpublished story, The Last Circus, and another, The Electrocution, published in a magazine in 1946 under the pseudonym William Elliott. With an 11-page introduction by William Nolan, a four-page afterword by Bradbury, and an illustration by Joe Mugnaini. This is a set of copies assembled by the collector Tom Garner and housed in one the the most elaborate clamshell boxes he ever commissioned. The box measures 13 by 19 inches, with the galleys unfolded in a custom paper envelope and the books inset into a removable tray. The contents are: 1). Unbound proof sheets (galleys), printed on rectos (front side) only, two pages per 18-by-12-inch sheet. There are three interesting aspects to these galleys. A) The colophon page includes a list of all the printed colophons, including the named presentation copies; B) Bradbury's afterword seems to have been written just about The Last Circus and in these galleys he makes no mention of the second story; in the published version, he adds half a sentence, which suggests that The Electrocution was not part of the original plan (it is included in these galleys, however; it's just not mentioned in Bradbury's essay); C) This is probably the dedication copy, as it is inscribed "For Bruce—with love from his friend Ray Bradbury 5/21/1980." These galleys do not include a dedication page; the published dedication was to Bruce
- Publisher: Lord John Press
- Year: 1980
- Printing: first
- Binding: hardcover
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