OUT OF THE SILENT PLANET

First edition. Association copy. Publisher's original red cloth with black titles to the spine, in the Harold Jones illustrated dustwrapper. A good or better copy, the binding square and firm with some bumping to the spine tips, the cloth is heavily mottled. The contents, with the ownership name of Leornard Blake dated 'Dec, 19th 1941' in blue ink on the front endpaper, and some spotting to the margins throughout, are otherwise clean. Four pages of publisher's adverts to the rear, as called for. Complete with the rubbed, nicked and torn dustwrapper that is chipped with loss to the spine tips and has faint pencil notes (in the hand of Leonard Blake) to the lower portion of the darkened and mildly spotted rear panel.

Both the book and dustwrapper are in the second state, likely a remainder issue (Currey state B), the sheets and dustwrapper are the same in both issues with the exception of a cheaper binding (without gilt) on the book, and the original printed price on the dustwrapper of '7s 6d net' clipped from the lower front flap and 'first cheap edition 3s. 6d net' overprinted in red above. The first and by far the scarcest volume in C. S. Lewis' Space Trilogy. The novel was written during 1937 after a conversation with J. R. R. Tolkien in which both men lamented the state of contemporary fiction. They agreed that Lewis would write a space travel story and Tolkien would write a time travel story. Tolkien never completed his story (a fragment of his attempt 'The Lost Road' was eventually published in volume 5 of the History of Middle-Earth series), Lewis however went on to write two further volumes 'Perelandra' (1943) and 'That Hideous Strength' (1945). An excellent association copy. From the library of the author's friend Leonard James Blake. Blake was the husband of Maureen Moore (later Lady Dunbar of Hempriggs), one of the most significant figures in C. S. Lewis' life, a friend and surrogate sister with whom he lived for over 20 years. Maureen and Leonard Blake were married (with Lewis' encouragement) in 1940. Both teachers, Leonard was for more than two decades, the Director of Music at Malvern College (Lewis was educated at Malvern, and it is widely recognised that his time there, in particular the gas lamps and landscape, helped inspire the Chronicles of Narnia). Leonard and Maureen had two children, Lewis was godfather to their son Richard. They maintained a close friendship for the rest of Lewis' life. Leonard passed away in 1989 and Maureen in 1997, the final passages of 'The Last Battle' were read at her funeral.