THE MARTIAN CHRONICLES by Bradbury, Ray - 1950

Garden City, New York: Doubleday & Company Inc, 1950. First edition. Very good plus in like jacket. First printing in book form of this poetic exploration of colonizers' lives on Mars, one of the classics of mid-century science fiction. Bradbury weaves a series of vignettes into a larger view of his fantastical future world, beginning with an Ohio winter that becomes summer due to the heat of launching rockets, and ending with a father on Mars burning his old map of the Earth. The vignettes are drenched in color, often looking to provoke a particular feeling or simply stand as an exquisite image, resulting in an emotional impact that is uncommon in science fiction of the era. For this reason, THE MARTIAN CHRONICLES is at once a deeply beloved contribution to a fertile genre and entirely unique. 7.75'' x 4.75''. Original pale green cloth, spine lettered in red, original unclipped ($2.50) color pictorial dust jacket. pages. 222 pages. Light rubbing to jacket spine extremities and a couple other nicks to front panel, sunning to spine, some shelf soil to rear panel and one spot at rear fold. Book spine gently sunned, typical light offsetting to endpapers.