The Time Machine, The Invisible Man and War of the Worlds

The Time Machine

Considered the greatest science-fiction novel of all time, The Time Machine is a seminal moment in the history of English literature. A dazzling display of new thought that has been endlessly copied since its release in 1895, its title alone – a phrase coined by Wells as a device for traveling backwards or forwards through time – has become part of the cultural lexicon. When an English Scientist, known only as The Time Traveller, invents a machine that can travel through time, he finds himself in a distant future inhabited by a mellow race of humans called the Eloi. The Time Traveller will soon discover, however, that they are not the only race left on Earth. The Time Machine remains one of the most important novels of the 19^th century.

The Time Machine will mark the first in a three-book set of H.G. Wells novels. Originality was Wells’s calling card. The author’s ability to, as historian John Higgs notes “create wholly original stories out of thin air” culminated in a three-year span in which he published three of his most influential works; what Wells referred to as “scientific romance novels.” The Time Machine, followed by The Invisible Man and The War of the Worlds are editions uniquely crafted and designed to breathe new life into some of the greatest stories ever told. Additionally, each book includes special curated bonus material to create a truly unique set of these beloved novels.

This edition of The Time Machine by H.G. Wells is limited to two hundred & eighty-one copies, and is presented in three states: Lettered, Numbered and Roman Numeral. The edition measures 6” x 9” and includes six ink illustrations by Florian Bertmer, as well as an exclusive introduction by Simon Wells, great-grandson of H.G. Wells, and director of the 2002 film adaptation.

The edition includes “The Chronic Argonauts,” an 1888 short story by H.G. Wells which the author refers to as, “the original draft of what became The Time Machine.” Also included is the long-lost eleventh chapter, “The Grey Man,” published during the novel’s serialization in the January to May issues of The New Review, excised from the first book edition published later that year.

Illustrations and text are printed letterpress on a hand-fed Vandercook Cylinder Press, and the editions are signed by Simon Wells and Florian Bertmer.

The Numbered edition is a quarter cloth binding with custom designed paper boards, which are printed letterpress. The spine is covered in a vibrant two-toned cloth and endsheets are Hahnemühle Bugra. The edition is housed in a paper covered slipcase and is limited to 250 copies.

War of the Worlds

Described by H.G. Wells as “a grotesque romance,” The Invisible Man remains as remarkable and relevant today as it was upon its publication over a hundred years ago. Originally serialized in Pearson’s Weekly in 1897, The Invisible Man arrived on the heels of The Time Machine and The Island of Doctor Moreau, serving to cement H.G. Wells as the grandfather of science-fiction literature.

The story begins on a bitter winter evening, when a mysterious stranger arrives in the remote English village of Iping, his face swaddled in bandages. The stranger is Griffin, a scientist who has discovered the secret to invisibility, but cannot find a way to reverse it. Freed from the constraints of physicality and rejected by a society that fears him, Griffin descends into madness, violence, and brutality. The Invisible Man is as insightful as it is disturbing, exploring the question of morality when one is free to do as they please without risk of being caught.

The Invisible Man is the second in a three-book set of H.G. Wells novels. Originality was Wells’s calling card. The author’s ability to, as historian John Higgs notes “create wholly original stories out of thin air” culminated in a three-year span in which he published three of his most influential works; what Wells referred to as “scientific romance novels.” The Time Machine, followed by The Invisible Man and The War of the Worlds are editions uniquely crafted and designed to breathe new life into some of the greatest stories ever told. Additionally, each book includes special curated bonus material to create a truly unique set of these beloved novels.

This edition of The Invisible Man by H.G. Wells is limited to two hundred & seventy-six copies, and is presented in two states: Lettered and Numbered. The edition measures 6” x 9” and includes six ink illustrations by Florian Bertmer, as well as an exclusive introduction by Christopher Priest.

Illustrations and text are printed letterpress on a hand-fed Vandercook Cylinder Press, and the editions are signed by Christopher Priest and Florian Bertmer.

BONUS MATERIAL INCLUDED:

Appendix A: The Four Endings of The Invisible Man – The four different versions of Chapter 28’s conclusive words originally intended to be the last paragraph of the book.

Appendix B: Invisibility in Ancient Greece and in Nineteenth-Century Fiction – Exclusive excerpts from a collection of invisibility narratives that inspired H.G. Wells’s novel.

Appendix C: Technological Context: Röntgen Rays and Radio Waves – A valuable collection of articles that served as scientific inspiration for H.G. Wells’s novel.

The Numbered edition is a quarter cloth binding with custom designed paper boards, which are printed letterpress. The spine is covered in a two-toned cloth and endsheets are Hahnemühle Ingress. The edition is housed in a paper covered slipcase and is limited to 250 copies.

War of the Worlds

One of the most revered and analyzed works in the science-fiction canon, The War of the Worlds by H.G. Wells was first serialized in 1897 by Pearson’s Weekly in the UK and Cosmopolitan in the USA. Upon its publication, The War of the Worlds was utterly unique in its scope and the first of its kind, depicting a conflict between humans and an extraterrestrial race.

Among its many interpretations, the novel has been viewed as a commentary on evolution theory, British imperialism, and Victorian superstitions, fears, and prejudices. H.G. Wells once said the plot arose from a conversation with his brother Frank about the British colonization of Tasmania, and its effects on the indigenous Tasmanians. “How would it be with us,” Wells wondered, “if some creatures of a vastly superior power came down upon us and behaved like a drunken man-of-war’s crew let loose among gentle savages?”

The War of the Worlds has spawned half a dozen feature films, radio dramas, a record album, comic books, television series, and several sequels by other authors. It was most memorably adapted as a radio drama by Orson Welles in 1938, the broadcast of which caused widespread panic among listeners who believed the Martian invasion to be real. The novel is also credited with popularizing the term “Martian,” and influencing the work of scientists, leading to the invention of the liquid fueled rocket which resulted in the Apollo 11 Moon landing 71 years later.

The War of the Worlds is the third in a three-book set of H.G. Wells novels. Originality was Wells’s calling card. The author’s ability to, as historian John Higgs notes “create wholly original stories out of thin air” culminated in a three-year span in which he published three of his most influential works; what Wells referred to as “scientific romance novels.” The Time Machine, followed by The Invisible Man and The War of the Worlds are editions uniquely crafted and designed to breathe new life into some of the greatest stories ever told. Additionally, each book includes special curated bonus material to create a truly unique set of these beloved novels.

This edition of The War of the Worlds by H.G. Wells is limited to two hundred & seventy-six copies, and is presented in two states: Lettered and Numbered. The edition measures 6” x 9” and includes six ink illustrations by Florian Bertmer, as well as an exclusive introduction by Orson Scott Card.

Illustrations and text are printed letterpress on a hand-fed Vandercook Cylinder Press, and the editions are signed by Orson Scott Card and Florian Bertmer.

BONUS MATERIAL INCLUDED:

Includes 112 Page Bonus Booklet with Letterpress Printed Jacket:

The Crystal Egg – Precursor to The War of the Worlds
The Things That Live on Mars by H.G. Wells – Cosmopolitan Article
Orson Welles 1938 Radio Broadcast Script
Reprint of The Boston Daily Globe’s front page headline
Reproductions of 32 famous Henrique Alvim Corrêa drawings
Art from Jeff Wayne’s Musical Version of The War of the Worlds

The Numbered edition is a quarter cloth binding with custom designed paper boards, which are printed letterpress. The spine is covered in a two-toned cloth and endsheets are Hahnemühle Ingress. The edition is housed in a paper covered slipcase and is limited to 250 copies.