Folio Archives 477: The Door in the Wall by H. G. Wells and Alvin Langdon Coburn - FOLIO SOCIETY LE 2016

The Door in the Wall and Other Stories by H. G. Wells and Alvin Langdon Coburn - FOLIO SOCIETY LIMITED EDITION 2016

Herbert George Wells (1866–1946) was already the undisputed master of the science fiction novel when “The Door in the Wall and Other Stories” was published in 1911. It highlighted his remarkable talent for the short story.

In 1908 Wells discussed the illustration of this collection of stories with the innovative London-based American photographer Alvin Langdon Coburn, a key figure in the pictorialist movement. Two years later Coburn contacted the New York editor, publisher and gallery owner Mitchell Kennerley, and a limited edition of 600 copies was planned, with a new typeface by Frederic W. Goudy – the first major collaboration of author, photo-illustrator and typesetter in publishing history.

Sixty copies, signed by Wells and Coburn, were distributed in London by Grant Richards, and it is from one of these extremely rare books that the Folio Society facsimile has been created.

The Door in the Wall is just one of eight short stories in this volume. The stories are:-
- The Door in the Wall (22 pages)
- The Star (16 pages)
- A Dream of Armageddon (34 pages)
- The Cone (16 pages)
- A Moonlight Fable (8 pages)
- A Diamond Maker (12 pages)
- The Lord of the Dynamos (24 pages)
- The Country of the Blind (28 pages)

The Door in the Wall is considered by critics to be one of Wells' finest tales. It examines an issue to which Wells returned repeatedly in his writing; the contrast between aesthetics and science and the difficulty of choosing between them.

This first ever full-sized facsimile is based on one of the extremely rare signed first printings and matches the original binding and production, including deckled edges and tipped-in photographs.

FACSIMILE
160 pages
38x28.6cm.
Text printed on mould-made paper with deckled fore-edges.
10 plates, including a frontispiece, printed on Tatami paper and tipped in on two corners.
Off-white endpapers.
Quarter-bound in brown cloth with light brown paper sides, title blocked in gold on front.
Title label inset on spine.

COMMENTARY VOLUME
Dark brown paperback with gilt titling on cover.
Housed in pocket on inside cover of Solander box.
40 pages with frontispiece photograph of Wells by Coburn.
One internal illustration.
Typeset in Kennerley and printed on Munken Wove.
23.3x15.5cm.

SOLANDER BOX
Bound in dark brown cloth, cover blocked in gold with title and inset monochrome photograph.
40.7x30.9x4.5cm.

No. 726 of 980 copies
A$480 (£250)





























































COMMENTARY VOLUME












PROMOTIONAL BROCHURE














An index of the other illustrated reviews in the "Folio Archives" series can be viewed here.

This was one of my most fortunate LE purchases: I received copy number 2, back when that was the lowest number available for purchase.

A stunning work - thank you very much for the review.

I was very close to getting this - regret I didn't, but glad to be reminded of it via Archive post.

Beautiful! One of my holy grail Folios.

Thanks for the review. This is one of my absolute favourite LEs.

Thank you Warwick. This is one of my never-to-be-parted-with LEs, an exquisite production.

>1 wcarter:

This Folio Society LE was a steal and it was a labor of love for Joe Whitlock Blundell, the Program Director who was responsible for the FS LE books. Blundell really sweated all of the important details, e.g., paper quality to simulate the original paper, careful reproduction of Alvin Langdon Coburn's atmospheric photographs, etc., all at a bargain price of £250 !! The FSD-ers have no idea how close to the original this LE comes.

>7 dlphcoracl: The FSD-ers have no idea how close to the original this LE comes.

We do actually; all thanks to your post here: https://www.librarything.com/topic/316670#7066685