The Martian

The Martian, Du Maurier, George. Published by Harper's New Monthly Magazine, New York, 1896. First Edition. Bound complete collection of the first printed serial appearances of The Martian, from ten Harper's New Monthly Magazines Volumes XCIII (October 1896) to XCV. 8vo up to 9½" tall. Olive green buckram boards with gilt titles to spine on brown leather label. Portrait frontispiece and full-page illustrations throughout by Du Maurier. Consecutive chapters with pagination matching that of each original magazine issue; additional poems, articles and illustrations included. Boards have sunning and light edge rubbing. Contents are in very nice condition without tears or folds; foxing to endpapers with occasional spotting throughout; small white bookplate to pastedown; middle signatures lightly weakened although all pages remain securely fastened and binding is tight.

The Martian is a romantic fantasy in which an earthling becomes possessed by the spirit of a female extraterrestrial. Considered as one of the earliest science-fiction works, the book was published posthumously in 1897. George Du Maurier (1834-1896), was a celebrated novelist and illustrator whose work ran regularly in Punch. He illustrated books by the great authors of his day including Thackeray, Wilkie Collins, Elizabeth Gaskell, Thomas Hardy, and Henry James with whom he was good friends. Maurier was also the grandfather of famed author Daphne Du Maurier. His most known novel was Trilby, which introduced the evil manipulator Svengali to the world.