CS Lewis (1951) Prince Caspian Return to Narnia first edition and signed letter
Clive Staples Lewis (1951) Prince Caspian: the Return to Narnia , UK first edition, first printing , published by Geoffrey Bles. Together with a handwritten and signed letter by Lewis to one of his fans which is pasted on the pastedown of a Broadcats Talks first edition copy. The letter reads: Magdalen College, Oxford, March 3rd 42. Hubble, Forgive this economy of paper, I cant at the moment do otherwise. The Talks will be published, probably by Centenary Press but it is too early yet to give any details.
I hope they may be in their Autumn lists. Thanks for kind and encouraging letter, Yours sincerely, C.
Between 1941 and 1944 Lewis gave a number of talks on the BBC. The first part of these talks was published for the first time in 1942 and forms one of the finest pieces of Christian apologetics. The speeches in their entirety were only published after WWII.During WWII and resulting shortage economy Lewis often wrote on little pieces of paper, a habbit that he continued even after WWII whilst lecturing at college. The paper, handwriting and signature is consistent with other examples. An expert paper/ book conservationist will be able to remove the letter from the pastedown, but we prefer not to tinker with it as it forms part of the history what Mr Hubble chose to do with it. Handwritten and signed letters by Lewis come up for sale very rarely and when they do they sell for a small fortune.
Condition of the letter: in nice shape as pictured. This item makes up the lionshare of the price. Condition of the Broadcast Talks first edition: acceptable without the dust jacket. Mr Hubble has penned his name on the title page, and also attached an old newspaper article about an incident of Lewis at a sermon in Oxford.
Condition of the Prince Caspian first edition: near fine condition with no previous owners inscriptions, no library stamps, no bookplates. Internally clean and none of the Pauline Baynes illustrations have been coloured in as sometimes found in other copies. The boards retain their original deep blue colour.
The lettering on the spine is not rubbed out. The dust jacket is very good minus. It is not price clipped with the first state price of 10s. The front flap doe not indicate any subsequent impression. Short tears as pictured with minor chipping to the edges and grubby at places.
Overall A nice lot with a scarce brief letter handwritten and signed by CS Lewis. Given that The Chronicles of Narnia use Christian themes it makes great sense to pair the letter with such a content with a nice first edition of Prince Caspian. The item "CS Lewis (1951) Prince Caspian Return to Narnia first edition and signed letter" is in sale since Wednesday, December 19, 2018. This item is in the category "Books, Comics & Magazines\Antiquarian & Collectable". The seller is "firstandfine" and is located in Birmingham. This item can be shipped to all countries in Europe, all countries in continental Asia, United States, Canada.- Fiction Subject: Fantasy
- Binding: Hardback
- Author: CS Lewis
- Language: English
- Special Attributes: 1st Edition