If money was no object and you wanted to create the ultimate modern science fiction and fantasy rare book collection in a single swoop, then The Fine Books Company in Rochester, Michigan, is offering first editions of all the Hugo and Nebula Award-winning novels for a cool $116,530.
The listing includes 126 books covering 82 titles (many titles won both awards), and 95% of the titles are signed or inscribed, and in fine or better condition. When a paperback is the true first edition, then the first hardcover is also included. In some cases, US and UK hardcovers have been included where the paperback is the true first.
David Aronovitz, from The Fine Books Company, describes the collection “as a unique gathering of books that has never been offered for sale anywhere before and in all likelihood will never be offered again. The highlights include Starship Troopers and Strangers in a Strange Land, both of which are signed or inscribed by Robert Heinlein. However, arguments might be made that signed copies of both A Canticle for Leibowitz by Walter M Miller and A Case of Conscience by James Blish are even scarcer to locate.” As to signed copies of They’d Rather Be Right, David Aronovitz states that he has never seen one nor remembers a copy ever being offered on the rare book market since he began as a collector in 1976.