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 19th 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 produced 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.
The Time Machine features 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.
The limited edition of The Time Machine by H.G. Wells is presented in three states: Lettered, and editions.
LETTERED EDITION
- 6” x 9” trim size.
- Rounded smyth-sewn binding.
- Full goatskin handbinding with gold foil stamping on the cover.
- Raised bands on the spine with a leather spine label.
- Introduction by Simon Wells, great-grandson of H.G. Wells, and director of the 2002 film adaptation.
- Six ink illustrations by Florian Bertmer printed letterpress along with the text.
- Signed by Simon Wells and Florian Bertmer.
- Payhembury endpapers hand marbled in the U.K.
- Printed letterpress on Stonehenge cotton paper.
- Two color printing on title page.
- Housed in a quarter leather clamshell enclosure with cloth boards.
- Limited to 26 copies.
PLEASE NOTE: Lettered editions are shipped with a signature required.
Published editions may differ slightly from mockups and prototype designs.
Artwork © 2019 by Florian Bertmer
