When Worlds Collide. Together with: After Worlds Collide.
NY: Frederick A. Stokes Company, 1933; 1934. First edition. Laid in is a typed letter, signed, from Wylie to a Mr. Langdon, dated April 13, 1943, which reads: “My dear Mr. Langdon…….Jesus Christ! What a letter! My reply is belated. The paraphrase may refresh your memory. But I am sorry I cost you a new fedora. Possibly the discussion of hats in Generation of Vipers will somewhat reconcile you to the battered one you now perforce wear. In sum, and speaking with that understanding which a minster’s son, alone, can have for a mister’s son—thanks, pal. Philip Wylie.” A foundational text to the genre of science fiction, When Worlds Collide narrates the struggles of astronomer Sven Bronson and scientist Cole Hendron to save the human race in the face of Earth’s destruction. As doomsday approaches and the world descends into chaos, Bronson, Hendron, and company become increasingly desperate, but, in the end, they successfully launch two ships of survivors and find a new habitable planet. In the sequel, After Worlds Collide, Bronson and Hendron’s American survivors discover the remnants of an alien civilization. They quickly find themselves in a bloody conflict with a “soviet” of German, Russian, and Japanese survivors. These two books presented themes that radiated throughout the science fiction genre, bearing heavy influence on the comic strip Flash Gordon and the comic Superman. Philip Wylie also wrote the novel Gladiator, which likewise inspired the creation of Superman. When Worlds Collide bound in red cloth with silver stamping; slight toning to spine, else fine. After Worlds Collide bound in blue cloth with gold stamping; toning to spine, minor rubbing to extremities, else fine. Housed together in a clamshell box with black leather exterior and painted sides, bearing an image of a planet approaching Earth formed from leather onlays on the upper lid, and gold stamping at the spine. Both books have dust jackets tipped in, and are complete with advertisements and reviews. Item #27717
Price: $3,000.00