Bradbury's most famous work in the preferred asbestos binding.

Bradbury, Ray.

Fahrenheit 451 (Asbestos Binding)

New York: Ballantine Books, Inc., 1953. First edition. A lovely copy of the author's masterpiece, in the rare asbestos binding. One of approximately 200 copies (although a letter from Bradbury suggests the number was closer to 215), this copy number 206. A Near Fine book with a small chip near the fore edge of the board (4 x 2mm), light bump to the front lower corner, small chip at the lower rear hinge (3 x 2mm) and minor soiling and rubbing to the binding, but less than most. Page block is tight and square, although it smells a bit smoky (perhaps appropriately?) A quick review of the auction records shows copies in comparable condition regularly selling in this range: $17,500 at Heritage 2014, $13,750 at Heritage 2012, $15,535 at Heritage 2007.



Bradbury’s most famous work, about a dystopian future where books are banned – and burned. “Fahrenheit 451” appears on the New York Public Library’s list of books of the century and won the 1954 American Academy of Letters Award in Arts and Literature. Though the book is thought to be a comment on the political culture and McCarthyism at the time of its publication, the work also grew out of a number of ideas and themes Bradbury had explored in a few of his earlier published short stories. The book would later be adapted into a 1966 film directed by Francois Truffaut, which was nominated for the Golden Lion at the Venice Film Festival. In a contemporary review in The Chicago Sunday Tribune, writer August Derleth called the book "a savage and shockingly prophetic view of one possible future way of life…compelling.” Near Fine (Item #1169)

Out of stock