The Shape of Things to Come: The Ultimate Revolution (Association copy inscribed to Julian Huxley)
London: Hutchinson & Co., 1933.
First edition. 432, 12 [ads] pp. Dark navy cloth stamped in blind at front, spine lettered in gilt. Very Good+ with bumped corners and light edge wear, in a Very Good dust jacket with a little expert restoration of the head, sunning and crease to spine panel, edge wear, single piece of tape on verso. Signed on front free endpaper by H.G. Wells and inscribed to Julian Huxley, brother of Brave New World author Aldous Huxley and a co-author with Wells of the 1930 nonfiction book The Science of Life, "Julian, another from H.G." Huxley's close reading of this copy is clear from his marginal pencil lines throughout, which he indexed in pencil on the rear endpaper and paste down.
A significant association between two major British intellectuals with similar philosophies who for a time had a close friendship. While best known as "the father of science fiction" for his pioneering novels that presaged many future technologies (such as this work), Wells was also a trained biologist whose first published book was a science text. Huxley was a prominent evolutionary theorist and eugenicist, following in his father's footsteps-- his father being Wells' biology professor and mentor in college.
According to Julian's Memoirs the two met in 1926. Shortly thereafter he was asked by Wells to collaborate with him and his son G.P. on a scientific follow-up to Wells' epic The Outline of History that would become The Science of Life. Wells proved to be a demanding taskmaster, rusty about biology having focused on fiction and other subjects for so long, and Huxley had to resign his professorship to handle the bulk of the research and writing. The two became close friends and correspondents over the next three years. They would stay friends until 1941 when Huxley dared to limit Wells to 20 minutes at the podium of an upcoming meeting of the British Association. Wells had been looking forward to expounding on many of his internationalist, futurist ideas (expounded in this novel and his nonfiction The New World Order) at great length, was mortally offended at the rebuff, canceled his appearance, and the two never met again.
Price: $4,500.00