THE VISUAL ENCYCLOPEDIA OF SCIENCE FICTION

New York: Harmony Books, 1977. First edition. Very good plus.. First softcover edition of this pictorial checklist of SF, warmly inscribed by subject and contributor Philip José Farmer. Comprehensive visual encyclopedia of the state of the genre circa 1977, signed by SF author Philip José Farmer. The first edition offers a time capsule of the unwary world as it was, just before the first tendril of the Star Wars behemoth – if behemoths have tendrils – emerged later that same year. As it is, "Star Wars" and "George Lucas" are entirely absent from the index. Ash organizes the field by theme as well as by creator and media type, offering illustrated guides to such "thematics" as Galactic Empires, Utopias and Nightmares, Cataclysms and Dooms, Sex and Taboos, and Lost and Parallel Worlds; Farmer introduces the section on Religion and Myths, while other themes are discussed by Poul Anderson, Lester del Rey, Brian Aldiss, J.G. Ballard, Fritz Leiber, Arthur C. Clarke, and other eminences. Notable for an expansive section devoted to Fandom and Fringe Cults. 10.25'' x 7.5''. Original wrappers. Illustrated throughout in black and white and in color. 352 pages. Inscribed on front free endpaper by Farmer ("For Phyllis / Best Wishes from / Philip José Farmer"). Moderate edgewear, light scuffing to corners, spine creased. Light spotting to fore-edge.