Asimov, Isaac (1982) ‘The Foundation Trilogy’, US signed first trade anthology edition

Isaac Asimov (1982) ‘The Foundation Trilogy‘, US first trade combined edition, published by Doubleday. Signed and inscribed by Asimov on the title page: “To Robert | Isaac Asimov”.

Condition: fine bar to a whiff of foxing to the top page block edge. Otherwise, clean throughout without any previous owner’s scribbles. no bookplates, no stamps. Boards are clean and not bumpred. A beautiful copy. The dust jacket is no price clipped showwing the USD 19.95 on he front flap.

The book contains the three Foundation classics which were originally published by Gnome Press back in the early 1950s:

– Foundation (1951)

– Foundation and Empire (1952)

– Second Foundation (1953)

There were a number of book club editions published already in the 1950s which combined the three Foundation stories into one volume. However, later Doubleday became Asimov’s publisher and persuaded him to write ‘Foundation’s Edge’ (1982) with a hefty advance. Doubleday therefore also issued the trade Foundation anthology edition. Notice the relative high price Doubleday charged of this anthology edition of USD 19.95 which corresponds to roughly USD 50 in today’s value of the Dollar.

The Foundation Trilogy was accoladed with the Hugo for the best sci-fi series of all time. A TV-series funded by Apple TV is releasing an adaptation in late 2021.