“DIDN’T FIREMEN RIDE TO FIRES TO PUT THEM OUT, INSTEAD OF START THEM?”: FIRST APPEARANCES OF BRADBURY’S “THE FIREMAN” (ADAPTED INTO FAHRENHEIT 451) AND ASIMOV’S “TYRANN” (PUBLISHED AS THE NOVEL THE STARS, LIKE DUST)

BRADBURY, Ray. Isaac Asimov. H. L. Gold (ed.). Galaxy Science Fiction. New York: World Editions, Inc., January, February, March 1951 (Volume 1, nos 4-6). Three vintage magazine issues, digest size (5-1/2 by 7-1/2 inches), small octavos, original pictorial paper wrappers, staple-bound as issued.

Three issues of the legendary magazine Galaxy Science Fiction, running from January to March 1951, featuring the first appearances of Ray Bradbury’s novella “The Fireman,” expanded into the classic novel Fahrenheit 451, and, serialized over three issues, Isaac Asimov’s “Tyran,” later published in book form as The Stars, Like Dust.

These three important issues of Galaxy Science Fiction appeared under the editorship of H. L. Gold, who was described by his successor, Frederik Pohl, as an editor who “made a startling impact on the world of science fiction . . . It is difficult to exaggerate that impact.” Gold edited the magazine for its first decade, deliberately emphasizing stories that addressed societal concerns rather than purely scientific and technological notions, signaling a shift in the very nature of the genre. Various publishers financed over 250 issues of the celebrated magazine between 1950 and 1979 (a single issue appeared in 1980 and another eight in the mid-1990s).

The February 1951 issue includes Ray Bradbury’s “The Fireman,” a 25,000-word story about a future in which “firemen” are dispatched by the government to burn books in private homes. Upon reading it, Stanley Kauffman, an editor at Ballantine Books, suggested that Bradbury expand the novella (“novelet” in the nomenclature of the magazine) for book publication. In a feverish nine-day writing session, Bradbury worked to “expand this cautionary tale into the 50,000-word novel Fahrenheit 451” (Match to Flame: The Fictional Paths to Fahrenheit 451), published in 1953 by Ballantine, earning the house a reputation as a premier publisher of fantasy and science fiction novels (they later beat out Ace Books to secure the US publication of The Lord of the Rings).

Asimov’s tale, “Tyran,” which was divided into three installments from January and March 1951, was published on February 15th of the same year by Doubleday as The Stars, Like Dust (later published yet again, in paperback, in 1954, with a third title, The Rebellious Stars, bound with Roger Dee’s An Earth Gone Mad). Asimov’s novel (whichever of the three titles it bore) is situated in his Galactic Empire series, though it is set before the founding of the Galactic Empire.

These issues include Gold’s provocative running editorial commentaries, in which he argues for the bold and original quality of the stories appearing in the magazine, while poking good-natured fun at its competitors. His courageous spirit is on full display in the “Consensus” introduction to the March 1951 issue, where he writes “our policy of challenging writers to present themes that could not be sold elsewhere . . . themes too adult, too profound or revolutionary in concept . . . has been endorsed by active fans and non-vocal readers alike.” The issues also contain black and white art, short stories, “novelets,” and articles by a number of authors, including Lester del Rey and Betsy Curtis. The striking full-color covers of these three issues feature, in sequence, art by John Bunch (an illustration for “Tyrann”), Chelsey Bonestell (“The Tying Down of a Spaceship on Mars in a Desert Sandstorm”), and Don Sibley (“The Wind Between the Worlds”).

Some toning to pages, small repaired closed tear to the upper right front panel of the January issue, light edge wear to spines, inoffensive stray pencil and pen marks by early readers. A fascinating glimpse into an exciting and important era in the history of science fiction publishing, when magazines like Galaxy Science Fiction, The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction, and Analog Science Fiction and Fact continued to press the boundaries of the genre and modernize themselves after the Second World War.

This set is offered by Bauman Rare Books as part of the “Where the Need is Greatest” fundraiser on behalf of the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers Association (SFWA), a 5011(3) nonprofit.