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Publication: Prelude to Mars

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  • Publication: Prelude to MarsPublication Record # 270911
  • Author: Arthur C. Clarke
  • Date: 1965-08-00
  • Publisher: Harcourt, Brace & World / SFBC
  • Price:
    $1.90?$: US dollar
  • Pages: x+497
  • Format:
    hc?Hardcover. Used for all hardbacks of any size.
  • Type: OMNIBUS
  • Notes:
    • The title page includes what may be interpreted as a blurb about the book or a subtitle: Prelude to Mars An Omnibus containing the complete novels PRELUDE TO SPACE and THE SANDS OF MARS and sixteen short stories
    • The copyright includes "© 1965 by Arthur C. Clarke" though it's not clear what new material is included in this collection. It may be for the Foreword which is dated December 1964.
    • The publication date and printing number are not stated. Gutter code '27G' on page 497 indicates a July 1965 printing date.
    • There is no price, ISBN, catalog number, nor SFBC number. "BOOK CLUB EDITION" on the bottom of the front flap.
    • The source for the $1.90 price used with this ISFDB publication record is unknown. It's higher than SFBC's price in 1974 but that may reflect that at the time this was a new book with the retail edition published a couple of months earlier at $4.95. Later SFBC printings had the ID #2469 printed on the back flap and were priced $1.69 (as of the SFBC announcement flyer for June 1974 and probably as early as September 1970 based on the ID number.)
    • The table of Contents divides the publication into four parts:
      • Part I - Prelude to Space
      • Part II - On the Light Side (has the first eight short stories)
      • Part III - On the Serious Side (has the remaining eight short stories)
      • Part IV - The Sands of Mars
    • The Foreword on pages 3 to 6 is about Prelude to Space only, not for the omnibus. It ends with "New York, December 1964"
    • "Jacket design by Lawrence Ratzkin" on rear flap. The photographer or artist of the cover image is not credited.
    • Prior to the 2017-08-22 verification this record had the note "Gutter code '24S' on page 497 indicates a June 1976 printing date." The note is puzzling because by 1976 the SFBC was using catalog numbers meaning this note likely belongs with another of the ISBN publication records.
  • External IDs:
Cover art supplied by ISFDB on this Web page
Omnibus Title: Prelude to Mars • (1965) • omnibus by Arthur C. Clarke

Fiction and Essays (view Full Listing)

Primary Verifications

Verifier Date Type Last User Activity Date
98Nascar 2014-02-06 17:07:56 Permanent 2015-03-05
Marc Kupper 2017-08-22 03:09:01 Permanent 2022-08-11
GlennMcG 2020-08-25 17:27:18 Permanent 2022-09-05

Secondary Verifications

Source Status Verifier Date
Bleiler Early Years Not Verified    
Bleiler Supernatural Not Verified    
Bleiler1 (Gernsback) N/A Bluesman 2009-07-02 19:49:30
Bleiler78 N/A Bluesman 2011-07-13 20:24:33
Clute/Grant N/A Bluesman 2011-07-13 20:24:33
Clute/Nicholls N/A Bluesman 2011-07-13 20:24:33
Contento1 (anth/coll) N/A Bluesman 2009-07-02 19:49:30
Currey N/A Bluesman 2009-07-02 19:49:30
Locus1 N/A Bluesman 2009-07-02 19:49:30
Miller/Contento N/A Bluesman 2009-07-02 19:49:30
OCLC/Worldcat Verified Bluesman 2009-07-02 19:49:30
Reginald1 N/A Bluesman 2016-10-06 19:50:16
Reginald3 N/A Bluesman 2016-10-06 19:50:16
Tuck Verified Mhhutchins 2008-09-01 18:31:07
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