The Chronicles of Narnia First Edition Series

Complete first edition, later printings set of C.S. Lewis's best-selling work, one of the most beloved series of all time.

Octavo, seven volumes, original publisher's cloth, each volume illustrated with plates, in-text illustrations and line drawings, and maps by Pauline Baynes, including colour where called for; in original dust wrappers, all now placed in archival, paper-backed covers (any glare in photos is due to these). Comprising first editions, later impressions of:

The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe. London: Geoffrey Bles, 1950. Fourth printing (1958). Publisher's light blue cloth, silver lettering to spine, plain endpapers; in unclipped dust wrapper showing price 10s 6d net to front flap. Light crushing and discolouration to spine tips, a little shallow bumping to corners, spine slightly discoloured, a few small marks to edges foxing to edges; else a clean and uninscribed copy, with pages tightly bound. Unclipped dust wrapper that is a little grubby, and has a few marks (including a more unsightly coaster mark to rear panel), a lightly tanned spine, some nibbling to extremities and a small spot of loss to front panel; else very good.

Prince Caspian. London: Geoffrey Bles, 1951. Sixth printing 1966. Publisher's navy blue cloth binding, silver lettering to spine, map front endpapers; in original, unclipped dust wrapper priced 12s 6d net to front flap. Bumping to front and rear lower corners, alongside mild crushing and discolouration to spine tips, heavy cocking to spine, trivial foxing to edges; else a clean, uninscribed copy. In a worn Unclipped dust wrapper with a little foxing and marking to panels, light tanning to spine, nibbling to extremities with a little loss to spine tips, and a few closed tears, as pictured.

The Voyage of the Dawn Treader. London: Geoffrey Bles, 1952. Seventh printing, 1969. Publisher's light blue cloth binding, silver lettering to spine, map endpapers; in original, price-clipped dust wrapper. Illustrated throughout in black and white by Pauline Baynes. Ex-library copy. Externally with bumping to corners, a moderate spine lean, a little discolouration to extremities, tanning to edges and a small stamp to bottom edge. Internally, there are stamps to the copyright page, page 111 and final page of the text, with a further cardboard pocket stuck to the front pastedown, as well as stamps and label residue to the FFEP. Outer edges of both front and rear paste-downs show tape marks. Light staining to a few pages here and there, but the pages are generally unmarked and the text is fully legible. The price-clipped dust wrapper is lightly nibbled to extremities with very little loss, and there is residue from a publisher's price label to front flap and very mild discolouration to spine.

The Silver Chair. London: Geoffrey Bles, 1953. Seventh printing, 1969. Publisher's navy blue cloth binding, silver lettering to spine, map endpapers; in original, price-clipped dust wrapper. Illustrated throughout in black and white by Pauline Baynes. Ex-library copy. Externally with bumping to corners, a moderate spine lean, a little discolouration to extremities, tanning to edges and a small stamp to bottom edge. Internally, there are stamps to the copyright page, page 93 and final page of the text, with a further cardboard pocket stuck to the front pastedown, as well as stamps and label residue to the FFEP. Outer edges of both front and rear paste-downs show tape marks. Light staining to a few pages here and there (some of which pictured), but the pages are generally unmarked, clean and the text is fully legible. The price-clipped dust wrapper is lightly nibbled to extremities with very little loss, and there is residue from a publisher's price label to front flap and very mild discolouration to spine.

The Horse and his Boy. London: Geoffrey Bles, 1954. Seventh printing, 1968. 7.9 x 5.5 inch, 199 pages. Publisher's original binding, silver lettering to spine, map endpapers; with price-clipped dust wrapper. Light bumping to spine tips and corners, slight discolouration to extremities, foxing to edges and prelims, 'happy birthday' inscription penned to rear of FFEP, dated 1970. In a good price-clipped dust wrapper, shows discolouration to spine, foxing to both front and rear, and minimal nibbling to spine tips.

The Magician's Nephew. London: The Bodley Head, 1955. Fourth printing, 1963. Publisher's green binding, silver lettering to spine, plain endpapers; in original, price-clipped dust wrapper. Light bumping to corners, slight crushing to spine tips, spine lightly cocked, edges and pages tanned, a little foxing to prelims but hardly any throughout. Internally clean with only a small inscription to FFEP, a shallow spine break between pages 12 and 13. In a price-clipped dust jacket that is lightly-worn, with some tape reside on the inside, a yellow residue strip to spine and a small part of panels, darkening to joints and spine, a few small closed tears and nibbling to extremities. 

The Last Battle. London: The Bodley Head, 1956. Fourth printing, 1964. Publisher's blue cloth binding, silver lettering to spine, plain endpapers; in original, unclipped dust wrapper priced 12s 6d to front flap. Bumping to front corner, mild crushing to spine tips, extremities a little discoloured, covers slightly bowed, a few marks to edges, some stains towards the joints of the first 11 pages, spine break between pages 12 and 13; else a clean and uninscribed copy. In a good, unclipped dust wrapper that is a little marked and spotted, with a few stains to rear that are slightly showing to front, with nibbling to extremities and tanning to spine.

A delightful little set of later impressions of this beloved series. Set in the magical land of Narnia, the series follows children from the real world who are transported to the fantastical realm of Narnia through various means—often by mysterious doorways like a magical wardrobe or an enchanted painting. CS Lewis' inspiration for this series came from a dream: "At first I had very little idea how the story would go. But then suddenly Aslan came bounding into it. I think I had been having a good many dreams of lions about that time. [O]nce he was there, he pulled the whole story together, and soon he pulled the six other Narnian stories in after him" (On Stories: And Other Essays on Literature, 1980).