A forgotten gem of Gnome Press — and one of science fiction's most quietly radical premises.
In a future where humanity has eliminated nearly every physical imperfection, those who can't be cured or corrected are simply removed from society — warehoused in an asteroid hospital, out of sight. Address: Centauri follows those castoffs as they commandeer their hospital-asteroid, rig a working gravity drive, and aim for the stars. It's a novel about belonging, difference, and what "normal" actually costs — dressed up as a space adventure.
The book began as "Accidental Flight," a novella published in Galaxy Science Fiction in April 1952. Wallace expanded it into this, his only novel, published by Gnome Press three years later. It's one of the quieter titles in the Gnome Press catalog — not Smith or Heinlein — but it has held its following among collectors who know it, and the Emshwiller jacket is characteristically strong.
Stated first edition on the copyright page. Jacket art by Ed Emshwiller. Print run of 4,000 copies per Chalker and Owings.
Title: Address: Centauri
Author: F.L. Wallace
Publisher: Gnome Press, New York
Year: 1955
Edition: First edition (stated on copyright page)
Binding: Tan boards, spine lettered in black
Dust Jacket: Fair, unclipped — $3.00 price intact. Foxing to spine; chipping and soiling to upper edge; light soiling to rear panel. Pen mark on front flap.
Condition: Book Good. Corners square, binding tight. Significant toning to endpapers and text block.
Wallace is among the more obscure authors to appear in the Gnome Press catalog, and Address: Centauri surfaces infrequently in better condition. The toning to the text block is characteristic of the paper stock used in this printing and is consistently noted across copies on the market. The Emshwiller jacket, even in its current state, remains identifiable and complete — and unclipped copies with the price intact are worth noting at any condition level.
A forgotten gem of Gnome Press — and one of science fiction's most quietly radical premises.
In a future where humanity has eliminated nearly every physical imperfection, those who can't be cured or corrected are simply removed from society — warehoused in an asteroid hospital, out of sight. Address: Centauri follows those castoffs as they commandeer their hospital-asteroid, rig a working gravity drive, and aim for the stars. It's a novel about belonging, difference, and what "normal" actually costs — dressed up as a space adventure.
The book began as "Accidental Flight," a novella published in Galaxy Science Fiction in April 1952. Wallace expanded it into this, his only novel, published by Gnome Press three years later. It's one of the quieter titles in the Gnome Press catalog — not Smith or Heinlein — but it has held its following among collectors who know it, and the Emshwiller jacket is characteristically strong.
Stated first edition on the copyright page. Jacket art by Ed Emshwiller. Print run of 4,000 copies per Chalker and Owings.
Title: Address: Centauri
Author: F.L. Wallace
Publisher: Gnome Press, New York
Year: 1955
Edition: First edition (stated on copyright page)
Binding: Tan boards, spine lettered in black
Dust Jacket: Fair, unclipped — $3.00 price intact. Foxing to spine; chipping and soiling to upper edge; light soiling to rear panel. Pen mark on front flap.
Condition: Book Good. Corners square, binding tight. Significant toning to endpapers and text block.
Wallace is among the more obscure authors to appear in the Gnome Press catalog, and Address: Centauri surfaces infrequently in better condition. The toning to the text block is characteristic of the paper stock used in this printing and is consistently noted across copies on the market. The Emshwiller jacket, even in its current state, remains identifiable and complete — and unclipped copies with the price intact are worth noting at any condition level.
