Story & Significance
C.L. Moore is one of the most important writers in the history of science fiction and fantasy, and one of the most underrepresented in serious collections. She broke into the pulps in 1933 with “Shambleau,” a story so strange and assured that it announced a major talent on arrival. Judgment Night, published by Gnome Press in 1952, collects some of her finest work from the 1940s, including the title novella — a sweeping, elegiac story of empire and inevitability that holds up as well as anything from the era.
Gnome Press was one of a handful of small specialty publishers that brought Golden Age science fiction into hardcover for the first time, making titles like this one available to collectors and libraries when the pulps had been the only venue. Moore’s Gnome Press titles are among the more elusive in a serious collection.
Physical Description
This is the first edition as noted on the copyright page. Per L.W. Currey’s Science Fiction and Fantasy Authors, the Gnome Press first edition was issued in two bindings, cloth (priority) and boards; this copy is the boards binding, light blue with black lettering on the spine.
The book is in good condition. The boards show significant shelfwear including rubbing, and the spine exhibits a lean. The text block is soiled, and the endpapers and pastedowns are toned. The front free endpaper carries a period inscription reading “Harrogate 1962 / Presented to Ethel from Ted.” Pages are otherwise unmarked.
The dust jacket is good and unclipped, retaining the original price. It displays significant chipping and creasing, and the interior of the jacket has been repaired with tape. Photographs of all condition issues are included in the listing images.
Collector’s Note
This is an honest good/good copy — a placeholder or reading copy rather than a shelf centerpiece. The binding is the lower-priority issue per Currey, and the jacket damage is real and fully documented. For a collector who wants the title represented while searching for a finer example, or a reader who simply wants Moore’s work in its original Gnome Press hardcover, this copy fills that role at an accessible price. The 1962 Harrogate inscription adds a small period detail: a book that was given as a gift in Yorkshire when Moore was still writing.
Story & Significance
C.L. Moore is one of the most important writers in the history of science fiction and fantasy, and one of the most underrepresented in serious collections. She broke into the pulps in 1933 with “Shambleau,” a story so strange and assured that it announced a major talent on arrival. Judgment Night, published by Gnome Press in 1952, collects some of her finest work from the 1940s, including the title novella — a sweeping, elegiac story of empire and inevitability that holds up as well as anything from the era.
Gnome Press was one of a handful of small specialty publishers that brought Golden Age science fiction into hardcover for the first time, making titles like this one available to collectors and libraries when the pulps had been the only venue. Moore’s Gnome Press titles are among the more elusive in a serious collection.
Physical Description
This is the first edition as noted on the copyright page. Per L.W. Currey’s Science Fiction and Fantasy Authors, the Gnome Press first edition was issued in two bindings, cloth (priority) and boards; this copy is the boards binding, light blue with black lettering on the spine.
The book is in good condition. The boards show significant shelfwear including rubbing, and the spine exhibits a lean. The text block is soiled, and the endpapers and pastedowns are toned. The front free endpaper carries a period inscription reading “Harrogate 1962 / Presented to Ethel from Ted.” Pages are otherwise unmarked.
The dust jacket is good and unclipped, retaining the original price. It displays significant chipping and creasing, and the interior of the jacket has been repaired with tape. Photographs of all condition issues are included in the listing images.
Collector’s Note
This is an honest good/good copy — a placeholder or reading copy rather than a shelf centerpiece. The binding is the lower-priority issue per Currey, and the jacket damage is real and fully documented. For a collector who wants the title represented while searching for a finer example, or a reader who simply wants Moore’s work in its original Gnome Press hardcover, this copy fills that role at an accessible price. The 1962 Harrogate inscription adds a small period detail: a book that was given as a gift in Yorkshire when Moore was still writing.
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