The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy; The Restaurant at the End of the Universe; Life, the Universe and Everything; So Long, and Thanks for All the Fish; Mostly Harmless

The trilogy in five volumes. The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy 215 pages. Bound in quarter purple cloth with purple gilt lettering to spine over grey boars with blind-stamped pictorial to cover in original jacket. Signed on title; The Restaurant at the End of the Universe 250 pages. Bound in original quarter aqua cloth with purple gilt lettering to spine over black boards with purple pictorial to cover in original jacket. Inscribed on the front end paper; Life, the Universe and Everything 204 pages. Bound in black cloth with green gilt lettering to spine and green gilt pictorial to cover in original jacket. signed on title; So Long, and Thanks for All the Fish 204 pages. Bound in black boards with green gilt lettering to spine and pictorial to cover in original jacket. Inscribed to Josh on title. Small octavos (7 ½" x 5") bound original quarter cloth with original pictorial jackets. Mostly Harmless 277 pages. Signed on title. Octavo (8 ½" x 5 ½") bound in original publisher s quarter purple cloth with light green gilt to spine over green boards in original jacket. First American editions. With the original movie poster.

The novels are described as "a trilogy in five parts", having been described as a trilogy on the release of the third book, and then a "trilogy in four parts" on the release of the fourth book. The US edition of the fifth book was originally released with the legend "The fifth book in the increasingly inaccurately named Hitchhiker's Trilogy" on the cover. Subsequent re-releases of the other novels bore the legend "The [first, second, third, fourth] book in the increasingly inaccurately named Hitchhiker's Trilogy". In addition, the blurb on the fifth book describes it as "the book that gives a whole new meaning to the word 'trilogy'".

The first book was adapted from the first four radio episodes (the Primary Phase), with Arthur being rescued from Earth's destruction by Ford, meeting Zaphod and Trillian, coming to the planet of Magrathea to discover the true purpose of Earth, and ending with the group preparing to go to the Restaurant at the End of the Universe. It was first published in 1979, initially in paperback, by Pan Books, after BBC Publishing had turned down the offer of publishing a novelization, an action they would later regret.

Condition:

The Restaurant at the End of the Universe previous owner's name to front paste down. Jacket minor edgewear. Life, the Universe and Everything previous owner's name to half title, slightly cockecd else a very good set or better in near fine jackets. Poster in near fine condition. The poster will be shipped separately.