VANDALS OF THE VOID

London: John Hamilton Ltd, 1931. 1st edition. Hardcover. pp. 288. Small 8vo. Bound in original blue cloth with black spine lettering. Our copy shows very little shelf wear. The endpapers are clean and tight, and there are no former owner's markings. Overall, it is in very good condition. No dust jacket. James Morgan Walsh (1897-1952) was born in Australia, and emigrated to England in 1925. He was a prolific writer of mysteries, using the pseudonyms of H. Haverstock Hill, Stephen Maddock, and George M. White. Hubin lists 56 titles published from 1925 to 1951. This, apparently, is his only science fiction title (Bleiler, 'The Check-List of Science-Fiction and Fantasy'; Reginald, 'Science Fiction and Fantasy Literature: A Check-List, 1700-1974'). It was first published in Hugo Gernsback's 'Wonder Stories Quarterly' in 1931 (Vol. 2, No. 4), and should not be confused with the 1953 title of the same name by American sci-fi author Jack Vance. John Hamilton Ltd. published it as a title in their 'Sundial Mystery Library' series presumably because Walsh was then known as a writer of mysteries - not science fiction. It is a very rare title, and one of the high points for Australian science-fiction collectors (See Blackford, Ikin, McMullen, 'Strange Constellations, A History of Australian Science Fiction'), who describe it as a 'dashing space opera'. This title was reprinted in 1976 by Hyperion, with a new introduction. WorldCat lists only seven institutional holdings of the original edition: six in the U.S. and one in the U.K. The only auction listings are for the Jack Vance title (1993 and 1994): one may reasonably presume that this title has never before been offered for sale by auction.