The Sands of Mars by Arthur C. Clarke (Sidgwick & Jackson, 1951)
First edition of The Sands of Mars by Sidgwick & Jackson, 1951. Arthur C. Clarke is probably best known as the co-author of the screenplay for Stanley Kubrick’s 2001: A Space Odyssey from 1968. The Sands of Mars was his first published novel.
It’s interesting to see Holla (Klingspor, 1932) on the book jacket. Rudolf Koch’s casual letterforms derived from handwriting are in stark contrast to the technoid, squarish or ultrageometric typefaces that became associated with the science fiction genre in later decades.
The author’s name is shown in caps from Gill Sans Extra Bold, the publisher’s in the Bold Condensed.
The title page combines Ultra Bodoni with Plantin.
Several styles from the Gill Sans series are used on the back side of the dust jacket.
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See also the first edition of Robert A. Heinlein’s Red Planet from 1951, which features Lydian (1938), a typeface designed by Koch’s student Warren Chappell.