by Robert A. Heinlein

First Edition | SIGNED | Gnome Press | 1959

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In conversations about science fiction greats, Heinlein’s name looms large. His rise to popularity coincided with the genre’s, which first gained readership through pulp magazines such as Astounding Science Fiction (originally Astounding Stories, now known as Analog), which published Heinlein’s early stories alongside the likes of Isaac Asimov. Astounding‘s sister magazine, Unknown Worlds, originally published the novella The Unpleasant Profession of Jonathan Hoag, which was then re-published in book form alongside five other Heinlein stories. This is the version you see here — a first edition, signed by Heinlein and published by Gnome Press.

Gnome Press, like Heinlein and Astounding, played a foundational role in building the science fiction genre as it is known today. In the 1940s, sci-fi was largely published in magazines; Gnome’s founders, Martin L. Greenberg and David Kyle, dreamed of building a mass market for sci-fi books. And they succeeded! Beginning in 1948, Gnome published more than fifty books, including, perhaps most notably, Isaac Asimov’s Foundation Trilogy. In addition to publishing novels, they gathered stories previously seen in magazines into one place, as was the case with Jonathan Hoag. Soon mainstream publishers began to take notice of the press’s success, and the genre flourished in the way Greenberg and Kyle hoped it would. Ultimately, Gnome’s progress was its downfall. The press couldn’t keep up with the financial pressure and folded in 1962.

Heinlein published four books with Gnome Press: Sixth Column, Methuselah’s Children, The Menace From Earth, and The Unpleasant Profession of Jonathan Hoag. He was one of the leading writers of “hard” science fiction, which emphasized scientific accuracy, though Jonathan Hoag deviates from this categorization with its uncharacteristic elements of fantasy and mystery. In his life, Heinlein authored over thirty books, twice as many stories, and sixteen collections. In recognition of his achievements, the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers Association named Heinlein the first Science Fiction Grand Master in 1974. The master himself has made his mark on our copy of Jonathan Hoag with an inscription that reads: “To Terry, Thank you for everything!”

With its ties to Heinlein, Gnome Press, and Astounding, this book is a piece of sci-fi history. Come by The Dawn Treader today to see Heinlein’s gratitude for yourself.