Wells, H.G. — [Buckminster Fuller] | The Outline of History, Buckminster Fuller's copy

Wells, H.G.—Buckminster Fuller

The Outline of History. New York: The Macmillan Company, 1921

8vo. Publisher's purple cloth, lettered in gilt; spine faded, with loss to head and foot, extremities bumped, covers a little worn. Collector's slipcase with chemise.

The revised, third edition, the Buckminster Fuller copy.

First published in a series of twenty four parts between November 1919 and November 1920, Wells' Outline of History was an international bestseller. The book proposed a new kind of history text book, looking at the history of mankind holistically, as a "single imaginative experience" (Toynbee). Contemporary historians expressed varied views on the ambitious work, but for the public, it became a staple historical guide, praised for its wide range and accessibility.

Buckminster Fuller (1895-1983) was a revolutionary American architect, inventor, philosopher and futurist. His influential quest for a utopia where humans lived in safe, affordable and energy-efficient housing and followed so-called Dymaxion principles was informed by careful and astute observations of contemporary issues. Fuller was optimistic about humanity and its future; The Outline of History certainly can be said to have informed his awareness of the history of humanity and his place within the human race. In his 1970 book I Seem To Be a Verb, he wrote: "I live on Earth at present, and I don't know what I am. I know that I am not a category. I am not a thing—a noun. I seem to be a verb, an evolutionary process—an integral function of the universe."

Like Fuller, H.G. Wells believed in the power of technology to transform society. His ever-growing fascination with science fiction and future of humanity, as shown in works like The Time Machine and The Invisible Man, intensely reflect Fuller's thinking and ideals.

A fine association copy of two famed futurists.