Philip Pullman

A set of signed, first United Kingdom editions, first printings of the His Dark Materials series.

• Sold as a set of 5 volumes.
• Philip Pullman (English).
• His Dark Materials: Northern Lights, The Subtle Knife, The Amber Spyglass, Lyra's Oxford, Once Upon A Time In The North
• London: Scholastic Press/ David Fickling Books, 1995-2008. 
• Octavos/Twelvemos.
• Signed flat by Philip Pullman in Volume 1 on a bookplate adhesively attached to the copyright page, and in Volumes 2, 3, 4, and 5 on the title page.
• Volume 4 contains a map attached to page 16 and several engravings.
• Volume 5 contains several engravings, a loose page of "Wind Compass" punchouts, and a loose "Peril of the Pole" poster both contained in a pocket on the rear pastedown.
• Volume 1 has a dark purple spine with white and light yellow lettering.
• Volume 2 has a green spine with white and light yellow lettering.
• Volume 3 has an orange spine with white and light yellow lettering.
• Volume 4 has a red cloth spine with black lettering.
• Volume 5 has a navy blue cloth spine with dark grey lettering.
• Only Volumes 1, 2, and 3 have dust jackets.

His Dark Materials was originally published as a 3-volume trilogy consisting of Northern Lights, The Subtle Knife, and The Amber Spyglass, and first published from 1995-2000. The series itself, while marketed as a young-adult series, was written with no particular audience in mind, with elements of fantasy and science-fiction coming together in a tale which explores physics, philosophy, and theology. Outside of the pages, the series is known for Philip Pullman's statement that it is meant to commend humanity for what the poet John Milton coined "original sin" in his work 'Paradise Lost'. This and references to the Catholic church among other religious institutions has earned the series some controversy for "criticizing religion". Lyra's Oxford and Once Upon a Time in the North are both novellas meant to expand on the world of His Dark Materials. Lyra's Oxford takes place two years after The Amber Spyglass, when Lyra is 15 years old, and contains a variety of ephemera meant to be from the world. Once Upon a Time in the North is a prequel book written to show the first meeting between Iorek Byrnison and Lee Scoresby, two major characters and companions of Lyra throughout the original trilogy. Both novellas received glowing reviews upon release, and have since become core parts of the overall series.