*Science Fiction, Fantasy & Horror: Something rather special in our book update this week. Michael Moorcock’s most famous creation is Elric, the albino adventurer, who both owned and was possessed by the living sword Stormbringer, from which he derived his vitality. Many volumes have been devoted to his story, but this is by far the rarest. In 1973, the famous Brighton bookshop, Unicorn, published a limited edition of 500 copies of this over-sized (28 x 40 cm) unique Elric tale: The Return To Melnibone, twenty pages of sumptuous illustrations by Philip Druillet in purple and white ink, with text by Moorcock. Although there was a reprint edition in the late 90s, this copy is from the original run, and copies in Very Good to Fine (the very few copies that we’ve seen come up for sale) change hands for around £300. Our copy has cover marks and creases, but is structurally sound and the interiors are nice. (As a footnote, the Unicorn Bookshop is a story in itself. Run by an eccentric American in Brighton from the late 1960s to the early 1970s, it specialised in underground material and was raided by police and subjected to obscenity trials. Unicorn also published original works, such as here. The bookshop is still legendary and a famous mural in Brighton celebrates its history). We’re somewhat chuffed to have one issue of that 500 issue print run of Moorcock’s rarest piece in stock.
PICTURED: ELRIC: THE RETURN TO MELNIBONE by Michael Moorcock. 1st Edition 1973; Unicorn Bookshop Press GD/VG £150