The Collection

While it is impossible to discuss in sufficient detail the scope and depth of the collection in the context of this narrative, it can be stated quite simply that the focus has been to collect representative examples of authors of importance who have contributed to the canon over the last 200 years. These works not only reflect the evolution of science fiction but also the changing societal concerns and technological advancements that have influenced these narratives. Here is a brief sample of some of the specific books and their special features in the collection that represent its rich history and diverse themes.

Starting with the early 19th century, Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein (1818) is a foundational text that explores the ethical implications of scientific experimentation and the consequences of playing God. The Clute collection holds seven editions of the book, including a recent version by Ed Finn et al that provides “Annotations for Scientists, Engineers, and Creators of All Kinds.”

In the latter half of the 19th century, Jules Verne’s adventurous and visionary works expanded the horizons of science fiction. His novels, such as Journey to the Center of the Earth (1864) and Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea (1870) are celebrated for their imaginative exploration of scientific concepts and their detailed descriptions of futuristic technologies. Hand-tipped wood engravings grace a number of editions.

One of the earliest of the rare books in the Clute collection, William Delisle Hay’s The Doom of the Great City, is a paperback from 1880.  This book is notable not just for its extreme rarity, but also because, as John Clute says of it in his recently published book  Book Blinders (2024), “There’s a lot left to learn about 19th century disaster tales, but it may be safe to say that Hay’s novella is among the very first, plague narratives excepted, to depict such a scene as it happens.” We believe this may be one of only two extant physical copies with cover; and though the British Library rebind does retain a battered cover, the important ads are missing.  The British Library in fact borrowed Clute’s copy for their 2011 exhibition on science fiction, Out of this World: Science Fiction But Not As You Know It.

Moving into the late 19th and early 20th centuries, H.G. Wells’s contributions are indispensable. His seminal works, including The Time Machine (1895) and The War of the Worlds (1898) introduced readers to the possibilities of alien invasion and time travel, respectively.  The Clute Science Fiction Library holdings are essentially complete in both UK and US first editions (this is important as the text varies) for The Time Machine, The Island of Doctor Moreau, The Invisible Man, The War of the Worlds and When the Sleeper Wakes.

The collection includes a rare 1905 copy of Edwin Lester Arnold’s best-known novel, Lieut. Gullivar Jones: His Vacation, in which Jones tells the story of his brief disgruntlement with the US Navy, his trip by flying carpet to Mars, his rescue of a princess, and his witnessing of the destruction of her domain and more. It may be the first genuine Planetary Romance and is considered by Clute to be a precursor to and likely inspiration for Edgar Rice Burroughs’s classic A Princess of Mars (1917), which spawned the planetary romance and sword and planet genres. 

The library holds two copies of Rose Macaulay’s What Not –including the original 1918 edition, suppressed before publication. This is the publishing/editor Michael Sadleir’s personal signed copy, with his pencil annotations identifying the passages needing replacement. The 1919 published edition reflects these notes exactly. The Handheld Press makes use of the CSFL 1918 text to establish an unexpurgated edition. (Other recent editions are of the expurgated text.) Clute outlines the plot in the Encyclopedia of Science Fiction:  What Not: A Prophetic Comedy (1918; disputed passages cut 1919), which is set in the near future several years after the end of the War, depicts in satirical terms typical of the scientific romance the coming to power in the UK of an autocratic government.

An excellent example of the often overlooked value of dust jackets is afforded by the 1934 novel, Winter’s Youth, by UK author, John Gloag (1896-1981). In the near future, a 1960s British government attempts to remain in office first by patriotic touting what turns out to be a forged Fifth Gospel focused on ancient Britain, and then via a Rejuvenation process in which elderly white males turn into bloodthirsty sexual predators with a taste for flagellation, as the cover demurely hints.

The mid-20th century saw a boom in science fiction with authors like Isaac Asimov, Robert Heinlein, and Frank Herbert. Asimov’s I, Robot (1950) and his Foundation series (starting in 1951) are key texts that explore the future of human civilization and the ethical dilemmas posed by artificial intelligence. Heinlein’s Starship Troopers (1959) and Stranger in a Strange Land (1961) are notable for their exploration of military and social themes through the lens of futuristic settings. Herbert’s Dune (1965) is a monumental work that combines intricate world-building with themes of politics, religion, and ecology, making it a cornerstone of the science fiction genre. These works are representative of a period when science fiction began to deeply interrogate the future trajectory of human society and technology and, as the current “remake” of the movie in 2021/2024 (in two parts) by director Denis Villeneuve attests (with part three following soon), these themes still resonate.

In the late 20th century, the works of Philip K. Dick, J.G. Ballard, and Ursula K. Le Guin brought new depth to the genre. Dick’s Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? (1968), which inspired the film Blade Runner, explores themes of identity, reality, and empathy in a dystopian future. Ballard’s The Drowned World (1962) and Crash (1973) delve into psychological and environmental themes, often presenting disturbing visions of the future that challenge conventional narratives. Le Guin’s The Left Hand of Darkness (1969) challenges traditional notions of gender and sexuality through the lens of a distant planet’s unique society. These authors expanded the thematic range of science fiction, incorporating complex psychological and sociocultural issues into their narratives and are all represented by first editions.

At the turn of the millennium, contemporary authors like Kim Stanley Robinson and Octavia Butler provided unique innovations within the genre. Robinson’s Mars Trilogy (beginning with Red Mars in 1992) and The Ministry for the Future (2020) offer scientifically rigorous (and hopeful) visions of humanity’s potential futures, focusing on space colonization and climate change, respectively. Butler’s Wild Seed (1980) and her other works in the Patternist series examine themes of power, identity, and survival from the perspective of marginalized voices. Butler’s contributions are particularly notable for their exploration of social justice issues through speculative narratives. An iconic figure today, Butler is represented in the Library by an essentially complete set of valuable first editions, some very scarce, most inscribed to John Clute (they in fact shared the Nebula/Solstice award in 2012; Butler’s of course being awarded posthumously).

Some individual titles have been uniquely inscribed—in fact, there are some 2000 titles that have been annotated by their authors.  A most spectacular instance of this is The Iron Dragon’s Daughter (1993), a fantasy set in a fairyland based on modern America, with elves wearing Armani suits and dragons serving as jet fighters. The main character, a changeling stolen from the real world, struggles to survive a factory, a high school, and a university, all the while being manipulated by a dragon. The Clute collection includes two editions—a 1993 volume inscribed to John Clute and a 1994 copy annotated throughout by the author.

In addition to the 13,000+ non-circulating hard-copy books, the collection includes a circulating set of some 2000 paperbacks that are already placed across the SW Colorado regional library system.  This portion of the library, thanks to our partnership with small community libraries in Norwood, Naturita, and Paradox, is reaching a small but growing audience of seasoned fans and new readers.

A pristine set of dust jackets has been preserved for over 10,000 titles. They have been scanned and should be considered an integral part of our preservation and access efforts. Clute chronicles the failure of the British Library to maintain the dust jackets or “wraparounds” that come with most hard copy books in his recent publication, The Book Blinders (2024).  Indeed, dust jackets afford special insights into the unique character and ephemerality of the moment of the publication of their companion book—the fleeting stylistic trends, the footprint of their typography (obviating the need for dates and geographic location), even the color palettes favored and deployed by particular authors, designers, and publishers.

The Library is further enhanced by work undertaken by John Clute since the 1970s (in collaboration with Peter Nichols and others) in developing a companion registry—online since 2011: the widely acclaimed Encyclopedia of Science Fiction (https://sf-encyclopedia.com/).  The Encyclopedia of Science Fiction (SFE) is an English language reference work on science fiction, first published in 1979. It has won the Hugo, Locus, and British SF Awards.  Two print editions appeared in 1979 and 1993. A third, continuously revised edition was published online from 2011; a change of web host was announced as the launch of a fourth edition in 2021. The Encyclopedia recently exceeded 7,000,000 words, almost 10 times the length of the 1979 edition, more than 5 times longer than 1993. Each of the 10,000+ images are tagged as part of the Clute Science Fiction Library at Telluride, and variously hyperlinked into the workings of the SFE. The project is homing in on 250,000 internal hyperlinks.

Clute maintains a clear affinity towards and certain belief that the Telluride Institute should remain the primary repository for the collection, and today, the Institute has unquestionably upheld Clute’s wish, with the result of the acquisition of the Clute Science Fiction Library by the Telluride Institute as well as a continuing commitment to build upon the strong foundation he has provided. The collection is currently housed within the offices of the Telluride Institute. However, through the generous support of the Lifton-Zoline Foundation, the collection will soon be moved to newly renovated spaces in the basement (a ground level subfloor) of a turn-of-the-century building at 216 W. Colorado, in the heart of downtown Telluride, where crucial issues such as temperature, humidity, fire suppression, water/flooding potentials, etc. will be addressed through other channels of support.