LE GUIN, Ursula K. A Wizard of Earthsea. Drawings by Ruth Robbins. Berkeley, CA: Parnassus Press [1969]. 8vo, 205pp. Green cloth pictorially stamped in black. Light green endpapers; one double-page and three full-page pictorial maps, as well as illustrated chapterheadings. Spine ends a tad rubbed, else a fine copy in original color pictorial dust jacket (1/2” closed tear at top of front panel, small puncture near bottom of front flap hinge, spine ends a bit chipped, spine sunned, a few spots of soiling to rear panel). With a bookplate signed by the author, Ursula K. Le Guin, laid in!

 

First edition with the requisite smudge down the center of the title page. The first book in Le Guin’s beloved Earthsea Cycle. Ged, the greatest sorcerer in all Earthsea, was called Sparrowhawk in his reckless youth. Hungry for power and knowledge, Sparrowhawk tampered with long-held secrets and loosed a terrible shadow upon the world. This is the tale of his testing, how he mastered the mighty words of power, tamed an ancient dragon, and crossed death’s threshold to restore the balance.