I Am Legend.

MATHESON, Richard.

Item Number: 1998

New York: Walker, 1954.

First hardcover edition of the author’s third novel, preceded by the paperback original. Octavo, original white boards. Near fine in an excellent dust jacket that shows only light wear. Signed by the author on the title page. Later adapted to film as The Last Man on Earth in 1964, as The Omega Man in 1971, and as I Am Legend in 2007.

Richard Matheson's writing in fantasy and horror has won him the 1984 World Fantasy Award for Life Achievement and the 1991 Bram Stoker Award for Lifetime Achievement. In 2010, he was inducted into The Science Fiction Hall of Fame. Upon Matheson's publication of I am Legend, the sci-fi legend Ray Bradbury called him, "[o]ne of the most important writers of the twentieth century." Stephen King reflected that, "the author who influenced me the most as a writer was Richard Matheson. Books like I Am Legend were an inspiration to me."