DALLAS, TX.- Heritage Auctions announces today the upcoming An Important Science Fiction & Fantasy Collection, Part I Rare Books Signature® Auction, to be held May 13, 2026. The landmark auction will feature highlights from the collection of noted rare book dealer, publisher, and collector David Aronovitz, who has spent nearly five decades in the rare book world, building The Fine Books Company into a global operation since its founding in 1976.

A longtime member of both the Antiquarian Booksellers Association of America and the International League of Antiquarian Booksellers, Aronovitz has assembled a collection of over 10,000 items, including books, manuscripts, letters and periodicals, reflecting a life-long passion as dealer and collector.

“This is the most important collection of modern science fiction and fantasy to ever come to auction,” says Francis Wahlgren, International Director of Rare Books and Manuscripts. “As a noted publisher, dealer and collector, David Aronovitz was uniquely positioned to acquire some of the most significant association copies of virtually all the major authors in the science fiction genre. This collection is not just broad, but has unprecedented depth. A majority have direct and personal ties to the authors, editors and creative networks that shaped modern science fiction and fantasy.”

Anchored in first editions of science fiction and fantasy, the collection reflects Aronovitz’s sustained focus on imaginative literature. Many copies in the collection are distinguished by meaningful provenance and association, linking them directly to the authors, editors and creative networks behind the genre. The result is a collection shaped by decades of deliberate, informed collecting with an emphasis on importance, rarity and cultural impact.

The auction features a notable assortment of material, forming the cornerstone of modern speculative fiction and influencing literature, film, television and popular culture. A standout is an extraordinary group of all three dedication copies of Robert A. Heinlein’s Stranger in a Strange Land (1961), inscribed to Robert Cornog, Frederic Brown and Philip José Farmer. Additional highlights include numerous works from J.R.R. Tolkien, including first editions and first impressions of The Lord of the Ringstrilogy and an inscribed presentation copy of The Hobbit.

Other highlights include a first edition, dedication copy of Isaac Asimov’s I, Robot (1950),inscribed to John W. Campbell Jr. on publication, with additional signature from dust jacket artist Edd Cartier, a defining work that helped establish Asimov’s reputation and the concept of positronic robotics. Stephen King works being featured include inscribed first edition of Salem’s Lotin a rare first-issue dust jacket, and a unique pre-publication binding of The Stand, accompanied by a signed letter from Doubleday’s president, and a substantial archive of correspondence documenting the development and publication of Philip K. Dick’s Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?, later adapted into the movieBlade Runner.

“The works in this collection — I, Robot, Stranger in a Strange Land and Dune — form the backbone of modern storytelling,” says Joe Maddalena, Executive Vice President at Heritage Auctions. “Their influence extends far beyond literature. Collecting these books at this level is a direct connection to the ideas that continue to shape culture today.”

With a strong emphasis on association, condition and historical importance, the collection offers collectors a rare opportunity to acquire material of lasting significance. Arriving at a moment of renewed interest in science fiction and fantasy, the auction underscores the continued relevance of the genre’s most influential voices.