The Double-Ringed Unicorn

The Ballantine Adult Fantasy paperback series was launched in 1969, and reprinted fantasy which was out of print or available only in back issues of pulp magazines.  The series lasted until 1974. The books were considered a triumph in fantasy publishing, with Lin Carter as editor and cover art by illustrators such as Gervasio Gallardo, Bob Pepper, Robert LoGrippo, and David McCall Johnston.  More to come on these folks.

The series ended when Ballantine sold out to Random house. But the mission was carried on in 1973 by Newcastle Forgotten Fantasy Library. More to come on these folks, too.

However, many collectors still seek out the the books with the Circled Unicorn logo. Here’s a list, not of collectors, but of the books themselves:


   1. The Blue Star, Fletcher Pratt (May 1969) (#01602)
   2. The King of Elfland's Daughter, Lord Dunsany (Jun. 1969) (#01628)
   3. The Wood Beyond the World, William Morris (Jul. 1969) (#01652)
   4. The Silver Stallion, James Branch Cabell (Aug. 1969) (#01678)
   5. Lilith, George MacDonald (Sep. 1969) (#01711)
   6. Dragons, Elves, and Heroes, Lin Carter, ed. (Oct. 1969) (#01731)
   7. The Young Magicians, Lin Carter, ed. (Oct. 1969) (#01730)
   8. Figures of Earth, James Branch Cabell (Nov. 1969) (#01763)
   9. The Sorcerer's Ship, Hannes Bok (Dec. 1969) (#01795)
  10. Land of Unreason, Fletcher Pratt and L. Sprague de Camp
         (Jan. 1970) (#01814)
  11. The High Place, James Branch Cabell (Feb. 1970) (#01855-9)
  12. Lud-in-the-Mist, Hope Mirrlees (Mar. 1970) (#01880-X)
  13. At the Edge of the World, Lord Dunsany (Mar. 1970) (#01879-6)
  14. Phantastes, George MacDonald (Apr. 1970) (#01902-4)
  15. The Dream-Quest of Unknown Kadath, H. P. Lovecraft
          (May 1970) (#01923-7)
  16. Zothique, Clark Ashton Smith (Jun. 1970) (#01938-5)
  17. The Shaving of Shagpat, George Meredith (Jul. 1970) (#01958-X)
  18. The Island of the Mighty, Evangeline Walton (Jul. 1970) (#01959-8)
  19. Deryni Rising, Katherine Kurtz (Aug. 1970) (#01981-4)
  20. The Well at the World's End, Vol. 1, William Morris
         (Aug. 1970) (#01982-2)
  21. The Well at the World's End, Vol. 2, William Morris
           (Sep. 1970) (#02015-4)
  22. Golden Cities, Far, Lin Carter, ed. (Oct. 1970) (#02045-6)
  23. Beyond the Golden Stair, Hannes Bok (Nov. 1970) (#02093-6)
  24. The Broken Sword, Poul Anderson (Jan. 1971) (#02107-X)
  25. The Boats of the "Glen Carrig", William Hope Hodgson
        (Feb. 1971) (#02145-2)
  26. The Doom that Came to Sarnath and Other Stories, H. P. Lovecraft
        (Feb. 1971) (#02146)
  27. Something About Eve, James Branch Cabell (Mar. 1971) (#02067-7)
  28. Red Moon and Black Mountain, Joy Chant (Mar. 1971) (#02178-9)
  29. Hyperborea, Clark Ashton Smith (Apr. 1971) (#02206-8)
  30. Don Rodriguez: Chronicles of Shadow Valley, Lord Dunsany
         (May 1971) (#02244-0)
  31. Vathek, William Beckford (Jun. 1971) (#02279-3)
  32. The Man Who Was Thursday, G. K. Chesterton (Jul. 1971) (#02305-6)
  33. The Children of Llyr, Evangeline Walton (Aug. 1971) (#02332-3)
  34. The Cream of the Jest, James Branch Cabell (Sep. 1971) (#02364-1)
  35. New Worlds for Old, Lin Carter, ed. (Sep. 1971) (#02365-X)
  36. The Spawn of Cthulhu, Lin Carter, ed. (Oct. 1971) (#02394-3)
  37. Double Phoenix, Edmund Cooper and Roger Lancelyn Green
         (Nov. 1971) (#02420-6)
  38. The Water of the Wondrous Isles, William Morris (Nov. 1971) (#02421-4)
  39. Khaled, F. Marion Crawford (Dec. 1971) (#02446-X)
  40. The World's Desire, H. Rider Haggard and Andrew Lang
         (Jan. 1972) (#02467-2)
  41. Xiccarph, Clark Ashton Smith (Feb. 1972) (#02501-6)
  42. The Lost Continent, C. J. Cutcliffe Hyne (Feb. 1972) (#02502-4)
  43. Discoveries in Fantasy, Lin Carter, ed. (Mar. 1972) (#02546-6)
  44. Domnei, James Branch Cabell (Mar. 1972) (#02545-8)
  45. Kai Lung's Golden Hours, Ernest Bramah (Apr. 1972) (#02574-1)
  46. Deryni Checkmate, Katherine Kurtz (May 1972) (#02598-9)
  47. Beyond the Fields We Know, Lord Dunsany (May 1972) (#02599-7)
  48. The Three Impostors, Arthur Machen (Jun. 1972) (#02643-8)
  49. The Night Land, Vol. 1, William Hope Hodgson (Jul. 1972) (#02669-1)
  50. The Night Land, Vol. 2, William Hope Hodgson (Jul. 1972) (#02670-5)
  51. The Song of Rhiannon, Evangeline Walton (Aug. 1972) (#02773-6)
  52. Great Short Novels of Adult Fantasy I, Lin Carter, ed.
         (Sep. 1972) (#02789-2)
  53. Evenor, George MacDonald (Nov. 1972) (#02874)
  54. Orlando Furioso: The Ring of Angelica, Volume 1, Ludovico Ariosto,
          translated by Richard Hodgens  (Jan. 1973) (#03057-5)
  55. The Charwoman's Shadow, Lord Dunsany (Feb. 1973) (#03085-0)
  56. Great Short Novels of Adult Fantasy Volume II, Lin Carter, ed.
         (Mar. 1973) (#03162-8)
  57. The Sundering Flood, William Morris (May 1973) (#03261-6)
  58. Imaginary Worlds: the Art of Fantasy, Lin Carter (Jun. 1973) (#03309-4)
  59. Poseidonis, Clark Ashton Smith (Jul. 1973) (#03353-1)
  60. Excalibur, Sanders Anne Laubenthal (Aug. 1973) (#23416-2)
  61. High Deryni, Katherine Kurtz (Sep. 1973) (#23485-5)
  62. Hrolf Kraki's Saga, Poul Anderson (Oct. 1973) (#23562-2)
  63. The People of the Mist, H. Rider Haggard (Dec. 1973) (#23660-2)
  64. Kai Lung Unrolls His Mat, Ernest Bramah (Feb. 1974) (#023787-0)
  65. Over the Hills and Far Away, Lord Dunsany (Apr. 1974) (#023886-9)