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| Published |
Title |
Author |
Price |
| 1869 |
FIVE WEEKS IN A BALLOON |
Verne, Jules |
$ 6250.00 |
the first edition in English of Verne's first book
[Verne, Jules.] FIVE WEEKS IN A BALLOON; or, Journeys and Discoveries in Africa by Three Englishmen. Compiled in French by Jules Verne, from the Original Notes of Dr. Ferguson; and done into English by "William Lackland." New York: D. Appleton and Company, 1869. 12 pp undated ads. Original green cloth pictorially decorated in gilt.
First Edition in English of Jules Verne's first book (and his first book to appear in the English language). Per the "Publisher's Note,"
FIVE WEEKS IN A BALLOON is, in a measure, a satire on English books on African travel. So far as the geography, the inhabitants, the animals, and the features of the countries the travellers pass over, it is entirely accurate... The mode of locomotion is, of course, purely imaginary, and the incidents and adventures fictitious. The latter are abundantly amusing, and, in view of the wonderful "travellers' tales" with which we have been entertained by African explorers, they can scarcely be considered extravagant...
CINQ SEMAINES EN BALLON had been published in French in 1863, and then this Appleton edition was published in March 1869 (they promoted it just prior to publication as FOUR WEEKS IN A BALLOON); Chapman & Hall's British edition -- which is virtually impossible to find -- did not come out for another year, by June 1870.
This copy is in very good-plus condition (minor wear at the head of the spine, a very faint mark on the front cover). Taves & Michaluk V001; Myers 20.
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