1874 From the Earth to the Moon & A Trip Round It, Jules Verne, 1st U.S. Edition

Description: From the Earth to the Moon Direct in Ninety-Seven Hours and Twenty Minutes: And a Trip Round It. By Jules Verne, Author of "A Journey to the Centre of the Earth." Translated from the French by Louis Mercier, M.A., (Oxon,) and Eleanor E. King. With Eighty Full Page Illustrations. New-York: Scribner, Armstrong & Company, 1874, First American Edition, decorative green cloth boards with black and gilt impressing: gilt spaceship traveling to the moon over mountains and an ocean on front board & a man perusing a bookshelf in a study at tail of spine with a crescent moon in the shadow of a full moon at head of spine. 323 pp, 8 x 5.5", 8vo. **Protective mylar dust jacket included with purchase. In fair condition. Green deco binding presents very well - gilt and black blind stamping is generally dulled from age. A Gilt lettering and deco on spine worn from tanning. Head and tail of spine bumped & cloth beginning to chip/fray. Provenance found on front paste-down. Light toning throughout text-block with some small instance of age-staining. Pages 122 - 142 (a complete signature) attached by cording only - fragile & needs repair. Small tea stain exhibited to top corners of approximately page 300 to end of text-block. Some instances of exposed cording throughout text-block. Binding is intact, however, repair is needed for loose signature. Please see photos and ask questions, if any, before purchasing. Originally published in French in 1865 as De la Terre à la Lune, tract direct en 97 hears 20 minutes, this first American edition in English was published nine years later with illustrations - which includes the sequel story Around the Moon (which Verne completed in 1870). From the Earth to the Moon tells the story of the Baltimore Gun Club, a post-American Civil War society of weapons enthusiasts, and their attempts to build an enormous Columbian space gun and launch three people in a projectile with the goal of a Moon landing. Verne's moon story is notable in that he attempted to do some rough calculations as to the requirements for the cannon and in that, considering the comparative lack of empirical data on the subject at the time, some of his figures are remarkably accurate. However, his version of a space gun for a non-rocket space launch turned out to be impractical for safe human space travel since a much longer barrel would have been required to reach escape velocity while limiting acceleration to survivable limits for the passengers. However impractical it may be, Verne's novel influences several aspects of popular culture including H.G. Wells' 1901 novel The First Men on the Moon where the protagonist mentions Verne's novel to his companion. The first incarnation in 1995 of the roller coaster Space Mountain in Disneyland Paris, named Space Mountain: De la Terre à la Lune, was based loosely on the novel. Also, during they return journey from the Moon, the crew of Apollo 11 made reference to Verne's book during a TV broadcast on July 23, 1969. The mission's commander, Neil Armstrong said, "A hundred years ago, Jules Verne wrote a book about a voyage to the Moon. His spaceship, Columbia, took off from Florida and landed in the Pacific Ocean after completing a trip to the Moon. It seem appropriate to us to share with you some of the reflections of the crew as the modern-day Columbia completes in rendezvous with the planet Earth and the same Pacific Ocean tomorrow." Presents very well. Gift quality. RAREA1874QXYA02/24 - HK1197

Price: 2500 USD

Location: Harrisburg, Pennsylvania

End Time: 2024-12-10T20:37:34.000Z

Shipping Cost: 11.38 USD