Jules Verne From The Earth To The Moon And A Trip Around It 1873 1st

Description: Jules Verne From The Earth To The Moon And A Trip Around It 1873 1st. First English edition. London: Sampson Low, Marston, Low & Searle, 1873. Hardcover. First English edition. With eighty engraved plates, including a frontispiece. Bound in publishers blue cloth. Gilt title and rocket shooting to the moon on front board and pictorially blocked in black and gilt. Plain endpapers. All edges gilt. Condition: Good. Loose binding and cover. Rubbing wear to boards. Spine torn but complete. A few minor age-related marks within else contents clean. Darkened spine with the left side detached but complete. No discernable text foxing. Original endpapers retained. FEP is toned. Front and rear boards rubbed. Corners bumped. “From the Earth to the Moon” is a novel written by Jules Verne in 1865. It was landmark novel in science fiction. The novel follows a group of obsessive American Civil War veterans, members of the Baltimore Gun Club, who conceive the idea of creating an enormous cannon in order to shoot a “space-bullet” to the Moon from a site in Florida. Barbicane was the inventor of the cannon and follows the many difficulties that arrest the creation of the canon, as its gargantuan size requires an astronomical amount of money and time to build. Eventually, however, the canon is completed. Shortly before it’s completion, a French adventurer named Ardan arrives to say that he wishes to travel inside of the bullet to the moon. A hollow capsule is made in which the Frenchman can travel and Barbicane and his long-time rival, Captain Nicholl decide to go with him on the journey in order to settle their rivalry. Unfortunately, the Barbicane’s astronomic calculations are slightly off and the capsule ends up orbiting the moon instead of landing on it. In the end, the three would-be astronauts are left orbiting the moon with no sign if they will ever manage to land. Much of the novel is devoted to the logistical challenges of raising money, building the cannon, and manning the mission. Verne's calculations and theories of space travel, while impractical, had some remarkable similarities to the later realities of manned space flight. Two sequels-Around the Moon and The Purchase of the North Pole-follow the further exploits of the Baltimore Gun Club. From the Earth to the Moon was part of the inspiration behind the first science fiction film, Georges Méliès's A Trip to the Moon and was referenced by Neil Armstrong in a statement made from the Apollo 11 module on its return flight to earth. Written more than a century before the Apollo mission, Verne's classic is somewhat a prophetic novel of man's travel to the moon with its thorough and descriptive detail. Verne notably attempted to do some rough calculations for the cannon and, considering the comparative lack of any data on the subject at the time, some of his figures were close to actual measurement. Scarce first edition of this classic U.K. edition

Price: 1000 USD

Location: Arlington, Texas

End Time: 2024-11-18T01:35:43.000Z

Shipping Cost: 5.38 USD