Description
VERNE (Jules).
Robur the Conqueror. 45 illustrations by Benett.
Paris: Bibliothèque d’éducation et de récréation, J. Hetzel et Cie, 1886 [circa 1892]. — In-8, 269 x 176. ‘Steamer’-style cardboard binding, gilt edges (Magnier et ses fils).
A new issue of the 1886 edition, bound in ‘steamer’ cardboard as seen on this title page, and containing the first print run of the text from 1892 until 1901 or 1902. The back cover is of the Magnier c2 type.
*Robur the Conqueror* is structured along the same lines as *Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea*, but transposed into the skies. The engineer Robur takes Uncle Prudent and Phil Evans, two balloon enthusiasts, and boards them onto the Albatros — a flying vessel propelled by 74 electric propellers — to prove to them the superiority of ‘heavier-than-air’ craft ’. He then takes them on a round-the-world flight: Philadelphia → Montreal → San Francisco → Beijing → Tibet → the Himalayas → Moscow → Paris → Naples → Tunis → Timbuktu → Sudan → Dahomey → Tierra del Fuego → the South Pole → New Zealand.
The two hostages, refusing to admit defeat, eventually sabotaged the Albatros, which crashed.
Spine slightly faded, wear to the top cap, a few stains on the covers, corners slightly creased. Foxing, two leaves partially detached (pp. 3–6).
Provenance:
Dr and Mrs Camplez, with bookplate.
See original version (French)
Auto-translation. Refer to original language for legal validity.
About the sale
Claude Mozis Library – Black Africa and the African diaspora
Auction location
Auction time
10/21/2026 at 2:00 PM
Pictures credits: Contact the Auction House
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