VERNE (Jules). - Lot 77

VERNE (Jules). Five Weeks in a Balloon: A Journey of Discovery in Africa by Three Englishmen. Paris: Bibliothèque d’éducation et de récréation, J. Hetzel, [1866]. — Small 8vo, 234 x 150: frontispiece, (2 leaves), 370 pp., (1 leaf), 23 plates. Publisher’s cardboard binding in blue percaline with “bouquets of roses,” the back cover adorned with embossed motifs in the center and at the corners, gilt edges. First illustrated edition and extremely rare first simple cardboard binding of the very first illustrated volume of *Extraordinary Journeys*, which appeared in bookstores in early 1866. It is in small 8vo format. The novel recounts the daring expedition of Dr. Samuel Fergusson, a Scottish scholar, who crosses Africa from east to west aboard the Victoria balloon, accompanied by his skeptical servant, Dick Kennedy, and the resourceful young cabin boy, Joe. The illustrations include 51 compositions by Édouard Riou and Henri de Montaut, including a frontispiece and 23 out-of-text plates. Blue cardboard binding with a “bouquets of roses” design. The spine, Type 1, features a completely closed central oval, and the back cover is adorned with a blind-stamped design. A catalog insert is included at the end. Copy from the collection of Éric Weissenberg (1941–2012), a prominent member of the International Jules Verne Center (trustee from 2004 to 2009) and the Jules Verne Society (since 1986), and a specialist in Hetzel editions. A passionate collector of hardcover editions, he contributed extensively to the *Bulletin de la Société Jules Verne*, notably through his column dedicated to collectors. He co-authored *Jules Verne—Hetzel and the Illustrated Hardcover Editions* and published *Jules Verne: A Fabulous Universe (2004), in which he revealed previously unpublished documents from his collection. The hardcover has been very skillfully restored and rebound. Provenance: Éric Weissenberg, with bookplate (auction 10/12/2017, lot 3).