Jules Verne - Hector Servadac - 1878

VERNE, Jules — PHILIPPOTEAUX, P. (illus.)
Hector Servadac. Voyages et aventures à travers le monde solaire.
Paris, J. Hetzel et Cie, s.d. [circa 1877-1878].

A volume in quarto format (about 18 x 27 cm) bound in red publisher’s crepe with “the armillary sphere,” the spine flat adorned with gold decorations, gold-edged pages. Illustrated with drawings by P. Philippoteaux engraved by Laplante, including superb black-and-white plates hors-texte.

Originally published in serial form and then in volumes by Pierre-Jules Hetzel, Hector Servadac is one of Jules Verne’s most peculiar adventure and science-fiction novels, recounting the voyage of survivors carried aboard a portion of the Earth torn away by a comet.

The red binding retains a fine shine with its gold decorations. The spine is well preserved with its borders and titles. The corners and the crowns show slight signs of wear from use. Clean endpapers, the body of the work with some scattered foxing (notably on the title pages and margins), but with engravings plates with good contrast. Some leaves partially detached and frayed.

Fine copy.