Paul d'Ivoi - Jean Fanfare [Cartonnage polychrome] - 1897

Original edition (and first printing) of this excellent adventure novel by Paul d'Ivoi, one of the most imaginative writers of conjectural fiction (Pierre Versins, Encyclopédie de l'utopie et de la science fiction p.460)

Bound in its elegant publisher's case with a polychrome figurative decoration signed by Paul Souze. The work is enriched with 92 in-text engravings, 10 large hors-texte wood engravings, and 8 color plates after drawings by Lucien Métivet.

Condition: tear at the second hinge (5 cm) and at the tips (no loss). One corner pierced. First plate very clean, spine slightly rubbed, second board well preserved. Spine sturdy. Interior fresh, paper browned, no foxing. Good condition.

Volume published in the "Collection des voyages excentriques". Between 1894 and 1914, Paul d’Ivoi published the 21 volumes that form the Voyages excentriques series, which exploited the vein of Jules Verne's Voyages extraordinaires. In 1894, the first volume of the series, "Les Cinq sous de Lavarède", written in collaboration with Léon Chabrillat, earned him fame.

"The series 'Voyages excentriques' presented itself to the public in an exceptionally attractive form. Owing to the originality of their appearance: a front cover adorned with a full-plate polychrome motif relating to the subject of the work, faithful to the author's highly imaginative character. As for the back, it is also personalized for each title by a vignette depicting the central character of the tale. This variety gives the entire collection an unparalleled place in the field of bound works in percaline with decorative.

"To take revenge on Nali, the young woman who rejected him and on her fiancé, Jean Fanfare, the sculptor Ergopoulos devised a diabolical plan: plunge the poor girl into a state of catalepsy and sink onto her body a sarcophagus of aluminum in her likeness. Then, having accomplished his deed, he decides to donate the statue thus obtained to the Louvre Museum. From then on, to save his beloved, Jean Fanfare has no choice but to recover the statue, even if it means crossing half of Europe."