Paul d'Ivoi (Paul Éric) - L'AÉROPLANE FANTÔME - 1910

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)

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 Extraordinary Voyages. In 1894, the first volume of the series, "Les Cinq sous de Lavarède", written in collaboration with Léon Chabrillat, earned him celebrity.

"The Voyages excentriques series presented itself to the public in an exceptionally attractive form. Because of the originality of their appearance: a first cover adorned with a polychrome motif in full plate related 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 story. This variety giving to the whole collection an unparalleled place in the field of works bound in percaline with decorative design."

"To avenge Nali, the young woman who rejected him and her fiancé Jean Fanfare, the sculptor Ergopoulos devised a diabolical plan: plunge the poor girl into a state of catalepsy and seal her body with an aluminum sarcophagus bearing 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 other option than to recover the statue himself, even if it means crossing half of Europe."