Description:
London: Lockwood & Co.,, 1864. Utopia on the Moon by way of Santa Fe First edition of this uncommon work of interplanetary fiction featuring an early antigravity device which propels the protagonists to a lunar utopia. The book follows the story of Stephen Howard and Carl Geister, who find an ore called "repellante" in the Colorado Mountains. "They fly to the Moon in a repellante-powered spaceship, where they crash-land. Here they discover a utopian lunar society of four-feet-tall humanoids called Notol. Afrer a year living amongst these people and exploring the Moon, they inscribe their adventures on metal tablets and fire these back to Earth by dropping them into an exploding lunar volcano" (Roberts, p. 156). The result is a "fascinating philosophical romance, intermediate between satirical lunar voyages and scientific romances" (Barron, p. 415). The book was part of the surge of creative works inspired by the Moon in the late 19th century. It predates Jules Verne's novels From the Earth to the…
Read More The History of a Voyage to the Moon, with an Account of the Adventurers' Subsequent Discoveries: An Exhumed Narrative, Supposed to Have Been Ejected from a Lunar Volcano by (Cowen, H.) - 1864
by (Cowen, H.)
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The History of a Voyage to the Moon, with an Account of the Adventurers' Subsequent Discoveries: An Exhumed Narrative, Supposed to Have Been Ejected from a Lunar Volcano
by (Cowen, H.)
- Used
London: Lockwood & Co, 1864. Octavo. (4), 204pp. First edition. Inscription on recto of frontispiece identifies author: "Geo. Evans presented to him by the Author H. Cowen the 20 Sept. 1866." In standard references and OCLC previous to this copy's discovery, the book was recorded as anonymous or according to the names of its pseudonymous authors (Stephen Howard and Carl Geister) or editor (Chrysostom Trueman). Cowen presented the tale in two parts, "The Voyage" and "The Ideal Life." The former follows the protagonists as they learn how to create a new gravity-resistant power source and travel to the moon. In the latter, they discover a utopian society inhabited by "amnesiac reincarnations of select Earthmen," miniature in stature and communitarian in ethos. The narrative is as much a philosophical exercise as a scientific one. Thus, while not as ambitious in scope or innovative in detail as other proto-science fiction texts, its grasp of larger ethical and societal issues has made it highly influential. Shortly after its first publication, The History of the Voyage to the Moon appeared in France as Voyage a la Lune, making its influence on Jules Verne's From the Earth to the Moon highly plausible. Bound in pebble-grain green cloth with blind-stamped ornamentation to covers and gilt-lettering to spine. Slightly shaken, spine and corners bumped, edges of text block show minor soiling. Housed in box with green morocco exterior and gilt stamping. A fine copy of a genre rarity.
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Bookseller
Bromer Booksellers
(US)
- Book Condition Used
- Quantity Available 1
- Publisher Lockwood & Co
- Place of Publication London
- Date Published 1864
We have 2 copies available starting at $3,167.00.
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The History of a Voyage to the Moon, with an Account of the Adventurers' Subsequent Discoveries.: An Exhumed Narrative, supposed to have been ejected from a Lunar Volcano.
by COWEN, H
- Used
- Hardcover
- first
- Condition
- Used
- Binding
- Hardcover
- Quantity Available
- 1
- Seller
-
London, United Kingdom
- Item Price
-
$3,167.00
Show Details
Item Price
$3,167.00
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The History of a Voyage to the Moon, with an Account of the Adventurers' Subsequent Discoveries.: An Exhumed Narrative, supposed to have been ejected from a Lunar Volcano.
by COWEN, H
- Used
- Hardcover
- Signed
- first
- Condition
- Used
- Binding
- Hardcover
- Quantity Available
- 1
- Seller
-
London, United Kingdom
- Item Price
-
$15,835.00
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Description:
London: Lockwood & Co.,, 1864. Utopia on the Moon by way of Santa Fe First edition, presentation copy, signed most likely by the recipient as a gift from the anonymous author: "Geo: Evans, presented to him by the Author H. Cowen the 20 Septr. 1866." A fascinating work of science fiction, scarce in such fine condition and apparently unique with the inscription allowing us to name the author. "An interplanetary fantasy whose protagonists employ a force of 'repulsion' to convey an 'island earth' to the Moon. They discover a communistic utopian society of miniature humans, who are unwitting reincarnations of souls who have previously lived on Earth... A fascinating philosophical romance, intermediate between satirical lunar voyages and scientific romances" (Barron). The book is among a surge of creative works inspired by the Moon in the late 19th century, predating Jules Verne's novels From the Earth to the Moon (1865) and Around the Moon (1870); Offenbach's operetta Le voyage dans la lune (1875),…
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$15,835.00