Verne, Jules

8vo (174 x 112mm.), FIRST EDITION, FIRST OR SECOND PRINTING, half-title, errata leaf, 16pp. publisher's adverts and 'avis important' leaf at end, RARE PUBLISHER'S DELUXE BINDING of contemporary red cloth ruled in blind on covers with spine gilt in compartments, moire endpapers, gilt edges, some soiling to endpapers and binding, ribbon detached

FIRST EDITION IN BOOK FORM, published by Verne's friend and editor Pierre-Jules Hetzel, who had agreed in 1863 to buy three volumes per year from the author for the sum of 1,925 francs a piece. At the end of 1865, after the publication of De la terre à la lune and four other titles, Hetzel increased these royalties to 3,000 francs per title. Hetzel's Voyages Extraordinaires series of Verne's stories ultimately ran to 54 titles.

Verne's story of the first manned space mission has since been recognised for its remarkable accuracy with regard to the mathematics and physics of such an endeavour. Verne recruited his cousin Henri Garcet, a cosmographer, to assist him with calculating the correct trajectories to allow his rocket to reach the moon. The novel has since inspired various film adaptations, as well as an opera and the theme for a ride at Disneyland Paris.