DR. OX'S EXPERIMENT, and other Stories

1874. With Numerous Illustrations. London: Sampson Low, Marston, Low, & Searle, 1874. Original deep red pebble-grain cloth pictorially decorated in black and gilt, board edges beveled, all page edges gilt.

First English Edition (and first fully-illustrated edition in the English language) of these four tales, three of which are among Verne's earliest: "A Drama in the Air" (appeared in a periodical in 1851, his second story), "Master Zacharius" (1854, his fourth), and "A Winter amid the Ice" (1855, his fifth). Also included (of course) is "Dr. Ox's Experiment" from 1872 -- plus "Ascent of Mont Blanc" by Jules's brother Paul Verne. "Dr. Ox's (truncated) Experiment" is a great tale: Doctor Ox and his assistant Ygene come to the small quiet community of Quiquendone located in Flanders. He promises to light this town with a network of oxyhydric gas pipes. During the construction of this network, the quiet community becomes quite excitable, to the point where they are ready to go to war against a neighboring community. But what is the cause of this change in the nature of the good people of Quiquendone? Perhaps it is something in the air... ...and so is "Master Zacharius"... As a clockmaker in Geneva Switzlerland begins dying, all of the timepieces that he has crafted begin failing as though a part of his soul became a part of each of them. Soon only one of his timepieces remains functional, and for the clockmaker to gain possession of it, he must give his daughter's hand in marriage to a man who works for the devil himself... [quotes from Kytasaari] This fully-illustrated London edition came out in November 1874 (with "Master Zacharias" misspelled thus on front cover and spine); the gilt vignette on the spine shows the grinning character "Time," from the story "Master Zacharius." This edition was preceded by a small unillustrated edition by Osgood of Boston, and by a semi-illustrated edition titled FROM THE CLOUDS TO THE MOUNTAINS by Gill of Boston; following this British edition, in mid-1875 Osgood came out with a fully-illustrated American edition, using these British sheets. This is a copy bound without an ad catalogue at the rear, in deep red cloth (we have also handled copies in brown, blue, green, and purple -- no precedence). Its condition is very good-plus (front endpaper slightly cracked, very minor wear at the extremities, but very little other wear, and with the cover gilt brighter than usual); typically for deep red cloth, the spine is slightly faded. This is a rather uncommon edition, with a terrific binding design. Taves & Michaluk V012; Mistichelli et al. A34; Myers 16. Provenance: frontispiece recto signature and small inkstamp of Jno. A Goold. (Inventory #: 15475)