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jules verne. twenty thousand leagues under the sea. james r. osgood, 1873.

Price: US$250.00 + shipping

Condition: Fine

Description: 1873 rare Osgood hardcover reprint that duplicates the very expensive first printing to the last detail! All plates, green clothe binding with gold inlays, jelly fish medallion on front cover,brown endpapers and tissue guard over frontis. Original first editions of this beloved tale sell for upwards of $11,500.00, but this Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea book can be yours at a fraction of the price!This is a superb example for any library of the astronomically expensive first printing and would light up any book shelf!

Seller: oldprintbooks, webster, NY, U.S.A.

Verne, Jules. TWENTY THOUSAND LEAGUES UNDER THE SEAS. Geo. M. Smith, 1873.

Price: US$3217.00 + shipping

Description: TWENTY THOUSAND LEAGUES UNDER THE SEAS, Geo. M. Smith, 1873, one of two American editions first released that year with most authorities giving preference to the much less common James R. Osgood publication, cloth slightly worn at at the upper fore edge corner tips and spine extremities with a closed 1/8" tear to the head of the spine, modest silverfish to spine and covers, previous owners wedding gift inscription (husband to wife), one signature standing a bit proud, else a most attractive vg copy in the publishers original and most handsome pictorial gold and black stamped cloth. Profusely illustrated. A cornerstone work in the science fiction genre as well as 19th century literature high spot.

Seller: THE FINE BOOKS COMPANY / A.B.A.A / 1979, ROCHESTER, MI, U.S.A.

Verne, Jules. Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Seas [Sea on front cover][Jellyfish]. James R. Osgood and Company, 1873.

Price: US$12500.00 + shipping

Condition: Good

Description: Boston: James R. Osgood and Company (late Ticknor and Fields, and Fields, Osgood & Co.) 1873 Hardcover. 302 pages. Bound in brown cloth (sometimes called terra-cotta or salmon) with gold and black lettering and decorations. Emblem on the front cover shows a school of jellyfish in a murky sea. This is the famous first American edition, about which more later. The final page is missing. It should end on page 303, but this copy does not. That final page has the final 151 words of the story plus ‘The End.’ This copy ends with the line, “Will the missing vessel tell us by its nationality that of Captain Nemo?” at the bottom of page 302. Binding is good and tight. Some work has been done on the binding. It has been rebacked, with the original spine laid down on top of the new. The work can only be seen at the crown and foot of the spine where less than 1/8th inch of the new cloth is visible. New headbands have been added. The original brown endpapers are present, but with new brown cloth hinges at the gutters at both the front and back endpapers. Upon close inspection, it appears that some paper-repair work was done at the folded-end of the signatures. With the exception of the new headbands, the repair work is only obvious when it is looked for. Gold and black decoration is a bit faded. Corners are rubbed and boards show through. The pages are evenly toned from age. Verne’s adventure story was first published in 1870. It was translated into English in 1872 by Lewis Page Mercier. His translation has become infamous for his drastic cuts (nearly 20% of the original), odd wording, and inexplicable reassigning of nationalities to characters and ships. His English translation was published at the end of 1872. This first American edition was printed on the same plates, with the Osgood title page added & a new binding (with the jellyfish on it). Almost the entire first American edition was then destroyed in a fire. Opinions differ on how many copies survived but consensus seems to be fewer than 100; probably closer to 50 individual copies. Copies have been discovered in three different colors of cloth; green, blue and brown.

Seller: Riverby Books, Fredericksburg, VA, U.S.A.