1888 Strange Manuscript Found in Copper Cylinder J. De Mille 1st Edition Sci-Fi

[James De Mille], Gilbert Gaul (Illustrator)

Published by Harper & Brothers Publishers, 1888

About this Item

A Strange Manuscript Found in a Copper Cylinder. [James De Mille.] With Illustrations by Gilbert Gaul. New York: Harper & Brothers, Franklin Square. 1888. First Edition. 19 plates (complete), 291 p + 4 p publisher's ads. 7.5 x 5.5", 8vo. In fair condition. Navy cloth boards scuffed at edges and worn/bumped at corners. Head and tail of spine scuffed. Gilt lettering and deco lightly dulled at spine, but overall attractive. Very small spot of worming found on top edge of text-block, seen on top edges of pages 187-205 (text unimpeded). Front gutter split at half-title & copyright pages with some exposed binding mesh. Bookseller's ink stamp found on bottom edge of front paste-down: "H.C. Guthrie, Bookseller and Stationer, Penn Yan, N.Y." Previous ownership signatures, in ink, found on front end-page: "Walter H. Schwartz," and "Ernest R. Bordwell." Light toning throughout text-block, mostly at edges of leaves. Some sparse instances of age-staining. Binding intact, front gutter fragile. Please see photos. A Strange Manuscript Found in a Copper Cylinder is the most popular book by the Canadian writer James De Mille (1833 - 1880). It was serialized posthumously and anonymously in Harper's Weekly, and published in book form by Harper and Brothers of New York City in 1888. It was serialized subsequently in the United Kingdom and Australia, and published in book form in the United Kingdom and Canada. Later editions were published from the plates of Harper & Brothers' first edition during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The satirical and fantastic romance is set in an imaginary semi-tropical land in Antarctica inhabited by prehistoric monsters and a cult of death-worshipers called the Kosekin. Written many years before it was published, it is reminiscent of Edgar Allan Poe's The Narrative of Arthur Gordon Pym of Nantucket (1838) and anticipates the exotic locale and fantasy-adventure elements of works of the "Lost World genre" such as Arthur Conan Doyle's The Lost World (1912) and Edgar Rice Burroughs' The Land That Time Forgot (1918), as well as innumerable prehistoric world movies based loosely on these and other works. The title and locale were inspired by Edgar Allan Poe's Ms. Found in a Bottle (1833). First Edition. Complete with all plates. Gift quality. COLL1888BDFB 09/24 - HK2106. Seller Inventory # COLL1888BDFB

Bibliographic Details

Title: 1888 Strange Manuscript Found in Copper ...

Publisher: Harper & Brothers Publishers

Publication Date: 1888

Binding: Hardcover

Condition: Fair

Edition: 1st Edition