(#162940) L'ESPION X.323: LE CANON DU SOMMEIL. ROMAN. Paul d' Ivoi, Paul Deleutre.

L'ESPION X.323: LE CANON DU SOMMEIL. ROMAN. Paris: "Le Roman d'Aventures" Albert Méricant Éditeur, [1908]. Large octavo, pp. [1-4] 5-128, text in two columns, eight inserted plates with illustrations by Gino Starace, original pictorial wrappers printed in red and black. First edition. A techno-thriller with advanced aircraft and weaponry, the second of three stories featuring secret agent X.323. LE CANON DU SOMMEIL (1908, The Canon of Sleep), later published as L'OBUS DE CRISTAL (The Crystal Shell), "includes a beautiful portrait of a mad scientist, the author of this brilliant invention: 'The projectile explodes: the audience dies of laughter, those who enter the room later carry with them the germs of terrible diseases, germs that have retained all their virulence.'" (Versins). Published as part of "Le Roman d'Aventures" series, not part of his twenty-one volume "Voyages Excentriques" series. Paul d'Ivoi (1856-1915) was one of the major French writers of the popular scientific romance active in France between 1890 and World War I. Versins, Encyclopédie de l'Utopie des Voyages Extraordinaires et de la Science Fiction, (1972), pp. 460-62. 20 mm chip from lower spine end, wrappers a bit spotted and dusty, pulp paper tanned but not brittle, a very good copy. A very nice copy; quite scarce in decent condition. (#162940).

Price: $250.00

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