THE SYMMES'S THEORY OF CONCENTRIC SPHERES, DEMONSTRATING THAT THE EARTH IS HOLLOW, HABITABLE WITHIN, AND WIDELY OPEN ABOUT THE POLES. Compiled by Americus Symmes, from the Writings of His Father, Capt. John Cleves Symmes. Louisville, Ky. Printed by Bradley & Gilbert, 1878. Octavo, pp. [i-iii] iv-xii [13] 14-66; [i-v] vi-vii [viii] [9] 10-157 [158: blank], inserted frontispiece (portrait of John Cleves Symmes), publisher's black pebbled cloth, front and rear panels ruled in blind, spine panel titled and ruled in gold and blind, all edges speckled red, floral patterned endpapers. First edition. The pseudo-theory expounded in this book spawned a healthy sub genre of nineteenth and early twentieth century American scientific romances, from SYMZONIA (1821) through the Pellucidar novels of Edgar Rice Burroughs. Captain John Cleves Symmes (1781-1829) was an infantry officer in the U.S. Army who served with credit at the battle of Niagara and in the sortie from Fort Erie during the War of 1812. Following his military service, he resided in Kentucky and devoted himself to philosophical pursuits. It was Symmes's firm belief that the Earth was a hollow sphere, habitable within, and open at the poles for the admission of light, and contained within it "at least five" concentric hollow spheres, also open at the poles. "He first announced his theory in 1818 by widely distributing a circular calling for one hundred 'brave companions' to join him on a polar expedition to the northern opening -- or 'Symmes's hole' as it soon became known ... The more Symmes's theory was ridiculed, the angrier he became and the more energy he spent in finding 'facts' to support his views. It became an obsession. For ten years he traveled about the country giving speeches in a stumbling, nasal voice, and trying to raise funds for his voyage. In 1822 and 1823, he petitioned Congress to finance the trip. The petitions were quietly tabled, although he was persuasive enough the second time to win 25 votes. In 1829, his health finally broke under the strain of lecturing. At Hamilton, Ohio, where he made his home at the time of his death, may be seen the weather-beaten monument raised to him by his son. A stone model of the hollow earth caps the memorial. The most complete descriptions of Symmes's remarkable views are to be found in two books -- SYMMES'S THEORY OF CONCENTRIC SPHERES, written in 1826 by James McBride, the Captain's number one convert; and THE SYMMES THEORY OF CONCENTRIC SPHERES, published in 1878 by his son, Americus Symmes ... Symmes's beliefs made no dent whatever on the science of his day, but they did leave a strong impress on science fiction." - Gardner, In the Name of Science, pp. 19-21. "While the concept of a hollow earth was not original with Symmes, having been propounded, for one, by astronomer Edmond Halley in explanation of magnetic phenomena, Symmes's personal presentations of the theory seem to have been extraordinarily convincing to his hearers. In science-fiction, the motif of the hollow earth ... has been very fruitful." - Bleiler, Science-Fiction: The Early Years, pp. 856-57. This peculiar work compiled by Symmes's son, Americus, appends a 157-page double column undated Routledge edition of Paltock's eighteenth-century novel, THE LIFE AND ADVENTURES OF PETER WILKINS, A CORNISH MAN. The preface was probably written by Americus. "The Theory of Concentric Spheres" appears to be a rewrite of McBride's work published in 1826. Bailey, Pilgrims Through Space and Time, pp. 41-2. Clute and Nicholls (eds), The Encyclopedia of Science Fiction (1993), p. 1196. Early owner's rubber-stamped name (Dr. E. S. Clark of Louisville, Kentucky) on the front free endpaper and his signature on the title page. A very good copy. A high-spot of early American crank science. Very scarce. (#172218).
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