AN AERIEL VOYAGE TO THE MOON, PERFORMED IN THE YEARS 1818-19 BY M. SOUCHETTE, WHO ASCENDED IN A BALLOON FROM WEISSENBERG, IN GERMANY, ON THE 24TH OF SEPTEMBER, 1818, GIVING AN INTERESTING ACCOUNT OF THE MANNERS AND CUSTOMS OF THE INHABITANTS OF THAT PLANET, WITH A PARTICULAR DESCRIPTION OF ITS MINERALS, PRECIOUS STONES, ETC. TRANSLATED FROM A FRENCH MANUSCRIPT. New-York: Printed and Published by Charles N. Baldwin, No. 1 Chamber, Corner of Chatham-street, 1819. 17x11 cm, pp. [i-iii] iv-vi [7] 8-60, publisher's blue gray wrappers printed in black, untrimmed, sewn. First edition, first printing. A scientific romance in which a French balloonist ascends to the Moon and marries a Lunar king's daughter. The Lunarians are humanoid, but small in stature, wear silk clothing, and inhabit dwellings richly decorated with precious stones. Their civilization is exotic, more Middle Eastern (Arabian Nights), than European or American. The back story is a precursor to A CONNECTICUT YANKEE IN KING ARTHUR'S COURT, but with a happier ending. In 1799 a French soldier with a background in science and aeronautics who fought in the American Revolution ascended to the Moon by balloon where he taught one of the four Lunar kingdoms the art of modern warfare. When another kingdom invaded the one in which he resided the attackers were eradicated by modern weapons (cannons and muskets). The balloonist became king. In 1818 another French aeronaut travels to the Moon by balloon and ultimately meets up with the king and they share their back stories. The recently arrived balloonist marries the king's daughter and sends this account of his adventures to Earth by balloon. Not in Shaw and Shoemaker. Not in Locke, Voyages in Space (2011). Spine panel missing, wrappers nearly detached and worn at edges, small white stain to front wrapper, text pages spotted, a good copy. OCLC reports a copy at Harvard. Extremely rare. (#179172).
Price: $8,500.00
No statement of printing.