1898 First Illustrated Grand-Format Edtn Red “Au Globe Doré” Cartonnage LE SUPERBE ORENOQUE By Jules Verne Illus. George Roux

1898 First Illustrated Grand-Format Edition Red “Au Globe Doré” Cartonnage
LE SUPERBE ORENOQUE
Les Voyages Extraordinaires

A handsome first illustrated grand-format edition of Jules Verne’s Le Superbe Orénoque, published in Paris by J. Hetzel et Cie in 1898 and illustrated throughout by George Roux.
The volume is preserved in Hetzel’s richly decorated red polychrome “au globe doré” cartonnage, one of the publisher’s celebrated presentation bindings for the Voyages Extraordinaires. The front board combines gilt, black, blue and green decoration around a central globe, while the spine carries the characteristic lighthouse design. All edges are gilt.
By Jules Verne

Format: Hardcover, Imperial octavo (8vo 8 1⁄4 × 11 1⁄2 in 210 × 292 mm )
 Note: Binding/size selection follows standard bibliographic conventions and is approximate; exact measurements may vary.

Language: French

Published By: J. Hetzel et Cie, Paris

Condition Report:
Dust Jacket: No Jacket, Dust Jacket Condition: No Jacket
Good - An attractive copy externally, retaining strong colour and a substantial amount of the original gilt and polychrome decoration. The boards have general rubbing, marking and handling wear, with wear and fraying at the corners and extremities. The spine is slightly leaning, with rubbing and wear at the head and foot. The rear board has lighter surface marks and rubbing.
The front inner hinge is cracked and open, with binding material exposed. The rear hinge and the attachment of the publisher’s catalogue are also strained. Several leaves or gatherings are loose or projecting, and the volume should be handled carefully. These are material structural defects and are reflected in the condition grade.
The contents have general age-toning, occasional light spotting and handling marks. A former owner’s inscription appears on the front free endpaper. The numbered text is present through page 411, followed by the AJ publisher’s catalogue at the rear.
The edition was originally issued with twenty hors-texte plates in colour, sepia and monochrome. The plates in this copy should be individually counted before the volume is described as bibliographically complete.
Despite its structural wear, this remains a visually impressive example of Hetzel’s decorative publishing, with an attractive front board, illustrated title material and numerous illustrations by George Roux.
Illustrated throughout by George Roux, including full-page and text illustrations in colour, sepia and monochrome.

Collation: 411 numbered pages. Complete with all twenty hors-texte plates and the AJ publisher’s catalogue.

Please see Photos as part of condition report.

References:
Bibliothèque nationale de France / Gallica: Le Superbe Orénoque, J. Hetzel, Paris, 1898.
Terry Harpold, “Reading the Illustrations of Verne’s Voyages Extraordinaires: The Example of Le Superbe Orénoque,” ImageTexT, Vol. 3, No. 1.

Author Bio: Jules Verne was a French novelist, dramatist and poet whose collaboration with the publisher Pierre-Jules Hetzel produced the celebrated Voyages Extraordinaires. The series combined adventure, geography, exploration and contemporary scientific speculation in works including Journey to the Centre of the Earth, Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Seas and Around the World in Eighty Days.
Verne’s carefully researched narratives helped shape the modern adventure novel and exercised a lasting influence on popular literature, speculative fiction and representations of travel and technological progress.

Illustrated By: George Roux
Illustrator Bio: George Roux was a French painter and book illustrator closely associated with the later volumes of Jules Verne’s Voyages Extraordinaires. His detailed, naturalistic illustrations helped establish the visual character of many of Verne’s late novels.
For Le Superbe Orénoque, Roux produced an extensive sequence of illustrations depicting river travel, Venezuelan landscapes, geographical exploration and the novel’s central drama of concealed identity. His images form an important part of the original reading experience of this edition.

Synopsis: Set principally in Venezuela, Le Superbe Orénoque interweaves two expeditions travelling upstream along the Orinoco River.
Three Venezuelan geographers—Miguel, Felipe and Varinas—set out to resolve their disagreement over which watercourse should be regarded as the true source of the Orinoco. At the same time, the young Frenchwoman Jeanne de Kermor disguises herself as a boy and travels under the name Jean with her protector, Sergeant Martial. Their purpose is to find Jeanne’s missing father, Colonel de Kermor, who disappeared in South America years earlier.
The travellers encounter Jacques Helloch and the naturalist Germain Paterne, and their journeys gradually converge amid difficult river passages, tropical landscapes, rival expeditions and dangerous encounters. The search ultimately becomes both a geographical adventure and a story of family recovery, identity and romance.
Drawing upon nineteenth-century accounts of exploration in the Orinoco region, the novel combines geographical detail with the adventure, mystery and technological curiosity characteristic of Verne’s Voyages Extraordinaires.



SKU: BTETM0002168
Shipping Info: Approximate Package Dimensions H: 12.5, L: 30, W: 25 (Units: cm), W: 2Kg
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