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Jules VERNE

Bourses de voyage

Hetzel, Paris s.d. (1903), 12x19cm, 2 volumes reliés.

First edition, for which there were no large paper copies. §Modern pastiche bindings by P. Goy & C. Vilaine, half bronze calf Bradel bindings over marbled paper boards, gilt fillets to spine, covers mounted on guards and preserved. §Very rare autograph inscription from Jules Vernie to [Achille] Tournier, prefect of the Somme at the time, and also enriched with a calling card from Jules Verne mounted on guards. §With original illustrations by L. Benett. §Jules Verne moved to Amiens, his wife's home town, in 1871: “Due to a wish of my wife's, I am settling in Amiens, a calm, orderly town, of even temper; society here is both cordial and well-read. We are near Paris, near enough to catch the rays without the unbearable noise and the sterile agitation. But to tell you the truth, my Saint-Michel remains moored in Crotoy.” His affection for the region did not cease to grow and he never again left the capital of Picardy, taking an active part in local politics. Appointed director of the Academy of Sciences, Literature and Arts in 1875, he gave a famous speech on the occasion: “An ideal city: Amiens in the year 2000.” In 1888, he was elected to the Municipal Council, of which he remained a member till 1903. It was the Prefect of the Somme who gave him his decoration when he was made an Officer of the Legion d'Honneur in 1892. “People often ask me why I live in Amiens, I who am so Parisian by instinct. Well, it's because – like I told you – I have Breton blood, I enjoy peace and I could not be happier anywhere than in a monastery. A calm life of study and work is my pleasure” (June 1893 in MacClure's Magazine). §A very good copy. %

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