Search Results: the history of a voyage to by cowen h

London: Lockwood & Co.,, 1864. Utopia on the Moon by way of Santa Fe First edition of this uncommon work of interplanetary fiction featuring an early antigravity device which propels the protagonists to a lunar utopia. The book follows the story of Stephen Howard and Carl Geister, who find an ore called "repellante" in the Colorado Mountains. "They fly to the Moon in a repellante-powered spaceship, where they crash-land. Here they discover a utopian lunar society of four-feet-tall humanoids called Notol. Afrer a year living amongst these people and exploring the Moon, they inscribe their adventures on metal tablets and fire these back to Earth by dropping them into an exploding lunar volcano" (Roberts, p. 156). The result is a "fascinating philosophical romance, intermediate between satirical lunar voyages and scientific romances" (Barron, p. 415). The book was part of the surge of creative works inspired by the Moon in the late 19th century. It predates Jules Verne's novels From the Earth to the… Read More

London: Lockwood & Co.,, 1864. Utopia on the Moon by way of Santa Fe First edition, presentation copy, signed most likely by the recipient as a gift from the anonymous author: "Geo: Evans, presented to him by the Author H. Cowen the 20 Septr. 1866." A fascinating work of science fiction, scarce in such fine condition and apparently unique with the inscription allowing us to name the author. "An interplanetary fantasy whose protagonists employ a force of 'repulsion' to convey an 'island earth' to the Moon. They discover a communistic utopian society of miniature humans, who are unwitting reincarnations of souls who have previously lived on Earth... A fascinating philosophical romance, intermediate between satirical lunar voyages and scientific romances" (Barron). The book is among a surge of creative works inspired by the Moon in the late 19th century, predating Jules Verne's novels From the Earth to the Moon (1865) and Around the Moon (1870); Offenbach's operetta Le voyage dans la lune (1875),… Read More