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1886 Rare First UK Edition - The Startling Exploits of Dr Quies by Paul Celiere
1886 Rare First UK Edition - The Startling Exploits of Dr Quies by Paul Celiere
1886 Rare First UK Edition - The Startling Exploits of Dr Quies by Paul Celiere
1886 Rare First UK Edition - The Startling Exploits of Dr Quies by Paul Celiere
1886 Rare First UK Edition - The Startling Exploits of Dr Quies by Paul Celiere
1886 Rare First UK Edition - The Startling Exploits of Dr Quies by Paul Celiere
1886 Rare First UK Edition - The Startling Exploits of Dr Quies by Paul Celiere
1886 Rare First UK Edition - The Startling Exploits of Dr Quies by Paul Celiere
1886 Rare First UK Edition - The Startling Exploits of Dr Quies by Paul Celiere
1886 Rare First UK Edition - The Startling Exploits of Dr Quies by Paul Celiere
1886 Rare First UK Edition - The Startling Exploits of Dr Quies by Paul Celiere
1886 Rare First UK Edition - The Startling Exploits of Dr Quies by Paul Celiere
1886 Rare First UK Edition - The Startling Exploits of Dr Quies by Paul Celiere
1886 Rare First UK Edition - The Startling Exploits of Dr Quies by Paul Celiere
1886 Rare First UK Edition - The Startling Exploits of Dr Quies by Paul Celiere
1886 Rare First UK Edition - The Startling Exploits of Dr Quies by Paul Celiere
1886 Rare First UK Edition - The Startling Exploits of Dr Quies by Paul Celiere
1886 Rare First UK Edition - The Startling Exploits of Dr Quies by Paul Celiere
1886 Rare First UK Edition - The Startling Exploits of Dr Quies by Paul Celiere
1886 Rare First UK Edition - The Startling Exploits of Dr Quies by Paul Celiere
1886 Rare First UK Edition - The Startling Exploits of Dr Quies by Paul Celiere
1886 Rare First UK Edition - The Startling Exploits of Dr Quies by Paul Celiere
1886 Rare First UK Edition - The Startling Exploits of Dr Quies by Paul Celiere
1886 Rare First UK Edition - The Startling Exploits of Dr Quies by Paul Celiere
1886 Rare First UK Edition - The Startling Exploits of Dr Quies by Paul Celiere
1886 Rare First UK Edition - The Startling Exploits of Dr Quies by Paul Celiere
1886 Rare First UK Edition - The Startling Exploits of Dr Quies by Paul Celiere
1886 Rare First UK Edition - The Startling Exploits of Dr Quies by Paul Celiere

1886 Rare First UK Edition - The Startling Exploits of Dr Quies by Paul Celiere

$150 USD - $150 USD
$150 USD
$150 USD - $150 USD
$150 USD

An uncommon and wonderfully illustrated Victorian adventure tale, this first UK edition of Paul Célière’s eccentric Dr. Quiès is especially appealing in its original pictorial cloth binding, with 120 illustrations by Frédéric Lix.

Author: Paul Célière. Translated by Mrs. Cashel Hoey and Mr. John Lillie. Illustrated by Frédéric Lix.
Title: The Startling Exploits of Dr. J. B. Quiès. From the French of Paul Célière. With One Hundred and Twenty Illustrations.
Publisher: London, Sampson Low, Marston, Searle, & Rivington, Crown Buildings, 188 Fleet Street, 1886.
Edition: First UK Edition.
Language: Text in English.
Pages: xi-328 pages + publisher’s catalogue.
Size: 8" x 5.5".
Binding: Good to very good original Victorian pictorial full-cloth binding, with a dramatic balloon scene printed to the front board and illustrated and gilt-lettered spine. Binding firm, with general rubbing, fading and age-related wear, particularly to the spine and extremities, as shown. All edges gilt. Protected in a removable mylar cover. 
Content: Very good content, bright, tight and generally clean, with occasional light age-toning and scattered foxing. The endpapers appear to have been professionally replaced by a previous owner.
Illustrations: Complete with all 120 black-and-white illustrations by Frédéric Lix, including the frontispiece and numerous full-page and text illustrations throughout.

Estimate: USD 200–250.

The book:
The Startling Exploits of Dr. J. B. Quiès is a wonderfully eccentric late-Victorian adventure novel following the reluctant and sedentary Dr. Jean-Baptistin Quiès through an increasingly improbable succession of mishaps and travels. Beginning with an accidental journey and rapidly escalating into adventures involving distant lands, danger and even balloon flight, the story combines travel fiction, comic adventure and the imaginative exuberance characteristic of nineteenth-century popular literature.

This 1886 first UK edition is particularly attractive for its extensive illustrative programme and remarkable pictorial binding. An uncommon and appealing survival of Victorian illustrated adventure publishing.

The author:
Paul Célière was a nineteenth-century French writer of popular fiction, remembered particularly for imaginative adventure stories combining humour, travel and improbable situations. Les Mémorables Aventures du Docteur J.-B. Quiès became one of his best-known works and reached English readers through this translation by Mrs. Cashel Hoey and John Lillie.

The illustrator:
Frédéric Théodore Lix (1830–1897) was a French painter and illustrator whose work appeared extensively in nineteenth-century books and periodicals. Known for his lively narrative compositions and meticulous draughtsmanship, he was particularly well suited to adventure and travel literature. His numerous illustrations for The Startling Exploits of Dr. J. B. Quiès contribute substantially to the charm and visual appeal of this uncommon edition.