Nicolas von Klimius [Ludvig Holberg] - A Journey to the World Under-Ground - T. Astley & B. Collins, 1742, First Edition.

London, T. Astley & B. Collins, 1742. First Edition. First Impression. Hardback. A very good copy in a modern binding. An important taproot for the speculative genre and one of the first books to examine Halley's Hollow Earth notion. A utopian work wherein the protagonist (Klim) embarks on a 'extraordinary voyage', similar in some regards to Gulliver's Travels [Roberts, History of SF, p77; Claeys, Utopian Fiction, p55; Aldiss & Wingrove, Trillion Year, p68]. Also Currey's excellent 2012 catalogue offering many good works of speculative fiction published prior to 1870] published the previous year in Latin in Copenhagen. Bound in recent full dark brown calf. Five raised bands. Marbled endpapers. A nice binding. Binder's sticker to rear endpaper. There is no half-title, though comparison to other copies in catalogues suggest that might be as expected. Ink mark to title page and fore-edge. Ownership inscription 'John Brownjohn, The 26th October, 1769' with an overabundance of flourishes to the final leaf. An important book. [7979, Hyraxia Books].