Travels Diary

The Travel Diary. From n°1 of July 1877 to n° 1012 of November 29, 1896, this first part constituting the first series. Then n°1 from December 6, 1896 to n°923 from August 9, 1914, which constitutes the second series (supplemented by a few numbers, see below). Journal des Voyages / Illustrated Bookstore, Paris. Publisher's cartons, two separate series. The first (1877 to 1895, 1st semester): large in-4 (23.5 x 32.4 cm), red percaline, series of cold frames on the covers, smooth spine with title and volume numbers on the background black, decorated gilt boxes (sun, world map, oil lamp, mystery) / The second (1895 - 1914, until n°923 of August 9, 1914): large in-4 (23.2 x 32.5 cm) , red percaline, bevelled boards, tr. golden. Rich gold and black decoration on the first cover and the back (A. Souze). P1: wide frame of marine anchors, median band bearing the title, flippers, lion's head, bear on the ice floe, gorilla... On the back: buoy, flippers, anchors, weapons... P2 in black: nets of framing, shield and exotic weapons in the center. Complete collection in cardboard of the most extraordinary periodical of exotic adventures, travels, SF from the end of the XIXth century – beginning of the XXth century. Initially launched by Georges Decaux, a friend of Albert Robida, the magazine wanted to compete with the Tour du monde published by Hachette, but Decaux quickly understood that it could not compete in the field of real exploration stories and that it was necessary to invest the field of fiction. The era is of great discoveries, of colonial conquests; French readers are very fond of spicy exotic stories, the various editors-in-chief (Armand Montgrédien, Paul Genay, Léon Dewez, Paul Charpentier) will regale them: "Racist, sadist, chauvinist, gullible to the point of imbecility, flattering worst instincts of the Beast, making the image [...] the very support of the subconscious of man enslaved by his inner shit, in short everything to please, but marvelous in the imagination and rich in almost everything that the popular adventure literature could offer at the time, the Journal des Voyages et des Aventures de terre et de mer is perhaps the only periodical in the world to have crushed three quarters of a century of its slightly sulphurous magnificence” (Pierre Versins, in Utopia Encyclopedia of Extraordinary Voyages and Science Fiction). Versins' comment is terrible, but not without foundation, even if it is necessary to replace it in the context. In these times of colonial conquest, the reader is thirsty for exotic details: the unknown, the dream, is beyond the seas, some of its children will leave there, pushed by a national propaganda which glorifies the conquest and the contribution of French civilization. So it's true, everything is good to attract the reader, the best and the worst, and it must be said, often the worst: inhospitality, strange customs, barbaric customs, torture, ferocious animals... The covers sacrifice to the voyeurism (the arrival of color doesn't help matters!), the texts hide nothing and even add a lot. But – in the absence of publications of true travel stories – the journal attracts and pre-publishes the greatest French adventure stories: Paul d'Ivoi, Louis Boussenard, Capitaine Danrit, Henry Leturque, Pierre Maël, Louis Jacolliot, Camille Debans, Georges Le Faure... Novels of utopian, colonial, military, geographical, detective and fantastic adventures, in all parts of the world, known and unknown, illustrated by all the popular illustrators of the time: Bombled, Conrad, Métivet, Thiriet , Beuzon, Lecomte, Tinayre... The first series is presented in rather modest publisher's cardboard, the second is covered with one of the most beautiful serial cardboards of the end of the 19th century. The last volume of the first series of cartoons includes the first half of the year 1895 which is taken up in the first volume of the second series of cartoons (year 1895). We add a few issues (925, 926, 927 and 928) out of cardboard, the series interrupting when Paul Charpentier, the last editor, is called up. Publication will continue, come what may, until July 1915, with uncertain regularity, most of the articles then being devoted to the war in progress. Complete set in cardboard, quite exceptional. There are of course some flaws: the backs of the first series (quite cheap manufacturing) are off, some damaged corners and caps. Thirty-eight cardboard volumes to dream, shudder, tremble with; travels and adventures, real and imaginary, at the origin of those of Tintin, James Bond or other Indiana Jones.