Talk:Five Weeks in a Balloon

This e-version seems to originate from Norman Wolcott's page at jv.gilead.org.il, before passing through Project Gutenberg to wikisource. The Project Gutenberg version is a copy of Wolcott's page, but with the following bibliographic information deleted:


 * BOSTON:


 * JAMES R. OSGOOD AND COMPANY,


 * LATE TICKNOR & FIELDS, AND FIELDS, OSGOOD, & CO.


 * 1873.


 * ENTERED, according to Act of Congress, in the year 1869, by D. APPLETON & CO., In the Clerk's Office of the District Court of the United States for the Southern District of New York.

Wolcott describes the Osgood printing as "identical" to the Appleton original (meaning the same printing plates, other than inserting Osgood's name on the title page). On archive.org, the Hurst & Co. (1889) printing is likewise identical, while William L. Allison used new plates (new line and page breaks; some typographical errors fixed).

Wolcott's page lists a number of typographical corrections, made there and also in the Gutenberg and wikisource versions. However, some formatting (italicization such as Victoria for the name of the balloon; accented characters, and ligatures such as œ) has been lost in the passage from Wolcott's page to wikisource. So, if someone has plenty of spare time, this should be restored.

Wolcott gives more information about the translation:
 * At this point we have a rather long hiatus until February 20, 1869 when D. Appleton (N.Y.), published an unauthorized (pirate) edition of Five Weeks in a Balloon translated by the fictitious "William Lackland", the first fully illustrated edition of a Verne novel in English. The illustrations for this volume were carefully re-engraved in America from the French originals with the original engraver's names removed. This translation has been republished in most American editions of this work.

The translation is rated as "of relatively good quality" by Arthur Evans.

Notes above and textinfo box added by Zaqrfv 05:16, 3 September 2008 (UTC)