[Africa] Five Weeks in a Balloon/[Germany/Iceland] Journey to the Center of the Earth by Jules Verne. Illustrations by Riou and Montaut, then Riou alone. Paris, Bibliothèque d'Éducation et de Récréation, J. Hetzel Éditeur, sd (ca 1877). Large double in-8°. Publisher's full bishop's purple cardboard "à la grenade". Lenègre Binder. Gilt edges. Blue endpapers. Printed by Gauthier-Villars. Spine faded... which is almost inevitable... and spine ends rubbed. A good copy, however, considering its colour. Extremely rare! It is worth noting here the unusual purple colour of this binding and the placement of the title in the cartouche on the first plate. The typing seems almost improvised, and the characters of each title are in a different size. No doubt, this copy was one of the first to be given to the gilder who did not yet master the space in the cartouche... But, let us return to the tint. The only one we have encountered for a "grenade" that is close to this one was the lilac of "Le Capitaine Hatteras" from the Weissenberg collection (Sale 1, lot n°152).