The Library of Stephen J. Farber

8vo (160 x 89 mm). (Very light spotting throughout, marginal toning to title page with minor ink stains.) Modern calf antique. Provenance: John Brownjohn (calligraphic ownership inscription at rear dated 26 October 1769).

FIRST ENGLISH EDITION. The notion of a subterranean world dates back to ancient times, and was resurrected in Renaissance Europe by Athanasius Kircher in Mundus Subterraneus, a scientific textbook printed in 1665 which proposed that there is an "intricate system of cavities and a channel of water connecting the poles." The idea was further expanded upon by Edmond Halley in 1692, and throughout the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries American explorers sought access to hidden underground worlds which were thought to be populated by highly intelligent peoples; explorer J.N. Reynolds attempted to organize an expedition to this underground world, gaining 25 congressional votes in favor. A Journey to the World Under-Ground by Nicholas Klimius, written by Norwegian essayist and playwright Ludvig Holberg, is believed to be one of the earliest fictional works ever published to deal with the Hollow Earth theory, an idea so controversial at the time that Holberg initially published the book in Germany under the pseudonym Nicholas Klimius.

[With]: BURNET, Thomas. The Sacred Theory of the Earth... Fifth Edition. London: J. Hooke, 1722. 2 volumes, 8vo (193 x 114 mm). Numerous folding plates (some spotting throughout, toning, minor offsetting.) Modern quarter calf. Provenance: John Spolman (ownership signature at head of chapter one).

[With]: REED, William. The Phantom of the Poles. New York: Walter S. Rockey Company, 1906. 8vo. Original dark olive cloth (light rubbing). FIRST EDITION.