Verniana — Jules Verne Studies/Etudes Jules Verne — Volume 13 (2022–2024) — 63–92

 

Submitted November 11, 2022 Published July 20, 2023
Proposé le 11 novembre 2022 Publié le 20 juillet 2023

Once Upon a Time in Lisbon 2 —  Errata and Epilogue: where the last mysteries of the "Lusitânia Verne" saga are definitely solved and some important details about the Vernian edition in Portugal are revealed

Bruno Rego

 

The discoveries that we are going to expose below took place only after the article’s first publication in July 2022 and after the creation of our online pictorial bibliographic database Jules Verne: História da Edição Portuguesa em Imagens (Jules Verne: History of the Portuguese Edition in Images) [1], where we provide photographs of the covers and title pages of each Jules Verne work that we could find. Through a comparative analysis of images, and following the guidelines present in A.J. Ferreira’s article, we managed to uncover the solution to some Verne’s Portuguese edition issues that remained unresolved and to accurately date some editions that either did not have a date or simply this was not correct. Let us then unravel the last Lusitânia Verne’s mysteries.

1. The first time that in Portugal was officially declared: Habemus Verne

In the original article, we asked the following question: when was a text by Jules Verne published for the first time in Portugal? Everything led to the belief that it had actually been in Lisbon, in 1874, but a recent search we carried out on an online auction site revealed new data.

The honor of premiere happened in the city of Porto, where, in 1873 and in an edition of Typographia Manoel José Pereira, the first part of Vingt Mille Lieues sous les mers (L'homme des eaux) was published, translated by Gaspar Borges D' Avellar (1844-1889), journalist in that city and Verne's first Portuguese translator.

 

Jules Verne's first work published in Portugal

 

In 1874, the same publishing house would release the work’s second part, Sous les mers, with a translation by Francisco Gomes Moniz, of whom no biographical data is known.

It is, we believe, a unique edition and, for that very reason, quite rare. It is not registered in any bibliographic database, nor were there any other Verne’s editions in this publishing house that operated in Porto in the 1860s, 1870s and 1880s. Another point that leads us to believe in this edition’s commercial failure is the fact that it does not contain illustrations, a key point in Vernian works.

 

Verne’s work second part

 

In 1874, and still in Porto, some Verne’s Brazilian translations were already in circulation, imported by Ernesto Chardron (1840-1885), a French bookseller based in the city since 1858 and owner of the Livraria Internacional (International Bookstore).

The photo below, taken from the Catalog of Brazilian Publications received by the Livraria Internacional of E. Chardron (1874) tells how many and what Vernian works were circulating in Portugal at the time.

 

 

With the name Verne in the plural, Ernesto Chardron offered his reading public the Brazilian translations of Le tour du monde en quatre-vingt jours, Voyage au centre de la Terre and the three volumes of Les Enfants du capitaine Grant, all of them published in Brazil for the first time in 1873.

 

The log book of Pierre-Jules Hetzel with contracts referring to Au tour de la Lune. The image shows that, on February 26, 1874, Corazzi bought the rights to thirty-nine illustrations of that work for publication in Portugal (Credits: Valéria Bezerra)

 

The works sold by Chardron were translations from Livraria Garnier, owned by French bookseller Baptiste-Louis Garnier (1823-1893). However, these editions, like the one of Vingt Mille Lieues sous les mers above mentioned, did not contain illustrations (Bezerra 69).

In the same year, 1874, this situation was resolved by a Lisbon’s editor, our well-known David Corazzi. And it was in the Portuguese capital that the longest and most fruitful edition of Jules Verne's works in Portugal took place. Throughout the 19th century, through the successive commercial incarnations of Horas Românticas brand, and a large part of the 20th century, through the successive transformations of Livraria Bertrand.

David Corazzi's success is explained by his extraordinary intuition, as an editor, that Vernian works were totally dependent on illustrations. And in 1874, Corazzi acquired from Hetzel the exclusive rights to the illustrations accompanying les Voyages Extradordinaires.

As in France or in many other countries, readers highly valued the illustrations that accompanied the works. On the only occasion when Corazzi decided to publish Verne without engravings, in the first edition of Le Chancellor (1875), the public did not like the novelty and the editor was faced with a tremendous commercial failure (Ferreira 42 6). The work’s second edition, in 1878, was already accompanied by illustrations and, never again, would Corazzi bet on a Vernian edition without them.

2. Brief guide for Vernian researchers and enthusiasts on how to correctly date some of Jules Verne's Portuguese editions

David Corazzi's early departure from the publishing world in the mid 1890s was, in fact, a serious blow for both early 20th century Portuguese Vernian readers and for any contemporary researcher looking into Verne's work in Portugal.

If, in 1886, Corazzi had created a book format more accessible to the general public (The Great Popular Edition of Wonderful Travels to Known and Unknown Worlds), and this format was maintained throughout the 1890s distinguishing itself from the deluxe editions, Justino Guedes (Corazzi’s successor), in a typical fin-siècle delirium, decided to change some things on the books’ graphic layout.

Between 1899 and 1904, the top of the title pages of the Great Popular Edition became the same as that of the deluxe editions, appearing only the expression Viagens Maravilhosas (Wonderful Travels) (Ferreira 44 3). The editions were distinguishable from each other only because the deluxe one mentioned the existence of illustrations in the title page, as it can be seen in the photos below of both Claudius Bombarnac’s editions.

The constant editorial changes and the lack of information that accompanied Verne’s Portuguese edition were responsible for several bibliographic mistakes that are registered, mainly in National Library of Portugal’s database. The comparative analysis of photographs that we carried out, along with some details contained in Ferreira's work, allowed us to correctly identify the date of several Vernian editions between 1920 and 1960. The key to properly distinguish them is to look into the publisher’s names in the title pages as it will be seen in the photos that we present from now on.

Verne's entire output, in the Great Popular Edition’s version, was reissued in the years 1926 and 1927.

Ceasing the partnership with Livraria Aillaud in 1930, Bertrand re-edited, again, the entire Vernian catalog between 1934 and 1938.

On the 22nd of April 1938, Bertrand started a new partnership, this time with Livraria Internacional do Porto, but which did not manage to publish any work by Verne while the association lasted.

After the Second World War, Bertrand separtely re-issued some Verne’s works (Ferreira 45 2). Once again, it is only possible to approximately date them by researching the publishing house’s commercial history and its Portuguese-Brazilian partnerships. Between 1948 and 1951 (according to the covers of Bertrand Almanach, the publisher's annual publication that continues to this day), Bertrand started a new Brazilian partnership, this time with Editora Paulo de Azevedo Ltda. Tis was owned by Paulo de Azevedo, Livraria Francisco Alves’ manager between 1919 and 1946 (when he passed away).

 

The title page of both Claudius Bombarnac’s Portuguese editions. The deluxe one (1900- on the left) informs us that it contains engravings, while the Great Popular Edition (1903 – on the right) has no information on the subject (although it contained two engravings)

 

The following year, 1947, its former publishing house, Paulo de Azevedo e Cia. became Editora Paulo de Azevedo Ltda. (Bragança 345). As the covers of the Bertrand Almanach from 1952 onwards no longer bear the name of Paulo de Azevedo on the cover, it is possible to conclude that the date of the Vernian reissues with the editorial alignment that we present in the photo below occurred between 1948 and, at most, 1951.

 

Ilustração magazine advertisement (October 16, 1926)

Ilustração magazine advertisement (October 1, 1927)

 

The way both publishers appear in the 1926 editions

The way both publishers appear in the 1927 editions

 

Bertrand's Brazilian partnership

 

As previously mentioned in the original article, in 1956, and again distributed in Brazil through Editora Paulo de Azevedo Lda., there was a complete re-edition of Verne's works, in which the Portuguese spelling was updated, in accordance with the Orthographic Agreement of 1945 (Ferreira 45 2).

The following episodes of this story were already told in the article’s original version and no new relevant data has emerged since then. After exposing these latest discoveries on the history of Jules Verne’s Portuguese edition, we believe that few misteries of the “Lusitânia Verne case” remain unsolved.

 

Notes

  1. jvernept.blogspot.com/search/label/Jules%20Verne%20-%20Hist%C3%B3ria%20da%20Edi%C3%A7%C3%A3o%20Portuguesa%20em%20Imagens ^

 

Jules Verne, edição em Portugal/Jules Verne's Portuguese editions (1873-2022)

Pesquisa efectuada entre Abril e Dezembro de 2022 nos seguintes acervos bibliográficos: Biblioteca Nacional de Portugal, Catálogo Colectivo de Bibliotecas dos Açores, Rede de Bibliotecas Municipais de Lisboa, Rede de Bibliotecas Municipais de Oeiras, Biblioteca João Paulo II da Universidade Católica e em diversos sítios de comércio online, alfarrabistas e casas leiloeiras portuguesas e internacionais/Research made between April and December 2022 in the following collections: Biblioteca Nacional de Portugal (National Library of Portugal), Catálogo Colectivo de Bibliotecas dos Açores (Azores Public Libraries’ Collective Catalog), Rede de Bibliotecas Municipais de Lisboa (Lisbon Public Libraries Network), Rede de Bibliotecas Municipais de Oeiras (Oeiras Public Libraries Networks), Biblioteca João Paulo II da Universidade Católica de Portugal (Library John Paul II of Portugal’s Catholic University) and on on several e-commerce sites, secondhand bookstores and Portuguese and international auction houses.

 

Bertrand Almanachs’covers from 1948 and 1951

 

Editorial alignment of Bertrand editions from 1948 to 1951. In these, Rio de Janeiro appears above São Paulo and Belo Horizonte

 

Advertisement of Verne’s entire output re-edition with updated spelling in the 12th edition of Le tour du monde en quatre-vingt jours<&cite> (1957). Inside the rectangle it can be read that “this collection is being reprinted in accordance with modern spelling, with the volumes that compose it being cardboard and illustrated with 2 engravings”.

 

Editorial alignment of Bertrand editions between 1956 and 1966/67. Rio de Janeiro appears below S. Paulo and Belo Horizonte.

 

1 — A cronologia das obras de Verne segue a data de publicação original da edição Hetzel num único volume. Os restantes textos do autor que não foram incluídos na referida edição são apresentados consoante a sua respectiva data de publicação/ The chronology of Verne’s works follows the original publication date of Hetzel’s edition in a single volume. The author’s remaining texts that have not been included in this edition are presented according to their first publication date;

2 — A informação bibliográfica aqui apresentada foi possível apenas com recurso ao cruzamento de informações nas diferentes fontes acima mencionadas/2 - The bibliographic information presented here was only possible by cross-referencing information in the above mentioned sources;

3 — Nos dados bibliográficos mantém-se a grafia da língua portuguesa usada à época em que as obras foram editadas em Portugal/ The bibliographic data keep the Portuguese language’s spelling used when the works were published in Portugal;

4 — A ordem de citação é a seguinte: data de publicação (exacta ou aproximada), local de publicação, editora, número da edição e nome do tradutor/The citation order is as follows: publication date, publication place, publisher, edition’s number and translator’s name;

5 — As designaçõess a seguir à respectiva edição de cada obra significam o seguinte: EL – Edição de luxo; GEP – Grande Edição Popular/ The expressions after each work’s edition mean the following: EL – Deluxe Edition; GEP – Great Popular Edition.

1863 Cinco semanas em balão (Cinq Semaines en ballon)

 

1864 Viagem ao centro da Terra (Voyage au centre de la Terre)

 

1865 Da Terra à lua (De la Terre à la Lune)

 

1866 Aventuras do capitão Hatteras (Les Aventures du capitaine Hatteras)

 

1868 Os filhos do capitão Grant (Les Enfants du capitaine Grant)

 

1870 À roda/volta da lua (Autour de la Lune)

 

1870 Os primeiros exploradores (Découverte de la terre: Histoire générale des grands voyages et des grands voyageurs - Les Premiers explorateurs)

 

1871 Vinte mil léguas submarinas (Vingt Mille Lieues sous les mers)

 

1871 Uma cidade flutuante (Une ville flottante)

 

1871 Os violadores do bloqueio (Les Forceurs de blocus)

 

1872 Aventuras de três russos e três ingleses (Aventures de trois Russes et de trois Anglais dans l'Afrique australe)

 

1873 O país das peles (Le Pays des fourrures)

 

1873 A volta ao mundo em oitenta dias (Le Tour du monde en quatre-vingts jours)

 

1874 O Doutor Ox (Le Docteur Ox)

 

1874 Um drama nos ares (Un drame dans les airs) – publicado em O Doutor Ox

 

1874 Mestre Zaccharius (Maître Zacharius ou l'Horloger qui avait perdu son âme) – publicado em O Doutor Ox

 

1874 Uma invernada nos gelos (Un hivernage dans les glaces) – publicado em O Doutor Ox

 

1875 A ilha misteriosa (L'Île mystérieuse)

 

1875 A galera Chancellor (Le Chancellor)

 

1875 Martim Paz (Martin Paz)

 

1876 Miguel Strogoff (Michel Strogoff)

 

1876 Um drama no México (Un Drame au Mexique)

 

1877 Heitor Servadac (Hector Servadac)

 

1877 As Índias negras (Les Indes noires)

 

1878 Um herói de quinze anos (Un capitaine de quinze ans)

 

1879 Os quinhentos milhões da Begume (Les Cinq Cents Millions de la Bégum)

 

1879 A revolta de Bounty (Les Révoltés de la Bounty)

 

1879 As atribulações de um chinês na China (Les Tribulations d'un Chinois en Chine)

 

1879 Os navegadores do século XVIII (Découverte de la terre : Histoire générale des grands voyages et des grands voyageurs - Les grands navigateurs du XVIIIe siècle)

 

1880 A casa a vapor (La Maison à vapeur)

 

1880 Os exploradores do século XIX (Découverte de la terre: Histoire générale des grands voyages et des grands voyageurs -Les voyageurs du XIXe siècle)

 

1880 Bougainville

 

1881 A jangada (La Jangada)

 

1882 A escola dos Robinsons (L'École des Robinsons)

 

1882 O raio verde (Le Rayon vert)

 

1882 Dez horas de caçada (Dix Heures en chasse)

 

1883 Keraban, o cabeçudo (Kéraban-le-Têtu)

 

1884 A estrela do Sul (L'Étoile du sud)

 

1884 Os piratas do arquipélago/O arquipélago em chamas (L'Archipel en feu)

 

1885 O náufrago do Cynthia (L'Épave du Cynthia)

 

1885 Mathias Sandorf (Mathias Sandorf)

 

1886 O bilhete de lotaria nº 9:672 (Un billet de loterie)

 

1886 Frritt-Flacc (Frritt-Flacc)

 

1886 Robur, o conquistador (Robur le Conquérant)

 

1887 Norte contra Sul (Nord contre Sud)

 

1887 O caminho da França (Le Chemin de France)

 

1887 Gil Braltar (Gil Braltar)

 

1888 Dois anos de férias (Deux Ans de vacances)

 

1889 Família sem nome (Famille-Sans-Nom)

 

1889 Fora dos eixos (Sans dessus dessous)

 

1890 César Cascabel (César Cascabel)

 

1891 A mulher do capitão Branican (Mistress Branican)

 

1892 O castelo dos Cárpatos (Le Château des Carpathes)

 

1892 A carteira do repórter (Claudius Bombarnac)

 

1893 O homenzinho (P'tit-Bonhomme)

 

1895 A ilha de hélice (L'Île à hélice)

 

1896 Em frente da bandeira (Face au drapeau)

 

1896 Clovis Dardentor (Clovis Dardentor)

 

1897 A esfinge dos gelos (Le Sphinx des glaces)

 

1898 O soberbo Orenoco (Le Superbe Orénoque)

 

1901 A aldeia aérea (Le Village aérien)

 

1901 Uma campanha de pesca (Les Histoires de Jean-Marie Cabidoulin)

 

1904 Um drama na Livónia (Un drame en Livonie)

 

1904 Senhor do Mundo (Maître du monde)

 

1905 A invasão do mar (L'Invasion de la mer)

 

1905 O farol do cabo do mundo (Le Phare du bout du monde)

 

1906 O vulcão de ouro (Le Volcan d'or)

 

1908 A agência Thompon e Ca. (L'Agence Thompson and Co)

 

1908 A caça ao meteoro (La Chasse au météore)

 

1908 O piloto do Danúbio (Le Pilote du Danube)

 

1909 Os náufragos do Jonathan (Les Naufragés du «Jonathan»)

 

1910 O segredo de Wilhelm Storitz (Le Secret de Wilhelm Storitz)

 

1910 A mistificação - costumes americanos (Le Humbug)

 

1910 O eterno Adão (L’Éternel Adam)

 

1910 O destino de Jean Morénas (La Destinée de Jean Morénas)

 

1910 No século XXIX - O dia de um jornalista americano no ano 2889 (Au XXIXe siècle: La Journée d'un journaliste américain en 2889)

 

1910 Aventuras da família Ratão (Aventures de la famille Raton)

 

1910 O Sr. Ré-Sustenido e a Menina Mi-Bemol (Monsieur Ré-Dièze et Mademoiselle Mi-Bémol)

 

1919 A espantosa aventura da missão Barsac (L'Étonnante Aventure de la mission Barsac)

 

1971 O conde de Chanteleine (Le Comte de Chanteleine)

 

1979 Uma cidade ideal (Une ville idéale)

 

1979 Vinte e quatro minutos em balão (24 Minutes en ballon)

 

1979 A propósito do Gigante (À propos du Géant)

 

1979 Edgar Poe e as suas obras (Edgard Poe et ses œuvres)

 

1979 Os meridianos e o calendário (Les Méridiens et le calendrier)

 

1981 O Sr. de Chimpanzé (Monsieur de Chimpanzé)

 

1991 Um padre em 1839 (Un prêtre en 1839)

 

1991 O tio Robinson (L'Oncle Robinson)

 

1994 Paris no Século XX (Paris au XXe siècle)

 

 

 

Bruno Rego (abirintosdialogicos@yahoo.com) was born in Lisbon in 1979. He is the author of an essay regarding Jules Verne’s Paris in the 20th Century, “From Paris in the 20th century to Lisbon (and Paris) in the 21st century: The Monotonization of the World in the Idea and Space of Contemporary City” and his research areas are Philosophy of the City, Philosophy of Culture and 20th century Paris’s Cultural History. ^