Offered here is the 1956 Heritage Press edition of Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea by Jules Verne, featuring the English translation by Mercier Lewis and a newly commissioned introduction by Fletcher Pratt.
This striking mid-century volume features Edward A. Wilson’s hand-colored illustrations, vividly capturing the atmosphere of Verne’s undersea odyssey—Captain Nemo’s brooding genius, the eerie glow of the Nautilus, and the surreal grandeur of the deep ocean.
The cover art is a standout: a school of stylized sea creatures etched in gray and black, overlaid with a bright crimson squid motif that evokes both mystery and menace. The endpapers depict the Nautilus in detailed technical elevation, perfectly framing Verne’s blend of imagination and engineering foresight.
Title: Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea
Author: Jules Verne
Illustrator: Edward A. Wilson
Introduction: Fletcher Pratt
Publisher: Heritage Press, New York
Year: 1956 (copyright George Macy Companies, Inc.)
Binding: Illustrated paper boards with black cloth spine
Illustrations: Full-page and in-text by Edward A. Wilson
Endpapers: Green Nautilus schematic
Size: Approx. 10.5" × 7.25"
Fine to near fine. Binding tight and square, spine lettering crisp. Pages immaculate with no marks or foxing. Boards show only the faintest edge wear. Endpapers bright and clean. A beautiful, display-worthy example.
This 1956 Heritage Press issue remains one of the most admired mid-century interpretations of Verne’s classic, pairing his visionary text with Wilson’s expressive, almost cinematic illustrations. The printing quality—rich inks, thick paper, and vivid color plates—reflects the peak craftsmanship of the George Macy era.
“The sea is everything. It covers seven-tenths of this terrestrial globe. Its breath is pure and healthy. It is an immense desert, where man is never lonely, for he feels life stirring on all sides.”
“Captain Nemo stood motionless, his arms folded, his eyes lost in the immensity. The ocean was his, and its secrets, his religion.”
“I was struck dumb before this magnificent sight—a submarine forest bathed in liquid light, where every branch and leaf was alive and moving.”