Note - In four separate listings I have four consecutive, bound "The Sphere" books - all with extensive WWI coverage and matching covers - with issues starting Aug 15, 1914 thrrough the last issue July 31 1915. This listing is for book #3 of 4. Combined shipping available for those who purchase multiple listings.

Description

THE SPHERE — ORIGINAL BOUND VOLUME, VOLS. LX–LXI — FEBRUARY 6 THROUGH MAY 1, 1915

Large-format original bound volume of The Sphere, An Illustrated Newspaper for the Home, containing contemporary issues from February 6, 1915 through May 1, 1915.

A fascinating and unusually concentrated record of World War I as it was being reported and illustrated in Britain during the spring of 1915. The volume covers major developments on the Western and Eastern Fronts, naval warfare, the Dardanelles, the Middle East, early chemical warfare, submarines and Zeppelins.

MAJOR WWI HIGHLIGHTS

WESTERN FRONT

• Attack on Neuve-Chapelle

• Fighting among the coal mines of northern France

• German gas bombs used at Ypres

• Royal Army Medical Corps first aid in the trenches

• Queen of Belgium visits Ypres

• Contemporary scenes of trench warfare and battlefield conditions

The Ypres gas-warfare material is particularly significant as contemporary illustrated documentation of the introduction of chemical warfare on a massive scale during WWI.

EASTERN FRONT

Extensive coverage of fighting in East Prussia, Poland and Galicia, including material from both Russian and Austro-German perspectives.

Particularly notable is coverage of:

“The Fall of Przemysl — How the Russians Broke Through the Outer Rings of the Great Fortress”

The fall of Przemyśl in March 1915 was one of the major events of the Eastern Front during this period.

NAVAL WARFARE

The volume contains substantial naval material, including:

• Sinking of the German cruiser Blücher

• German submarine operations

• German submarine raid into the Irish Sea

• Naval action in the Dardanelles

• HMS Vengeance

• Contemporary illustrations and photographs of warships and naval operations

DARDANELLES & MIDDLE EAST

• Naval action in the Dardanelles

• Turkish invasion of Egypt

• Easter in Jerusalem

• Ottoman/Turkish military operations

• Contemporary Middle Eastern scenes

ZEPPELINS & EARLY MILITARY AVIATION

Especially interesting material concerning the technology and operation of Zeppelins, including:

Zeppelin navigation and puncture repair

Rather than simply showing an airship, this provides a fascinating contemporary look at the practical technology behind early military Zeppelins.

NOTABLE ILLUSTRATORS

The volume contains work by numerous important period illustrators, including:

Montague Dawson, Paul Thiriat, Christopher Clark, F. Matania, D. Macpherson and Cecil King, among others.

CONTEMPORARY ADVERTISING

The bound issues also preserve numerous original period advertisements, providing an interesting look at British commercial life during the early months of WWI.

CONDITION

PLEASE READ CAREFULLY.

This is an approximately 110-year-old original bound volume and the binding has substantial condition issues.

The front cover has completely detached from the page block. The exterior shows heavy age-related wear. The gold gilt lettering on the spine is faded, although the gilt decoration on the front cover remains attractive.

The endpapers are creased and torn.

Interior pages are remarkably clean and bright overall for a book of this age. There is occasional yellowing, minor foxing, occasional small tears and isolated dirty/soiled spots. There are relatively few significant page creases, bends or tears.

The primary condition issue is the detached cover/binding; the interior printed material remains unusually well preserved.

Approximate dimensions: 16" tall × 12" wide, including the cover.

Please examine all photographs carefully for condition.

AN EXCEPTIONAL CONTEMPORARY WWI SOURCE

This is not simply a collection of old magazines. It preserves original contemporary reporting, photography, illustration and advertising from February–May 1915, covering some of the most consequential developments of the war.

Particularly notable subjects include Ypres chemical warfare, Neuve-Chapelle, the fall of Przemyśl, Eastern Front fighting, the Dardanelles, German submarines, the sinking of the Blücher, Zeppelins, Egypt and Jerusalem.

A fascinating primary-source visual record of WWI from the period when these events were actually unfolding.

Original 1915 material — not a modern reproduction.