Jules Verne commemorative stamp. This airmail stamp, published in the Gabonese Republic (Gabon) in 1970, marked the 100th anniversary five years earlier of the publication of From the Earth to the Moon (French: De la Terre a la Lune, 1865). This was a science fiction novel by the French author Jules Verne (1828-1905), and told the story of three people who travel to the Moon in a projectile vehicle (shown here). It is one of the earliest examples of science fiction stories dealing with travel to the Moon.