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Moby Dick, or, The Whale
by MELVILLE, Herman (1819-1891)
- Used
- Condition
- See description
- Seller
-
New York, New York, United States
Payment Methods Accepted
About This Item
New York: Harper & Brothers, 1851. 12mo. (7 3/8 x 4 7/8 inches). xxiii, [1], 635, [1], [6]pp. Publisher's ads in the rear. Foxing. Publisher's red cloth, cover bordered in blind and with central Harper & Brother's circular stamp in blind, spine lettered in gilt, rebacked retaining the original spine, original brown/orange coated endpapers. Housed in a cloth box.
Rare first American edition of arguably the greatest work in American literature.
The first American edition followed the three-volume English edition by a month and contained some thirty-five passages which had been edited out of the English edition. "[Melville's] great book, Moby Dick, was a complete practical failure, misunderstood by the critics and ignored by the public; and in 1853 the Harpers' fire destroyed the plates of all of his books and most of the copies remaining in stock [only about sixty copies survived the fire] ... Melville's permanent fame must always rest on the great prose epic of Moby Dick, a book that has no equal in American literature for variety and splendor of style and for depth of feeling" (Dictionary of American Biography). "Moby Dick is the great conundrum-book. Is it a profound allegory with the white whale the embodiment of moral evil, or merely the finest story of the sea ever written?" (Grolier, American). This example complete with the six pages of advertisements in the rear and in the publisher's red "A" cloth.
BAL 13664; Grolier American 60; Johnson High Spots 57; Wright II:1701.
Rare first American edition of arguably the greatest work in American literature.
The first American edition followed the three-volume English edition by a month and contained some thirty-five passages which had been edited out of the English edition. "[Melville's] great book, Moby Dick, was a complete practical failure, misunderstood by the critics and ignored by the public; and in 1853 the Harpers' fire destroyed the plates of all of his books and most of the copies remaining in stock [only about sixty copies survived the fire] ... Melville's permanent fame must always rest on the great prose epic of Moby Dick, a book that has no equal in American literature for variety and splendor of style and for depth of feeling" (Dictionary of American Biography). "Moby Dick is the great conundrum-book. Is it a profound allegory with the white whale the embodiment of moral evil, or merely the finest story of the sea ever written?" (Grolier, American). This example complete with the six pages of advertisements in the rear and in the publisher's red "A" cloth.
BAL 13664; Grolier American 60; Johnson High Spots 57; Wright II:1701.
Synopsis
Melville's classic was first published in England as three volumes titled The Whale in October 1851. Slow sales of Melville's previously books convinced Publisher L. Richard Bentley to reduce the printing to only 500 copies, and of that, only 300 sold in the first 4 months. The remaining unbound sheets were bound in a cheaper casing in 1852, and in 1853 there were still enough remaining sheets to again bind into an even cheaper edition. Melville changed the title to Moby Dick a month later, November 1851, when the American Version was published in one volume by Harper & Brothers in NY. Of the 2,951 copies printed, 125 were review copies. About 1,500 sold in 11 days, but then sales slowed to less than 300 the next year. After two years copies of the first edition were still available, and almost 300 were destroyed in the 1853 fire of Harper's warehouse. Most of the first editions have orange end-papers, although there are 2 known volumes with rare white-endpapers. Because of Nineteenth-century printing practices, and the time-lapse between when the first-editions were published and Melville became collectible, oxidized paper, bumped and chipped spines, and brittle wrappers are all common for even the most expensive and collectible of these books, which can sell from $35,000 to $100,000. Also, expect heavy wear and maybe even minor repair. Another collectible edition is the 1930 first edition illustrated by Rockwell Kent, a three-volume set published by the Lakeside Press with acetate dust jackets in an aluminum slipcase. These range in value from $9,000 to $11,000. A total of 3,215 copies of Moby-Dick were sold during Melville's life (he died in 1891). Today, Moby-Dick is considered one of the greatest American novels. -
Read More: Identifying first editions of Moby Dick, or, The Whale
Reviews
On Mar 9 2016, a reader said:
Why would this be 600 since the original was in 1851?
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Details
- Bookseller
- Donald Heald Rare Books
(US)
- Bookseller's Inventory #
- 36148
- Title
- Moby Dick, or, The Whale
- Author
- MELVILLE, Herman (1819-1891)
- Format/Binding
- 12mo
- Book Condition
- Used
- Quantity Available
- 1
- Publisher
- Harper & Brothers
- Place of Publication
- New York
- Date Published
- 1851
- Bookseller catalogs
- Miscellany;
Terms of Sale
Donald Heald Rare Books
All items are guaranteed as described. Any purchase may be returned for a full refund within 10 working days as long as it is returned in the same condition and is packed and shipped correctly.
About the Seller
Donald Heald Rare Books
Biblio member since 2006
New York, New York
About Donald Heald Rare Books
Donald Heald Rare Books, Prints, and Maps offers the finest examples of antiquarian books and prints in the areas of botany, ornithology, natural history, Americana and Canadiana, Native American, voyage and travel, maps and atlases, photography, and more. We are open by appointment only.
Glossary
Some terminology that may be used in this description includes:
- Spine
- The outer portion of a book which covers the actual binding. The spine usually faces outward when a book is placed on a shelf....
- Cloth
- "Cloth-bound" generally refers to a hardcover book with cloth covering the outside of the book covers. The cloth is stretched...
- BAL
- Bibliography of American Literature (commonly abbreviated as BAL in descriptions) is the quintessential reference work for any...
- Gilt
- The decorative application of gold or gold coloring to a portion of a book on the spine, edges of the text block, or an inlay in...
- Rebacked
- having had the material covering the spine replaced. ...
- 12mo
- A duodecimo is a book approximately 7 by 4.5 inches in size, or similar in size to a contemporary mass market paperback. Also...
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