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Moby Dick

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Moby Dick

by Melville, Herman

  • Used
  • very good
  • Paperback
Condition
VERY GOOD/NOT ISSUED
Seller
Seller rating:
This seller has earned a 2 of 5 Stars rating from Biblio customers.
Armada, Michigan, United States
Item Price
A$4.27
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About This Item

Signet Classic, 1961. Mass Market Paperback Paperback. VERY GOOD/NOT ISSUED. • Binding: Mass Market Paperback • 1961 • Clean tight pages. Smooth spine. Light edgewear. •

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

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
Squirreled Away Books US (US)
Bookseller's Inventory #
10117163
Title
Moby Dick
Author
Melville, Herman
Format/Binding
Mass Market Paperback Paperback
Book Condition
Used - VERY GOOD
Jacket Condition
NOT ISSUED
Quantity Available
1
Binding
Paperback
Publisher
Signet Classic
Date Published
1961
Keywords
CLASSICS
Bookseller catalogs
CLASSICS;

Terms of Sale

Squirreled Away Books

Items purchased before 3:00pm (eastern) are shipped SAME DAY or next day (on post office holidays). All U.S. destinations include USPS Delivery Confirmation with free tracking numbers. Standard orders under 6oz upgraded to 1st Class. Returns accepted for items mailed within 30 days of shipping, in the same condition.

About the Seller

Squirreled Away Books

Seller rating:
This seller has earned a 2 of 5 Stars rating from Biblio customers.
Biblio member since 2005
Armada, Michigan

About Squirreled Away Books

Squirreled Away Books is a new, used & rare bookstore in the heart of Michigan's thumb. All of our items are individually appraised, described, photographed and stored on-site so they can ship out fast! We're fiercely independent and fairly wacky, but we're always serious about the books.

Glossary

Some terminology that may be used in this description includes:

Tight
Used to mean that the binding of a book has not been overly loosened by frequent use.
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....
Mass Market
Mass market paperback books, or MMPBs, are printed for large audiences cheaply. This means that they are smaller, usually 4...

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