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Moby Dick Or The Whale

Moby Dick Or The Whale

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Moby Dick Or The Whale

by Herman Melville

  • Used
  • Hardcover
Condition
Good-
Seller
Seller rating:
This seller has earned a 5 of 5 Stars rating from Biblio customers.
Vernon, British Columbia, Canada
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About This Item

Blue cloth covers are faded & gilt is worn on cover & spine. Covers are edge-worn; some text is underlined with notes. Inscribed to previous owner on front endpaper; ex libris sticker on front pastedown. A well-loved copy.

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
VFOL UsedBooks CA (CA)
Bookseller's Inventory #
2309007
Title
Moby Dick Or The Whale
Author
Herman Melville
Illustrator
Rockwell Kent
Book Condition
Used - Good-
Quantity Available
1
Binding
Hardcover
Publisher
Garden City
Date Published
1937
Pages
822
Weight
0.00 lbs
Keywords
Box14
Bookseller catalogs
classic fiction;

Terms of Sale

VFOL UsedBooks

We want to send our books with a tracking number so we do not use standard shipping but rather offer a reduced rate on expedited shipping. 30 day return guarantee, with full refund including original shipping costs for up to 30 days after delivery if an item arrives misdescribed or damaged.

About the Seller

VFOL UsedBooks

Seller rating:
This seller has earned a 5 of 5 Stars rating from Biblio customers.
Biblio member since 2020
Vernon, British Columbia

About VFOL UsedBooks

Friends of the Library, a non-profit society, sells used books to support library programs and services.

Glossary

Some terminology that may be used in this description includes:

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...
Inscribed
When a book is described as being inscribed, it indicates that a short note written by the author or a previous owner has been...
Cloth
"Cloth-bound" generally refers to a hardcover book with cloth covering the outside of the book covers. The cloth is stretched...
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....

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