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Moby Dick, or the Whale
by Melville, Herman | illustrated by Rockwell Kent
- Used
- Signed
- Condition
- Good binding/Poor dust jacket
- Seller
-
Conshohocken, Pennsylvania, United States
Payment Methods Accepted
About This Item
Garden City, NY: Garden City Publishing Co. | printed at the Lakeside Press (Chicago), 1937. Hard Cover. Good binding/Poor dust jacket. Octavo. xxxi, [1], 822, [6] pp., illus. Self-styled, "De Luxe Edition." Here signed by Kent on the front free endpper. As issued, in publisher's cloth with Kent illustration in gilt on the front cover. Spine partially sunned; unfortunate predation to the cloth of the back joint, otherwise, binding is quite fresh with only light fraying at the tail of the spine; bookplate on the front pastedown; contents clean and binding solid; dust jacket with large loss of the spine and a portion of the rear panel; front flap is separated but present, all held together in a mylar cover. Poor to Fair jacket.
Tanselle, in his A Checklist of Editions of Moby-Dick, 1851-1976, writes of the first, quarto edition of Kent's work: "The most elaborate physical presentation which had been accorded to Moby-Dick up to this time, and one of the finest examples of bookmaking to found among all the editions of his work. Kent's illustrations are now perhaps the best-known illustrations for Moby-Dick and are certainly among the most effective" (from Tanselle, No. 17). And indeed, Kent's illustration is singular and captured in this present Garden City edition (Tanselle, No. 18c) which was printed by the Lakeside Press, after an American and a British trade edition in a reduced-size, one-volume format (as here) was printed for Random House and Cassell respectively. Rare with Kent's signature.
Tanselle, in his A Checklist of Editions of Moby-Dick, 1851-1976, writes of the first, quarto edition of Kent's work: "The most elaborate physical presentation which had been accorded to Moby-Dick up to this time, and one of the finest examples of bookmaking to found among all the editions of his work. Kent's illustrations are now perhaps the best-known illustrations for Moby-Dick and are certainly among the most effective" (from Tanselle, No. 17). And indeed, Kent's illustration is singular and captured in this present Garden City edition (Tanselle, No. 18c) which was printed by the Lakeside Press, after an American and a British trade edition in a reduced-size, one-volume format (as here) was printed for Random House and Cassell respectively. Rare with Kent's signature.
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
- Michael Pyron, Bookseller, ABAA
(US)
- Bookseller's Inventory #
- 8896
- Title
- Moby Dick, or the Whale
- Author
- Melville, Herman | illustrated by Rockwell Kent
- Format/Binding
- Hard Cover
- Book Condition
- Used - Good binding
- Jacket Condition
- Poor dust jacket
- Quantity Available
- 1
- Publisher
- Garden City Publishing Co. | printed at the Lakeside Press (Chicago)
- Place of Publication
- Garden City, NY
- Date Published
- 1937
- Bookseller catalogs
- Illustrated Books; Literature and Fiction;
Terms of Sale
Michael Pyron, Bookseller, ABAA
30 day return guarantee, with full refund including shipping costs for up to 30 days after delivery if an item arrives misdescribed or damaged.
About the Seller
Michael Pyron, Bookseller, ABAA
Biblio member since 2011
Conshohocken, Pennsylvania
About Michael Pyron, Bookseller, ABAA
Booksellers for more than 15 years, offering a general stock with an emphasis in Special Press, Art and Photography, Literature and Americana. We prided in our high level of customer service—if you aren't satisfied with either the book or the service you've received let us know about it so we can make you happy. Additionally, we offer a wide range of bookbinding and book repair services. Check us out atfacebook.com/michaelpyronbookbinder.Given the nuances in book repair and binding, I can offer a close estimate based on images of your book, but will need to have book in hand in order give you a firm estimate. And as always, we buy books!
Glossary
Some terminology that may be used in this description includes:
- Jacket
- Sometimes used as another term for dust jacket, a protective and often decorative wrapper, usually made of paper which wraps...
- Fair
- is a worn book that has complete text pages (including those with maps or plates) but may lack endpapers, half-title, etc....
- Tail
- The heel of the spine.
- 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...
- Octavo
- Another of the terms referring to page or book size, octavo refers to a standard printer's sheet folded four times, producing...
- Poor
- A book with significant wear and faults. A poor condition book is still a reading copy with the full text still readable. Any...
- Publisher's cloth
- A hardcover book comprised of cloth over hard pasteboard boards. ...
- Bookplate
- Highly sought after by some collectors, a book plate is an inscribed or decorative device that identifies the owner, or former...
- Quarto
- The term quarto is used to describe a page or book size. A printed sheet is made with four pages of text on each side, and the...
- 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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