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MOBY DICK. Or, The Whale
by MELVILLE. HERMAN. ; KENT. ROCKWELL. Illustrates
- Used
- Hardcover
- first
- Condition
- See description
- Seller
-
London, Greater London, United Kingdom
Payment Methods Accepted
About This Item
Random House. New York. 1930. FIRST TRADE ROCKWELL KENT EDITION. 8vo. (7.4 x 5.8 inches). Illustrated by Rockwell Kent with woodcuts throughout the text, with full-page plates, chapter head- and tailpieces, other smaller cuts in the text. Finely bound in recent full black morocco, spine with five raised bands. Red title label. The compartments ruled, decorated and lettered in gilt. Single ruled gilt border on boards. Top edge gilt. Published in the same year by the Lakeside Press of Chicago in a large format, three-volume, limited edition, this trade edition proved immensely popular. It has been credited with contributing greatly to the rediscovery of Moby Dick as a classic. A fine 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
- Paul Foster Books
(GB)
- Bookseller's Inventory #
- 10978
- Title
- MOBY DICK. Or, The Whale
- Author
- MELVILLE. HERMAN. ; KENT. ROCKWELL. Illustrates
- Book Condition
- Used
- Quantity Available
- 1
- Edition
- First edition.
- Binding
- Hardcover
- Publisher
- Random House. New York. 1930
- Date Published
- 1930
- Weight
- 0.00 lbs
- Bookseller catalogs
- Fine bindings; Children's and Illustrated books;
Terms of Sale
Paul Foster Books
All books fully guaranteed. Any book found not ot be as described may be returned for a full refund within seven days of receipt. Please notify before returning any books. All items remain the property of Paul Foster Books until paid for in full. Payment by instalment acceptable for high value items. Please ask. ----- Full Member of the Antiquarian Booksellers Association, I.L.A.B, and PBFA
About the Seller
Paul Foster Books
Biblio member since 2006
London, Greater London
About Paul Foster Books
Book room open strictly by appointment only. Established in 1990.
Glossary
Some terminology that may be used in this description includes:
- Fine
- A book in fine condition exhibits no flaws. A fine condition book closely approaches As New condition, but may lack the...
- Top Edge Gilt
- Top edge gilt refers to the practice of applying gold or a gold-like finish to the top of the text block (the edges the pages...
- New
- A new book is a book previously not circulated to a buyer. Although a new book is typically free of any faults or defects, "new"...
- 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...
- Raised Band(s)
- Raised bands refer to the ridges that protrude slightly from the spine on leather bound books. The bands are created in 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....
- Morocco
- Morocco is a style of leather book binding that is usually made with goatskin, as it is durable and easy to dye. (see also...
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- Children & Juvenile Children’s Fiction & Literature
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