Redburn, His First Voyage: Being the Sailor-Boy Confessions and Reminiscences of the Son-Of-A-Gentle Man in He Merchant Service (

Evanston, Illinois: Northwestern University, 1969. Softcover. Fine. 8vo 8" - 9" tall. Another fine contribution to the continuing series, The Writings of Herman Melville, published by the Northwestern University, 1969. Sterling condition softcover copy, with unfurled tips, tight binding, and clean internals, showing only very slight shelf- and edge-wear to the printed stiff paper wrappers. Appears to be First Printing (no additional printings stated) of this newest addition, with clean wrappers, and xi, [1], 384 pp. Includes Historical Note and Textual Record following text. From the publisher's blurb on back, "Redburn is a fictional narrative of a boy's first voyage, based loosely on Melville's own first voyage to and from Liverpool in 1839. Hastily composed and little esteemed by its author, Redburn was more highly thought of by his critics, who saw it regaining the ground of popular sea stories like Typee and Omoo. Melville so disliked the novel that he submitted it to his publisher without polishing it. This scholarly edition corrects a number of errors that have persisted in subsequent editions. Based on collations of the editions published during his lifetime, it incorporates corrections made in the English edition and emendations made by the present editors."Member, I.O.B.A., C.B.A., and adherent to the highest ethical standards. Additional postage may be required for oversize or especially heavy volumes, and for sets.