MOBY DICK; or, The Whale
by Melville, Herman
- Used
- as new
- Hardcover
- first
- Condition
- As New/No Jacket
- Seller
-
UPLAND, California, United States
Payment Methods Accepted
About This Item
Norwalk, CT: Easton Press, 1977. 1st Thus 1st Printing. Hardcover. As New/No Jacket. 4to - over 9¾ - 12" tall. Boardman Robinson. MOBY DICK; or, The Whale by Herman Melville. Considered a great American novel, it was first published in 1851. This edition was published by Easton Press in 1981 as one of its "100 Greatest Books Ever Written" series. First edition, first printing of this collector's edition, no dust jacket (as issued). Quarto, 9 7/8" tall, with black leather boards with gilt title and ornaments to covers and spine, with four raised spans on spine. Pale blue ribbon with matching Pale blue moire silk endpapers, all edges gilt, smyth sewn binding. No names, markings or bookplates. A fine, bright copy of a finely produced edition of this great American novel.
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
Why would this be 600 since the original was in 1851?
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Details
- Bookseller
- Cedar Tree Antiques (US)
- Bookseller's Inventory #
- 115437
- Title
- MOBY DICK; or, The Whale
- Author
- Melville, Herman
- Illustrator
- Boardman Robinson
- Format/Binding
- Hardcover
- Book Condition
- New As New
- Jacket Condition
- No Jacket
- Quantity Available
- 1
- Edition
- 1st Thus 1st Printing
- Publisher
- Easton Press
- Place of Publication
- Norwalk, CT
- Date Published
- 1977
- Pages
- 615
- Size
- 4to - over 9¾ - 12" tall
- Weight
- 0.00 lbs
- Keywords
- Literary, Classics
Terms of Sale
Cedar Tree Antiques
About the Seller
Cedar Tree Antiques
About Cedar Tree Antiques
Glossary
Some terminology that may be used in this description includes:
- Edges
- The collective of the top, fore and bottom edges of the text block of the book, being that part of the edges of the pages of a...
- 1st Thus
- This indicates that this is not the first appearance of a book in print, but that this is the first appearance in a...
- 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....
- First Edition
- In book collecting, the first edition is the earliest published form of a book. A book may have more than one first edition in...
- Fine
- A book in fine condition exhibits no flaws. A fine condition book closely approaches As New condition, but may lack the...
- 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...
- 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...
- Jacket
- Sometimes used as another term for dust jacket, a protective and often decorative wrapper, usually made of paper which wraps...