Moby-Dick Mass market paperbound - 1999
by Herman Melville
Melville's allegorical masterpiece is the saga of the fanatical Captain Ahab, who swears vengeance on the mammoth white whale that has crippled him. Photo insert.
About this book
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. -From the rear cover
Herman Melville's peerless allegorical masterpiece is the epic saga of the fanatical Captain Ahab, who swears vengeance on the mammoth white whale that has crippled him. Often considered to be the Great American Novel, MOBY-DICK is at once a starkly realistic story of whaling, a romance of unusual adventure, and a searing drama of heroic courage, moral conflict, and mad obsession. It is world-renowned as the greatest sea story ever told.
MOBY-DICK, widely misunderstood in its own time, has since become an indubitable classic of American literature.
Washington Square Press Enriched Classics presents the world's greatest literature in timeless editions designed for modern readers. Special features include a lively introduction with essential biographical and historical background, several critical perspectives, from traditional to contemporary, and a unique visual essay composed of authentic period illustrations and photographs that help bring every word to life.First Edition Identification
Melville's classic was first published by L. Richard Bentley in England in 1851 as a three-volume set entitled The Whale. Only 500 copies were printed.
The US version, published a month later in November 1851 by Harper & Brothers, titled Moby Dick had 2,951 in the first printing. The U.S. version contained substantial textual differences even aside from the prominent change of title, including 35 passages that were wholly deleted from the English version.
Details
- Title Moby-Dick
- Author Herman Melville
- Binding Mass Market Paperbound
- Edition Reprint
- Pages 640
- Volumes 1
- Language ENG
- Publisher Simon & Schuster, New York, New York, U.S.A.
- Date 1999-03
- Illustrated Yes
- Features Bibliography, Illustrated
- ISBN 9780671028350 / 0671028359
- Weight 0.66 lbs (0.30 kg)
- Dimensions 7.23 x 4.66 x 1.58 in (18.36 x 11.84 x 4.01 cm)
- Reading level 1150
- Library of Congress subjects Sea stories, Psychological fiction
- Library of Congress Catalog Number 00502456
- Dewey Decimal Code FIC
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Moby-Dick
by Herman Melville
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