Moby Dick, or The Whale (Rockwell Kent illus.)
by Herman Melville
- Used
- good
- Hardcover
- Condition
- Good
- Seller
-
Saint Louis, Missouri, United States
Payment Methods Accepted
About This Item
Random House, 1930. Hardcover. Good. The Random House 1930 production with the Rockwell Kent illustrations. There are condition issues with both the book and the dustjacket, all as described here. But we think accurately priced with those conditions in mind. The corners and spine ends of the binding are rubbed with a bit of loss, a 1' indentation at the top left of the front board, the rear board is bowed inward at the top, hinges firm, light glue residue offsetting. The dustjacket is complete although it's in three pieces; both flaps are present but separated from the panels. We've re-assembled the jacket in a Brodart, and it's almost presentable. There are chips at the top of the spine and one in the middle of the spine, slits along the rear gutter, very shallow chipping at other peripheries.
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 (Rockwell Kent illus.)
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
- Dunaway Books
(US)
- Bookseller's Inventory #
- 284602
- Title
- Moby Dick, or The Whale (Rockwell Kent illus.)
- Author
- Herman Melville
- Format/Binding
- Hardcover
- Book Condition
- Used - Good
- Quantity Available
- 1
- Publisher
- Random House
- Date Published
- 1930
Terms of Sale
Dunaway Books
30 day return guarantee, with full refund including shipping costs after delivery if an item arrives not as described or damaged.
About the Seller
Dunaway Books
Biblio member since 2011
Saint Louis, Missouri
About Dunaway Books
Dunaway Books is an absolutely necessary stop for the bibliophile on the Grand South Grand strip. Housed within an airy, spacious former gallery, we carry an unparalleled selection of fine used, out of print and rare volumes. Upon stepping into our store, you will find aisle after aisle of scrupulously collected books treating a broad variety of subjects in depth. We keep new small-press titles by local authors or about local subjects, children's books and shelves of CDs for music lovers. There is something here for everyone. Whether you have a few hours or just a few minutes to while away, Dunaway Books is designed to be an intellectually and creatively stimulating place for the scholar, the collector, and the good old-fashioned voracious reader.
Glossary
Some terminology that may be used in this description includes:
- Flap(s)
- The portion of a book cover or cover jacket that folds into the book from front to back. The flap can contain biographical...
- Brodart
- Generally used to refer to a clear plastic cover that is sometimes added to the dustjacket or outside covering of a book. 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....
- Gutter
- The inside margin of a book, connecting the pages to the joints near the binding.
- Jacket
- Sometimes used as another term for dust jacket, a protective and often decorative wrapper, usually made of paper which wraps...
- Chipping
- A defect in which small pieces are missing from the edges; fraying or small pieces of paper missing the edge of a paperback, or...
This Book’s Categories
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