15 Important 1922 Standard Edition Of Melville’s Works, Including The First Publication Of Billy Budd 15MELVILLE, Herman. The Works. London, 1922-24. 16 volumes. Octavo, full 20th-century blue morocco gilt. $20,000 Extremely important limited Standard edition of the works of Herman Melville, one of 750 sets, featuring the first publication of his Billy Budd and the first book publication of many other works. When Melville died in 1891, his obituary in the New York Times noted somewhat ironically that “he has died an absolutely forgotten man… In its kind this speedy oblivion by which a once famous man so long survived his fame is almost unique.” Perhaps almost as unique was the resurgence of his reputation in the early 20th century. The publication of this edition was a key component of that resurgence, and featured the important first publication of the novella Billy Budd, which had been discovered in Melville’s papers in 1919 by his biographer Raymond Weaver; it was quickly hailed as a masterpiece by figures such as D.H. Lawrence. Contents very clean and fresh save for a small area of spotting to the upper margin of a few leaves at the back of volume I; spines evenly toned. A handsome copy of this significant edition. “One Of Mark Twain’s Most Important Books” 16TWAIN, Mark. Life on the Mississippi. Boston, 1883. Octavo, original gilt-stamped pictorial brown cloth. $9500 First American edition, first state, of Twain’s enduring evocation of the steamboat’s heyday, with hundreds of illustrations, many by Edmund Henry Garrett. During an 1872 visit to the Midwest, the author “was struck by the great diminution of steamboat traffic on the Ohio River and became anxious to document the steamboat era before it vanished altogether… [The resulting volume is] widely regarded as both one of Mark Twain’s major works and a classic on the Mississippi itself. Its early chapters especially are unrivaled in evoking the excitement of their time” (Rasmussen, 283, 291-2). “One of Mark Twain’s most important books… It usefully supplements [his] fictional works about the river and includes much else of value” (LeMaster & Wilson, 467). First state, with tailpiece illustration of Twain’s head in flames on page 441 and caption on page 443 reading “The St. Louis Hotel.” Faint toning to page edges; binding in excellent condition with most mild rubbing and one faint mark to rear board, gilt exceptionally bright. A near-fine copy.
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