“NO EQUAL IN AMERICAN LITERATURE”: FIRST AMERICAN EDITION OF MOBY-DICK, HANDSOMELY BOUND
MELVILLE, Herman. Moby-Dick; or, The Whale. New York: Harper & Brothers; London: Richard Bentley, 1851. Octavo, modern full navy morocco gilt, raised bands, marbled endpapers, all edges gilt; housed in a custom clamshell box.
First American edition of Melville’s classic tale, considered one of the greatest works in American literature.
Arguably the greatest single work in American literature, Moby-Dick was initially "a complete practical failure, misunderstood by the critics and ignored by the public; and in 1853 the Harper's fire destroyed the plates of all his books and most of the copies remaining in stock (only about 60 copies of Moby-Dick survived the fire)… [Nevertheless,] Melville's permanent fame must always rest on the great prose epic of Moby-Dick, a book that has no equal in American literature for variety and splendor of style and for depth of feeling" (DAB). This American edition contains 35 passages and the Epilogue omitted from the English edition (The Whale, published in October 1851; the first American edition appeared in December of the same year). With four of six pages of advertisements for Melville titles bound at rear. BAL 13664. Red library stamp to title page.
Interior fine; expert restoration to title leaf. A near-fine copy of this rare and important classic, most handsomely bound.