Moby-Dick; or, The Whale

Moby-Dick; or, The Whale by Herman Melville. Published by Harper Brothers, 1851. Hardcover 634 pages ISBN:9789464815795 Language: English. MELVILLE, Herman. Moby-Dick; or, The Whale. New York: Harper Brothers, 1851. Bibliographical Details Edition: First American Edition, First Issue / First Binding state. Reprint of the first edition of 2023 ISBN:9789464815795 Format: Large twelvemo / Octavo (7' x 4' inches; 190 x 125 mm). Pagination: xxiii, 634 pp. Complete with the essential Epilogue and 6 pages of advertisements at the rear. Binding: BAL first binding state (""A"" grain cloth), featuring the publisher's circular life-buoy device stamped in blind at the center of both covers within a heavy, thick one-line blind rule frame. Spine stamped and lettered in gilt with decorative borders at head and foot. Original orange-coated endpapers. Condition Report Overall Condition: Very Good. A completely unrestored, tight, and authentic example of a notoriously fragile nineteenth-century cornerstone. Exterior: The original cloth is clean with minor, honest shelfwear. It shows light soiling, minor fraying at the spine tips and extremities, and a few small, typical areas of blistering to the cloth on the front cover and spine. The spine is evenly toned, but the gilt lettering remains distinct and legible. The original orange-coated endpapers are intact and vibrant, showing only minor rubbing. Interior: Pages show light-to-moderate foxing and minor, sporadic soiling, though significantly less than usually encountered with this title due to the high-acid paper stock used by Harpers. Features an early, neat penciled owner signature on the title page and a small, unobtrusive vintage bookseller sticker on the front pastedown. Historical Literary Significance Arguably the greatest single work in American literature, Moby-Dick stands as a towering, linguistically innovative prose epic. Written at a profound creative crossroads, Melville initially conceived the book as a straightforward narrative of a whaling voyage. However, inspired by his close relationship with Nathaniel Hawthorne (the novel's dedicatee), Melville threw in ""a little fancy,"" transforming the manuscript into a complex psychological labyrinth exploring the demonic energies of the universe, fate, and human madness. Upon completion, Melville famously wrote to Hawthorne: ""I have written a wicked book and feel as spotless as the lamb!"" This First American Edition represents the definitive text of the novel. While a three-volume edition titled The Whale was rushed to print slightly earlier in London to secure copyright protection, that British text was heavily expurgated by the publisher, omitting 35 crucial passages and the entirety of the Epilogue. The Harper Brothers edition restores Melville's complete text and marks the very first appearance of the novel under its iconic title, Moby-Dick. On publication, the novel was a devastating practical failure. Ignored by the public and misunderstood by contemporary critics, sales ground to a near-halt after an initial eleven-day surge. Of the original 2,951 copies printed, roughly 300 remaining unsold copies were tragically incinerated during the catastrophic 1853 Harper's warehouse fire. It wasn't until the ""Melville Revival"" of the early 20th century that the book was finally rediscovered and universally acknowledged as America's greatest contribution to world literature. Unrestored examples retaining the original publisher's first-issue cloth and delicate orange endpapers have become exceptionally uncommon on the market. This copy represents a superior, untouched example of a true high spot in book collecting.