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Herman Melville. Moby-Dick; or, The Whale. New York: Harper & Brothers, 1851. First U. S. edition, first publish...
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Herman Melville. Moby-Dick; or, The Whale. New York: Harper & Brothers, 1851. First U. S. edition, first published in three volumes in London as The Whale. Twelvemo (7.375 x 4.875 inches; 188 x 124 mm.). xxiii, [1, blank], 634, [1, "Epilogue"], [1, blank], [6, publisher's advertisements], [2, blank] pages. Publisher's drab purple-brown cloth, BAL first binding, covers stamped in blind with a heavy rule frame and publisher's circular device at center; spine decoratively stamped and lettered in gilt; original brown-orange coated endpapers; double flyleaves at front and back. Covers faded and soiled with some extensive staining to the boards; backstrip dulled; spine ends and corners worn with some minor fraying; corners bumped with boards exposed. Slightly shaken, text block sagging some; endpapers with some of the typical glue staining, bruise to the front pastedown; previous owner rubber stamp applied five times between the front endpaper and two front flyleaves; rear hinge starting; front hinge broken and strengthened by gluing the preliminary leaves together at the gutter margins; first gathering slightly sprung; fly title with diagonal tear causing some paper loss in the upper gutter margin; text foxed as usual; faint tide marks to the lower and fore margins of the first 125 or so leaves. Good; housed in a custom clamshell case. A serviceable copy of one of the most significant contributions to American literature. BAL 13664. Grolier, 100 American, 60 (describing the first English edition).Auction Info
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