Sell or Auction Your Herman Melville Moby-Dick The Whale 1st American Edition Binding for up to Over $75,000 or More at Nate D. Sanders Auctions
FREE VALUATION. To buy, auction, sell or consign your Herman Melville Moby-Dick The Whale 1st American edition binding that is for sale, please email your description and photos to [email protected] of Nate D. Sanders Auctions (http://www.NateDSanders.com).
Sell Your Herman Melville Moby-Dick The Whale 1st American Edition Binding
Moby-Dick; or, The Whale is an 1851 novel by American writer Herman Melville. The book is the sailor Ishmael’s narrative of the obsessive quest of Ahab, captain of the whaling ship Pequod, for revenge on Moby Dick, the giant white sperm whale that on the ship’s previous voyage bit off Ahab’s leg at the knee. A contribution to the literature of the American Renaissance, Moby-Dick was published to mixed reviews, was a commercial failure, and was out of print at the time of the author’s death in 1891. Its reputation as a “Great American Novel” was established only in the 20th century, after the centennial of its author’s birth. William Faulkner said he wished he had written the book himself, and D. H. Lawrence called it “one of the strangest and most wonderful books in the world” and “the greatest book of the sea ever written”. Its opening sentence, “Call me Ishmael”, is among world literature’s most famous.
Below is a recent realized price for a Herman Melville Moby-Dick The Whale 1st American edition binding item. We at Nate D. Sanders Auctions can obtain up to these amounts or more for you:
Herman Melville Moby-Dick The Whale 1st American Edition Binding. Sold for over $75,000.
Here is the title page, first American edition of Moby-Dick:
Nate D. Sanders Auctions has sold the similar following memorabilia:
1851 1st/1st Melville`s “Moby Dick”
“Moby Dick; or The Whale” by Herman Melville. New York: Harper & Brothers: 1851. First edition, first state. 635pp. with original orange endpapers. A masterwork, and a book collector’s necessity. From its indelible first line, “Call me Ishmael,” to its last, Melville’s singular novel establishes his authority as one of the literary masters of the nineteenth or any century. One of only 2,800 first edition copies published, this volume remains extremely rare as many were destroyed in an 1851 Harper’s warehouse fire. Complete with all leaves for first edition, first state; two flyleaves in the front, 3 at rear along with 6pp. of book ads; title page, dedication page, 2pp. contents, 1p. fore title, 2pp. etymology, 14pp. extracts. Volume measures approximately 5.75″ x 7.75″. Previous owner’s ink inscription to front free endpaper. Overall toning and foxing to interior. Very good, professionally restored condition. Sold for $15,000.
1851 Moby Dick First Edition/ First Printing
Scarce first edition of Herman Melville’s “Moby Dick.” New York: Harper and Brothers: 1851. First American edition. A masterwork, and a book collector’s necessity. From its indelible first line, “Call me Ishmael,” to its last, Melville’s singular novel establishes his authority as one of the literary masters of the nineteenth or any century. Handsome volume is housed in custom quarter-leather blue clamshell case. Octavo hardcover has been rebound in dark green leather; otherwise, near fine condition. Sold for $12,750.
Gutenberg Bible Leaf 193 Chronicles of Old Testament
Scarce leaf from the Gutenberg Bible, one of the earliest major books printed from moveable metal type, the invention that ushered in the Age of Enlightenment by democratizing knowledge through mass production of literature. Printed by Johannes Gutenberg in Mainz, Germany from 1450-1455, less than 50 complete or near-complete copies of the Gutenberg Bible are now extant, with nearly all those housed in public institutions. Singular leaves are also scarce, with the leaf presented here having been acquired by bookseller Gabriel Wells, whose purchase of an incomplete Bible in 1920 gave way to selling the individual leaves alongside an essay by A. Edward Newton entitled “A Noble Fragment”. Leaf is number 193 of the full Latin Bible, with the recto being the Prologue to 1 Chronicles of the Old Testament, and the verso the first part of Chapter 1 of 1 Chronicles. Each page features two columns of 42 lines in dark black Gothic type, accented by red and blue rubrication. Each copy of the Gutenberg Bible differs in its rubrication and illumination, with buyers at the time deciding upon these embellishments after the Bible was printed. The six-line rubricated letters of this leaf were likely added later, restored to match the original style. Leaf measures 11.125″ x 15.375″, bound on edge to portfolio measuring 11.75″ x 16″. Paper quality is still bright with very little foxing or discoloration compared to other examples. A stunning example from the book that changed the course of history. Sold for $136,500.
Rare first edition, first printing of one of the most desired books in the history of literature, F. Scott Fitzgerald’s ”The Great Gatsby,” published by Charles Scribner’s Sons: New York: 1925, with the nearly impossible to find first printing dustjacket. Every point is present: 1925 is printed on title page; Charles Scribner’s Sons logo appears on the copyright page with no subsequent printing statements; ”chatter” appears on page 60; ”northern” appears on page 119; ”it’s” is printed on line 16 of page 165; ”sick in tired” is found on page 205; ”Union Street station” is mistyped on line 7-8 of page 211. Bound in dark green cloth boards with title and author’s name blind-stamped to front board and gilt lettering to spine. Francis Cugat’s scarce original unrestored first printing dustjacket has the lowercase ”j” in ”jay Gatsby” on the back panel hand-corrected in ink. Sold for $50,000.
Very rare ”Gone With the Wind” novel signed by the cast. New York: The MacMillan Co., 1938, later edition. Novel is signed on the front endpapers by the leading cast members: Clark Gable, Vivien Leigh, Olivia de Havilland, Leslie Howard, Hattie McDaniel, Ona Munson, Evelyn Keyes, Ann Rutherford, Thomas Mitchell, Carroll Nye, Oscar Polk, and unit manager William J. Scully. Underneath their signatures are the names of their ”Gone With the Wind” characters, written in another hand. Housed in a custom leather clamshell box with five raised bands and gilt lettering to spine, ”Gone With the Wind / Autographed by Twelve Members of Cast”. Book measures 6” x 9”. Toning to signature page, otherwise very good. With PSA/DNA for all actor’s signatures. Sold for $15,000.
Louisa May Alcott signed ”Little Women,” published by Roberts Brothers: Boston 1880. Impossible to find, the author’s signature within her masterpiece reads: ”L.M. Alcott” upon the fly-leaf. An Alcott signed instance of ”Little Women” has not been sold at auction in over 4 decades. First published in 1869, Alcott’s spellbinding novel about four sisters coming of age in the Civil War era has since become a classic. This edition is bound in hunter green cloth boards with gilt and black lettering and design. All edges gilt. Measures 7” x 8.5”. Surface loss to exterior corners and edges. Cracking to interior front hinge, with detached front free endpaper. A bookplate affixed to the front pastedown indicates this volume was gifted to the Brookline Public Library in 1917. In addition, the library’s perforated label appears at the bottom of the title page. A news clipping of Alcott’s obituary has been affixed to integral blanks. A label affixed to the rear pastedown reads: ”This book is for use in the library building only” and a barcode label has been partially removed from the rear free endpaper, else very good. With PSA/DNA COA. Sold for $8,908.
FREE VALUATION. To buy, auction, sell or consign your Herman Melville Moby-Dick The Whale 1st American edition binding that is for sale, please email your description and photos to [email protected] of Nate D. Sanders Auctions (http://www.NateDSanders.com).