Moby Dick, or, The Whale
Chicago: The Lakeside Press, 1930. Limited Edition, one of 1,000 copies. Illustrated by Rockwell Kent. Hardcovers in publisher's aluminum slipcase. Quartos. 891 pages in total.
The stunning limited edition of what is widely regarded as the definitive edition of "Moby Dick." Melville's great novel was not well received when published in 1851, and it (and he) languished in relative obscurity through the rest of the 19th century. Rockwell Kent came to the rescue with the nearly 300 illustrations he produced for this edition while deeply immersing himself in the text as he worked over a period of years. The result is the closest thing possible to a Kent-Melville collaboration.
Nicknamed "the fish in the can" because of the distinctive aluminum slipcase that houses the three volumes, this edition is also a landmark in 20th century American fine press work, book illustration, and design. It was conceived and produced by the Lakeside Press for their "Four American Books" project.
The Lakeside Press was the fine press division of the R. R. Donnelley & Sons Company of Chicago, and the "American Books" project was designed to demonstrate their ability to execute fine printing on par with European presses. The other three books in the series were Edgar Allan Poe's "Tales," "Two Years Before the Mast," by Richard Henry Dana, and Thoreau's "Walden."
A beautiful set in original acetate jackets and slipcase.
Ref. BADARACCO; THE LAKESIDE PRESS ANNOUNCES ILLUSTRATED EDITIONS OF AMERICAN BOOKS.
Fine in good, somewhat brittle acetate jackets, all housed in the original aluminum slipcase. The volumes are bound in black cloth over bevelled boards with spines and upper boards titled and decorated in stamped silver foil, top edges black. Acetate jackets have overall wrinkling, a few chips and tears, and are fragile. A strikingly well-preserved set of this amazing edition.
Item #1974
Price: $15,000