Melville, Herman

Autograph letter signed ("H. Melville"), 2 pages bifolium (6 3/4 x 4 3/8 in; 170 x 112 mm), 104 East 26^{th St., New York, 25 February 1890, to Henry Stephens Salt in London; in dark brown ink, Melville's direction to Salt on the verso of the first leaf, with the stamped and postmarked envelope addressed by him.}

H. Bradley Martin (Sotheby's, Part IV, 30 January 1990, lot 2174) — Unnamed consignor (Christie's, 14 December 2000, lot  109)

Correspondence, ed. L. Horth, pp. 525–27. The original of Melville's only other known letter to Salt (of 12 January 1890), Horth, pp. 521–22, is unlocated.

Autograph letter signed ("H. Melville"), 2 pages bifolium (6 3/4 x 4 3/8 in; 170 x 112 mm), 104 East 26th St., New York, 25 February 1890, to Henry Stephens Salt in London; in dark brown ink, Melville's direction to Salt on the verso of the first leaf, with the stamped and postmarked envelope addressed by him.
In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective qualified opinion.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING CONDITION OF A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD "AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF SALE PRINTED IN THE CATALOGUE.

"Typee."  Near the end of his life, Melville writes to an enthusiastic British admirer and supporter, thanking him for a copy of his The Life of James Thomson (recently published) and turning down a proposition to re-issue Typee. Salt, a critic and biographer, was preparing the Camelot Series for the publishers Walter Scott in London and was hoping to include Typee, his favorite Melville novel and that author's famously successful first book.

"I have read it [The Life of James Thomson] with the greatest interest, and can sincerely say that I feel under obligations to you as the author of so excellent a biography of a very remarkable poet and man. [Melville greatly admired Thomson's 'The City of Dreadful Night,' terming it the 'modern Book of Job.']  Concerning 'Typee.' — As I engaged to do [after receiving Salt's proposal], I wrote to Mr. [John] Murray [the English publisher of Melville's first two books, Typee (1846) and  Omoo (1847)]. The information contained in the reply is such, and the manner of conveying it is such, that I consider myself bound, by consideration both of right and courtesy, not to sanction any English issue of the book — (during my lifetime)  other than that of the original purchaser and publisher. — Were matters otherwise, I should be glad to accede to your proposition, especially as it would put me into such good company as that embraced in the Camelot Series [its authors included Emerson, Whitman, Thoreau, Hazlitt, Landor, et al]. Feeling that you will appreciate the spirit in which I write ..."

Melville died in 1891, John Murray a year later. In 1893 the Murray firm, now under the direction of John Murray IV (the son of Melville's publisher), reprinted both Typee and Omoo, each with the same preface by Salt.

A rare Melville letter, and in fine condition.