Melville, Herman

12mo, first edition, first binding (publisher's device stamped on upper and lower covers), 6 pages of publisher's advertisements at end, publisher's blue cloth, lettering in gilt on spine, covers stamped in blind, orange-coated endpapers, collector's blue morocco-backed folding box, some browning and spotting, very slightly skewed, soiling to endpapers, bookplate, binding slighly soiled with corners bumped, head and foot of spine frayed with some minor loss

Bookplate of D. Rosell Jr on front fixed endpaper

BAL 13664; Grolier, American 60; Sadleir, Excursions 229

Condition is described in the main body of the cataloguing, where appropriate.
"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. Prospective buyers should also refer to any Important Notices regarding this sale, which are printed in the Sale Catalogue.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS PRINTED IN THE SALE CATALOGUE."

"In that wild, beautiful romance Herman Melville seems to have spoken the very secret of the sea, and to have drawn into his tale all the magic, all the sadness, all the wild joy of many waters. It stands quite alone; quite unlike any book known to me. It strikes a note which no other sea writer has ever struck. And when, in one unforgettable chapter, his crew of old sailors gathers on the fo’c’s’le to talk by the light of the moon of life, and man, and the sorrows of man’s making, he rises to a pitch of mournful beauty such as one might find in Webster, in Middleton, or some other Elizabethan, if not in Shakespeare himself."
(John Masefield, 'Herman Melville', The Daily News, 20 August 1904)