Meville, Herman

Autograph letter signed, ("Herman Melville"), 1 page (7 1/4 x 4 5/8 in.; 184 x 117 mm). 103 Fourth Street, [New York] , "Saturday Morning," n.d., to Evert Augustus Duyckinck; tipped to a larger sheet, "Herman Meville" in pencil in another hand on the lower righthand corner.

Adriane Hoffman Joline — Captain F.L. Pleadwell, Honolulu

Correspondence, ed. L. Horth,  p. 534

A rare Melville letter to an editor at Wiley & Putnam. The author declines with regret an invitation from his friend, whom he has known since 1846 when Duyckinck was an editor at Wiley & Putnam, the publishing house responsible for Melville's first novel Typee. This letter appears in the "Undated" section of Correspondence, where the editor Horth suggests it could have been written some time between 1847 and 1850. However, Horth made this recommendation after reviewing a typed transcript, not having access to this original letter.