1937 Garden City Publishing Co. Moby-Dick

Rockwell Kent is by far the best known of the Moby-Dick illustrators, and there are multiple editions that feature his remarkable work.  The Garden City deluxe edition has eluded us for many years. So happy we are to have recently scored this copy. 

Chapter 49

Ishmael, and the rest of the crew have topped off their last wills and testaments, and are preparing for the future:

Now then, thought I, unconsciously rolling up the sleeves of my frock, here goes for a cool, collected dive at death and destruction, and the devil fetch the hindmost.

The future can no longer wait, its time to move on to things put off too long.

1962 Romanian Language Moby-Dick

Numiti-ma Ishmael

Recently added to the Collection is this 1961 Romanian edition. Translated by Serban Andronescu, with piece of doubtful cover art. Moby-Dick was never a baleen whale. 

There is a copyright on the inside title J. M. Dent, 1939, London which indicates the source.

A small piece of the title page has been carefully cut out. Since Romania was, during the 60's and thru the revolution of 1989, somewhat of a police state, one can imagine all sorts of reasons why someone who put their name in a book, would suddenly not want their name in any book.

Chapter 51 

Close to our bows, strange forms in the water darted hither and thither before us, while thick in our rear flew the inscrutable sea-ravens. 

In 1965, when the pages of this book were still white not the decaying brown the cheap paper is now, the Editor sailed from Charleston SC to the Bahamas, on board TABOR BOY (http://www.taborboy.org/) , the 110 foot schooner of the school of the same name. Along with 30 other preps, we each had to take our turn at the watch, and the midnight dog watch was our favorite. How clear we remember the night a solitary form swam deliberately past our bows, outlined only by the phosperesance trail, huge, strange, unknown, perhaps a whale, perhaps a shark of enormous size.  The Spirit Sprout 

1981 University of California Press - Arion Press Moby Dick

 

Much sought after, the Arion Press Moby Dick, illustrated by Barry Mosher, is a treat. The type face is big and juicy and easy to read, the size of the book is solid, befitting a novel of such weight, and the illustrations are delicate and accessible. 

There are four copies in the collection, a 1981 hardcover, and three soft cover, one unread (6th printing, courtesy of Tim, a fan of this blog), one read (2nd reprinting), and the small sized one, (1st 1983 printing), which we use as a reading copy.

Chapter 87

... under the influence of that strange perplexity of inert irresolution...

Melville has a way of seeing a precise moment of time.

Sitting in amongst the giant pod of whales, which had ceased its commotion, all waited for the next move.  Here is a silent stillness as whales and men pause.

The Book Club January 2, 2012 | by Jason Diamond (via)

 

"Walter Benjamin wrote that in an era when everything was reproduced, nothing had the aura of originality. Now, most men’s clothing is made en masse—and we find ourselves missing the hand stitched. Likewise, many of our libraries consist only of e-books—and our old paperbacks seem to posses a one-of-a kind personality." 

The Book Club January 2, 2012 | by Jason Diamond  suggested by LG