The Moby-Dick Collection

1931 Bonibooks Paper Back Moby-Dick

2012-02-22T10:41:00.001-05:00

The earliest paper back in the collection, the 1931Albert and Charles Boni printing, is hard to find in any condition and commands a premium. It is lavishly illustrated with woodcuts by Howard Simon. This copy is inscribed by Marianne Morrill.

Chapter LXXXI

Stubb speaks:

"We all know what an astonishing atmospheric weight we ourselves stand up under; even here, above-ground, in the air; how vast, then, the burden of a whale, bearing on his back a column of two hundred fathoms of ocean! It must at least equal the weight of fifty atmospheres. "

The weight of the column of water on a whale's back is huge, but for the whale it is nothing. It is a trick, however, since the pressures are offset by natural mechanics. Something we humans all do naturally as well.

2011 Harper Perennial Classics MOBY-DICK

2012-02-08T07:56:00.000-05:00

The 2011 Harper Perennial, worn and read, good for the first owner, name lost, purchased by the Collection from the GOODWILL of Middle Tennessee, landlocked for sure, yet whomever had use of the book, travelled the world thru Melville's pages.

Chapter 99

Stubb soliloquized the signs of the zodiac from Bowditch, the well known and well used almanac we all carried on board our Pequods, small and large:

Virgo, the Virgin! that's our first love; we marry and think to be happy for aye, when pop comes Libra, or the Scales - happiness weighed and found wanting; and while we are very sad about that, Lord! how we suddenly jump, as Scorpio, or the Scorpion, stings us in the rear...

1937 Garden City Publishing Co. Moby-Dick

2012-01-24T10:19:00.002-05:00

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

2012-01-12T10:31:00.002-05:00

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

2012-01-06T10:31:00.002-05:00

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)

2012-01-03T12:37:00.000-05:00

"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

The Holiday Season

2011-12-27T10:39:00.005-05:00

We were fortunate to spend the Christmas weekend in NYC with the Brooklyn branch of the family, staying at the sister's Central Park West apartment while she was staying in her Colorado home. (sounds so much bigger than it really is, we are, after all, humble folk)

While on a bit of free time, at the suggestion of LG, we went to the McNally Jackson Bookstore, and went right to the M section. It reminds us of the beauty of the printed book. The cover art, the binding, the feel of the page, the diversity of the editions, all are value added by the publishers. Some might question the worth of these endeavors, but not those folks whose livelyhood derives from this work. It may seem a small thing, but generations to come will be able to hold in their hands this work.

Have a happy Holiday from TMDC!

Presentation at Emma Willard School

2011-12-14T10:46:00.001-05:00

Last night we spent an hour at Emma Willard School, with a display of some of the collections highlights.

After a short talk, (below) the students in a question and answer period asked fabulous questions... truly a motivated and intelligent bunch.

"Have you read all the foreign language books?" one young lady asked. "Ha, no, sadly I can't read them. Like who reads Icelandic?" The whole place erupted in laughter since the joke was on me, the young lady proved to be Icelandic. How utterly ironic.

Thanks to all involved for putting together this evening, it was an exciting and fun time!

Text of the talk:

“I write my name in books”

The Moby Dick Collection

Moby Dick was first published in 1851. There were perhaps 4 printings in the 1800’s. During the 20^th centurary there have been hundreds and hundreds. I set out to collect them all.

My first copy was my boarding school copy. I was assigned to be read it in junior english lit. I didn’t read it. What are you nuts. It was ridiculously long, there was a lot of other work to be done and I didn’t have time to read the book, plus absolutly everyone said it was boring.

However, after graduating I kept all my books from school. Dragged them all over the place. And IN 1986 at the age of 36 I decided that was the year to read all those books I was supposed to read and didn’t. I read Jude the obscure, catcher in the rye etc.

That summer a business trip took me to Japan so I grabbed Moby Dick on the way out of the door to the cab. The flight was like 20 hours so I read it on the plane, found it very funny, amusing, Melville had the driest of sense of humor. Some of that shows in Bartlby.

In albany, there was for many years a neat used book store around the corner. So I would buy my books there. At some point I bought an illustrated moby. that gave me 2 copies… eventually I bought a sweet old leather bound one. And then one that was heavily underlined and read hard. I bought that. Soon I had seven or eight different ones.

My son finally noticed my book shelf of MD s and asked me why I had so many and I said because I can….

It was then that I recognized that this was a collection, and I asked myself why don’t I see how many there are and how many can I buy.

Thru the internet I found that there were editions in foreign languages. I bought one, then two then

Many many

My only regret at this point is that I did not buy the Braile copy. Some day I will.

Soon an obsession was born. I admit its weird … odd … unusual… I am unaware of any one else collecting just the same book in all the different printings, paper back hard cover. Forieghn language.

Often I am asked: isnt it all the same words?

There are copies from every decade of the 1900’s there are about 200 different copies, there are copies in Italian, chinese, japanese, icelandic, lituatian, dutch, german, spanish, french, check, and russian.

Some are illustrated some are not.

These are interesting to see how the illustrator chooses to depict Ahab, or Queguee.

The used ones are very interesting when there is underlining and notations. They gernerally are school copies. You can see exactlay where the reader stopped reading. Sometimes you can find out what school they went to

They signed the inside cover and often put their put a dorm room under their name. Google searching the dorm always brings up the school, cross referencing the alumni function you can find out what year and some times who the english prof was. Sometimes the google search brings up the reader himself…. You find out where they are or what they did for a career. . . All because they wrote their name and dorm on the inside cover.

Now I have a collection of books that is unique. You cant do this with a kindle…

The kindle is an electronic device assembled by machines, that by its nature of impending obsolesence longs for the land fill, in a single object it can hold hundreds of books, that have a half life of just years, while a book is the product of hundreds of skilled craftspeople in addition to the author, the illustrator, the printer, the binder…. In its being it longs to be held by generations of readers who appreciate the combined efforts of that production team.

Bartleby is a story about free will. Bartleyby exercises his free will by “perfering not to.” A negative free will.

I prefered not to read Moby Dick when it was assigned, what the conscquenses of that decesioin at the time were, must have been minor, I don’t remember. But decades later that decision not to read the book turned around and I decided read it then. And from that came a decision to buy more and more until The New York Times came to me to use some of them for their Sunday book review, and someone here at Emma saw that and asked me to come here and talk to you … and thus, my decision to prefer not to read moby dick in 1967 resulted me in talking to you today.

Here is my copy of Bartleby,: Great Short Stories of Herman Melville, 1969

Who ever owned it once underlined and noted Bartleby… used two different pens…. From his phaseing he was not the first owner…. “narrator going wacko” not the way we would have said that in 1969.

I only wish he had signed his name inside this book… we will never know him..

By the way : “Why DO we read?”

I like what Anthony Hopkins said in the movie “Shadowlands”, a movie about the life and love of C. S. Lewis, author of the Narnia Chronicles. He said

We read to know that we arent alone.

Reading is a very very intimate process, between ourselves and the author. when you are reading you are talking with, maybe not a two way conversation but you are in the mind of the author.

I can be siting in my chair book in hand, my friends gone, my children living in boston and brooklyn, utterly and solidly alone, as if its the night before leaving school for christmas holiday, not a sole around I begin to read, and I am no longer alone,

Many many books have shown me ways of life. When I read I see how someone does something , how someone reacts to loneliness, how they cope with despair or how they find joy in the simplest things. With a book you can stop and re read and think and absorb.

Why do we read ? We read so we know we arent alone.

Melvile wrote Bartley at Arrowhead, his farm outside of Pittsfield Mass. Not 50 miles from here. in 1853, two years after he wrote Moby Dick . that was 5 or 6 generations, ago

Page 50

The narrator is just getting to know this stange weirdo Bartley.

HE says:

“He lives, then, on ginger nuts, thought I; never eats a dinner properly speaking: he must be a vegetarian, then, but no; he never eats even vegetables he eats nothing but ginger-nuts.”

you’re a vegitarian You read these lines, you know you are not alone, 150 years ago, people ate vegatarianly. They have been doing it all along. So you can go home and say Dad Im a vegitarian skip the turkey, - you become a bit more of a person. Slowly building internal strength. From reading…

Keep your books, write you name in them proudly… and give your kindle to you little sister, she’ll love you for it, till she figures out the brillance of why you gave her the kindle and you kept the books, and then she’ll idolize you. ..

Thanks

Gifts for the Holiday Season

2011-12-06T13:08:00.002-05:00

Last Christmas, The Duchess gave us a tee shirt with the cover of the Rockwell Kent edition on it.

This year we thought that was such a good idea that we searched the internet for some Moby Dick themed gifts for the holiday season.. HAHA Enjoy,

My only regret this season is that Olympia is sold out...S, my daughter, who is getting married in June, needs a new clutch.

A hand bag, from Olympia Le-tan Alas its sold out. 1140 euros! yikes...

Its hot stuff but should it be? Someone else did the book jacket design ... thanks to LG for the tip.

A hoodie, and much more affordable.$45... from Miles to go

From the New Bedford Whaling Museum, Bow Ties!!!! $26.00

Matt Kish's One Drawing for every page... Amazon

TMDC and Emma Willard School

2011-12-01T11:42:00.003-05:00

We have been scheduled to give a talk to some of the Junior Class of the Emma Willard School, Troy NY.!

In conjunction with these students reading Melville's 1853. Bartleby, the Scrivener, we will be giving a short talk and displaying some of the collection.

Bartleby is a story about free will, determinism, and to some extent existentialism.

On a week night, in a few weeks, about 80 students will gather in the Library and hopefully stay awake for some words of dubious wisdom. We will report back on the success or failure of this event. Having spent four years in boarding school, we know a thing or two about extra curricular events like this. Is it free will that brings these students to hear us?

1926 Modern Library Moby-Dick Cloth Cover

2011-11-21T10:32:00.002-05:00

Recently aquired, the green cloth cover Modern Library Edition of Moby-Dick is the more deluxe version of the book already blogged in the two prize post.

Chapter VI The Street

"Still New Bedford is a queer place."

Alas, in 1851 New Bedford seems such a fun town. Cannibals on the street corners and Green Mountain boys looking for adventure at sea. Already alive and perhaps looking out the window of her father's stately mansion, Hetty Green, maybe even seeing Melville himself.

Hetty Green: we would first be aware of when passing the Hetty Green Motel in far away Bellows Falls VT on the way in 1964 to some ski adventure in the back seat of Dad's Buick Electra. Only years later after much research did we understand the Victorian life of Hetty Green, to the point of making a pilgrimage to her grave in 2008.

Our mother summered at Salters Point, and her father would take her on Sunday visits to the Charles W. Morgan, at that time the play thing of Col. Ned Green, Hetty's son.

During our salad days when we would want to experience some form of prep school hi jinx, we would steal out of the dorm and drive to New Bedford. Really steal, we would obscond with one of the school cars, usually a black Ford Beach Wagon. We had keys made.

Melville: Whaling: Hetty Green: Ned Green: Charles W. Morgan: Family: New Bedford: YOUTH: SKIIING: HI JINX all intertwined and circling around the same being, those are touchstones that define lives.

1950 Modern Library Edition Moby Dick

2011-11-14T08:46:00.004-05:00

The dust jacket illustration features Ahab, left pegged leg, sighting his position by shooting the sun with a sextant.

This copy, near perfect, is the #119 in the Modern Library series, published in 1950, right after WWII, in time for the economic expansion of the 50's. TV's just around the corner.

Chapter XV Chowder

As its getting colder here in Albany, I reread this chapter, a chapter of warmth and comfort, for there is nothing more comforting to this old salt on a cold day than a cup, no a bowl, of clam chowder.."the whole enriched with butter, and plentifully seasoned with pepper and salt."

We love how Melville mixes it up: not salt and peppa but pepper before the salt.

Chowder for breakfast, chowder for lunch, chowder for dinner, and never never never a red chowder, Manhattan chowder is not Chowder, I don't know what it is, but its not chowder.

1950 is the birth year of the editor of TMDC, and he too is shooting the sun to find his location.

1964 Bobbs-Merrill Company Moby-Dick

2011-11-01T11:35:00.004-04:00

Here is the fifth printing of the 1964 Bobbs-Merrill Company edition of Moby-Dick. Already blogged is the 1980 Bobbs-Merrill edition that I purchased at a tent sale accompanied by my friend, LG., one fine day this summer. But I digress.

This early edition lacks cover art, but the internals are identical to the later book. As with all used books, ephemera can sometimes be included, and here stuck in the book is a letter from the Maulding Clinic, apparently a physician and surgeon who lived in NYSSA, OREGON. This letter is his dreaded "Approximately 1000 calories" diet plan. His recipe for Golden Salad dressing calls for 5 drops of orange food color. - eh gads.

Other than Doc Mauldings diet plan, there is no other indication of the former owner, but there are no underlinings and the condition of the spine indicates that the book was never read. We hope that he or she at least stuck to the diet plan, cause you have to believe back in '64 if your doc gave you diet instructions you prob needed to shed a few....

TMDC profiled in The Providence Athenaeum on line Blog

2011-10-28T13:03:00.003-04:00

There is profile of the editor and TMDC on the Raven-ous Blog from nice folks at the Providence Athenaeum.

1972 Norton Critical Edition

2011-10-25T07:00:00.004-04:00

Here is the 1972 Norton Critical Edition of Moby-Dick, the iconic book for any English Class be it high school or college.

The inside is inscribed: Best to Mr. Badgley, from Ted. Other than that, there is not a mark in the volume. Too bad, as we always like to see the parts that are important to the reader. Perhaps, Mr. Badgley already had a copy and he was too shy to own up to Ted.

1972 is the year I graduated from Middlebury College, which reminds me that Chapter 2 contains the following: "as I stood in the middle of a dreary street shouldering my bag, and comparing the gloom towards the north with the darkness to the south..."

That sentence conjures up for me the memories of those rare crossroads of life I have been at, as in 1972, when I was forced to compare the darkness of the past with the gloom of the future.

So too is Ishmael, not just at that moment having to decide where to lodge for the evening, but also he must make a choice with his life which the out come is uncertain.

Again, I find myself at one of those crossroads.

A bit of the background to The Moby Dick Collection

2011-10-24T12:14:00.005-04:00

And here is an interview with Mary Darcy for All Over Albany. It is a decent overview of the whole THE MOBY DICK COLLECTION blog... Thanks for all the support!

Mr. Pettit

1947 Oxford University Press Deluxe

2011-10-18T07:04:00.004-04:00

This is a lovely volume, in size and shape. Good to hold in the hand, and the feel of the cover boards is substantial.

The type setting is clean, even, and elegant. It would be an awesome book to hold and read.

At some point Marty Matheson signed the inside fly leaf with her name and June '74. Clearly by the ware on the boards, she read some if not all of it.

In looking over this volume, I reread the first paragraph, where Ishmael puts down that when ever he gets out of sorts, especially in November, whenever his dark side begins to win the struggle, and when he is fighting the urge to step into the street, and methodically knock peoples' hats off, he then knows its "high time to get to sea"

He states that going to sea is his "substitute for pistol and ball."

In preventing his becoming a mass murderer, Ishmael chooses to leave a world of independence and solitude and chooses interdependence and involvement by here in this story signing up on a whaleship which by its own nature is a small concise world where it is impossible to be alone.

It is getting colder here in Albany, November is around the corner, and some days I want to step into the street and knock guys ball caps off.

I am reminded that my dad and my grandads hats did not have ball teams logos on them. Those guys had style and were men of independence and solitude. That is my world too. Yet deep within the sea is calling me.

Now is the time to sign up for the Marathon reading of MD.

2011-10-17T13:37:00.000-04:00

The New Bedford Whaling Museum’s Moby-Dick Marathon celebrates its sixteenth annual non-stop reading of Herman Melville’s literary masterpiece with a 3-day program of entertaining activities and events on Friday, Saturday and Sunday, January 6-8, 2012.
Should you want to participate here is the URL to sign up http://whalingmuseum.org/prog/marathon2012.html

Melville's Marginalia Online

2011-10-12T18:19:00.001-04:00

Here is a fascinating website. Its a digital library of Herman Milville's books. Not only that, it is a collection of the pages with his markings on them.http://melvillesmarginalia.org/browser.php?page=1

New York Times Book Review

2011-10-11T09:22:00.006-04:00

The other day we got an email from Laura O'Neill, Photo Editor, The New York Times. Seems they needed some books for an upcoming cover of the New York Times Book Review. They are planning some sort of MD cover.

Heck ya!

So the above photo shows Nathaniel Brooks, New York Times Photographer, shooting covers of The Moby Dick Collection editions, many of which have been featured in previous blog posts.

The up coming cover will be made up of these photographs from this MOBY DICK COLLECTION!

On the left is a Currier and Ives print of "Little Willie" which had been in White Foam for years. That PRINT is about 150 yrs old. Its all been kind of a weird and fun summer.

Oh yea, and in 50 years if the NYT Book Review wants to feature covers of Moby Dick, The Moby Dick Collection will still exist (we have made provisions) and be ready to supply, but most of the kindles, IPADs, Nooks, that exist today will be in the land fill, and the Moby Dick edition on them is just digital. Its just digital.

We love ink.

Just got word from the NYT that the 10/23 edition will contain the photos of the covers and there will be a slide show on line beginning a day or two earlier. !

Lake Zurich Public Library Moby-Dick

2011-10-07T07:17:00.000-04:00

Recent purchase from EBAY, the Grosset and Dunlap edition of MOBY DICK. Ex Lib from the Lake ZURICH PUBLIC Library, marked with the big D on the front, D for discard.

While the book is undated, it perhaps is a 70's imprint since the Library was formed in 1973.

The only date stamp in the book is Apr 18 1979, presumably the patron returned it since this book was clearly discarded from the system.

Library bindings are purposeful and well thought out. This book has decades more use in it, and thus can be viewed as a testament to our wasteful society, there is no rational reason that this book could not have sat on ELAArea Public Library's shelves for years to come and been recirculated thru the population. Other than it is not perfection. Perfection is never achieved, by the way, its only a phantom.

We enjoy folks who aim for perfection, enjoy them a lot.

1990 Great Illustrated Classics Moby Dick

2011-09-22T10:48:00.001-04:00

This Collection has shied away from abridged children's books, for a variety of reasons, as has been discussed in the past. Yet, here is just that. A twenty one year old copy of the Great Illustrated Classics Moby Dick, a children's abridged book, lovingly inscribed in a female hand: Chris love Gram and Grampy.

The Collection received this copy from SHP, daughter of the editor, who is an ELL teacher at the Donald McKay School in East Boston, Mass.

That school is a just a few blocks north of the site of school's namesake's ship yard, where in 1851 he built the Flying Cloud, perhaps the most extreme of extreme clippers. A mere 99 years later the Editor of TMDC would be born west of the site by sixty miles. Ironic, no?

When SHP gave us this copy, she was in the company of several other gradeschool teachers from the Donald McKay School. There was a most interesting and lengthy conversation about the quality of the Great Illustrated Classics as a body of work, whether they were good for young children, true to the original work, and a viable teaching resource. We think that the opinions tended to be on the negative side.

We just love imagining who Grampy was. He could still be alive, he may have lived in East Boston and worked at one of the remaining ship yards there, but most certainly he was something special to a young reader.

The MOBY DICK collection on display, again

2011-09-09T11:17:00.002-04:00

Several editions from TMDC will go on display at the Providence Athenaeum as stated in their press release (the Japanese, German and Icelandic editions) :

9/19 – 12/31/11 – “Hark! The White Whale!” Moby-Dick Illustrated. Our Moby-Dick program series continues this fall with an exhibition exploring illustrated editions of Moby-Dick including the 1930 edition by Rockwell Kent, along with adaptations from popular culture, including Moby-Dick in comics. We are also fortunate to have the loan of several foreign language editions of the book from the gracious Moby-Dick collector W. O. Pettit III; The Moby-Dick program series continues as well; please see the calendar cards or website for program details.

Check the Providence Athenaeum website for full listing of the MOBY DICK programs thru the fall.

1956 Riverside Edition Paper Back Moby-Dick

2011-09-05T10:10:00.001-04:00

One of our favorite previous posts involved the 1956 Riverside Edition of Moby Dick from Houghton Mifflin.

Interestingly, here is a new addition to the collection, which for all intents and purposes is identical to the aforementioned book with the exception of the cover. A cover which is clearly not of the 1950's, yet no where within the book is an indication of the year of printing.

The book is a gift to TMDC from Ford Mclain, a local Albany, NY artist, the featured artist at a local art party recently.

This cover tells us so much more than the original edition: The Riverside Editions, it is explained on the rear cover, are "a series of classic American, British and continental literature distinguished by its textual purity and authoritative editorial material."

Quoting again from the rear cover: "Moby Dick combines grandeur... friendship, tragedy with the intense anguish of a lonely human soul." A fitting quote.

1980 Bobbs-Merrill Moby Dick

2011-08-24T11:31:00.009-04:00

LG and I went to a used book sale, Saturday last, Round Lake NY, under the tent, books by the inch, local library thing.

Beautiful sunny day, one of the best days of the summer so far - tent sale was, well a tent sale.

And of course, there amongst all the boxes was one copy of Melville's Moby-Dick, the Bobbs-Merrill 1980, dark blue cover, one that exists in the collection already.

"Should I get it, even though I already have one?"

"Ahhhh...." - LG

"Its my purpose to rescue all MD's no matter what, when I stumble on them, gives me copies to hand out to folks who request them, and its by the inch so what's this going to cost? a dollar?" Into the already expanding pile it went post haste. I bought $11 worth of books.

When I got home and compared it to the already existing Bobbs-Merrill I was surprised. Yes, they are the same book down to page layouts and page numbers, identical in all respects but one. The newly rescued book is a half inch thicker!

The one on the left is the original 1964 Bobbs-Merrill paper back, with original bill of sale, and the one on the right is the newly rescued edition from Round Lake.

2009 Chinese Language Moby Dick

2011-08-11T09:05:00.006-04:00

电话我以实玛利

A second Chinese language edition arrived the other day. We used google translator to obtain the "Call me Ishmael" phrase above, and we are betting its not really close.

There are 42 chapters and 169 pages so we figure its abridged, dah..

The cover art, however, gets the golden TMDC WTF award, as the all time weirdest cover art.

That clearly is Venice, that clearly is a transparent Moby Dick flying thru the air, that clearly is a motorized ferry boat at the dock on the other side of the canal, and there is someone, not Ahab, not Queegueg, holding a harpoon with his back to us.

Ah.. we dont get it... hence the award.

from coorespondence to the editor from V S one of our dearest chinese speaking friends:
Your current translation up there translates better as "phone me Ishmael." A better translation would be 称我(insert sinoticization of Ishmael here). I don't know what the official translation would be but 乙石馬 seems good to me and has the bonus of translating as "yi (a meaningless word) stone horse." That sounds pretty cool. Hope that helps. NOTE to VS: we sailed out of the STONEHORSE YACHT CLUB, Harwichport so its ok with us. Ed.

White Foam

2011-08-09T11:15:00.000-04:00

This past weekend was the last weekend at White Foam, summer home at Chatham, Mass, for a couple of decades of William and Sally Pettit.

Sometime in the 1920's Mr. and Mrs. W. O. Pettit of New Brunswick NY, with their two children began to take their summers at Harwichport Massacusetts renting here and there. Owning boats, sailing and fishing.

After the 1938 hurricane destroyed his summer home at Salters Point, Mr. and Mrs. D. C. Daniels of Worcester, Massacusetts began to summer at Harwichport, bringing along their two daughters.

Eventually the families would meet and William Jr. and Sally Daniels, fell in love, married and continued the summer tradition. The original White Foam is pictured below, on the beach at Harwichport, this was the summer home of William Pettit, Jr and Sally Pettit for most of the later part of the 20th century.

We are all thankful for having almost one hundred years of Cape Cod experiences, the stories we heard, the stories we experienced, the times of our lives, were ledgend.

William O. Pettit, Jr. became among other things a master boat modeller, although he would never admit to it. In the possession of the editor of TMDC is this whaling ship model built by W. O. Pettit, Jr., it is a model of the last active whaler to operate out of the eastern sea board in the early 20th century about the time that WOPettit and his family began to spend summers on the "Cape".

Some things are sad, and some are happy. Leaving Cape Cod behind is sad, the memories are happy.

1956-Czech Language -Rockwell Kent - MOBY DICK

2011-08-02T23:17:00.004-04:00

Rikejte mi Izmael.

Lets see: here is a beautiful edition of the 1956 Czech language Moby- Dick. Printed in Praque an imposing size and signed and book-plated (left)

Even 1956 has to be slap dab in the middle of the Cold War...

Getting the info from the sales description: Bila Velryba (Moby Dick) by Herman Melville. Illustrated by Rockwell Kent. Published in Praha (Prague) in 1956 by Statni Nakladatelstvi Krasni Literatury, Hudby A Umeni. .... 663 pages. Hardcover. 7" x 9.5." ... The book itself is clean and in very good condition. Light wear only to dust jacket with dust and short closed tear on white rear panel.

biela velryba

Moby Dick Bookmarks...

2011-07-26T12:16:00.000-04:00

Here is a link to some terrific Moby Dick bookmarks created by Pietari Posti
a Finnish illustrator, graphic designer and artist who lives in Barcelona, Spain.

1992 Penguin Classics Definitive Text Moby Dick

2011-07-21T07:47:00.006-04:00

Here is a fat paperback, obtained thru the good graces of the Lark Street Bookshop, now defunct.

What should be pointed out is the cover art. It is taken from the Garneray "Peche du Cachalot" located at the Whaling Museum in New Bedford Massachusetts, just a stones throw from TMDC's editor's childhood boarding school, to which he was exiled by his parents where they hoped he would be molded into something other than what he was molded into.

Speaking of High Schools, the cover art is identical to the cover art on the 1980 Signet Classic already blogged about.

Recently, at the store, music playing thru Pandora, we heard Que Sera, Sera by Doris Day. Someone mentioned that every time they heard that song, they thought of the late 80's classic movie Heathers. So being in a melancholy reflective mood and a complete Winona Ryder fan (the shop lifting thing only adds flame to our fire), we Netflixed it and watched it. To our astonishment, Moby-Dick makes a supporting role as Heather Dukes' highschool text of choice, and the edition, 1980 Signet Classic with the Garneray "Peche du Cachalot" on the cover is one of that Heather's prominant accessories.

Great pate, mom, but I gotta motor...

Collection Update

2011-07-19T07:20:00.000-04:00

An additional Chinese edition is on the way from China to the collection and will be arriving in several weeks, also, several other editions are being negotiated and hopefully will be successfully purchased.

There are still several hundred other books to blog about. So a lot is going on.

Also, I am in the process of putting together a show of my artwork, Bill Pettit. com, and will post here when the show opening will be. The gallery, The Wayout Gallery, is in the small upstate town of Rennselaerville, NY.

Most of my paintings are of upstate New York, with a small smattering of Cape Cod.

1975 Enriched Classic Pocket Edition Moby Dick

2011-07-13T10:03:00.004-04:00

The cover art is almost the only thing that warrants mention about this edition.

Its abridged, and "enriched" by the addition of some supplemental material in the middle of the book. Some of it is moderately interesting.

But the cover art? A left pegged Ahab screaming with harpoon in hand. What is he waiting for? Why is he facing the viewer when Moby Dick clearly is behind him and going down . I want to scream "turn around you freak!"

The book is abridged and goofy which is not a formula for success.

1975? I was out of college 3 years, working in manufacturing for my father, married and living in our first home.

Nelson Rockefeller was vice president, and if I had the ability to choose how and when and who I could be, I would choose to be Nelson Rockefeller.....

1988 The Northwestern-Newberry Edition MOBY DICK

2011-07-08T10:45:00.006-04:00

This is the collection's Northwestern Newberry Edition of Moby Dick.

In Moby Dick circles this is the accepted text for the novel. The editors, Hayford, Parker and Tanselle, aimed at presenting the text as near as Melville's intention as the "evidence permits."

I purchased this book new in 1988, and long before the nugget of The Moby-Dick Collection was found.

Whenever I look at this book I remember 1988 as a watershed year in my life. The year I lay about the pool reading Jude the Obscure, already noted. The year I bought my first business and the unfortunate year of my separation and ultimate divorce from the mother of our children.

Perhaps, in buying this book, I knew I was beginning a quest of sorts myself.

This book reminds me too that 1988 was the year I declared my love to the second of the three great female loves of my life. She left my life in 1991 and I never have spoken or acknowledged her since, except to a very very small number of intimate friends to whom I have detailed her importance in my life. It is only recently that I have begun to talk openly about my love of her with people who knew her. People who are not intimate friends of mine, but friends non the less.

Such is the journey of peoples lives: complex, wonderful and ever changing. Some call it baggage, I think it is fascinating.

This blog was meant to be a catalogue of books, aimed at highlighting the importance of the printed bound volume in contrast to the temporary fleeting electronic media. However, I feel that when a book has a personal connection and meaning, I need to divulge that as well. In cataloguing these books as not only objects but objects with meanings and memories the purpose of the blog achieved.

Madmen meets Moby Dick

2011-06-28T07:00:00.004-04:00

Thanks to NCF, long time TMDC reader!

This is the art of LA artist Josh Agle, aka SHAG.

Samples here.

His web site here.

A bit Disney, a bit Madmen, a bit Moby Dick.

Reader MFanning pointed out that the glass bottle is in the shape of a TV screen. Old school shape by the way... soon to be forgotten as the flat screen becomes completely ubiquitous.

NCF works at the SMFA, and has been fof for ever! Thanks Nicole!

1926 Modern Library Moby-Dick - Two Prizes

2011-06-24T00:41:00.007-04:00

Here is the 1926 Modern Library Moby-Dick, classic red cloth cover from the house of Bennett Cerf, already covered in a previous post.

On the inside is a large award plate from the Halifax Academy, June 19, 1942 given to Douglas Rogers, for the Grade 10 prize in mathematics.

A search from Halifax Academy failed to produce anything for the school, only the motto E Mari Merces confirms the connection with Halifax Canada.

In thinking about this volume, given 69 years ago to a young Doug Rogers, we pondered how proud he must have been to receive it. We can see him walking up to the person who today would be called "head of school", shaking their hand and almost defiantly walking back to retake his seat among his peers.

We then recalled a similar award, given almost 19 years later to the editor of TMDC, who remembers all too well the elation he felt when he received the Armstrong Award at the Sheppard Knapp School, outside of Worcester Mass. - now defunct. The Armstrong award was given in memory of a lad who fell from a tree to his untimely death. The precise characteristics of the children who received the award were always a mystery, it was not academic nor sports related. Now it could be said it was a catch all kind of thing, given to some kid otherwise left out of the award stream, perhaps too shy to have close friends, too normal to have successes in sports, too smart to excel in main stream academics. But a likable child non the less, a child everyone would agree was a good kid.

The letter in Olson's Small Boat Seamanship, with yellowing tape, is in the controlled precise and neat hand of Mrs. Halkyard, the wife of the Headmaster, and the woman who began Mr. Pettit's latin journey. There is a decided left learn to the letters, signaling perhaps left handedness, and an erie hand writing quality that is exactly similar to little Billy Pettit's own left handed mother's precise, controlled and neat handwriting.

We will assume that if the Armstrong Award were given today, or the Halifax Academy X Grade Math Prize for that matter, in the form of an ebook, 40 years from now, that E Book would no longer function. It would have been recycled or jettisoned into the land fill long before. The memories just that, vague memories of a lad proudly receiving yet another electronic device, cutting edge for the moment. Fleeting... gone... dust... nothing left to share.

Herman Melville's Travel Desk

2011-06-22T09:40:00.003-04:00

Up for auction is Herman Melville's travel desk, thanks for the heads up from avid TMDC reader ESD from our ancesterial home of Worcester Mass. See the item at Booktryst Blog
Sold for US$34,160 inclusive of Buyer's Premium

Also today or tomorrow TMDC will surpass 4000 individual hits, and we want to thank everyone who has made this blog a stop on their digital experience.

1956 Riverside Edition Paper Back Moby-Dick

2011-06-20T11:30:00.008-04:00

Here is the 1956 Riverside edition, measures about 5 by 8. Having attended highschool in the 1960's I had several classic books printed by the Riverside Press in Boston, listed as Riverside Press Cambridge.

Notably, I had Jude the Obscure. Never touched it in highschool. That book I choose to read the summer I got laid off from Norton Company, 1988.

By the swimming pool at the country club, while I was working on buying the first of several businesses I would buy over the years, I read Jude the Obscure... Ykes, what was I thinking? Dark, depressing, wonderful... I ended that summer with a nice tan.

Anyways I digress, the feel of these books captivated me and I bought anything printed in this series that I ran across in my travels. Currently, in a different section of the library I have a dozen or so titles, alas not Jude the Obscure. I tied up about a half dozen Riverside Press books neatly with hemp string and put that package aside in one of the moves I made after the divorce. Somewhere, somehow that package went missing and I have never seen it or Jude the Obscure since.

1975 Now Age Illustrated Moby-Dick

2011-06-14T11:20:00.003-04:00

Over the years, TMDC has given as gifts editions of Moby-Dick and conversely has received as gifts editions.

More often than not, the gifts received are treasured childhood books, prized by the donator and embibed with fond memories.

Here is a donation to us from J, a long long time friend.

Stamped with the Mercy High School Library stamp on the title page.

We treasure the gift and our friendship.

Call me Ishmael - Only the Lonely

2011-06-10T07:52:00.009-04:00

We say the sea is lonely; better say
Ourselves are lonesome creatures whom the sea
Gives neither yes or no for company
—William Meredith

Thus begins a piece written my my niece Cindy Daignault, readable on her tumblr account. The piece is a review of the work by artist Sean Landers.

Cindy, like all of my relatives is awesome in her own right. She has a current solo show of her art work at the
White Columns in New York City.

Cindy's work is a series of paintings that take us thru the mysterious world of projection. We see canvases of projectors and canvases of the projections on the opposite walls, which enables the viewer to relate to a modern day object, yet its not real. So its virtual reality but not. Things that are but they are not... It was at the opening reception of her show that Cindy told me about this review. Cindy is a avid reader of TMDC and she was excited to share with me these links.
What I failed at the time to understand and has come as a great surprise to me, was Landers fascination with the ill fated Golden Globe race of 1968. I too have been completely mesmerized by that disasterous race as well. Specifically I read everything I could about Donald Crowhurst. Here was a sort of modern day Ahab, kind of.. Mr. Crowhurst was obsessed with winning the race, but he lacked the skill, experience and backing to complete a solo navigation around the world, so he basically realized that he was out of it right before he left, and he tried to flim flam the world that he was winning by hanging out around South of America, Rosie Ruiz style, and falsifying his progress reports. Ultimately he just walked off his boat into the deep, in a fit of delusional madness. His bizarre madness is so accessible to the modern tech head, it is frightening.
Cindy draws solid connection between Ahab and Landers. And as an artist my self (Billpettit.com) I like the connections she makes to the whiteness of the canvasses and the battles we rage in our artistic lives.

1998 Dutch Language Moby-Dick

2011-06-08T07:44:00.003-04:00

Noem me Ismael.

When my tenants, Peter and Lynn, told me that they were moving out, I was saddened. They lived in the third floor flat of building I own here in Albany, and had been there for several years.

I remember the day that I rented to them. There were several people who were interested in it, thanks to Criags List, and I said I was going to show it on this particular Thursday at noon. Lynn came and several other people.

Lynn immediately said she loved it and wanted to move in. Great said I. We did the paper work and she told me that she was moving in with her boyfriend, Peter. Both were studying at SUNY Albany for advanced degrees and Peter was Dutch.

They were great tenants, always curteous and pleasant. Lovely people, and when they got married I silently rejoiced. So it is the normal course of events that my tenants move on and sure enough they got jobs in the lower Hudson River Valley.

The day they left Lynn called and said she had a gift for me. And thus this addition to the Moby-Dick Collection arrived. Words will never properly convey the sum of our relationship for those years, it was easy going at its best...

Good Luck Lynn and Peter!

Father of the Groom Speech June 4, 2011

2011-06-05T19:57:00.009-04:00

Saturday June 4th, 2011 I witnessed, along with many many friends and family members, my son's wedding, as I mentioned in the previous post.

During the dinner, a few of us stood and gave a some kind words of encouragement.

Here is the text of the speech which I gave:

One day, during the summer of 2004, on Cape Cod, in the middle of the afternoon, I was standing inside my parents house in Chatham, it was one of those clear beautiful blue sunny days.

I looked out to the porch and Rob and Sasha, who had been togther by then four years, were sitting and talking to to each other.

I could not hear them, I don't know what they were saying.

But they were talking with each other, unaware of not just me but everything around them.

It was not a moment of love,

it was a moment of being,

and is that not ultimate love?

In those few seconds, I knew Sasha and Rob were good for each other.

A measure of this wedding today, will be if in 20 years we stumble upon Rob and Sasha and they are still talking in that way.

Since what I saw that day was true, I know they will be.

Sasha, you know I love you, and am so glad to welcome you as my daughter in law.

Finally, Robert, as a father to his son, I want to tell you this: you are the man I wanted to be.

_____________________________________

The reaction to the last two lines was astounding. I wrote this from the heart.

Taking a tack off course

2011-05-24T12:03:00.003-04:00

On June 4th my son and his beautiful partner will be wed in New York City in a fantastic celebration at one of Gotham's boutigue hotels.

I will resume posting again after that.

Needless to say I am thrilled and am looking forward to this particular gam with all the excitement of the proudest father in the world.

Interesting link

2011-05-21T07:57:00.001-04:00

Here is an interesting link provided to TMDC by a friend of the blog.

http://www.xojane.com/fashion/if-i-cant-read-actual-books-anymore-im-gonna-carry-stuff-them

1955 Pocket Library Paperback Moby-Dick

2011-05-20T08:55:00.008-04:00

Our first idea for this post was the nice comparison of the cover art between this edition and the previous post.

Essentially, this is the same depiction of a whale destroying the whale boats with the whaling ship in the background, allowing the viewer to know that there is some measure of safety in the trade, despite the obvious dangers.

Yet, upon further review of the 1955 Pocket Library cover, we all agreed that there is a bigger issue here to be illuminated.

The cover price of the book is 35 cents. That lead to a lively discussion of money, wealth, financial security and ultimately things treasured. In 1955 the purchaser turned over, most likely, a quarter and a dime in exchange for this book, would this be the only purchase.

Today if we were to sell it we would accept as fair 35 cents for it. Hence it could be argued that the book held some of its original value over the decades. We all are aware obviously that the 35 cents today is worth a whole lot less than the 35 cents of 1955.

The coins tendered in 1955 would have been silver, and the coins received today would not. That alone would account for a huge different in the intrinsic value of the book, then and now.

Thus this book is illustrative of the importance of safe guarding ones investments. For over time, those investments degrade and lose their value, despite all efforts to the contrary. It is the natural order of the universe: decay with time.

Wether we are concerned with Moby-Dick editions or stocks, bonds, real estate, or silver one must keep an alert eye on ones investments, it is important not to let them lose value because there is no whaling ship out there to rescue you when your investments decay. The 35 cents of 1955 is not the 35 cents of 2011. Each one of us is captain of our own whale boat and solely responsible for those in it with us, trite as that and this post seems.

As this is published we are managing our elderly parents in the last leg of their voyage, and that makes us aware of our voyage and hopefully we manage that for our children, so that there is some treasure of love left for them.

1980 Signet Classic Moby-Dick paperback

2011-05-18T09:25:00.005-04:00

Bent corners, warn parts, underlining and check marks, dirty end papers, all the hall mark of a read book.

Here is the 1980 Signet Classic Moby-Dick that is inscribed G. Eric Lilja Mallory house . Actually G. Eric Lilja wrote his name in 3 locations, just to be sure that this book screams "Belongs to me!".

Maybe Mallory House is the same house of that name at Oberlin College. There is a small linkage between Albany NY and Oberlin. Perhaps someday Eric will stumble on the post or some one who knows him, and comment. That would be brilliant! Please do.

Eric underlined and noted in the margins in a very elegant creative and precise hand. The kind of handwriting that TMDC adores.

2008 Webster's Afrikaans Thesaurus Edition

2011-05-16T07:10:00.009-04:00

When we first conceived of The Moby-Dick Collection, we envisioned a catalogue of the various printed editions of the masterpiece. It was to be a kind of a stamp collection like endeavor. At the least it was to be a catalogue of each of the known printed editions, with the collection's holdings to be examples of as many books as could be gathered together given the resources.

As many of you seasoned TMDC readers know it quickly turned into more than that, with the edition of foreign language editions. And as this blog progressed, the individual books themselves begin to tell stories, who owned them, where they came from, and so on.

This post is a combination of all of the finest quirks of TMDC.

Here is a recent addition, the 2008 Webster's Afrikaans Thesaurus. As the picture shows, this is the english text of the book with a thesaurus on each page with the Afrikaans words for various english words, presumably this is for the Afrikaan speaking person, who is learning to read English. So one can see that the Afrikaan word for Whale is Walvis. If we are not mistaken there is a Walvis Bay in South Africa.

This book came into our position this year as a birthday gift from my sister, Sarah, to celebrate my 61 st birthday.

Sarah P. D___ is a world traveler for her vocation and avocation. There is not a month that does not go by that she is not off to some far off land. Immediately, Dubai, Manila, Istanbul, and Ireland all come to mind as places Sarah has been in the last year or two.

When she went to Manila,I began silly requests like, "bring me some envelopes" and last year when she was in Vienna, "Hey, how about bringing back some sausages.. you know the little fellas in the can!"

Im not sure Sarah at first appreciated my oblique humor. But she became a bit of a sport.

This year she travelled to South Africa, and it occurred to me to combine my silly requests with The Moby-Dick Collection, so I asked her to pick up an Afrikaans edition of Melville's classic. She had a bit of a layover between safaris and work, and she searched the bookstores but to no avail. However, she did manage to score this edition, which she proudly shipped to me, and it arrived in time for the big birthday doings! Three Cheers to Sage (as we called her in our youth)

Which brings me to this picture: Here is a little something I have kept in the WOPettit archives all these many years, this is Sarah's passport foto from I believe 1966 when she traveled overseas for the first time from our childhood home to Germany. Since that moment she has never really looked back....

Bravo Sarah!

1944 Modern Library Giant Edition

2011-05-09T21:53:00.009-04:00

The 1944 Modern Library Giant Edition Moby Dick features this blue binding with silver type and lighter blue offset.

We had always known that the Modern Library was the domain of Bennett Cerf, as he was a favorite of ours on the TV show "What's My Line" which ran from 1951 to 1967. As youths we were mesmerized by his patrician ways and seemingly endless knowledge while trying to guess the occupations and other "secrets" of the contestants.

Right up until the time we were shuffled off to boarding school, we watched him on Sunday nights. Perhaps, Bennett Cerf was one of our early "friends" keeping us company on those lonely solitary nights while the Duke and Duchess were off at some cotillion or other.

What we didnt know was that the Modern Library was started by Albert Boni, previously covered in this blog.

That running guy is the "Promethean bearer of enlightenment", for your information.

Here is an interesting link to a Modern Library web site.

1949 Dodd, Mead and Co. Library book Moby Dick

2011-05-05T10:16:00.007-04:00

Sometimes its just amazing what Ebay yields! After the book arrives home, completely unexpected, surprises galore.

I knew from the photo during the auction that this copy was beat, but what I did not expect was that it is from a grade school in Vermont and it turns out this grade school is the school that my good friend Mark went to, and was there during this book's tour of duty.

Not only that, I was attending college just down the road when many of these date stamps were applied.

So it was connected by time and space to the both of us!

Shout out to Pete H. who took the book out multiple times and gave it the big effort, no idea if he finished it.

1929 Macrae Smith Illustrated Moby Dick

2011-05-02T07:01:00.003-04:00

Here is a spectacular cover. Nantucket slay ride!

Recent addition to the collection it is inscribed Wayne Ralston, Jr Jan 14th 1929.

Wayne was the sellers relation, and judging by the penciling on the end papers, he was a kid when he had the book, it is so wonderful to have a child's well read book in the collection.

He penciled the word "misery" on the side of the book. SO much to speculate on, with that one word. We are so tempted to think that he found the story ponderous, as so many have, but what if that was some sort of 1929 cry for help just after the stock market crash? or some other nasty not even dared to think about?

Ramblings...

2011-04-29T16:18:00.009-04:00

Today I was walking the stacks of a library and discovered this gem. 1930 edition, Russian language, Rockwell Kent, Random House, stamped: printed in the USSR. All I could say was wow, wow, wow. I have no idea how many were printed, I have never seen a listing for it. LG's comment: "Holy S#*T" when I sent her the picture.

Also, over at Ahab Beckons, Gansevoort pointed me to an edition I dont have.

So many editions, so much time!

1969 Collier Paper Back Edition

2011-04-26T07:43:00.002-04:00

This paper back edition is prized for its psychedelic '60's cover and the introduction written by Quentin Anderson, Professor at Columbia University.

Its interesting that the cover art primarily features the face of a person reflected in the water and not a whale, perhaps that face is Ahab, and perhaps not. There is really no indication as to who that is.

Tilting the cover on its side, one can then perhaps also make out a white whale in the act of consuming the face? Which only then indicates that it is perhaps Ahab. That ambiguity was a hallmark of the '60's art, and often times not a very successful form.

The whale boat and the Pequod are drawn with some precision, while the face and the white whale are all jittery and spooky, that juxtaposition in styles is hard to reconcile, again setting up a ambiguity that is not that successful.

No, you perhaps would guess that I was not a big fan of 60's art when I was in college in the 60's. As an art form it is interesting historically, and some pop art has merit, but in my book it was a failure and has no lasting power. Here in Albany resides one of the largest public collections of 60's art, accumulated by Gov. Nelson Rockefeller. Now I am a hugh Rocky fan. A visit to the Plaza Art Collection, is actually worth the effort, it is a segment specific collection.

1928 Allyn and Bacon Edition, Moby-Dick

2011-04-25T07:33:00.008-04:00

Here is a well worn, abridged copy of Moby-Dick.

This is a publication of Allyn and Bacon, headquartered in Boston and still in existence.

Stamped "Property of the Board of Education, City of New York, Jan 8, 1932". The text was editied by Earl Maltby Benson, born Jan. 1884, Beta Theta Pi, 1906 Wesleyan and hailed from West Winfield NY, which was named for Winfield Scott, who was known as "Old Fuss and Feathers", longest serving general in American History. Mr. Benson was from a long line of yankees and taught at the English High School in Boston.

Credits in the volume include: "Colonel E. H. R. Greene for permission to photograph the Charles W. Morgan." Greene is the incorrect spelling in this case. Colonel Green was the son of Hetty Green, the "Witch of Wall Street" once the richest woman in the US. In 1924 he bought the Charles W. Morgan and kept it at his home in Dartmouth Massachusetts on Buzzards Bay. My grandfather summered near by at Salters Point, and my mother recalled to me the excursions they took by "motor car" to visit the whaling ship at Colonel Greene's home. Later the Charles W. Morgan was transfered to Mystic Seaport, where, as most people know, she still is.

On the inside back cover is a stamp of the WPA.

1926 Jonathan Cape Edition, London Moby-Dick

2011-04-20T10:35:00.010-04:00

Alas, this lovely Moby-Dick volume is abridged. That is the failure of this volume. See the last paragraph of this post.

However, the title page and illustration is a testament to the art of graphic design. The layout, colorful, clean and crisp equates to elegant.

Rowland Hilder, the illustrator, worked this commision shortly after he studied at Goldsmith's College School of Art.

This illustration of the Pequod conveys a open sea air like few book illustrations in the collection. Had the publisher left this volume untouched, this would have been the greatest edition published to the date of publication. Only the Rockwell Kent editions which come 5 years later would have eclipse it. And I may say that the number of illustrations Kent executes may be one of the factors, the work that Hilder does here is equal to Kent in genius.

For those of you who want to know more.. here is an article that I stumbled on this article, which upon reading, I thought was worthy. The explanation of Melville and his digressions at the start is the POINT- for those of you who have found Moby-Dick a "hard read". Relax about that, get over it, and enjoy the digressions...

The Unexpected Weekend in New Haven

2011-04-18T07:38:00.019-04:00

My father, as he has in the past, sent me last weekend as his emmissary to the annual meeting of an ancient New England Society, one that my dad has been a member of for decades. This society is dedicated to preserving the printed American page thru 1871.

One year, I had the pleasure of going to the Grolier Club in New York and viewing that awesome building and collection.

This year, I traveled to New Haven. The Society held its annual meeting in the Yale Center for British Art, and I can not say enough about that collection. Constable is one of my inpirations as a painter and there is a plethora of his sky paintings there.

One of the nights, the Society was the guest of Prof R... for drinks and dinner and were welcomed into his home. I arrived to a lovely home, gracious wife, beautiful food, lovely friends...

Completely unexpected, I walked over to the bookcase shown above. Heretofore, I had not the inkling of what I was in for: as I gazed at these bright leather books and protective cases, one name popped out: Melville, and titles: Ommo, Typee and of course Moby-Dick. These were not the mundane volumes I own, but first editions, not just one, but several, not just Moby-Dick but all of the titles. There was the first British edition of Moby-Dick... and Rockwell Kents, not the ho hum one I have but the "3 in the can", and even the presentation set in pig skin, I believe he said it was pig skin. He did say there were only 6 in existence. I held in my hand not just the English first edition but that presentation Rockwell Kent.

I stood there stunned and at a loss for words, then I noticed small bindings, thin things, and as I realized what I was looking at, I said incredulously: "Are these Melville letters?"

"OH, yes Bill take a look, just dont spill anything on them" Prof R said...

Gently I took one of the many small leather folders off of the shelf and opened it up. In my hand I held a letter written by Herman Melville. I was so awed that I failed to take note to whom and about what. It did not seem to matter anymore, I was speechless.

At the time I really didn't know what to say about this experience, other than this: one of the other guests, a historian of some note said to me later that night: "this is the beauty of the private collector, you can touch things."

To Prof R, I will be forever in his debt and can never repay his kindness....

As for the future of my Moby-Dick Collection... for obvious reasons my collection will never be the kind of collection which I saw on Friday night. But as I drove home and reflected on my collection it became more and more apparent to me that my mission has been and will always be to collect the pedestrian, the mundane, the humble. As I explained it over the phone to LG, during the homeward bound trip, the Moby-Dick Collection blogged about here is a combination of Ray Bradbury's Farenhiet 451 and the Land of the Lost. My mission is to buy everything I can as fast as I can. Because of the Kindle and Nook and I Pad, there will be a day when there are no more paper backs available. We as a society love to throw stuff out and the paper backs will be the first to go. I will have a collection of those paper backs and hard covers, the ones that Prof R doesnt have... The mission is to save the dust jackets, the covers, the type, the illustrations, and the underlining and notes taken... the individuality of each book, once owned and once read...

And of course, when I show my humble collection to friends and visitors, Just as Prof R did for me..I have always, always given them the volume to hold as I point out some quirk that takes my fancy..... Now I know why I do that.... . We, individuals, are not institutions, what we own we own to preserve and share. Hopefully we make a difference. I am unaware of a museum that started organically without the backing of a collector.

Please comment . . . Thanks - BP

1956 L. W. Singer Company MOBY-DICK

2011-04-14T07:13:00.000-04:00

This is one crazy cover. I love the type and it would appear that someone added that little color of red. This is the 1956 printing of the original dated edition of 1942 by the L. W. Singer Company from Syracuse, NY.

At one time it was $1.20 as marked in pencil on the inside cover. When it was for sale at the Bryn Mawr Bookstore it was marked at $.25.

1956 Houghton Miffflin Co. MOBY-DICK

2011-04-13T06:33:00.001-04:00

Here is the 1956 paperback Houghton Mifflin Co edition of Moby-Dick.

Signed on the cover by the owner: Judith Spiegler.

The book is heavily water stained, and I have no idea where it came from. No doubt it was in the stock of the Bryn Mawr Bookshop in Albany, when I and 3 friends bought the store and renamed it the Larkstreet Bookshop. I then lifted it for the collection.

Judith began underlining and marking it right from the Table of Contents. And on the back end paper she began notes right at the top of the page written in pencil.

Here is an example of her underlining:

pg 222 Consider the subtleness of the sea; how its most dreaded creatures glid under water. Beside which she wrote: Sea-truth

Often a book will easily open to the last page read and this book opens to page 240, which coincidentally is the last page with underlining.

Here she underlined: go to the meatmarket of a Saturday night..... Cannibals? who is not a cannibal? Did she see humor in that? Irony?

Since this is the last underlining, I am going to say here she stopped. The semester was over, or she lost interest.

I searched the internet and came up with this PDF of a 2008-2009 Publication

The University of Chicago School of Social Service Administration

Reflections 1

Judith Spiegler Adler

A.M. ‘61

I graduated from SSA in ’61 with an A.M., after having

graduated from the University of Chicago College with a B.A.

in ‘59. ... I began to teach, first at Fordham,

then at the College of New Rochelle.

So timing was right for Judith Spiegler - Adler to be Judith Spiegler of my MOBY-DICK, she graduated from the University of Chicago College in 59. and she went on to teach in New York State first at Fordham and then a little closer to Albany at College of New Rochelle.

Ironic if my Judith is the Chicago Judith....

1929 Macmillan Company Moby-Dick in 2 vols

2011-04-11T11:43:00.008-04:00

I have discussed one of the many wonders of collecting a book and that wonder is the history and mystery of the individual editions, who owned them and did they read the book. Try that with an Apple I Pad!

Recently, I purchased the 2 volume Macmillan Co. 1929 edition. I own oddly Vol 2 not vol 1 so I was pleased to find this duo and when they arrived I was more pleased to see both were inscribed in the same neat hand by the purchaser: Dorothy Louise Harding, Radcliffe '30. Dorothy also was kind enough to take notes in the end of vol 1, which either indicated that she read the the book, or at least took notes in class!

Radcliffe College which became fully absorbed into Harvard University in 1999, once was one of the seven sisters, which now are either the six sisters, or the five sisters depending on how one views Vassar College, which no longer is a single sex institution, thus is arguably not a sister at all.

I choose not to show much detail of the covers, as the story inside is much more compelling.

1946 German Language Moby-Dick

2011-04-07T11:32:00.000-04:00

This edition of Moby-Dick was printed in Hamburg, Germany by Claassen and Goverts Verlag, just 18 months of the end of WWII. The notation is "printed in Germany", which is significant in the Hamburg was in the British Zone of Occupation and did not become a state of the Federal Republic of Germany until 1949.

This is not a very robust edition, the cover had become separated and is held together with scotch tape and the pages are very yellowed indictative of low grade paper.

The only art is this cover, a most interesting image of Moby Dick. The tail is too short and the eye too big, the head is miss shaped yet it conveys the whaleness of the story.

Why would the publisher choose Moby-Dick to print at the end of a horrific war? The English fire bombed Hamburg in 1943 killing 42,000 civilians and the Nazi's killed 55,000 people in the Neuengamme concentration camp within the city of Hamburg. This surely was a murderous obsession by Hitler. Hitler as Ahab? Confined to his cabin on a fools quest to dominate the world? In the end everyone perishes.

This post was inspired by dolphinguy's comments...

1981 Oxford University Press, Moby Dick

2011-04-05T09:42:00.009-04:00

Of all the publishers of editions of Moby-Dick in this collection, The Oxford University Press seems to be responsible for most number of the fish in this particular school of fish, and whether it is a quirk of this school alone, or indicative of the entire shoal of all the schools of Moby-Dick's, I can only speculate.

As far as I can learn, The Oxford University Press is the largest university press in the world and began publishing around 1480, although it did not print a Moby - Dick then, that would be weird.

There are seven catalogued Oxford books in the collection with the earliest one is dated 1921. Some of the paper backs have yet to be catalogued so there are, for sure, many more housed here in Albany.

This species is a recent capture, and a fine example of the late 20th century marketing foray into the fine book field. That was a trend, dominated by the likes of Easton Press and the Franklin Mint, who brought to market high end bindings, gold and leather, with the hopes of capturing sales to those folks who wanted nice looking shelves of books in their homes, and most likely they never read any of them. How would a Kindle compete in this market? Riddle me that, Batman.

This Oxford Edition is relatively hard to find.

Purchase date: 2011

Road Trip - SUNY by way of Arrowhead

2011-04-04T07:00:00.000-04:00

Gansevoort, of the blog Ahab Beckons, was kind enough to blog about his trip to see the display of part of the MOBY DICK Collection currently at SUNY Albany. He made a nice day trip by visiting Arrowhead as well. His entry on the AHAB BECKONS blog details it.

In addition to Arrowhead in one could visit Melville's home in Lansingburgh, just north of Troy NY. Its the home of the Lansingburgh Historical Society, and in which Melville wrote his first two novels, Typee and Omoo.

Undated: Thames Publishing Co. London

2011-04-01T09:58:00.005-04:00

I have always wanted to live in a very large house, a house with so many rooms that some of the rooms I may not enter but once a year. I think its a psycological quirk of mine. I can imagine the wonder and excitement of entering room after room and trying to figure out: now what is this one for or who uses this utility room.

Anyway back to the Collection: this morning as I went to the shelves to find a book to blog about I came across this edition. I have no recollection as to when or where or even why I have this book... it was like entering that room in that huge house. I said cool, what is this?

Its small, has a really great piece of cover art. Its English! A search of the ABE Books, yield some dated ones, 1954, but they had blue boards and these are red. So I just randomly say 50's, if anyone has any definitive knowledge, comment for me.. thanks!

If you have a few extra moments, take a close look at the cover art: it shows a boat chasing a whale at the ready to harpoon it. Pretty dramatic really, but as I looked at it for a longer time, several things jumped out at me. First there is the problem of the whale, he has stopped running and turned to look at the boat, his eye is menacing... Second and more importantly, there is the problem of the rowers, there are six men in the boat, only 2 are rowing. there are two other men looking aft with nothing to do. I think really they should get out some oars, because this whale, perhaps its meant to be Moby Dick, clearly wants to do them some harm. One little harpoon is not going to do the trick here, this is not going to end well.......

Undated - Books Inc, NY, Moby Dick

2011-03-31T09:28:00.008-04:00

Here is the most unusual dust jacket edition in the collection. Guys with a football and a scottie dog! No where is to be found an image of a ship, whales, even the sea! Just a bunch of guys being guys, walking down a fight of steps.. Not one of them even has a book in hand!

On the back of the dust jacket this edition is called "The New Prize Guild Library" - The Worlds Best Books for Boys and Girls.

Moby-Dick is #17 in the series, which includes up to 37 Swift's Gulliver's Travels.

On the title page this is "Art-Type Edition" and "The World's Popular Classics"

The cloths and type style have a 30's feeling so I choose to mark it 1930's. Perhaps not. The lad on the right is wearing knickers (I wore them as a ski outfit in the 60's).

When referring to mens clothing, knickers is short for knickerbockers, while knickers in relation to women is something all together different.

1994 English Edition Moby-Dick

2011-03-23T09:44:00.005-04:00

Here is the example of the English Language edition in the collection.

It was pretty easy to pinpoint which of the many english language books is the official "English Language" representative, but I choose this book for two reasons, 1) It is priced in pounds, and 2) it was printed in England by Clays LTD for Penguin Books.

It is a bargain book... my children and I always laugh when we go to a big box book store and walk by the Bargain Book bin at the door. The we ask each other: "Why are bargain books bargains? - because they suck!" Well maybe now we know not all bargain books suck. At least in the UK!

1969 Franklin Watts, Inc Large Type Moby-Dick

2011-03-18T10:04:00.003-04:00

Here is the 1969 large type edition from Franklin Watts, Inc., which is listed as a division of Grolier Inc.

This book is ex Lib from the Fraser Valley Regional Library, British Columbia Canada.

The idea for this post comes from a current thread in the blog ahab beckons studying the best edition to read at the MDM.

http://ahab-beckons.blogspot.com/

1925 Grosset & Dunlap Moby-Dick

2011-03-16T09:13:00.005-04:00

1925 Grosset & Dunlap Moby-Dick features illustrations taken from the 1926 Warner Bros. movie "The Sea Beast".

This copy has a bookplate showing Jack and the Beanstalk and the name Howard H. Goldsby - a google search yielded no results for Howard.

On the contents page someone, in ink, marked most of the chapters with a check or plus sign with the ledgend: check marks- chapters necessary to the story and plus- sidelights of interest. He completely lined out chapter 22 Cetology. Apparently it fit neither category.

Grosset & Dunlap published many books as Photoplay editions with photos from motion pictures.

Thanks go to Meg at Power Moby Dick for reminding me about this gem.

The Display is up and open

2011-03-14T19:57:00.003-04:00

And here is an interview with Mary Darcy for All Over Albany. It is a really good overview of the whole THE MOBY DICK COLLECTION blog... Thanks for all the support I have gotten leading up to the Display!

Regular posts will continue shortly..

Bill

Some thoughts upon the display set up

2011-03-12T22:40:00.005-05:00

Saturday, we spent the most part of the late morning making labels and getting the books ready for the installation of the exhibit at the Main University of Albany Library front lobby. (3/14 - 4/24/2011)

There will be one case with some examples of foreign language editions, and one case of the examples of the illustrations of Ahab.

What became clear to me, as I pulled these items all together, was that this exhibit is not so much about the novel, Moby-Dick, but more its about the printing and the presentation of the text. The exhibit shows different languages and various layouts of the text, and the wide variety of the styles of the illustrations. Each edition has a unique soul, and no electronic book will ever have the soul of even one of these books. As I felt the letterpress type of the Lituanian book and the subtle pages of the Japanese book, I felt the heart and soul of the press operator, bindery person, layout artist, and illustrator; I imagined the thousands and thousands of individuals involved in printing these books over the decades. All of their combined work, the hundreds of thousands of man hours, was the result of Melville's two years of dedicated writing, and we can't lose sight of the fact that he wrote the novel in long hand in ink. As I stepped back to look at the sight of the books, I was awed by the entire human effort that has gone into presenting to the world, the story that is the novel Moby-Dick.

1958 Hungarian Language Edition Moby-DIck

2011-03-07T14:43:00.004-05:00

The 1958 Hungarian Edition of Moby-Dick, is alas, an abridged edition. The first line appears not to be the famous opening sentence and there appears to be no copy of the hymn.

The cover art is representative of the art, there is an interesting left peg legged Ahab, dressed like John Adams with a frocked coat, but study the cover for a moment, is that not the Scarecrow from the Wizard of Oz? It is perhaps Ishmael telling his tale years later at the Spouter Inn, but his buggy eyes say it all...

The Moby Dick Collection on Display

2011-03-02T11:27:00.007-05:00

From March 14th 2011 to April 30th 2011, selections from the collection will be displayed at the main library on the SUNY Albany Campus.

There are two cases and one will feature illustrated books, focusing on images of Ahab, highlighting the various ways illustrators have chosen to present Melville's iconic captain of the Pequod.

The other case will feature foreign language editions, highlighting the wide distribution the book has received over the years. My only regret to date, is that I passed on buying a braille version years ago, I thought it was too expensive. Non the less the foreign language books bring a wide variety to the display as well.

The Main Library is located at 1400 Washington Ave, Albany, NY and here is Link to directions and maps

http://www.albany.edu/about_visiting_maps_and_directions.php

1907 J. M. Dent Edition of MOBY - DICK

2011-02-24T08:37:00.006-05:00

It is generally accepted that the horrific events of World War I, the social changes of the 1920's and the "Melville Revival", all contributed to the success of Moby-Dick as a great novel in the 20th century.

The reading public found in Ahab a kind of kindred spirit in his hopeless obsession and ultimate personal destruction. This spirit mirrored the excesses of both modern warfare and new social mores.

It is well known that Moby-Dick was a literary flop in the nineteenth century, and editions are limited to the first printing run that failed to sell out during Melville's lifetime, and the 1892 edition, also scarce. What saved Moby-Dick from the landfill of history, could be argued, was the industrial revolution of the post Civil War era. As society was given more and more free and leisure time, society filled that time with new and wonderful endeavors, first and foremost was education, schooling replaced milking the cows. Schooling begat financial success and when faced with financial success folks wanted to show that off in their home, so the bookshelves needed to be filled with rows of matching books.

Enter J. M. Dent, an English publisher, who in 1904 began to plan the Everyman's Library. In 1906 he published 152 titles, Moby - Dick was included in 1907. So there it sat for about ten more years still unread, but on a whole lot more shelves in a whole lot more homes than it would have, had Mr. Dent not needed to fill out his offerings... Moby Dick sat on library shelves waiting for the intersection of war, flappers and the Melville Revival.

Feel free to comment, if you have anything you want to add to this or too take issue with what I have stated... Always welcome debate!

Putting Together the Exhibit

2011-02-22T09:01:00.004-05:00

Yesterday I dropped off some of the Moby Dick Collection at the University at Albany Library to begin putting together the exhibit of these books.

We are going to highlight the foreign language books and the illustrations of Ahab.

Much thanks go to Lorre Smith of the University for helping me gather my thoughts.

Email me at billpettit at sign mac dot com and I will let you know when the display is installed. At this moment I am not sure how long it will be up. It will open March 14 and at least 2 weeks it will be up, perhaps longer.

Thanks everyone...

Foreign Language Texts - MOBY DICK - Japanese

2011-02-18T07:00:00.002-05:00

The Japanese edition, earlier post, broken into 2 volumes, has a great feel with a soft and subtle touch.

Leon Ingulsrud directed Moby-Dick the play in Japan in 2001.

Pictured here is chapter 9, the sermon, as other posts, the hymn.

Each edition in the collection, is unique, individual, distinct. As a composite the collection, is as if its a pod of whales. Could the netbook, IPAD, Kindle, Nook provide such a similar herd of works.... ?

Foreign Language Texts - MOBY DICK - Chinese

2011-02-17T11:29:00.009-05:00

In a previous post, the Chinese Language Moby Dick was described. Here is an example of the text of the Hymn in chapter 9, The Sermon, also separately discussed in a previous post.

This is an example of the left to right typesetting of the Chinese characters, the next post will highlight the top to bottom typesetting of the Japanese edition in the collection.

There are several other text example posts that are labeled such.

WARNING: Hugh solar flair, lock up you IPAD

1974 Estonian Language Moby-Dick

2011-02-15T10:07:00.007-05:00

Minetage mind Ismaeliks.

Printed with a heavy hand, the 1974 Estonian edition of Moby-Dick, feels like it was letter pressed. Perhaps in the Soviet era it was. The feel of the paper, the tightness of the binding, the crispness of the size, makes this an enjoyable book to hold in the hand.

Marked: Kirjastus eeti raamat="" Tallinn

Translated by Juhan Lohk, whom apparently via an internet search translated a host of classic literature into Estonian.

1994 The Young Collector's Illustrated Classics Moby Dick

2011-02-14T07:09:00.005-05:00

The Young Collector's Illustrated Classic is an abridged big type confection brought to the public by Kidsbooks, Inc.

There is no indication as to who the illustrator was, the graphics are by and large bounded by a solid boarder, but this portrait of a right peg legged Ahab, has elements extending to the very edge of the paper, to what purpose, I have no idea.

Head gear is fast becoming an item of interest to me, as Ahab's cover has has some foreshadowing of WWII German naval attire.

And truly his peg leg is just that a peg!

1989 Reader's Digest Moby-Dick

2011-02-10T10:25:00.008-05:00

The 1989 edition of Moby-Dick is Readers' Digest's offering. The Reader's Digest is a magazine company and book publishing focused on condensed versions but this series seems to be full length.

The illustrator of this edition, Joseph Ciardiello, has the distinction of being the first of the illustrators of Moby-Dick with his own website.

Ahab is a left pegged, Lincolnish bearded, hatted, old salt. I believe, in this view, he is looking aft, judging by the lean of the rigging, perhaps looking towards a home he knows he will never see again.

1976 Moby-Dick, Norton & Company

2011-02-03T07:35:00.003-05:00

Its so interesting to me how many of the illustrators that we have run across in our Ahab portrait study, have a connection to the Art Students League in New York City.

Warren Chappell, who illustrated the Norton edition of Moby-Dick, (see earlier post) studied and taught there.

His Ahab is a left legged fellow, whose peg leg is somewhat elegant and thin. The pea coat, floppy hat and beard give him a salt look.

Also interesting is the fact that there is no hint in this image or any of the other numerous images of Ahab in the book, of a psycological storm brewing. He seems oddly an everyman Ahab.

1962, The Macmillan Company Edition, Moby-Dick

2011-02-01T10:40:00.007-05:00

Robert Shore is an american illustrator, studied at the Art Students League, and instructed at Cooper Union, whom has illustrated Heart of Darkness, Benito Cereno as well as this edition of Moby-Dick.

This edition is ExLib from the Metropolitan Dade County

The image of Ahab is haunting as he is holding a harpoon and wearing a bowler, yet the peg leg is so pronounced.

As I am posting, so many interesting facts and future posts come to mind. For instance: Right or Left leg? The majority of the posts of Ahab, so far, show him to have his peg leg on his right leg. I have no time today to refer to the text to see if Melville says right or left? Perhaps someone can comment? Thanks...

1974 The Folio Society Edition, Moby Dick

2011-01-31T14:26:00.005-05:00

Illustrated by Garrick Salisbury Palmer, this edition is lush and elegant. Mr. Palmer's woodcut illustrations are tight and oddly radiant.

There are two copies of the Folio Society edition of Moby-Dick in the collection and this is the description of the first aquisition:

Herman Melville: Moby Dick The Folio Society, London 1974, First Thus. 515pp. Very Good in decorative cloth boards. Wood engravings by Garrick Palmer. Seems to be a bit of discolouration to lower part of spine, possibly water damage (there is a mark on the corresponding part of the slip case), apart from this would be fine.

Captain Ahab is clearly deranged and given the way Garrick Palmer has chosen to render skin, he appears to have a tooth ache, no doubt causing more pain.

1943, the Heritage Press, Moby Dick, illustrated by Boardman Robinson

2011-01-27T16:47:00.005-05:00

Boardman Robinson, born in Nova Scotia, lived from 1876 to 1952, was an illustrator, muralist and cartoonist.

Teacher at the Art Students League, in NYC, it comes as no surprise, given the devastation of WWI, he was a socialist, working on the socalist monthly, The Masses.

In the introduction, of the Heritage Press edition, written by Clifton Fadiman, is the following:

"No one on the Pequod... can overcome his fear of Ahab because the fear is seated in himself. His Ahab-fear is a fear of himself, or rather the pit of blackness, the central dark mother-lode of despair which every man at times knows to be within him."

Robinson's Ahab is a dark mother-lode of despair.

1942 Dodd, Mead and Company MOBY-DICK

2011-01-26T07:35:00.008-05:00

The 1942 Dodd, Mead and Company, Moby-Dick, was lavishlly illustratated by Mead Schaeffer (1898-1980). Mr. Schaeffer was 24 when he was hired to illustrate this novel as well as Typee and Omoo.

He later focused on fine art and took commissions from magazines for cover work.

Interestingly, he was a personal friend of Norman Rockwell and he and his family often posed for many of Rockwell's illustrations and paintings. - (Wikipedia)

This copy in the collection is classic, in that some child sometime read the book, leaving his teeth marks on the corners.

Schaeffer chose to illustrate Ahab at the moment he confronts Starbuck with his musket and Starbuck warns: "beware of thyself, old man."

Personally, I love the illustration of Queequeg standing on a whale fast against the Peguod, guarding the catch from the sharks, one of which is clearly larger than Queequeg himself.

When done with the Ahab series, we will examine all of the images for Queequeg, a fascinating proposition...!!

1933 Albert & Charles Boni, Inc.

2011-01-25T07:35:00.003-05:00

The Raymond Bishop illustration of Ahab.

Between pages 108 and 109, in chapter XXVIII, Ahab.

Striking is his grimace, and the odd stool decorated with wave like embellishments. The fact that the stool appears to be almost too small, sets up a tension in the graphic.

Bishop presents Ahab as tall and lanky, but clearly troubled with the image of the white whale, MOBY DICK, in the fog of his imagination, or is that the smoke of his pipe, recalling the Kent illustration.

This illustrated edition, chronicled in an earlier post, was placed on the market, several years after the Kent, perhaps the Boni Brothers were interested in coat-tailing on the success of Random House's edition.

There will never be an electronic image as satisfying as this printed paper image, alas.

1931 Saalfield Every Child's Library Moby-Dick

2011-01-24T13:05:00.009-05:00

Ahab, ready to strike.

MOBY DICK. Melville, Herman; Saalfield Publishing Co; NY; 1931. Hardcover with no jacket. Edge wear and surface rubbing; pages tanned, tightly bound.

Cover : Green Cloth 6 x 8 1?4

Spine not marked ILLUSTRATED and line

1 5/8 thick

309 ppgs

Frontice Illustration by C Lawson

1930 Random House Moby-Dick

2011-01-21T11:17:00.005-05:00

The classic Rockwell Kent illustrated edition. #21 in the collection, purchased on Ebay.

New York, Random House, 1930. First trade edition. Thick small 8vo. 280 woodcut illustrations (including chapter headings and tailpieces), spine, upper cover illustrations by Rockwell Kent. Original black pictorial cloth stamped in silver. NEAR FINE, fresh bright copy with minor rub to cover stamping a

bove whales head, lower tips little bumped. No signatures or bookplates. Nice copy of a handsome edition of this classic.

I have choosen this edition to begin a series of postings of the illustrated books in the collection. And specifically, Kent's choice to introduce an Ahab illustration in Chapter XXX, is classic: no peg leg, no crazy eyes, just Ahab in a strangely pedestrian hat, pondering his pipe and its addiction, just before heaving it over board, in a way denying himself its pleasure....

1967 Norton Critical Edition - Paperback Moby Dick

2011-01-20T09:47:00.018-05:00

One of the most common phrases people speak after seeing the Moby-Dick Collection is: Its all the same book right!

They are perplexed, "its the same words, so how many do you need?"

But are they the same words? Not entirely.

For a moment regard the 1967 Norton Critical Edition of Moby-Dick, as an example, nothing special about it, in fact this copy has A. Hawley signed in red pen on the inside, the cover is broken, and judging by the overall condition, A. Hawley probably never finished reading it...

His or her markings and underlinings stop at page 26, therefore he or she never made it to page 44 to read the words of the hymn read by Father Maple, and specifically un read is the first line of the second stanza: "I saw the open maw of Hell..."

Maw: The mouth, stomach, jaws, or gullet of a voracious animal, especially a carnivore.

Heck of an image, the open mouth of Hell ready to receive the offering...

Checking the 1919 Page Edition of Moby-Dick, already posted, the hymn is on page 43, and the first line of the second stanza reads: "I saw the opening maw of Hell...."

Open vs Opening. Still heck of an image. This edition carries the Copyright, 1892 Elizabeth S. Melville. So presumably this is the "official" text.

Furthermore, checking the Northwestern-Newberry Edition of Moby-Dick, page 42 has the opening line of the second stanza: "I saw the opening maw of Hell....". From the back cover: "The aim of this edition of Moby-Dick, ... is to present a text as close to the author's intention as surviving evidence permits."

Conclusion: The Norton text is in error. This may or may not be a typo, every other Norton Edition has the same wording, and in no other printed text can this wording be found.

1967 Norton Critical text

1919 Page text

1988 Northwestern- Newberry text.

Both the Norton and Northwestern edidtions were edited by Harrison Hayford.

1970 Icelandic Language Moby-Dick

2011-01-18T07:30:00.005-05:00

Kallio mig Ismael!

1970 Almenna Bokafelagid, publisher, cover by Torfi Jonsson

Cover: Brown /w gold lettering, 6 1/4 x 9 1/4 x 1 1/4

478 ppgs

Purchased on EBAY for $30 in 2000, this MOBY-DICK, would be one of my most prized books in the collection, and the first foreign language book I bought.

Perhaps, after buying this book I realized that this collection was actually something to behold, for each time I have opened the bookcase to visitors, I have shown them this book.

We Americans, sadly, can be a funny lot. Sometimes I get the impression that it is in seeing this book that folks realize that people in other lands actually read and read books not printed in the English Language. "Oh that is odd, Icelandic? Gezz I guess they must have books in their own language." That is the kind of response I get. With a literacy rate of almost 100%, (2010 CIA WORLD FACTBOOK), the Icelandic people are the most literate and well read people of us all.

1931 Saalfield Every Child's Library Moby-Dick

2011-01-17T07:30:00.006-05:00

In 1900 Arthur J. Saalfield founded Saalfield Publishing Company in Akron, Ohio, which from that date to 1977 published children's books.

The Archives of the Saalfild Publishing Company were purchased by Kent State University and housed there.

This edition was illustrated by Alfred Conyers, with seven illustrations, contains 309 printed pages.

Details:

Light blue cloth covers with dust jacket

measures 5 1/4 in by 7 5/8 in and is 1 1/4 inch thick.

Spine is market ILLUSTRATED with a line

Here are 5 copies of Saalfield Moby-Dick's, all Identical with the exception of size and color of the binding.

For later inclusion I am preparing a series of posts of the various illustrations of Ahab.

Solar Flare and your Kindle

2011-01-14T09:02:00.004-05:00

This is a beautiful little picture.

Shortly after the solar flare goes screaming thru your body, these little books will be sitting there all complacent and ready to be read. Not so your electronic copy of Moby-Dick.

Granted its just one book, but hey, I never forgot seeing Fahrenheit 451 in high school.

A bit of information about solar flares.

"In modern times, the largest solar flare measured with instruments occurred on November 4, 2003 (initially measured at X28 and later upgraded to X45).[8][9] Other large solar flares also occurred on April 2, 2001 (X20), October 28, 2003 (X17) and September 7, 2005 (X17).[10] In 1989, during former solar cycle 22 two large flares occurred in March, 6 (X15) and August, 16 (X20) causing disruptions in electric grids and computer systems.[11] A complete list is available at http://www.spaceweather.com/solarflares/topflares.html"

The above taken from the Wikipedia article on solar flares.

Just because we can make something does not mean it is worthwhile. I listened to a friend discuss the merits of reading in bed with her Kindle and travelling with her kindle and that all seemed to make sense. So good for her..

But for me.. nothing will replace the look, feel and smell of a good book... and I can handle a book in bed, and carry a few extra pounds of carry on. I am not that much of a woss...

Just my opinion.

I want to take a moment to thank Matt Kish for the shout out on his blog One Drawing for every page of MOBY-Dick. If you have not seen his blog, it is worth a look!

1919 Page Company, Boston Moby-Dick

2011-01-13T07:34:00.003-05:00

ON the left is the 1922 The St. Botolph Society Edition, Moby-Dick (see earlier post) and on the right is the 1919 Page Company edition. Both identical in look, format, and pagination with the exception of the title page.

The St. Botolph Society prefers a more elegant title page.

1970 German Language Moby-Dick

2011-01-12T07:30:00.006-05:00

Nennt mich Ismael.

Compare this cover with the pervious Norton Edition cover.

Both editions are products of the 1970's, during which there was a minor trend back to the "classic look" early in the decade after the excesses of the 60's pop art, but the German cover takes a slant into humanism, as the face of the harpooner is covered in despairation and fear.

Oder der wal

The first foreign language Moby-Dick that I purchased was one in the Icelandic language. I bought that one on Ebay and the seller asked me if I read Icelandic, when I told him no, but I collected Moby-Dick editions, I could hear him scratching his head: okay?whatever...

1976 Moby-Dick, Norton & Company

2011-01-11T11:11:00.001-05:00

This is an example of the 1976 Norton edition of Moby-Dick. 1967 was the original Norton printing, this is a reprint copy. Firstly I choose it so that I would have the 1970's covered in the tags, and secondly, I choose it because 1976 is the bicentennial year and I remember fondly how proud we were that this country was 2oo years old!

Noon, 4th of July 1976 all the churches rang their bells (or played the tape), at least they did in Harwichport Massachusetts because I heard them while fishing with my wife off of the Banks Street beach.

I bought this book at the Dog Eared Bookstore in upstate New York in 1999 on my way from Albany to Bennington Vermont.

I am posting this post at 1/11/11 11:11 am

Next up: Same decade but

1947 Oxford University Press Paperback, Moby-Dick

2011-01-10T07:32:00.008-05:00

The Collection has 3 copies of the 1947 Oxford Moby-Dick. This is the paper back copy, there also are two hard back copies, one is the delux edition.

All three are identical and the inside covers front and back, have a nice map with the route of the Pequod...

Look at the cover art, poor Moby Dick has some what of a frown with a rather oversized harpoon jammed in his back. So art deco-ish..

There is a section at the end of the book of pictures, diagrams, and assorted related material of whaling... not especially useful, but interesting none the less.

How does the cover art is on your kindle version of Moby Dick move you?

1952 Hendricks House Edition, Moby-Dick

2011-01-07T07:30:00.007-05:00

Here is the 1952 Hendricks House edition, which is by far my "favorite" edition of Moby-Dick. As a collector, I have multiple favorites, but when pressed by folks, this is one of my top favorites, at least it is the one I go to when reading the novel.

Firstly, there is the massive feel of this book. It measures 2 3/4 inch thick. At 6 x 8 1/2 inches, it sits well on my desk, open to any page.

Secondly, and more importantly, after the 568 pages of the text, then begins an astonishing 265 additional pages of explanatory notes. Many things obscure to us in the 21st century are revealed in the notes...

In the Moby Dick bookcase (maybe I will post some pictures of it in the future...), this book dominates the shelf it sits on, saying to the other editions: "move over guys, this is my space..."

Next post: the oldest paper back in the collection.

1922 The St. Botolph Society Edition, Moby-Dick

2011-01-06T07:47:00.005-05:00

The St. Botolph Society, Boston, published works thru the first half of the twentieth century.

Researching the St. Botolph Society revealed from their website that under "temporary chairmanship of John Quincy Adams, the name of St. Botolph Club was chosen, after the VIIth century abbot around whose monastery in the fens of East Anglia Botolph's Town, later corrupted to Boston, sprang up. Botolph became patron saint of Boston, England and his spirit latterly migrated to the new city in Puritan New England. He was known for his kindly spirit and good humor."

This volume is marked with a copyright to Elizabeth S. Melville and the date 1892. This copy is the eighth impression, Feb, 1922. Printed in Boston by C. H. Simonds .

The source of the 1892 text for Moby-Dick is something that my friend Dave is working on.. We think, currently, that SBS first published MD in 1919, and the 1892 text came from the United States Book Company.

I bought this book in 2003 on EBAY.

NEXT POST: "My favorite Moby-Dick."

2003 Russian Language Edition, Moby-Dick

2011-01-05T07:47:00.004-05:00

The 2003 Russian language edition of Melville's Moby-Dick, printed in Moscow, the Russian Federation, uses the Rockwell Kent illustrations from the 1930 Random House edition, which I find that fact amusing to speculate about.

Specifically, while I don't read Russian and the cryillic type is difficult to decipher, it does appear to me that nowhere on the title page or in the entire book for that matter, is there anything appearing to be an attribution for the illustrations, leading me to believe that there is some left-over soviet editor who figured since Mr. Kent was a communist, they could just requisition his work, as property of the state, so to speak. HAHA...

Also, I find it interesting that this book can no longer be found on line... Check: Amazon, ABE, and Paperback Swap

Next post, one of the older editions..

2007 Chinese Language Edition, Moby-Dick

2011-01-04T07:30:00.012-05:00

Try and type in the google box: Chinese Edition of Moby-Dick. You will find its pretty much of a dead end. Actually, go to EBAY or ABE BOOKS and try to search for Moby-Dick in Chinese... doesn't really work.

After I bought the Japanese edition (earlier post), I decided I needed a Chinese edition... so on the next visit to my son's home in Brooklyn, I took a side trip to Canal St. to find Moby Dick in Chinese. Oh, that was a chore as well, try to google search Chinese Book Store in Manhattan...

While the clerk at the Kinokuniya Bookstore (Japanese Bookstore in NYC) knew what I was talking about... The clerk in the Chinese Bookstore had no idea what I was talking about. Granted if they asked me if I had an English edition of Dream of the Red Chamber I would have no idea... oh wait I have one... well anyway..

So, later I was sharing the Moby Dick collection with Adam O'Brien, Library Specialist at the Schaffer Library of Union College, and he took a keen interest in the foreign language section, he was able to get me the ISBN numbers for the Chinese editions:

9787535027016 2004

9789576833137 1995

9789575517397 1994

9787506812085 2005

9787508357782 2008

However, searching the internet brought me only to Chinese bookstore websites only in China, and the google translate this was not very helpful.

Alas, this was taking more than a year now... I called the local bookstore, BOOKHOUSE and had a nice chat with them, gave me the name of a bookstore in Cambridge MA, that does a nice business in foreign language books, so I called them, the gent there said "sure no problem, we can get you one. Let me check on price and availabilty and Ill call you back." I am still waiting for that call... HAHAHA.

Dead ends abound, "Have ya seen the Chinese white whale" Nope, no, nyet .. but thanks to Adam I know it exists... I caught but a glimpse.

Enter my daughter, Sarah, over for a visit from Boston. While I was telling her this story, she said,"my colleague, Stephanie, was born in China, maybe she can help." Stephanie proved to be the key to this. Apparently, Sarah and Stephanie had a lot of back and forth about how to even translate the title "Moby-Dick" into Chinese to quiry someone in China, however she ultimately contacted a friend in Beijing who had a friend in Shaghai, and on Christmas Day, my daughter proudly handed me a DHL package... right from China.. and #72 was in it..

One interesting note about this edition, the text runs left to right, front to back. The Chinese Government, decreed that all books would be printed this way, not the traditional Top to bottom, back to front.. as the Japanese edition is.

SO, I am thinking .... I need an older version... maybe the 1994 or 1995 were printed top to bottom.. or an edition from Taiwan, or Korea.... ... hummmm mmm

Next Post: Moby-Dick in Russian with illustrations.

Graphic Novel, Moby-Dick

2011-01-03T07:16:00.011-05:00

#71 is the 1999 graphic novel from Scholastic, part of the READ 180 series.

The Moby-Dick Collection will contain no abridged editions. - Part of the unwritten by laws of the Collection.

However, how could I turn this gift down? It was a Christmas gift from Sasha Schlegel my soon to be daughter in law. Special!

Sasha works in Manhattan at BrainPOP, animated science, health, technology, math, etc, and school homework help for K-12.. its her field!

Additionally, its not the first abridged, illustrated, children's edition of Moby-Dick she has given me, so now there is a small and growing section of modern children's Moby-Dick.

NEXT POST: another Christmas gift, unavailable on line and unavailable in the US.
The acquisition of this edition was a quest in itself.

1933 Albert and Charles Boni, Inc. Immortality!

2011-01-02T09:48:00.010-05:00

#29, the 1933 Albert and Charles Boni, Inc. illustrated edition.

I was given this Moby-Dick by Mark Scott, who was at the time a tenant of mine, and was attending the University at Albany Library School. He obtained his degree in Library Science and moved on.

Raymond Bishop is the credited illustrator, but a search of the web turned no references to this illustrator.

The book is inscribed by Katherine Benton, 22 April 1935 in a precise hand. Nicely done. A search of the web turned up no references to Katherine Benton.

According to his New York Times obiturary, Charles Boni, 1895 - 1965, and his brother formed the concern that bore their names from 1923 - 1928. Although this book is dated 1933, the New York Times states that the business "died in the stock market crash of 1929"

So, this copy, #29 in the collection, contains three mysteries to still be solved: who was Raymond Bishop? Who was Katerine Benton? and how did the defunct Albert & Charles Boni, Inc. publish this book 4 years after its supposed demise?

But a wider issue to be contemplated is this: Within this book is the immortality of Katherine Benton, save for this one notation, she may have slipped in to oblivion. Maybe not, there maybe family who know her story, and certainly, she may still be alive. But also, within this book, Raymond Bishops work, however brief, still exists, and the manufactured efforts of Albert and Charles Boni, and the workers who crafted this book, still exists.

Next: 2 posts, each of the Christmas gifts I received this year..

A Gem! 1942 Everymans Library, Moby-Dick, J.M.Dent London

2011-01-01T10:38:00.006-05:00

Distinguished Teaching Professor Hugh MacLean's personal copy of Moby-Dick.

Professor MacLean taught English at the University at Albany from 1963 to 1986. On the inside right cover is the following notation under his signature: "realized in Toronto February 1949", with the price of 2.56 in the top right, presumably Canadian. A biography of Professor MacLean, notes that he graduated from Princeton in 1940 and earned a master's degree and doctorate in English after the war at the University of Toronto, so this is his doctorate copy!

The book is riddled with underlining and notations. A sample: God in the whale: pgs 271, 315,170,469 and 46. Also, intriguingly, on the inside back cover he lists the 9 other ship mentioned in the book and the pages of the listing, with a note on each on how that ship relates to Moby-Dick.

Professor MacLean's published work Edmund Spenser

Next post: "Immortality!"

MY highschool edition, Moby-Dick

2010-12-31T10:19:00.003-05:00

1964, fall, back seat of a maroon Buick Electra, head down, eyes shut, sat a young boy. His parents were following a hundred years of Yankee tradition by taking the boy to private school for four years of schooling.

The school, Tabor Academy, was going to be four years of fun, growing up, sailing, smoking, and drinking! only as a lad of 14 could do, away from parents...

This is the high school copy I bought for the English Lit class that I took, paid $1.05 for a brand new copy, as I write this, I have no recollection of the teacher, the class, or of reading any of the book...

In the post about the Japanese Edition, I relate the circumstances about how and when I actually read this book.

I have repeatedly gone back to this book to re read all or parts of the novel. There are, however, no notes, and no underlinings. That is something I have yet to do. I know all of my favorite passages, where they are and why I like them...

On the inside back cover, there is a rudimentary chart of my family tree, as some time, I wrote that, for what purpose I dont remember...

Next post: An academic gem!