The Moby Dick Collection on Display

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

1989 Reader's Digest Moby-Dick

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

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.

1974 The Folio Society Edition, Moby Dick

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.

1942 Dodd, Mead and Company MOBY-DICK

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...!!