Extracts of Moby Dick...
Item # 716139
HARPER'S MONTHLY MAGAZINE, New York, volume for May thru November, 1851
* Herman Melville’s masterpiece, Moby-Dick introduced
The “Town Ho’s Story” appears on pages 659-665 in the October issue. It was the first appearance of any part of the great novel Moby Dick and became chapter 54 in the book. A publisher’s note on page 659 says: “From The Whale, the title of a new work by Mr. Melville, now in the press of Harper and Brothers, and now publishing in London by Mr. Bentley.”
The chapter concerns a potential mutiny and the appearance of Moby Dick that thwarted the uprising. It was a first report of the white whale while at sea.
The volume is complete in 865 pages, original green, embossed bindings, green reinforcement tape at the top & bottom of the spine, minor wear to binding edges, library star at the back page, interior pages in very nice, clean condition.
Background: The publication of “The Town-Ho’s Story” in the October 1851 issue of Harper’s New Monthly Magazine is a monumental milestone in American literary history, marking the public’s very first glimpse into what would become Herman Melville’s masterpiece, Moby-Dick. Appearing weeks before the novel's full release under the working title The Whale, this excerpt served as a crucial, self-contained promotional tool that introduced readers to the terrifying, mythic presence of the white whale at sea. Beyond its marketing utility, the event captures a pivotal, anxious moment in publishing history; the accompanying publisher’s note stands as a permanent archival record of Melville’s last-minute title evolution and the frantic, simultaneous transatlantic production between Harper & Brothers in New York and Richard Bentley in London. Furthermore, because Moby-Dick was initially a commercial failure that drove Melville into literary obscurity, this specific magazine printing represents the high-water mark of contemporary public anticipation for his work, making it an indispensable artifact that documents the birth of a foundational text in the American Renaissance.
Note: this same volume sold for $1500 in auction, May, 2025.
* Herman Melville’s masterpiece, Moby-Dick introduced
The “Town Ho’s Story” appears on pages 659-665 in the October issue. It was the first appearance of any part of the great novel Moby Dick and became chapter 54 in the book. A publisher’s note on page 659 says: “From The Whale, the title of a new work by Mr. Melville, now in the press of Harper and Brothers, and now publishing in London by Mr. Bentley.”
The chapter concerns a potential mutiny and the appearance of Moby Dick that thwarted the uprising. It was a first report of the white whale while at sea.
The volume is complete in 865 pages, original green, embossed bindings, green reinforcement tape at the top & bottom of the spine, minor wear to binding edges, library star at the back page, interior pages in very nice, clean condition.
Background: The publication of “The Town-Ho’s Story” in the October 1851 issue of Harper’s New Monthly Magazine is a monumental milestone in American literary history, marking the public’s very first glimpse into what would become Herman Melville’s masterpiece, Moby-Dick. Appearing weeks before the novel's full release under the working title The Whale, this excerpt served as a crucial, self-contained promotional tool that introduced readers to the terrifying, mythic presence of the white whale at sea. Beyond its marketing utility, the event captures a pivotal, anxious moment in publishing history; the accompanying publisher’s note stands as a permanent archival record of Melville’s last-minute title evolution and the frantic, simultaneous transatlantic production between Harper & Brothers in New York and Richard Bentley in London. Furthermore, because Moby-Dick was initially a commercial failure that drove Melville into literary obscurity, this specific magazine printing represents the high-water mark of contemporary public anticipation for his work, making it an indispensable artifact that documents the birth of a foundational text in the American Renaissance.
Note: this same volume sold for $1500 in auction, May, 2025.
Category: Post-Civil War
