Moby-Dick - Herman Melville The Folio Society, London, 2009
Rockwell Kent Illustrations | Limited to 1,750 Copies | Number 23

An extraordinary meeting of literature, illustration, and the art of fine bookmaking.

Author: Herman Melville
Publisher: The Folio Society, London
Publication Year: 2009
Illustrator: Rockwell Kent
Commentary: Harold Beaver
Binding: Hardcover, leather-bound main volume
Edition: Limited Edition, numbered 23 of 1,750 copies

Description

A magnificent and highly collectible 2009 Folio Society Limited Edition of Moby-Dick by Herman Melville, featuring the iconic black-and-white illustrations of Rockwell Kent.

This beautifully produced two-volume set includes the complete novel and a separate companion volume containing commentary by Harold Beaver, all housed in the publisher's original black slipcase.

This is copy number 23 of only 1,750 numbered copies produced.

Edition Highlights

• Limited Edition: Number 23 of 1,750 copies worldwide.
• Two-volume set: Moby-Dick and Moby-Dick: A Commentary by Harold Beaver.
• Rockwell Kent illustrations: Featuring the celebrated illustrations originally published in 1930.
• Luxury binding: Main volume bound in black leather with silver decorative lettering and detailing.
• Premium paper: Printed on Abbey Wove paper by Memminger MedienCentrum, Germany.
• Original slipcase: Black presentation slipcase with vertically arranged silver lettering.
• Beautiful production: Distinctive silver page edges, elegant typography, and outstanding craftsmanship.

The Book That Helped Give a Forgotten Masterpiece a Second Life

There are books that survive their age, and there are books that help define another. The story of Rockwell Kent's Moby-Dick belongs to both.

When Melville died in 1891, his great maritime novel had long since fallen from popular favour. Its eventual revival was one of the remarkable literary rediscoveries of the twentieth century. By 1930, when Rockwell Kent's now-legendary illustrations appeared, Moby-Dick was undergoing a transformation from a neglected nineteenth-century novel into an acknowledged American masterpiece.

Kent's contribution was extraordinary. Rather than merely decorating Melville's prose, he created a visual world of immense, almost supernatural power: towering ships, luminous seas, ominous skies, and the terrible grandeur of the white whale.

His illustrations became so closely associated with the novel that they helped shape how generations of readers imagined it.

In an amusing twist of publishing history, the original Random House trade edition of Kent's Moby-Dickappeared without Herman Melville's name on its cover or dust jacket. So completely had the publisher embraced Kent's artistic achievement that the author himself was inadvertently overlooked.

It is difficult to imagine a more curious tribute to the extraordinary influence of an illustrator.

A Modern Heir to a Legendary Edition

The original 1930 Lakeside Press edition, produced in three volumes and limited to 1,000 sets, is now regarded as a landmark of American book design. Its striking black-and-silver binding and unusual aluminum slipcase made it an object of artistic significance in its own right.

Nearly eight decades later, The Folio Society returned to this celebrated artistic partnership with the present magnificent limited edition, published in London in 2009.

This is copy number 23 of only 1,750 numbered copies.

The notably early limitation number provides an especially pleasing detail for the collector who appreciates the individual character of a numbered edition.

The substantial principal volume is finely bound in smooth-grain black leather, its decorative silver blocking echoing the stark beauty of Kent's illustrations. Silvered page edges catch the light, while the typography and carefully selected Abbey Wove paper complement the monumental character of the work.

The volume is accompanied by Harold Beaver's Moby-Dick: A Commentary, an illuminating companion that explores the literary, historical, and intellectual depths of Melville's novel.

Together, the two volumes are presented in the publisher's original black case, elegantly lettered in silver.

The Art of Rockwell Kent

What distinguishes Kent's interpretation is its profound understanding of the sea—not simply as a setting, but as an elemental force.

Kent was himself an experienced voyager to remote northern regions, and his personal familiarity with isolation, harsh landscapes, and the overwhelming scale of nature lends his images a particular authority.

His dramatic use of black and white creates a world suspended between realism and mythology. In these illustrations, the Pequod is more than a ship, the ocean more than water, and the white whale more than an animal.

The images do not merely accompany the text. They enter into a dialogue with it.

This Folio Society edition preserves that remarkable visual interpretation in a handsome production worthy of its historical importance.

Bibliographical Description

MELVILLE, Herman. Moby-Dick; or, The Whale. Illustrated by Rockwell Kent. London: The Folio Society, 2009.

Limited edition of 1,750 numbered copies, this being No. 23.

Quarto. Profusely illustrated in black and white after Rockwell Kent's celebrated designs. Set in Fournier type and printed on Abbey Wove paper by Memminger MedienCentrum, Germany. Finely bound in black smooth-grain leather with decorative silver blocking and silvered top edge.

Accompanied by Moby-Dick: A Commentary by Harold Beaver, similarly published by The Folio Society, London, 2009.

Two volumes, housed together in the original publisher's black presentation case.

Condition

An attractive example, retaining its original companion commentary and presentation case. The bindings appear well preserved, with bright silver decoration and clean-looking interior pages in the photographs supplied. Please consult the detailed images for a closer assessment of the binding surfaces, page edges, and case.

A Collector's Perspective

The fascination of this edition lies in the convergence of three distinct histories: Melville's extraordinary literary afterlife, Rockwell Kent's transformation of the novel into a masterpiece of illustrated bookmaking, and The Folio Society's dedication to preserving both traditions.

The early-numbered copy, 23/1750, adds a particularly appealing individual detail to an already distinguished production.

More than a handsome reading copy, this is a celebration of a work whose literary and visual identities have become inseparable.

A striking example of modern fine bookmaking, and a worthy addition to a serious collection of illustrated classics, maritime literature, or twentieth-century book art.