{"product_id":"moby-dick-herman-melville-the-folio-society-london-2009-rockwell-kent-illustrations-limited-to-1-750-copies-number-23","title":"Moby-Dick - Herman Melville\nThe Folio Society, London, 2009\u2028Rockwell Kent Illustrations | Limited to 1,750 Copies | Number 23","description":"\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"s1\"\u003eAn extraordinary meeting of literature, illustration, and the art of fine bookmaking.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"isSelectedEnd\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cspan\u003eAuthor:\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cspan\u003e Herman Melville\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cspan\u003ePublisher:\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cspan\u003e The Folio Society, London\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cspan\u003ePublication Year:\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cspan\u003e 2009\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cspan\u003eIllustrator:\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cspan\u003e Rockwell Kent\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cspan\u003eCommentary:\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cspan\u003e Harold Beaver\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cspan\u003eBinding:\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cspan\u003e Hardcover, leather-bound main volume\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cspan\u003eEdition:\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cspan\u003e Limited Edition, numbered 23 of 1,750 copies\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch3\u003e\u003cspan\u003eDescription\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"isSelectedEnd\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003eA magnificent and highly collectible \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cspan\u003e2009 Folio Society Limited Edition of \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cem\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cspan\u003eMoby-Dick\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/em\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cspan\u003e by Herman Melville\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cspan\u003e, featuring the iconic black-and-white illustrations of Rockwell Kent.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"isSelectedEnd\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003eThis 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.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"isSelectedEnd\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cspan\u003eThis is copy number 23 of only 1,750 numbered copies produced.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch3\u003e\u003cspan\u003eEdition Highlights\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cul data-spread=\"false\"\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cspan\u003eLimited Edition:\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cspan\u003e Number 23 of 1,750 copies worldwide.\u003c\/span\u003e\n\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cspan\u003eTwo-volume set:\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cem\u003e\u003cspan\u003eMoby-Dick\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/em\u003e\u003cspan\u003e and \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cem\u003e\u003cspan\u003eMoby-Dick: A Commentary by Harold Beaver\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/em\u003e\u003cspan\u003e.\u003c\/span\u003e\n\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cspan\u003eRockwell Kent illustrations:\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cspan\u003e Featuring the celebrated illustrations originally published in 1930.\u003c\/span\u003e\n\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cspan\u003eLuxury binding:\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cspan\u003e Main volume bound in black leather with silver decorative lettering and detailing.\u003c\/span\u003e\n\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cspan\u003ePremium paper:\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cspan\u003e Printed on Abbey Wove paper by Memminger MedienCentrum, Germany.\u003c\/span\u003e\n\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cspan\u003eOriginal slipcase:\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cspan\u003e Black presentation slipcase with vertically arranged silver lettering.\u003c\/span\u003e\n\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cspan\u003eBeautiful production:\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cspan\u003e Distinctive silver page edges, elegant typography, and outstanding craftsmanship.\u003c\/span\u003e\n\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003c\/ul\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"s2\"\u003eThe Book That Helped Give a Forgotten Masterpiece a Second Life\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"s3\"\u003eThere are books that survive their age, and there are books that help define another. The story of Rockwell Kent's \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"s1\"\u003eMoby-Dick\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"s3\"\u003e belongs to both.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"s3\"\u003eWhen 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, \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"s1\"\u003eMoby-Dick\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"s3\"\u003e was undergoing a transformation from a neglected nineteenth-century novel into an acknowledged American masterpiece.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"s3\"\u003eKent'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.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"s3\"\u003eHis illustrations became so closely associated with the novel that they helped shape how generations of readers imagined it.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"s3\"\u003eIn an amusing twist of publishing history, the original Random House trade edition of Kent's \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"s1\"\u003eMoby-Dick\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"s3\"\u003eappeared 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.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"s3\"\u003eIt is difficult to imagine a more curious tribute to the extraordinary influence of an illustrator.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"s2\"\u003eA Modern Heir to a Legendary Edition\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"s3\"\u003eThe 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.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"s3\"\u003eNearly eight decades later, The Folio Society returned to this celebrated artistic partnership with the present magnificent limited edition, published in London in 2009.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"s2\"\u003eThis is copy number 23 of only 1,750 numbered copies.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"s3\"\u003eThe notably early limitation number provides an especially pleasing detail for the collector who appreciates the individual character of a numbered edition.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"s3\"\u003eThe 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.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"s3\"\u003eThe volume is accompanied by Harold Beaver's \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"s1\"\u003eMoby-Dick: A Commentary\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"s3\"\u003e, an illuminating companion that explores the literary, historical, and intellectual depths of Melville's novel.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"s3\"\u003eTogether, the two volumes are presented in the publisher's original black case, elegantly lettered in silver.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"s2\"\u003eThe Art of Rockwell Kent\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"s3\"\u003eWhat distinguishes Kent's interpretation is its profound understanding of the sea—not simply as a setting, but as an elemental force.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"s3\"\u003eKent 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.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"s3\"\u003eHis 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.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"s3\"\u003eThe images do not merely accompany the text. They enter into a dialogue with it.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"s3\"\u003eThis Folio Society edition preserves that remarkable visual interpretation in a handsome production worthy of its historical importance.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"s2\"\u003eBibliographical Description\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"s3\"\u003eMELVILLE, Herman. \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"s1\"\u003eMoby-Dick; or, The Whale.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"s3\"\u003e Illustrated by Rockwell Kent. London: The Folio Society, 2009.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"s3\"\u003eLimited edition of 1,750 numbered copies, this being \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"s2\"\u003eNo. 23\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"s3\"\u003e.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"s3\"\u003eQuarto. 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.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"s3\"\u003eAccompanied by \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"s1\"\u003eMoby-Dick: A Commentary\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"s3\"\u003e by Harold Beaver, similarly published by The Folio Society, London, 2009.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"s3\"\u003eTwo volumes, housed together in the original publisher's black presentation case.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"s2\"\u003eCondition\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"s3\"\u003eAn 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.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"s2\"\u003eA Collector's Perspective\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"s3\"\u003eThe 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.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"s3\"\u003eThe early-numbered copy, \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"s2\"\u003e23\/1750\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"s3\"\u003e, adds a particularly appealing individual detail to an already distinguished production.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"s3\"\u003eMore than a handsome reading copy, this is a celebration of a work whose literary and visual identities have become inseparable.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"s2\"\u003eA striking example of modern fine bookmaking, and a worthy addition to a serious collection of illustrated classics, maritime literature, or twentieth-century book art.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Sireena's Vintage Gallery","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":67906973958425,"sku":null,"price":0.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0793\/8995\/0233\/files\/EC00EADF-35C0-4B8B-BC4F-17B6F5DEF22A.jpg?v=1792801005","url":"https:\/\/sireenasvintagegallery.com\/products\/moby-dick-herman-melville-the-folio-society-london-2009-rockwell-kent-illustrations-limited-to-1-750-copies-number-23","provider":"Sireena's Vintage Gallery","version":"1.0","type":"link"}