Books

New York: Dix & Edwards, 1855. Hardcover. Very Good. Hardcover. Very scarce. The first appearance of Melville’s novella, Benito Cereno, a fictionalized account of a revolt on a Spanish slave ship captained by Cereno. It was published anonymously in the magazine in three parts. A revised version of the story was included in his first and only short story collection, The Piazza Tales, published in the United States in May 1856 and in England that June. It was never reprinted during Melville’s lifetime. This novella has often been considered one of Melville’s finest achievements. It appears in the magazine on pages 353-367, 459-471, and 633-644. Bound in publisher’s original green cloth with embossed design and gilt titling to spine. Minor wear to edges of boards, chipping to cloth along spine ends, fading to spine and edges of boards, and a few discolored spots to spine and boards. Ex-library marking that has been covered over to foot of spine, library call number stamped to…

The Piazza Tales is a collection of short stories by American writer Herman Melville, first published in 1856. The collection includes the following stories: "The Piazza", "Bartleby, the Scrivener", "Benito Cereno", "The Lightning-Rod Man", "The Encantadas", and "The Bell-Tower".