Books

Garden City, NY: Garden City Publishing Co. | printed at the Lakeside Press (Chicago), 1937. Hard Cover. Good binding/Poor dust jacket. Octavo. xxxi, [1], 822, [6] pp., illus. Self-styled, "De Luxe Edition." Here signed by Kent on the front free endpper. As issued, in publisher's cloth with Kent illustration in gilt on the front cover. Spine partially sunned; unfortunate predation to the cloth of the back joint, otherwise, binding is quite fresh with only light fraying at the tail of the spine; bookplate on the front pastedown; contents clean and binding solid; dust jacket with large loss of the spine and a portion of the rear panel; front flap is separated but present, all held together in a mylar cover. Poor to Fair jacket. Tanselle, in his A Checklist of Editions of Moby-Dick, 1851-1976, writes of the first, quarto edition of Kent's work: "The most elaborate physical presentation which had been accorded to Moby-Dick up to this time, and one of the finest examples of…

"Moby-Dick; or, The Whale," penned by Herman Melville in 1851, stands as a monumental work in American literature, melding adventure, philosophical inquiry, and deep symbolism. At its core, the novel narrates the obsessive quest of Captain Ahab, the monomaniacal commander of the whaling ship Pequod, to exact vengeance on Moby Dick, a gargantuan white sperm whale. Ahab's pursuit of the elusive leviathan, which had previously maimed him, becomes a profound exploration of ambition, madness, and humanity's struggle against the unfathomable forces of nature. The story is recounted by Ishmael, a sailor aboard the Pequod, who serves not only as a narrator but also as a philosophical observer, pondering the mysteries of existence and the interconnectedness of mankind and the natural world. The narrative weaves together Ishmael's reflections, the diverse tales of the ship's crew, and detailed expositions on whaling, creating a rich tapestry that transcends the conventions of its adventure story framework. "Moby-Dick" is celebrated for its ambitious scope, intricate symbolism, and the complexity of its themes. Melville's use of language is both grandiose and penetrating, capable of shifting from technical descriptions of whaling to eloquent meditations on the human condition. The novel's famous opening line, "Call me Ishmael," signals the beginning of a journey not just across the seas but into the depths of the soul and the paradoxes of existence. The fame of "Moby-Dick" lies not only in its narrative audacity but in its capacity to provoke endless interpretation. Ahab's quest against Moby Dick has been read as an allegory for the hubris of man, the inscrutability of fate, and the eternal battle against nature's indomitable will. Over time, the novel has transcended its initial lukewarm reception to become a cornerstone of American literature, revered for its profound insights into the human psyche and the darkness and light that reside within the human heart.