Moby Dick. By Herman Melville. Illustrated by Rockwell Kent. First Trade Edition, First Printing. Random House. New York, 1930.

Moby Dick; Or, the Whale, is often cited as the Great American Novel. Many authors in the 20th century, such as  D.H. Lawrence and Ralph Ellison, praised Moby Dick as one of the most important novels ever written. Yet during Melville’s lifetime, the work was mostly disregarded. The literary tastes of the mid-1800s considered the fragmented narrative an unredeemable flaw. A less complete British edition also appeared first, in 1851, which did not include the crucial epilogue describing Ishmael’s, the narrator’s, escape from death, rendering the whole work illogical. This initial reception colored all later reviews, even after the first American edition (which was complete) was published. Ultimately, the work went largely unread until the 1920s when Modernists reconsidered with fondness the fragmented narrative and other masterful qualities, thereby revitalizing interest in the work. Yet it received even greater acknowledgement when Rockwell Kent produced this volume, containing what many believe are the best book illustrations of the 20th century. Kent’s work catapulted Moby Dick to the forefront of American literary criticism and popularized the novel more than any edition published before it. Without Rockwell Kent’s illustrated Moby Dick, we would not name this work among our greatest.

This first trade edition is in good condition. In the original blue cloth boards with bright silver stamped illustrations and labels, good with only rubbing to corners, bumping to spine ends, and minor soiling. Text block about-fine, only rubbing and soiling to edges. Rockwell Kent’s illustrations are superb. With the scarce original dust jacket, poor with chipping, tears, and creases. Front flap fully detached. Still, the dust jacket is quite scarce. Preceded only by the three-volume limited edition published by Lakeside Press.

A good first trade edition of Rockwell Kent’s Moby Dick.