1930 Rare First Edition - Moby Dick by Melville illustrated by Rockwell Kent
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Title: Moby Dick, or The Whale.
Publisher: New York, Random House, 1930. First one-volume illustrated edition by Rockwell Kent.
Language: Text in English.
Size: 7.5 " X 6 ".
Pages: xxxi-822 pages.
Binding: Attractive and near fine binding in the original publisher’s black cloth with striking silver pictorial stamping to front cover and spine. The front board features Kent’s iconic image of the breaching whale, with dramatic typography and nautical elements extending to the spine.(hinges fine) under a protective removable mylar cover. A rare find in such a nice condition!
Content: Near fine content (bright, tight and clean, exlibris of the Private Library of Louis A. Holmes on the first endpaper - as shown).
Illustrations: Profusely illustrated throughout with full-page and in-text woodcut illustrations by Rockwell Kent. All illustrations are complete and showcase Kent’s stark, modernist style which lends a mythic intensity to the narrative.
Estimate: (USD 500–800).
The book: This is the landmark 1930 First trade edition of Moby Dick by Herman Melville, illustrated by Rockwell Kent, and published by Random House following the deluxe 1929 Lakeside Press edition. Revered for bringing Melville’s then-neglected masterpiece back to prominence, this edition combines literary and artistic brilliance. Kent’s dramatic black-and-white woodcuts redefined the visual language of Melville’s epic tale of obsession and the sea. This edition marked a major moment in American publishing, making Kent’s illustrations widely available for the first time.
The author: Herman Melville (1819–1891) was an American novelist, short story writer, and poet of the American Renaissance period. Moby Dick, initially a commercial failure upon its 1851 publication, was later recognized as one of the greatest novels in American literature. The book is a richly symbolic exploration of man, nature, and fate, told through the obsessive quest of Captain Ahab for the titular white whale.
The illustrator: Rockwell Kent (1882–1971) was a prominent American artist, printmaker, and illustrator known for his distinctive woodcut style and adventurous spirit. His illustrations for Moby Dick, first produced for the Lakeside Press edition of 1929, are considered among the most celebrated interpretations of any literary text. Kent’s stark and dynamic imagery brought new life and visual depth to Melville’s prose, and this 1930 Random House edition ensured his work reached a broader public.