1920 Rare First Illustrated Edition by Charles O. Golden - Moby Dick

Author: Herman Melville. Illustrated by Charles O. Golden.
Title: Moby Dick or The White Whale.
Publisher: Philadelphia, Macrae-Smith Company, The Fairmount Classics, no date (1920).  First Illustrated Edition by Charles O. Golden.
Language: Text in English.
Size: 7.5" x 5.5". 
Pages: 633 pages.
Binding: Attractive and very good original publisher’s decorated blue cloth binding, with striking gilt-lettered title and elaborate gilt border design framing a color illustration on the front board (hinges fine, overall slightly worn and scuffed - as shown, spine faded -as shown) under a protective removable mylar cover.
Content:  Very good content (bright, tight and clean, rare light foxing or toning - as shown, school presentation plate on the front pastedown (“Presented to Richard Richardson by The Parent-Teacher Association, Montebello School, June 1927”) - as shown). 
Illustrations: Illustrated with six full-page black-and-white plates by Charles O. Golden, including dramatic depictions of Ahab, the crew, and sea scenes. The plates retain strong tonal contrasts, enhancing the narrative’s intensity.

Estimate: (Scarce with no or few other copies available for sale worldwide).

The book: A scarce 1927 Fairmount Classics edition of Herman Melville’s Moby Dick or The White Whale, attractively illustrated by Charles O. Golden for the first time. This edition brings Melville’s monumental novel to life through expressive illustrations capturing both the psychological depth and the maritime drama of the whaling voyage. Published by Macrae-Smith, this edition exemplifies the publisher’s attempt to make enduring literary works accessible to school and general audiences, often chosen as presentation or prize books.

The author: Herman Melville (1819–1891) was an American novelist, essayist, and poet, best remembered today for Moby-Dick (1851). Initially underappreciated, Melville’s work later came to be recognized as a cornerstone of American literature, blending adventure, philosophy, and allegory in his exploration of humanity’s struggle against nature and fate.

The illustrator: Charles O. Golden was an illustrator active in the early 20th century, whose dramatic pen-and-ink and wash drawings brought renewed vitality to classics of literature. His plates in this Fairmount Classics edition of Moby Dick capture both the grandeur of the sea and the inner turmoil of Melville’s unforgettable characters.