Illustrations for Moby Dick - photo 1
Illustrations for Moby Dick - photo 2
Illustrations for Moby Dick - photo 3
Illustrations for Moby Dick - photo 4
Illustrations for Moby Dick - photo 5

Illustrations for Moby Dick

Lot 693
14.09.2022 10:00UTC -05:00
Classic
Sold
$ 201 600
AuctioneerCHRISTIE'S
Event locationUSA, New York
Archive
The auction is completed. No bids can be placed anymore.
Archive
ID 797332
Lot 693 | Illustrations for Moby Dick
Estimate value
$ 15 000 – 25 000
KENT, Rockwell (1882-1971). Original set of proofs of the illustrations and decorations for the Lakeside Press edition of Melville's Moby Dick, or The Whale (Chicago: R.E. Donnelly & Sons Co., The Lakeside Press, 1930).

Massive, complete suite of 289 separate prints for Rockwell Kent's Moby-Dick, including nine not published in the edition. Moby Dick was unquestionably Kent's magnum opus, executed at the highpoint of his career. The book, designed by William A. Kittredge, printer at the Lakeside press, was the "most elaborate physical presentation which had been accorded to Moby-Dick up to this time and one of the finest examples of bookmaking to be found among all the editions of his works. Kent's illustrations are now perhaps the best known illustrations for Moby-Dick and are certainly among the most effective" (Tanselle). The three-volume Lakeside edition, of which 1,000 copies were printed, was one of the AIGA's "Fifty Books of the Year" for 1930 and was the only example of Kent's work chosen for inclusion in the 1961 exhibition at Boston's Museum of Fine Arts. Mr. Dan Burne Jones, author of The Prints of Rockwell Kent (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1976) reports that a total of five sets of the Moby Dick illustrations were prepared. In one set, owned by the printer Kittredge, the prints were individually signed. The others, he believes, were sold in the 'forties, two at Hanzel Galleries in Chicago. See Eleanor M. Garvey, The Artist & The Book, 1860-1960 (Boston, 1961), no. 140; G. Thomas Tanselle, A Checklist of Editions of Moby-Dick, 1851-1976 (Chicago, 1976), no. 17.

289 photolithographed prints with wide margins, printed on heavy stock, various sizes, tipped into 148 mats which feature from one to four subjects each. Mats are 490 x 355mm. Includes full-page proofs of each of the three title-pages, 26 full or three-quarter page illustrations and 252 other vignettes, head- and tailpieces, as well as nine subjects not used in the final edition (mats disordered; count corresponds to manuscript inventory laid in). Housed in three custom solander cases with paper spine labels and pictorial cover labels. Provenance: The Brooklyn Public Library, purchased in July 1942 (sold at Christie's New York, May 14, 1985, lot 400) – Christie’s East, 24 May 1995, lot 146; acquired by the late owner at this sale.
Place of origin:USA
Category:Book and magazine graphics
Address of auction CHRISTIE'S
20 Rockefeller Plaza
10020 New York
USA
Preview
01.09.2022 – 14.09.2022
Phone +1 212 636 2000
Fax +1 212 636 4930
Email
4FQ.AYGKAGLUQ@FO3G@
Conditions of purchaseConditions of purchase
Shipping Postal service
Courier service
pickup by yourself
Payment methods Wire Transfer
Business hoursBusiness hours
Mo 09:30 – 17:00   
Tu 09:30 – 17:00   
We 09:30 – 17:00   
Th 09:30 – 17:00   
Fr 09:30 – 17:00   
Sa closed
Su closed

Related terms

Frequently asked questions

First of all, you should register to be able to purchase at auction. After confirming your email address, enter your personal information in your user profile, such as your first name, last name, and mail address. Choose a lot from the upcoming auction and the maximum amount you want to place on it. After confirmation of your choice, we will send your application by e-mail to the appropriate auction house. If the auction house accepts a request, it will participate in the auction. You can view the current status of a bid at any time in your personal account in the "Bids" section.
Auctions are performed by auction houses and each of the auction houses describes their terms of auction. You can see the texts in the section "Auction information".
The results of the auction are published within a few days after the end of the auction. In the top menu of the site, find the tab "Auctions". Click on it and you will be on the auction catalog page, where you can easily find the category "Results". After opening it, select the desired auction from the list, enter and view the current status of the interested lot.
The information about the auction winners is confidential. The auction winner will receive a direct notification from the auction house responsible with instructions for further action: an invoice for payment and the manner in which the goods will be received.
Each of the auction houses has its own payment policy for the won lots. All auction houses accept bank transfers, most of them accept credit card payments. In the near future you will find detailed information for each case in the section "Auction information" on the page of the auction catalog and the lot.
Shipment of the won lot depends on its size. Small items can be delivered by post. Larger lots are sent by courier. Employees of the auction houses will offer you a wide range to choose from.
No. The archive serves as a reference for the study of auction prices, photographs and descriptions of works of art.
?>