Mardi, the Bradley Martin copy - photo 1

Mardi, the Bradley Martin copy

Sold
$ 11 340
Auction dateClassic
15.06.2023 10:00UTC -04:00
Auctioneer
CHRISTIE'S
Event location
USA, New York
Archive
The auction is completed. No bids can be placed anymore.
Archive
ID 967663
Lot 119 | Mardi, the Bradley Martin copy
Mardi, the Bradley Martin copy

Herman Melville, 1849

MELVILLE, Herman (1819-1891). Mardi: and A Voyage Thither. New York: Harper & Brothers, Publishers, 1849.



The Bradley Martin copy. A crisp, clean copy of the first American edition. Melville would describe Mardi in a 25 March 1848 letter to his English publisher John Murray, explaining his decision to write a romance rather than provide "documentary evidence" of his time at sea: "My object in now writing you — I should have done so ere this — is to inform you of a change in my determinations. To be blunt: the work I shall next publish will in downright earnest [be] a 'Romance of Polynesian Adventure'— But why this? The truth is, Sir, that the reiterated reputation of being a romancer in disguise has at last pricked me into a resolution to show those who may take any interest in the matter, that a real romance of mine is no Typee or Omoo, & is made of different stuff altogether [...] My romance I assure you is no dishwater nor its model borrowed from the Circulating Library. It is something new I assure you, original if nothing more." Melville closes the letter by chastising Murray: "[Y]ou ask again for 'documentary evidence' of my having been in the South Seas [...] Bless my soul, Sir, will you Britons not credit than American can be a gentleman & have read the Waverly Novels, tho every digit may have been in the tar-bucket?" (Horth, Correspondence, p.105-107). BAL 136858.



Two volumes, octavo (187 x 119mm). 8 pp. of adverts at rear of vol. 2 (marginal tear to dedication leaf in vol. 1 where partially unopened). Original green blind-stamped cloth, yellow coated endpapers (a little faint spotting to cloth); modern slipcase. Provenance: Edward Taylor (bookplate to front pastedown) – H. Bradley Martin (bookplate to front fly leaf; his sale, Sotheby's New York, 30 & 31 January 1990, lot 2148).

Artist:Herman Melville (1819 - 1891)
Auction house category:Printed books
Address of auction CHRISTIE'S
20 Rockefeller Plaza
10020 New York
USA
Preview
15.06.2023
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

More from Creator

The Piazza Tales
The Piazza Tales
$100
Moby-Dick
Moby-Dick
$100
Battle-Pieces
Battle-Pieces
$100
Israel Potter and Benito Cereno in Putnam's Monthly
Israel Potter and Benito Cereno in Putnam's Monthly
$3 000
Criticism on Art by William Hazlitt
Criticism on Art by William Hazlitt
$7 000
Typee, inscribed, the Bradley Martin copy
Typee, inscribed, the Bradley Martin copy
$80 000
Narrative of a Four Months' Residence Among the Natives, a family copy
Narrative of a Four Months' Residence Among the Natives, a family copy
$100
The Piazza Tales, inscribed by Allan Melville
The Piazza Tales, inscribed by Allan Melville
$3 500

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.