Redburn, uncut in original wrappers - photo 1
Redburn, uncut in original wrappers - photo 2

Redburn, uncut in original wrappers

Lot 120
15.06.2023 10:00UTC -05:00
Classic
Sold
$ 18 900
AuctioneerCHRISTIE'S
Event locationUSA, New York
Archive
The auction is completed. No bids can be placed anymore.
Archive
ID 967562
Lot 120 | Redburn, uncut in original wrappers
Estimate value
$ 15 000 – 25 000
Redburn, uncut in original wrappers

Herman Melville, 1849

MELVILLE, Herman (1819-1891). Redburn: His First Voyage. New York: Harpers & Brothers, Publishers, 1849.



Extremely scarce in original wrappers. The first American edition of Melville's autobiographical account of a young man's first voyage. The present copy is the only one recorded in RBH: it last sold in these rooms in 2004. More than half—414, to be exact—of the 750 copies printed by Harper would be remaindered.



Based on Melville's voyage to Liverpool in 1839 and designed to be a simple and popular adventure story, the manuscript for Redburn was completed in less than ten weeks and, without any attempt at polishing it, he submitted it to his American publisher Harper & Brothers for publication. After checking the proof sheets, which came out in August, he sent them along to Bentley for publication in England, where it appeared six weeks before the American edition. Melville alluded to Redburn for the first time in a 5 June 1849 letter to his English publisher Richard Bentley, in which he wrote that the novel would be practical rather than follow the "unwise" course of his previous novel, Mardi, which had been harshly criticized. He continues:



“I have now in preparation a thing of a widely different cast from Mardi—a plain, straightforward, amusing narrative of personal experience—the son of a gentleman on his first voyage to sea as a sailor—no metaphysics, no conic-sections, nothing but cakes & ale. I have shifted my ground from the South Seas to a different quarter of the globe—nearer home—and what I write I have almost wholly picked up by my own observations under comical circumstances.” (Horth, p.132)



Melville adopted this more commercial approach to writing as his family obligations increased and his working conditions became more difficult. Living with him in the small house in New York City were his wife, child, mother, sisters, and his brother Allan with his own wife and child. Melville later portrayed himself at this time as being forced to write "with duns all around him, & looking over the back of his chair—& perching on his pen & diving in his inkstand—like the devils about St. Anthony." Two years later Bentley would publish his masterpiece The Whale. Advertisements are paged 9-11 and [1]-2; BAL describes a total of 14 pages of ads for the first printing: [i-iv] and [1]-10. Leaves paged 9-11 are conjugate with the final text leaves. BAL 13659.



Octavo (193 x 135mm). Uncut. 6 pp. of adverts at rear (last gathering nearly detached, some curling to page edges, spotting internally). Original printed wrappers (chipping to spine, some fraying and soiling to wrappers, rear wrapper neatly reinforced on verso); modern clamshell box. Provenance: Christie's New York, 16 December 2004, lot 154.

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
Piazza Tales, the Goelet-Groves copy
Piazza Tales, the Goelet-Groves copy
$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

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.
×
Save this search query and get timely email alerts! It is simple and very effective.
train bataillon
Create a Search Subscription