Is My Copy of Moby-Dick; or, The Whale a First Edition?

The points of issue

• US first (Harper & Brothers, New York, 14 November 1851): titled 'Moby-Dick; or, The Whale,' issued in a single volume in a printing of about 2,915 copies; it CONTAINS the Epilogue (in which Ishmael survives) plus roughly thirty-five further passages that the earlier London edition omitted or altered
• First-issue copies are bound in publisher's cloth found in several colors (recorded examples include black, blue, grey, green, purple-brown, red, and slate) with NO established priority among them; orange-coated endpapers are the usual and most-recognized state, though copies with other endpapers — including marbled — are recorded without priority
• UK first (Richard Bentley, London, 18 October 1851): titled 'The Whale,' three volumes, about 500 copies, sea-blue cloth boards with cream spines stamped in gilt with a whale device; set from Harper proof-sheets and expurgated, with the Epilogue dropped

How Harper & Brothers marked a first edition

• Year code (J skipped): M=1912, N=1913 ... Z=1925, then A=1926, B=1927 ... Z=1950 (cycles).
• Code reads as two letters (month-year), e.g. 'K-Z' = October 1925.

Full Harper & Brothers first-edition guide →

How to verify your copy, step by step

1. Find the copyright page — the verso (back) of the title page.
2. Check for a number line or dated printing — the lowest number present is the printing; a dated first printing with no later printings listed is the tell.
3. Rule out a book-club edition — a blind-stamp on the rear board or a jacket with no printed price marks a book-club copy.
4. Photograph four things — the front cover, spine, title page, and copyright page — the standard record for identification.

The dust jacket

For a collectible first edition the dust jacket matters as much as the book. Confirm the jacket is present and unclipped — the printed price should still be at the corner of the flap (a clipped corner or a price-less flap can indicate a book-club issue). First-state jackets can differ from later ones in the cover art, blurbs, or review quotations; where a specific first-state jacket point is known for this title it is noted above.

Binding & format

Where multiple bindings exist, the hardcover trade issue is usually (but not always) the precedence copy — confirm against the points above. Later printings often show cheaper cloth, thinner boards, or simplified spine stamping. A simultaneous signed or limited issue, when one exists, is a distinct state from the trade first.

Is this the true first?

This is a REVERSE-PRECEDENCE case: the London Bentley 'The Whale' (three volumes, 18 October 1851) PRECEDES the New York Harper 'Moby-Dick' (14 November 1851) by about four weeks and is the earliest by date. Bentley, however, set his text from Harper proof-sheets and — without Melville's knowledge — expurgated it and dropped the Epilogue, so the Harper edition is the first COMPLETE and textually fuller text (Epilogue plus roughly thirty-five restored/uncut passages). Collectors seek both: 'The Whale' as the date-first (and far scarcer, at about 500 copies), 'Moby-Dick' as the first complete text.

Telling it from reprints & book-club editions

Any single-volume 'The Whale,' or any post-1851 'Moby-Dick,' is later. The three-volume format identifies the UK first; the single-volume Harper & Brothers 1851 imprint with the Epilogue present identifies the US first. Orange endpapers are the usual Harper state but are NOT the sole determinant — genuine firsts with marbled or other endpapers exist without priority — so identify by imprint, single-volume format, and the presence of the Epilogue rather than by endpaper color alone.P-036778

Frequently asked questions

Is my copy of Moby-Dick; or, The Whale a first edition?

A first edition of Moby-Dick; or, The Whale by Herman Melville (Harper & Brothers) is identified by: US first (Harper & Brothers, New York, 14 November 1851): titled 'Moby-Dick; or, The Whale,' issued in a single volume in a printing of about 2,915 copies; it CONTAINS the Epilogue (in which Ishmael survives) plus roughly thirty-five further passages that the earlier London edition omitted or altered.

How do I tell the first printing from a later one?

Check the copyright page. A stated first edition, a number line ending in 1, or a dated first printing with no later printings listed is the key. This is a REVERSE-PRECEDENCE case: the London Bentley 'The Whale' (three volumes, 18 October 1851) PRECEDES the New York Harper 'Moby-Dick' (14 November 1851) by about four weeks and is the earliest by date.

Is the book-club edition the same as the first?

Any single-volume 'The Whale,' or any post-1851 'Moby-Dick,' is later. The three-volume format identifies the UK first; the single-volume Harper & Brothers 1851 imprint with the Epilogue present identifies the US first. Orange endpapers are the usual Harper state but are NOT the sole determinant — genuine firsts with marbled or other endpapers exist without priority — so identify by imprint, single-volume format, and the presence of the Epilogue rather than by endpaper color alone.

I have a first edition of Moby-Dick; or, The Whale — what should I do?

First, document the copy: photograph the copyright page (the number line and any edition statement) and the dust-jacket flap. Confirm the points of issue above against your copy, and decode the printing with the free First Edition Checker. Clearing out books? I take them as a free donation and make sure collectible copies are identified, not discarded: free pickup in the Albuquerque metro (scheduled by route), the 24/7 drop box at 5445 Edith Blvd NE, or donor-paid mail-in from anywhere in the US. Questions? Call or text 505-250-3804.

Glossary

First edition

Every copy printed from the first setting of type. Collectors usually want the first edition, first printing (the true first).

First printing / impression

A single press run from that setting. The first printing is the earliest and most desirable; later printings are still the first edition but not the true first.

Number line (printer's key)

A row of numbers on the copyright page (e.g. 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1). The lowest number present is the printing — a line including 1 marks a first printing (Random House deliberately ends at 2).

Points of issue

Specific physical details — a stated edition, a number line, a typo, a jacket state — that identify the true first printing.

Book-club edition (BCE)

A reprint made for a book club. Tells include a blind-stamped dot or square on the rear board and a dust jacket with no printed price. Not the true first.

First thus

The first appearance of a particular version (first paperback, first illustrated, first U.S. printing) — a first of that kind, not the first edition of the work.