Is My 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

• 1912-1949: month/year letter code on copyright page. Month: A=Jan, B=Feb, C=Mar, D=Apr, E=May, F=Jun, G=Jul, H=Aug, I=Sep, K=Oct, L=Nov, M=Dec (J skipped).
• Year code (J skipped): M=1912, N=1913 ... Z=1925, then A=1926, B=1927 ... Z=1950 (cycles).

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 value both: 'The Whale' as the date-first (and far scarcer, at about 500 copies), 'Moby-Dick' as the first complete text.P-036777

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 — an unclipped, priced jacket matters. Confirm the points of issue above against your copy, and use the free First Edition Checker to decode the printing. To sell, the author’s collecting guide covers the market. And if you are clearing books in the Albuquerque area, the New Mexico Literacy Project offers free pickup, any condition, and makes sure collectible copies are identified rather than discarded.

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.