Is My Copy of Narrative of the Most Extraordinary and Distressing Shipwreck of the Whale-Ship Essex, of Nantucket a First Edition?

The points of issue

• The true first edition is a slim volume of 128 pages in 12mo, published by W. B. Gilley at 92 Broadway, New York, only months after Chase's rescue and return to Nantucket, and it is standardly cited in the trade under Sabin's Bibliotheca Americana number 12189
• The printed text includes an errata note asking readers to excuse mistakes 'which have resulted from the haste in transcribing the original narrative.' Herman Melville acquired and heavily annotated a copy of this exact narrative shortly before he began writing Moby-Dick, cementing the book's importance as a documentary source for that novel's climax

How to confirm the first-printing statement

Publishers stated first printings differently by era. The decisive tells are a printed “First Edition/First Printing” statement, a number line whose lowest number is 1 (Random House ends at 2), or a dated first printing with no later printings listed. Paste your copyright page into the number-line decoder.

How to verify your copy, step by step

1. Find the copyright page — the verso (back) of the title page.
2. Confirm the first-edition statement — look for “First Edition,” “First Printing,” or the publisher’s equivalent wording.
3. 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.
4. 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.
5. 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.

Telling it from reprints & book-club editions

Modern editions sometimes print Chase's 1821 text together with supplementary survivor accounts and transcriptions of Melville's own marginal notes on the narrative; that added apparatus is modern editorial material and does not appear in the 1821 first edition.P-036052

Frequently asked questions

Is my copy of Narrative of the Most Extraordinary and Distressing Shipwreck of the Whale-Ship Essex, of Nantucket a first edition?

A first edition of Narrative of the Most Extraordinary and Distressing Shipwreck of the Whale-Ship Essex, of Nantucket by Owen Chase (W. B. Gilley) is identified by: The true first edition is a slim volume of 128 pages in 12mo, published by W. B. Gilley at 92 Broadway, New York, only months after Chase's rescue and return to Nantucket, and it is standardly cited in the trade under Sabin's Bibliotheca Americana number 12189.

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.

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

Modern editions sometimes print Chase's 1821 text together with supplementary survivor accounts and transcriptions of Melville's own marginal notes on the narrative; that added apparatus is modern editorial material and does not appear in the 1821 first edition.

I have a first edition of Narrative of the Most Extraordinary and Distressing Shipwreck of the Whale-Ship Essex, of Nantucket — 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.