The Sale of The Whale, Herman Melville at Christie’s

While Herman Melville worked as a crewmember aboard a whaling ship known as the Acushnet, he was given a book about a ship known as the Essex. The Essex had set out for whale hunting in August of 1819, but its crew found little in the way of bounty until directed deep into the South Pacific islands. On November 20, 1820, the ship was struck twice by an 85-foot-long sperm whale. The ship was damaged, and the crew decided to head toward the western coast of South America, more than 4,000 miles away. Due to starvation and disease, only five crew members made it back to land, but the tale itself was used as source material for Melville’s seminal work, Moby Dick. Many rare editions of this book (also known simply as The Whale) and others are available for bid in the Herman Melville Collection of William S. Reese, offered by Christie’s. 

Beyond books, the auction also offers many other Melville-related collectibles, such as handwritten letters by Herman to his brother Allan. There is also the complete collection of Rockwell Kent illustration proofs for the Lakeside Press edition of Moby Dick, the original Melville family shop sign advertising “SILK and FANCY FRENCH GOODS,” a log of the whaleship Acushnet, on which Melville had served, and more. View any of these lots and register to bid by visiting Christie’s.