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Tag: Herman Melville
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Around the Auction World: September 2022
What were the top stories in the auction industry this month? Illustrations for Moby-Dick. Image courtesy of Christie’s. Auction Highlights Book lovers flocked to Christie’s for a timed auction of all things Herman Melville this month. The auction house presented a timed sale of the Herman Melville Collection of William…
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A Whale of a Sale: Christie's Auctions the Herman Melville Collection of William S. Reese
Christie's Herman Melville Collection of William S. Reese sale, held online from September 1 through September 14, 2022, made a big splash with bibliophiles worldwide. The auction featured 100 lots related to American novelist Herman Melville (1819 - 1981) from the collection of William S. Reese (1955 - 2018). Reese…
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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…
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Freeman’s to Offer First Edition Copy of ‘The Great Gatsby’ in Upcoming Sale
On a ship crossing the Atlantic Ocean during the 1920s, Theodor Liedemedt worked as a musician to entertain the passengers. He happened to meet American author F. Scott Fitzgerald. Though there is little official record of their friendship— Liedemedt does not appear in any of Fitzgerald’s surviving letters or journals—…
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Upcoming Potter & Potter Auction Focuses on Important Books and Manuscripts From Around the World
Georges Henri Victor Collot was a French explorer, colonial official, soldier, and spy. Under the command of Pierre Adet, who was then French Minister to the United States, Collot set out on a secret reconnaissance to assess the Ohio and Mississippi valleys. His mission was to survey the military capacity…
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First Edition Copy of Moby-Dick and Early Work by John Steinbeck Highlight Literature Sale
Herman Melville's tale of revenge on the high seas, Moby-Dick; or The Whale, was not an instant success. Melville took a year longer to write it than expected, and it arrived with mixed reviews, including particularly unfavorable ones from America. A copy of the first American edition of Melville's Moby-Dick…
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Two Books Once Owned by Herman Melville Come to Swann
Even if you’ve never read Moby Dick, you have no doubt heard of Herman Melville and his literary masterpiece. August 2019 marked the author’s bicentennial. Featured in our coming October 10 sale of Fine Books & Manuscripts is a rare look at the author’s personal library, as we offer two volumes of Greek & Roman classics…
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The First (and Last) Lines of Iconic Books, and What They Reveal
Estimated Reading Time: 8 minutes • Last updated: 09.03.19 “Don’t judge a book by its cover,” or so the adage goes, but is the same true for the book’s opening line? Opening lines set the tone for a work of literature, serving as an invitation for a reader; it’s up to the author to extend…