[MELVILLE, HERMAN]. Moby Dick, or The Whale. With an Introduction by Clifton Fadiman and Illustrations by Boardman Robinson. New York: The Heritage Press, 1943.
First edition thus. Leather-bound. Hardcover. Tall octavo (240 x 170 x 35 mm.), pp. [xxi], 615. English text. Exquisite contemporary binding of full polished green calf by Bayntun of Bath, England (signed on the front endleaf with an ink pallet). Spine with five raised bands and fully gilt ruled, tooled and lettered with repeated nautical centre tools, flower-sprigs and dotted rolls in four compartments, contrasting morocco lettering pieces in second and fourth compartments. The boards with a gilt border composed of two fillets with floral corner-pieces. Board edges gilt ruled echoing the gilt inner dentelles. All page edges gilt. Hand-marbled endpapers. Initial and terminal blanks plus half-title present. Title-page printed in red and black with publishers device. Illustrated throughout with half-page and full-page designs by Boardman Robinson. Condition: FINE. An immaculate copy and without previous ownership markings. Very special.
