Rockwell Kent's illustrated Moby-Dick is one of those books for which several very different editions share the same unforgettable artwork. The three-volume Lakeside Press set is the great prize. The one-volume 1930 Random House edition is the first trade edition, and it is the copy most collectors encounter. Later Garden City and Modern Library editions brought Kent's designs to an even wider audience.
This is a guide to the Kent editions, not to the true first American edition of Melville's novel, published by Harper & Brothers in 1851.
The edition that came first: Lakeside Press, 1930
The Lakeside Press of Chicago commissioned Kent to design and illustrate an American classic. Kent chose Moby-Dick. The result was a three-volume edition limited to 1,000 sets, printed under the supervision of William A. Kittredge.
The set contains 280 black-and-white illustrations. It was bound in black cloth decorated in silver and issued with transparent acetate jackets in an aluminum slipcase. Collectors sometimes call it the "whale in a can."
Completeness matters enormously. A set retaining all three volumes, the acetate jackets, and the aluminum slipcase is a very different object from an incomplete or supplied set.
The 1930 Random House first trade edition
The limited edition was successful enough that Random House issued a one-volume trade edition later in 1930, also printed by the Lakeside Press. This is the edition I see and sell most often.
The first trade edition is a substantial book of 822 numbered pages, bound in black cloth with Kent's dramatic silver lettering and decoration. It reproduces 272 of the 280 illustrations made for the limited edition.
One memorable bit of publishing history is that Melville's name was omitted from the binding and dust jacket. Random House was so enthusiastic about Kent's work that the exterior effectively advertised Moby Dick Illustrated by Rockwell Kent. Melville is properly identified on the title page.
Most surviving copies are encountered without the dust jacket, and they remain attractive, collectible books because the silver-stamped binding is itself such a strong piece of book design. The scarce original pictorial jacket adds a substantial premium when present. Facsimile jackets are common and should always be described as facsimiles.
How to recognize the 1930 trade edition
- The title page identifies Random House, New York, as publisher.
- The copyright page is dated 1930.
- It is a single volume with 822 numbered pages.
- The binding is black cloth stamped in silver with Kent's lettering and decoration.
- Herman Melville's name does not appear on the exterior binding or original jacket.
- The book states that it was printed by the Lakeside Press in Chicago.
Some dealer and bibliographical descriptions use textual errors to distinguish early impressions of the trade edition. Those points have not been treated consistently across the trade. I would not identify a copy from one typo alone. The imprint, collation, binding, and the evidence of a recognized bibliography should be considered together.
The 1937 Garden City reprint
Garden City Publishing reissued the Kent-illustrated book in 1937. It is a handsome period reprint and can be desirable in a nice original jacket, but it is not the 1930 Random House first trade edition.
The publisher and date are the quickest distinctions. A listing that simply says "1930 Rockwell Kent illustrations" may be describing the date of the artwork rather than the date of that particular copy.
The Modern Library editions
Random House brought the Kent edition into its Modern Library line as a less expensive Modern Library Giant in 1943. These wartime and postwar printings are appealing reading copies and have their own following, especially in attractive dust jackets, but they are later reprints.
Modern Library issued another hardcover version in 1982 (ISBN 0394608046). It deliberately preserves the Kent text and design and is a good way to enjoy the illustrations without buying a 1930 copy. It is a reissue, not a first edition, regardless of how clean or seemingly new it may be.
Quick comparison
- Lakeside Press, 1930: First Rockwell Kent edition; three volumes; limited to 1,000 sets; originally issued with acetate jackets and an aluminum slipcase.
- Random House, 1930: First trade edition; one volume; black cloth stamped in silver; 822 pages; original pictorial jacket is valuable.
- Garden City, 1937: Early reprint using Kent's illustrations.
- Modern Library Giant, 1943 and later: Less expensive reprint editions in the Modern Library Giant format.
- Modern Library, 1982: Later hardcover reissue; ISBN 0394608046.
What matters to collectors
For the 1930 trade edition, a jacketless copy can still be quite desirable. Look for bright silver stamping, unfaded cloth, sound hinges, a clean text block, and an absence of heavy restoration. An original dust jacket raises the value substantially, but it is a scarce bonus rather than a requirement for owning a collectible example. Any facsimile or jacket married from another copy should be identified plainly.
For the Lakeside Press set, confirm that all three volumes belong together and inspect the acetate jackets and aluminum slipcase. Condition problems to the slipcase are common, but missing original components should be stated plainly.
Kent's images are also often called woodcuts. They were actually pen, brush, and ink drawings reproduced for the books.
The Rare Book Sleuth regularly handles the 1930 Random House trade edition, including copies without the dust jacket. If you have a Kent-illustrated Moby-Dick to sell, send photographs and details through the Sell to Us page.
Sources and further reading
- University of Delaware Library, Special Collections, "Moby Dick," Drawing Connections: Illustration and the Written Word.
- Cincinnati Art Museum, "Moby-Dick: Rockwell Kent's Iconic Illustrations."
- The Morgan Library & Museum, catalogue record for the 1930 Lakeside Press edition.
- FEdPo, "First Edition Criteria and Points to Identify Moby Dick (Illustrated by Rockwell Kent)".
- John Lewis, The Twentieth Century Book: Its Illustration and Design.
- Carl Zigrosser, Rockwellkentiana: Few Words and Many Pictures by R. K. and, by Carl Zigrosser, a Bibliography and List of Prints.
- Relevant ABAA and ILAB catalogue descriptions were consulted for collation and issue notes.