*SOLD*
White-Jacket; or, The World in a Man-of-War
Herman Melville
New York, 1850
 
Melville’s fifth book, preceding his masterpiece Moby Dick. First American edition, first printing, complete with all ads. Publisher's blind-stamped black cloth with gilt spine. Modest sporadic foxing, endpapers discolored by binder’s glue per usual with these editions, small hole in front endpaper, cloth and gilt unusually bright and unrubbed, small chips at top of spine and small exposure to corners and upper joints. A Near Fine copy housed in a custom case. Melville books that have retained this kind of brilliant sheen are terribly difficult to find.
 
Provenance: the sticker of H.A. Lantz, a prominent Reading, PA bookseller who volunteered during the Civil War and was subsequently killed in battle after achieving the rank of Captain.
 
'Herman Melville wrote White-Jacket; or, The World in a Man-of-War during two months of intense work in the summer of 1849. He drew upon his memories of naval life, having spent fourteen months as an ordinary seaman aboard a frigate as it sailed the Pacific and made the homeward voyage around Cape Horn.
 
Already that same summer Melville had written Redburn, and he regarded the books as "two jobs, which I have done for money--being forced to it, as other men are to sawing wood." The reviewers were not as hard on White-Jacket as Melville himself was. The English liked its praise of British seamen. The Americans were more interested in Melville's attack on naval abuses, particularly flogging, and his advocacy of humanitarian causes. Soon Melville was acclaimed the best sea writer of the day.' (Northwestern)