How Much Will A First Edition Copy Of “Moby Dick” Cost You At Auction? About 40 Thousand Dollars.
The private library of some gentleman named William E. Self (“Important English And American Literature”) was recently auctioned off at Christie’s.
The highlights were items from Self’s (nearly positive we’re not talking about the basketball coach here) Poe (cue Troy McClure “One of our greatest writers.”) collection: $362,500 for an autographed manuscript of two poems, $662,500 for Tamerlane and Other Poems (”FIRST EDITION OF POE’S LEGENDARY FIRST BOOK: THE MOST CELEBRATED RARITY IN AMERICAN LITERATURE. ONE OF ONLY TWELVE COPIES KNOWN, AND ONLY ONE OF TWO IN PRIVATE HANDS.”), and $830,500 for Autograph manuscript verses, the first 8 stanzas (of 16) of “For Annie (”Thank Heaven: the crisis — the danger is past….”)
But I’m sure you’re like me, and you’re probably thinking. “Poe was a drunk. What about my man Herman Melville.” Funny you should ask.
A first edition copy of the English edition, published a month before the American version, and 35 passages smaller, fetched $43,750.
First Edition English copy of Moby Dick by Herman Melville
A first edition American copy was auctioned for $32,500
First Edition American copy of Moby Dick by Herman Melville
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