The Portable Melville - Viking Portable Library, 6th Printing (1965)

Herman Melville. The Portable Melville. Edited and with an introduction by Jay Leyda. New York: The Viking Press, 1965. Sixth Printing (August 1965). A major volume in The Viking Portable Library series, this 758-page anthology brings together Melville's most essential writings including two complete novels (Typee and Billy Budd), key excerpts from Moby-Dick, Mardi, and Pierre, plus shorter works including 'Bartleby, the Scrivener, selections from The Piazza Tales, early and late poems, and material from his journals and correspondence. Editor Jay Leyda (a Melville scholar and biographer) arranged the contents with contextual letters and commentary, presenting a vivid portrait of Melville's creative life. This copy is bound in teal blue cloth with gilt spine titles and maroon nautical motifs, part of Viking's durable library binding issue. The book shows light shelfwear, rubbing to boards, and minor spine toning; gilt remains legible and bright. Ex-library copy with embossed college seal (Clinton College Library) and class of ?97 Union College presentation plate to front endpaper; residue from removed pocket at rear. Text block clean and tight, pages unmarked and free of foxing. Printed in the U.S.A. by The Colonial Press. Herman Melville (1819-1891) was an American novelist, poet, and essayist best known for Moby-Dick (1851), a cornerstone of American literature. His works explore isolation, faith, and humanity's conflict with nature and authority, often inspired by his own experiences at sea. Rediscovered in the early twentieth century, Melville is now celebrated as one of America's greatest literary voices.…