The White Whale: Moby-Dick Illustrated

At the time of Herman Melville’s death, in 1891, his novels had fallen into obscurity. Moby-Dick, his masterwork published in 1851, was out of print and unread. But in the 1920s, critical reassessments led to a “Melville revival.”

This lecture surveys some of the famous and less well-known illustrated editions, artists’ books, and other visual interpretations, examining their role in establishing the unassailable reputation of Moby-Dick as the great American novel.

An in-person presentation by Declan Kiely, author, lecturer, and Executive Director of the Grolier Club

** The Windle-Loker Lecture Series on the History of the Illustrated Book **

** Co-presented and co-hosted by the American Trust for the British Library **