MELVILLE (Herman). Typee; Or, a Narrative of a four months' residence Among the natives of a valley of The Marquesas islands; Or, a Peep at Polynesian life. London: John Murray, Albemarle Street, 1847. Globe 8vo; half-title not present, probably not called for; map frontispiece, on text-paper; title-page probably a cancel (v. note); pp.xvi (including frontispiece)+285+[i (printer's imprint)]; half natural calf, marbled sides, spine with five raised bands, ruled gilt, dark red label; sprinkled edges. Short tear in upper margin of title-page, due apparently to a binding fault; otherwise a very nice copy.

Probably the third issue of the first edition. Blanck, 13720, almost certainly misapprehending the status of this issue. The first issue, which preceded the American edition, appeared as two wrappered parts, dated 1846, under the title: ‘Narrative of a four months' residence among the natives of a valley of the Marquesas islands; or, a peep at Polynesian Life', these being then bound up into one volume, cloth. The wrappered parts were available by February 28th 1846, the cloth issue by early March. The American edition appeared in mid March 1846 under the new main title ‘Typee', and some time during the next few months it must have been resolved to adopt this title for the English edition also. It would seem logical to assume that a cancel title leaf should then have been prepared. By then however it could hardly have been less than May or June, and it seems to have been decided not to launch the volume under its new title until the Autumn season. The new title page was accordingly prepared dated ahead a year, as was at that time the custom with books published in the latter part of the year. In August 1846, however, Melville sent Murray an additional chapter, ‘The Story of Thoby', which was received and printed as an addendum on or before September 30th, in an edition of 1,000 copies, 250 of which were issued separately in wrappers, the rest being apparently intended for inclusion in later binding batches of the book. ‘The Story of Toby' could not have been received by Murray before a good many copies with the cancel title had been bound up: ‘Typee' as such was advertised as available on or before October 15th, whilst ‘The Story of Toby' was issued separately as an addendum about sixteen days later. A second edition of ‘Typee', so designated, and also dated 1847 is known, also without the addendum, and this too must have been printed before ‘The Story of Toby' had been received. The book was available simultaneously in all its many variants for several years, as is shown by the evidence of advertisements, and later copies under both titles (‘Typee' and ‘Narrative') were bound up with the addendum forming pp.[287]-301, the first known advertisement of such copies being made under the title ‘Typee' on December 1st 1846. It would also appear that when stocks of the addendum ran out, the book continued to be issued in its original form, without it. Traces of buff paper in the gutters between pp.144 and 145 of the present volume suggest that this copy has been made up from originally wrappered parts, but copies with the 1847 title pages have not been recorded in the form of wrappered parts, and ‘Typee' as such appears never to have been advertised in that form. It therefore follows that a copy showing traces of such wrappers, and made up from stripped parts, is likely to have a cancel title-page. If this be so, it must indeed be, as it tacitly claims, a portion of the first printing, but a third issue, not recorded as such by Blanck. The text itself is of the second state, with the corrected reading ‘Pomare' at l.1, p.19. In all respects except for the title-page it corresponds to Blanck's ‘Second issue, wrappers, binder's variant A'.

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