Two Tales: Billy Budd, Benito Cereno, Herman Melville, 1965, Heritage Press, Near Fine HC, Very Good + slipcase

Melville, Herman, New York, New York: Heritage Press, 1965, 7 ½” x 10 ¾”, 4to, 176 pp.

Near Fine quarto, black-and-white cloth over boards with gilt to spine, sunning to spine, Monthly Letter to the Members of the Heritage Club number VII:30 laid in loose. Very Good + slipcase, red leatherette with small stain to back, light shelfwear, 176 pp. Full-page full-color paintings by Robert Shore. Introduction by Maxwell Geismar. Herman Melville was an American novelist and short story writer whose works discuss themes of morality, power, and the human condition, often taking place at the sea. Robert Shore was an American painter and illustrator recognized for his expressive, narrative-driven imagery that brought literature to life through vivid visual interpretation. Billy Budd and Benito Cereno, the two novels in Two Tales, explore innocence and justice, slavery and power, and the complex moral struggles of the 19th century.