Norfolk Isle and the Chola Widow
by Herman Melville
Slipcased Edition Out of Print
Deluxe Edition Out of Print
A cherished assumption among those who love Moby Dick is that this masterwork is all that Melville wrote, or needed to write. But postwar readers, especially since the 1960s, have truly dispensed with such assumptions. They have come to learn that this writer of America's greatest sea-epic could write quite impressively on a small scale.
Norfolk Isle and the Chola Widow first appeared in the May, 1854 issue of Putnam's Magazine, as the eighth of a ten-sketch work, set in the Galapagos Islands and titled The Encantadas, or Enchanted Isles. It is the longest by far of the ten Encantadan sketches, and it is the work's climax and heart. It has been described as an ignored gem for its sparse narration, feminist focus, and complex position on faith.
Published with an Introduction written by leading Melville scholar and professor of English at Hofstra University, John Bryant. He is the author of five published books on Melville and the general editor of The Melville Society, one of the oldest and largest single author societies in America. He is currently at work on a soon to be published new biography of Herman Melville.
Published with original, commissioned wood engravings by Rik Olson, California illustrator and fine artist. He is acknowledged as a living master of wood engraving and studied under such artists as Barry Moser, John DePol, Richard McLean, and Ralph Borge. He has lived, studied, and exhibited in Italy, Germany, and the United States.
The book is published in two states:
Deluxe: 25 Copies. Letterpress printed on Rives Heavyweight with engravings printed from original wood blocks. Artist designed patterned paper over boards, quarter bound in gold stamped black goatskin and housed in a Japanese book cloth clamshell box. Additional 2-color wood engraving of Herman Melville printed and signed by the artist, in a paper chemise. The books are numbered 1-20 and signed by the artist. Five additional lettered copies are reserved for the Press. Publication price: Out of print.
Slipcased: 75 Copies. Letterpress printed on Rives Heavyweight with engravings printed from original wood blocks. Artist designed patterned paper over boards, quarter bound in Japanese book cloth and housed in a slipcase. The books are numbered and signed by the artist. Five additional copies are lettered and reserved for the Press.
