Pierre or the Ambiguities: The Kraken Edition.

MELVILLE, Herman; Illustrated by Maurice Sendak; Edited by Hershel Parker.

Item Number: 30001

New York: Harper Collins Publishers, 1995.

First edition. Octavo, original cloth. Signed by Maurice Sendak on the half title page. Fine in a fine dust jacket.

Pierre or the Ambiguities was Melville's 1852 follow-up to the then flop Moby Dick. His publishers, fearing they had another failure on their hands, forced Melville to make additions to the text before they'd publish it. Melville later referred to the original, shorter version as his "kraken" book. Editor Hershel Parker restored the psychological novel to Melville's intended form. Contains 30 full-color illustrations by Maurice Sendak.