About The Melville Press

The Melville Press is dedicated to producing fine illustrated limited editions. Founded by Publisher Catherine Kanner, The Melville Press was born from a passion for Melville’s work and is devoted to publishing books which capture the spirit of voyaging.

 

Books of The Melville Press have been collected by individuals, special collections, libraries and institutions in the United States and internationally including The Library of Congress, The New York Public Library, The British Library, The Newberry Library in Chicago, The National Libraries of Australia, New Zealand and Scotland, The Museum of the Book in the Netherlands and by The National Museum of Women in the Arts among others.

 

EMILY DICKINSON Poems of Travel. Secluded in her Amherst home, Emily Dickinson wrote nearly two thousand poems, many set in regions far beyond her experience; distant volcanoes, tempestuous seas, heaven. This edition features selections of Dickinson’s poems of ‘travel’ organized into three themed selections, Earth, Sea, and Air. Each section opens with a striking art piece which unfolds beyond the book’s dimensions — as Dickinson’s poetic imagination reached beyond the confines of her room. 

 

A note about this edition: The Palisades Fire of January 7, 2025 destroyed the office of The Melville Press, and much of its inventory. As a result, EMILY DICKINSON Poems of Travel is now available as a limited edition of 50. Art pieces from the edition will soon be on sale individually or as a suite in support of the rebuilding of the Press. 

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The Melville Press' second Tunnel Book, 'When I Was a Lad', is Sir Joseph's song from Gilbert & Sullivan’s H.M.S. Pinafore. This delightful satire recounts the rise of a shameless political climber who took a political route to the Admiralty. Charming and beautifully illustrated this 'dimensional' book includes a link to listen to the iconic song.

 

The Melville Press’ first publication, CETUS, The Whale; an illustrated companion to Moby Dick was honored with a Rounce and Coffin Award for excellence in book design. The book traveled to academic and public libraries throughout the United States in the Western Books Exhibition. CETUS has also appeared in Artistbook International; an exhibition of fine contemporary books from around the world.

 

Prayers Written at Vailima by Robert Louis Stevenson was the first new edition of this remarkable text to be published in the United States in more than forty years. Catherine Kanner designed Prayers with a Polynesian motif, and created 21 original linoleum cut images for the book. This edition has been acquired by libraries and museums throughout the world, and also received a Rounce and Coffin Award.

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The Melville Press acquired the rights to a remarkable short story by Dylan Thomas, In the Direction of the Beginning, originally published in the A Prospect of the Sea in 1939. This is a story of love and the sea in the form of a powerful prose poem. Kanner has designed the book on a generous scale with an elegant self-closing cover. The edition includes nine striking woodcut images printed directly from the artist’s blocks. Winner of a Rounce and Coffin Award for excellence in book design.