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 and the sea.
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.
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.
The Melville Press will be announcing a Pre-Sale opportunity for a new limited edition in Fall 2023.
CETUS The Whale on exhibit at The Newberry Library in Chicago