Watkinson Lands a Whale!
By Eric Johnson-DeBaufre, Rare Books and Special Collections Librarian
For collectors of fine press books, the Arion Press edition of Moby Dick induces a mania like the whale did for Ahab. In 1978, when Arion announced its plan to publish this work in a limited edition of 265 copies (only 250 of which were to be sold), they sold out immediately, despite the (then) substantial asking price of $1000 and the fact that no copies had yet been printed. A much sought-after masterpiece of fine book design, copies come on the market about as seldomly as blue whales appear off the coast of Cape Ann.[1] As the Rare Books and Special Collections Librarian for Watkinson, I confess that this mania has gripped me since I arrived at Trinity in 2019 and discovered the extent and quality of the library’s fine press collection. Who after all, on seeing Watkinson’s rich holdings from presses such as Kelmscott, Ashendene, Doves, Golden Cockerel, Officina Bodoni, and so many others, would not wish to add to them this crown jewel from Arion?
Happily, that opportunity came last month when a dealer on the West Coast advertised that a copy had become available. And not just any copy—ours is a presentation copy to financier Richard Gangel, who was evidently close enough to illustrator Barry Moser that Moser signed each of the book’s 100 wood engravings, including the gorgeous full-page engraving of the sperm whale that accompanies Chapter 79’s rhapsodic description of its sublimity. Here Moser’s art strives to equal Melville’s prose and does so convincingly.
For book lovers, the Arion Press Moby Dick is a sensual feast as well as a monument to thoughtful design. For this edition, the press commissioned Simon Barcham Green of Hayle Mill in Maidstone, Kent to produce the paper; and the end result is that the texture of the book’s subtle blue-grey pages stimulate the hand even as the rich, black type delights the eye. Having examined many handmade papers over the years, I can honestly say that Barcham Green’s is among the finest I have ever seen.
To the Hayle Mill’s exquisite paper Arion has matched handset Goudy Modern 18 point type for the body of the text paired with a bespoke set of initials—appropriately named Leviathan—designed by Charles Bigelow and Kris Holmes, the future designers of the Lucida family of typefaces. The choice of Goudy Modern for the body—the decision of printer and publisher Andrew Hoyem—seems particularly inspired as it has, especially at this size, both a weight and an elegance that conveys graphically the seriousness of Melville’s work. It is also a typeface that represented something of a departure and an experiment for its American designer, Frederic Goudy, and so is perfectly appropriate for Melville’s daringly modern experimental novel.
Fittingly, it is on the opening page that the boldness and brilliance of the book’s design blazes forth and where the textual and illustrative elements coalesce in a graphic design that is every bit as powerful and memorable as the novel’s famous opening line.
Watkinson Library is truly fortunate to have such an impressive collection of fine press books to share with the members of Trinity College and the greater Hartford community. And we are grateful to donors past and present whose generous gifts make it possible for us to enrich our collections with new acquisitions such as this. We invite you to visit the Watkinson Library Reading Room and experience the delights of this book for yourself.
References
[1] In July of 2024, the first blue whale in 20 years was spotted near Stellwagen Bank off the coast of Cape Ann. What, if any, connection exists between this event and the surprising emergence onto the market of a copy of the Arion Press Moby Dick one month later your humble author leaves to the reader to decide.