Blind Horse Books

  Herman Melville (August 1, 1819 – 1891) was an American novelist, short story writer, and poet of the American Renaissance period, best known for "Typee" (1846), a romantic account of his experiences in Polynesian life, and his whaling novel "Moby-Dick" (1851). Fun Fact: Much of Melville’s later work, which is now considered his most highly regarded fiction, was neither critically nor commercially successful during his lifetime. For instance, between 1863 and 1887, an average of only 23 copies of "Moby-Dick" were sold annually. Today, "Moby-Dick" sells more copies each year than were sold in the entire nineteenth century and is recognized as a classic. Interestingly, its influence extends into the modern world of coffee and capitalism: the founders of the Starbucks chain took the name from a character in Melville’s novel. During the last thirty years of his life, his work was nearly forgotten. Melville's writing draws from his experiences a...

 On November 26, 1864, Charles Lutwidge Dodgson—known to the world as Lewis Carroll—gave Alice Liddell the handwritten manuscript of the story he had first improvised during a July 1862 boat ride near Oxford. Published in 1865 with John Tenniel’s celebrated illustrations, Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland became one of the most culturally influential works of children’s literature, inspiring generations of writers, artists, and scholars. Few works in English literature have inspired publishers as deeply as Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland. Since 1865, the book has been a showcase for artistic innovation: deluxe Victorian gift editions, Golden Age illustrated versions, Art Nouveau and Art Deco interpretations, and a long tradition of fine-press and private-press printings. Printers have used Alice to display mastery of illustration, type design, paper choice, and binding craft. From Tenniel’s original wood engravings to modern letterpress editions, the story’s imaginative elasticity ...