Billy Budd, Sailor (an Inside Narrative)

An illustrated edition of Billy Budd featuring woodcuts by celebrated artist Barry Moser.

This edition of Billy Budd, Sailor presents Herman Melville’s iconic tale of the high seas alongside illustrations by renowned artist, publisher, and printmaker Barry Moser.

Throughout his fifty-year career, Moser has illustrated more than three hundred books ranging from novels to children’s stories to the Bible. Through his Pennyroyal Press, Moser designs and prints fine-press, illustrated, and occasionally oversized books in very limited editions, which are beloved by collectors and bibliophiles. To coincide with the centenary of the novella’s posthumous publication, Moser created sixteen original woodcuts illustrating the scenes and characters of Billy Budd, Sailor, and this trade edition now makes these exquisite illustrations accessible to a wide audience.

Herman Melville (1819-91) was an author who has become one of the most recognized figures in the history of American literature. Barry Moser is a National Book Award-winning illustrator, printmaker, and publisher. He is the founder and operator of Pennyroyal Press, which has published highly regarded illustrated editions of Alice in Wonderland, Frankenstein, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, the King James Bible, and, in collaboration with the University of Chicago Press, A River Runs through It, among many other titles.