D2.3.
Third Harper Printing (New York,
1850)
Besides the change of the title-page date to 1850, the most obvious
alteration in the third printing occurs in the advertisements: R continues
to have twelve integral leaves, but the order of the advertisements for
Omoo and
Mardi is reversed (that for
Omoo now falls on p.
392, preceding that for
Mardi) and the twelve-page catalogue is a different one (now
headed "Harper & Brothers' List of New Works," with
Redburn the second entry on the first page). The pagination
of
the advertisements is therefore as before, but without the misnumbering of
the last page of the twelve-page catalogue (i.e.,
391-394 1
2-12
1 2).
typography. All copies exhibit several new instances of plate damage,
including a few that alter the punctuation of the text: at 59.30 ('icebergs'),
170.14 ('Bob'), and 375.20 ('ladies') semicolons print as commas; at 72.5
('around') a comma is missing; and at 202.35 ('earls') a comma prints as
a period. The only prominent variation noted between copies of the 1850
printing is a gradual deterioration of the comma after 'MELVILLE' in the
dedication: in some copies (e.g., 1, 6, 7, 11-14, 16) it prints as a damaged
comma, in others (e.g., 2) it appears as a period, and in others (e.g., 4, 5,
8-10, 17) it does not print at all.
binding. . . .
copies examined. . . .
