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"A Medium in Which I Seek Relief": Manuscripts of American Sailors 1919-1940

Herman Melville and Sailors' Snug Harbor

In a tantalizing twist, Herman Melville was intimately connected to Sailors' Snug Harbor and its library through his brother, Thomas Melville, who ran the institution from 1867-1884. According to John Rocco ("Wearily, we seek a haven"), Herman Melville spent many holidays at Sailors’ Snug Harbor during his brother's tenure as Governor.

At least one item in the Sailors' Snug Harbor Archives derives directly from Herman Melville: an 1813 edition of John Turnbull's A voyage round the world, in the years 1800, 1801, 1802, 1803, and 1804 . The volume is inscribed with Melville's signature, captioned "April 10th 1847 New York." As evidenced by the label on the cover, it is one of the twenty or so surviving books from the library at Sailors' Snug Harbor. Over the years it must have been borrowed by dozens of old salts who used the library in their waning years.

In A voyage round the world, John Turnbull recounts his four-year journey traveling to and trading on the island of Tahiti. As Digital Archivist Heidi Rempel notes, "It is a good example of the popular British 'Voyage' narrative that interested and influenced Regency and Victorian readers, who were eager to learn about places on the globe that were being explored by Europeans for the first time." To the eye of the twenty-first century reader, the text exemplifies colonialist and racist ideologies.

When Melville acquired A voyage round the world in 1847, he was an up-and-coming writer in New York City. His first two books, Typee (1846) and Omoo (1847), based on his own adventures in the South Seas, had just been published. These novels were well reviewed by the literati and popular among the reading public. While adhering in some ways to travelogue and adventure fiction tropes, Melville also embedded critiques of western culture and Christian missionaries within the narratives (Rocco, "Herman Melville").

Twenty years later, when Thomas Melville became head of Sailors' Snug Harbor, Herman Melville's life had shifted dramatically. His more experimental works - including his monumental masterpiece, Moby-Dick - were not well received in his lifetime. In 1866 he took a monotonous day job as a customs inspector, where he worked six days a week until 1885. Perhaps Melville's trips to the opulent Snug Harbor grounds during this period were a diversion from his everyday routine, or an opportunity to reconnect with maritime culture.

Notes

Learn more about Thomas Melville and other governors of Sailors' Snug Harbor in this digital timeline.
The front matter and first chapter of John Turnbull’s A Voyage Round the World, in the Years 1800, 1801, 1802, 1803, and 1804 can be viewed on Maritime Digital Collections.
Header image: Sailors' Snug Harbor Reading Room; Source: Digital Culture of Metropolitan New York

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A voyage round the world, in the years 1800, 1801, 1802, 1803, and 1804 by John Turnbull NO COPYRIGHT - UNITED STATES. The organization that has made the Item available believes that the Item is in the Public Domain under the laws of the United States, but a determination was not made as to its copyright status under the copyright laws of other countries. The Item may not be in the Public Domain under the laws of other countries. Please refer to the organization that has made the Item available for more information. Original is the property of the Trustees of the Sailors' Snug Harbor.
Sailors' Snug Harbor
Herman Melville, Sailors’ Snug Harbor, and John Turnbull’s “A Voyage Round the World”
Sailors' Snug Harbor Library label NO COPYRIGHT - UNITED STATES. The organization that has made the Item available believes that the Item is in the Public Domain under the laws of the United States, but a determination was not made as to its copyright status under the copyright laws of other countries. The Item may not be in the Public Domain under the laws of other countries. Please refer to the organization that has made the Item available for more information. Original is the property of the Trustees of the Sailors' Snug Harbor.