Dickens CharlesABAA
19 566 résultats
1839109263London: Chapman and Hall 1839. First edition of one of Dickens' most popular novels. Octavo bound in full morocco by Morrell ornate inlay to the spine front and rear panels raised bands inner dentelles illustrated with 40 plates. In fine condition. Housed in a custom slipcase. An exceptional presentation. In 1867 Charles Dickens began his second American reading tour at Boston's Tremont Temple where an enthusiastic audience delighted in some of his most notable works members of the audience included legendary literary stars such as Henry Wadsworth Longfellow and Ralph Waldo Emerson. Although Dickens was in declining health he embarked on an ambitious travel schedule across the United States. Dickens returned to Boston once more before concluding his U.S. tour in New York City. When Charles Dickens arrived in Boston on November 19 1867 the celebrated English author spent several days at the Parker House hotel recuperating from the voyage. As conscientious a performer as he was a writer Dickens had prepared diligently for his performances redrafting and memorizing key passages from his books especially for these engagements. He used a book only as a prop; he was so familiar with the material that he could improvise with ease. However during his 1867-1868 tour he was plagued with Flu-like symptoms insomnia and an inflammation of his foot which forced him to walk with a cane. During his last tours in 1868 Dickens confined much of his performances to the New England area. Dickens was grateful for the income he desperately needed from his readings which generated $140000 close to $2000000 today; but he longed for home. On April 8 1868 Dickens gave the last performance of the tour. Prolonged applause followed the reading. He closed by telling the audience "In this brief life of ours it is sad to do almost anything for the last time. Ladies and gentlemen I beg most earnestly most gratefully and most affectionately to bid you each and all farewell." He died two years later having written 14 novels several of which are considered classics of English literature. Chapman and Hall hardcover books
1837121789London: Chapman and Hall 1837. First edition in book form of Dickens' first novel and one of his greatest works. Octavo bound in three full quarter morocco with gilt titles and tooling to the spine in six compartments within raised gilt bands all edges gilt marbled endpapers with 43 engraved plates by Seymour and Browne. In very good condition. Few first novels have created as much popular excitement as The Pickwick Papers a comic masterpiece that catapulted its twenty-four-year-old author to immediate fame. Readers were captivated by the adventures of the poet Snodgrass the lover Tupman the sportsman Winkle and above all by that quintessentially English Quixote Mr Pickwick and his cockney Sancho Panza Sam Weller. From the hallowed turf of Dingley Dell Cricket Club to the unholy fracas of the Eatanswill election via the Fleet debtors prison characters and incidents sprang to life from Dickenss pen to form an enduringly popular work of ebullient humour and literary invention. Chapman and Hall unknown books
191529684J B Lippincott. Very Good with no dust jacket. 1915. Limited Edition. Hardcover. Quarto in full vellum covers Limited to 100 copies SIGNED BY RACKHAM #63 tight binding clean text endpapers lightly toned/darkened no foxing pages clean and unsullied deckled-edged contains 12 tipped-in color plates else VG or slightly better. N. B. : The vellum covers have slight bow as usual with these type of covers. A rarity and a classic of printing. ; 4to . J B Lippincott hardcover
08983London: October1846 - April 1848: Bradbury and Evans. First Edition. 20 parts in 19 original printed wrappers. The present set has ALL the correct wrappers and ALL the ads called for by Hatton & Cleaver. First issue of text with the word "Delight" instead of "Joy" mentioned twice on page 284 part IX; with "Capatin" in the last line of page 324 part XI; first state of Advertiser in part XIII with "October 1847" in unbroken type on p. 1; the word "if" omitted on page 426 line 9 page number 431 is present in part XIV; Part XIX/XX with first issue title page showing Captain Cuttle's hook on his left arm and with the 2 line errata. Part XV with 10 diary leaves in the Letts Son & Steer ad. With 40 inserted plates by Hablot K. Brown Phiz who also designed the green wrappers. Spines are expertly renewed on parts I VII XVI and perhaps a few others. Light soiling to wraps of some parts; neat owner name on front wrap of part XII. Booksellers' ticket on front wrap of several parts. Plates are very good to fine light tanning at edges of a few. There are a couple of "firsts" in Dombey and Son: the plate "On the Dark Road" in part XVIII is the first of what became known as the "dark plates" - also this is the first appearance of the "horizontal plates" on which the subject is rotated 90 degrees. Altogether an outstanding set. Housed in a turn-of-the-century solander pull-off-top slipcase 3/4 leather with chemise. Armorial bookplate on chemise and inside the slipcase. Hatton & Cleaver pp. 227-250. Bradbury and Evans unknown
09571London May 1864-November 1865: Chapman & Hall. First Edition. Original Wraps. Very Good. In the original monthly parts 20 parts in 19. Original green printed wrappers; ALL wrappers are correct. ALL the ads slips and Advertisers called for by Hatton & Cleaver are present except for the rare ad "The Economic Life Assurance Society" following the plates in part 14 known in only a few copies. FIRST ISSUE of the wrappers without the imprint at the foot of front wrapper of part 1 and with the FIRST ISSUE TEXT with the misspelling "pricipal" in part 14 page 115 line 38. In the Advertiser of part 10 Hatton & Cleaver states "In a few copies seen p. 13 was misprinted 31." The present copy has this misprint. Part 17 with the Advertiser partly unopened. The plates are very good to fine; the text and wrappers are clean and bright. Laid into part 12 is an autograph note in pencil by Dickens Bibliographer Thomas Hatton: "M. F. / 12 / f. cover spots - / wants b. cover" in reference to another part 12. Several spines are expertly and invisibly renewed. Our Mutual Friend has more of the Advertiser ads than any of Dickens' other works having 320 pages and 89 insets and slips in the rear of the parts. Altogether a lovely set lacking just one rare ad and having the first issue points in the wrappers and text as well as a scarce misprint in the Advertiser of part 10. This lovely set is the best we are likely to find and it has a pedigree - it is from the famed Thomas Hatton & Cleaver bibliographers collection. Housed in a handsome green 3/4 leather slipcase with chemise. Provenance: The Hatton & Cleaver Collection The Heritage Bookshop Charles Parkhurst Rare Books. Chapman & Hall unknown
1865130506London: Chapman and Hall 1865. First edition of Dickens' final completed novel. Octavo bound in full morocco by Bayntun-Riviere gilt titles and tooling to the spine raised bands gilt medallion portrait of Dickens on the front panel gilt signature on the back panel inner dentelles all edges gilt marbled endpapers. In fine condition. Illustrated by Marcus Stone with forty plates. An exceptional presentation. Our Mutual Friend originally appeared in twenty numbers bound in nineteen monthly parts the last part forming a double number from May 1864- November 1865. The first volume was published in book form on January 20 1865; the second on October 21 1865. 11s. each." Smith Dickens 15. Chapman and Hall hardcover
1839130269London: Chapman and Hall 1839. First edition of one of Dickens' most popular novels. Octavo bound in full morocco by Bayntun-Riviere gilt titles and tooling to the spine raised bands gilt medallion portrait of Dickens on the front panel gilt signature on the back panel inner dentelles all edges gilt marbled endpapers. In fine condition. Illustrated with 40 plates. An exceptional presentation. The plot the characters the dialogue everything about Nicholas Nickleby "has the feel of theatre; it is as if Dickens saw human life conducted among lights of the stage making it somehow larger and brighter than the reality" Ackroyd 283. Chapman and Hall hardcover
1839109263London: Chapman and Hall 1839. First edition of one of Dickens’ most popular novels. Octavo bound in full morocco by Morrell ornate inlay to the spine front and rear panels raised bands inner dentelles illustrated with 40 plates. In fine condition. Housed in a custom slipcase. An exceptional presentation. In 1867 Charles Dickens began his second American reading tour at Boston’s Tremont Temple where an enthusiastic audience delighted in some of his most notable works members of the audience included legendary literary stars such as Henry Wadsworth Longfellow and Ralph Waldo Emerson. Although Dickens was in declining health he embarked on an ambitious travel schedule across the United States. Dickens returned to Boston once more before concluding his U.S. tour in New York City. When Charles Dickens arrived in Boston on November 19 1867 the celebrated English author spent several days at the Parker House hotel recuperating from the voyage. As conscientious a performer as he was a writer Dickens had prepared diligently for his performances redrafting and memorizing key passages from his books especially for these engagements. He used a book only as a prop; he was so familiar with the material that he could improvise with ease. However during his 1867-1868 tour he was plagued with Flu-like symptoms insomnia and an inflammation of his foot which forced him to walk with a cane. During his last tours in 1868 Dickens confined much of his performances to the New England area. Dickens was grateful for the income he desperately needed from his readings which generated $140000 close to $2000000 today; but he longed for home. On April 8 1868 Dickens gave the last performance of the tour. Prolonged applause followed the reading. He closed by telling the audience “In this brief life of ours it is sad to do almost anything for the last time… Ladies and gentlemen I beg most earnestly most gratefully and most affectionately to bid you each and all farewell.†He died two years later having written 14 novels several of which are considered classics of English literature. Chapman and Hall hardcover
18707417London: Chapman and Hall 1870. First edition. Fine. Octavo 8 5/8 x 5 1/2 inches; 222 x 140 mm. vii 1 "Illustrations" 190 pp. Frontispiece portrait of Dickens "Engraved by J.H. Baker from a Photograph taken in 1868 by Mason & Co." wood-engraved vignette title by J. Brown and twelve wood-engraved plates two by the firm of Dalziel Brothers ten by Charles Roberts all after Samuel Luke Fildes. Bound from the original parts with all wrappers correct and the vast majority of the advertisements including "The Cork Hat"<br /> <br /> Bound with John Jasper's Secret: Being a Narrative of Certain Events Following and Explaining "The Mystery of Edwin Drood" London: Publishing Offices 1872 the first of many attempts to solve The Mystery of Edwin Drood. The work was written by the New York journalist Henry Morford 1823 - 1881 and his wife Blanche DeVon Patterson Morford 1822 - 1896.<br /> <br /> First English edition following the Philadelphia edition of the previous year bound from the original parts with all wrappers correct and with substantially more advertisements than called for by Sadleir. Octavo 8 5/8 x 5 1/2 inches; 222 x 140 mm. iv 252 pp. Twenty wood-engraved plates. Page 251 is mispaginated 521 as called for.<br /> <br /> Bound by Zaehnsdorf ca. 1900 in full green morocco covers ruled in gilt spine with five raised bands decoratively stamped and lettered in gilt in compartments marbled endpapers top edge gilt others uncut. With the engraved bookplate of celebrated bibliographer and collector Charles Plumptre Johnson on front paste-down. Spine faded to olive green. Housed in a brown cloth slipcase. A Fine clean example.<br /> <br /> "When Dickens died on June 9 1870 he had completed only enough of his manuscript to make up six installments leaving unfinished a work which had commanded the widest attention for its opening numbers and which promised to be one of his most effective and popular books. Although only three parts had been issued prior to his death publication of the work continued and on completion with Part 6 of all available material the vast army of readers was left high and dry as to 'The Mystery.' The Author during the writing of the story never disclosed the ultimate development of his plot" Hatton and Cleaver.<br /> <br /> Smith I 16; Gimbel H330; Sadleir 705. Fine. Chapman and Hall unknown
1837121789London: Chapman and Hall 1837. First edition in book form of Dickens' first novel and one of his greatest works. Octavo bound in three full quarter morocco with gilt titles and tooling to the spine in six compartments within raised gilt bands all edges gilt marbled endpapers with 43 engraved plates by Seymour and Browne. In very good condition. Few first novels have created as much popular excitement as The Pickwick Papers a comic masterpiece that catapulted its twenty-four-year-old author to immediate fame. Readers were captivated by the adventures of the poet Snodgrass the lover Tupman the sportsman Winkle and above all by that quintessentially English Quixote Mr Pickwick and his cockney Sancho Panza Sam Weller. From the hallowed turf of Dingley Dell Cricket Club to the unholy fracas of the Eatanswill election via the Fleet debtors prison characters and incidents sprang to life from Dickenss pen to form an enduringly popular work of ebullient humour and literary invention. Chapman and Hall unknown
1838000822Londion: Richard Bentley 1838. Half-Leather. First edition first issue in three volumes with the Boz titlepage and the Fireside plate. Illustrated with 24 etched plates by George Cruikshank. R ebound in modern dark half green morocco bindings over marbled paper covered boards. Raised spines with leather spine labels. New end-papers and bound with half-title in volume I only lacks half titl e in volume II not called for in volume III. As usual in rebound copies does not contain list of illustrations page or publishers csatalog. Internally all textual points for first issue called for by Smith. All frontispeices and titles in volume I and II show moderate foxing. In addition one plate in volume I and 3 plates in volume III are moderately foxed with the last two plates in volume III including the Fireside plate heavily foxed. Else all plates and text clean with only sporadic incidental marginal foxing. Overall quite a clean copy as most are found with plates badly browned . Bindings are as new and housed in custom made cloth covered slipcase with the following in gilt lettering on back: "Oliver Twist"/by/Boz/3 vols./First edition/1838. A near fine set of a very desirable title. Sadlier 696; Smith I 4. Hardcover. Near Fine. 8vo - over 7¾" - 9¾" tall. Richard Bentley Hardcover
4802CHARLES DICKENS 1812-1870. Dickens a beloved English writer is best remembered for A Tale Of Two Cities Oliver Twist David Copperfield Great Expectations and A Christmas Carol. ALS. 1pg. 5†x 8â€. October 13 1865. London. An autograph letter signed “Charles Dickens†to Edward Eastwick a British diplomat who wrote to Dickens. Dickens wrote on the colorful letterhead of “Office of All the Year Round†Dickens' weekly publication: “I wish to give each of your papers a separate name so that each may seem for the time being complete. Will you let me know what title you would prefer for your first chapter and will you let me have some more manuscript to send to the printer It is unnecessary to remark perhaps that when you collect your papers you can either use these separate headings as titles of chapters or abolish them altogether.â€. The original mailing envelope in Dickens’s handwriting is included. The letter is in fine condition except for two light stains and a bit of ink offset. unknown books
184619908London: Bradbury and Evans 1846-48 1846. First edition parts issue. Hatton & Cleaver pages 227-250. This set agrees with H&C's description except that in part 11 there is no ad for Letts & Son and the ad for Kaye's Pills in part 12 varies slightly from the one they described. Two of the three misprints noted by H&C are present: part 11 page 324 "Capitan" for "Captain"; part 14 page 426 "if" is not present; on page 431 the page number is present in H&C's earliest issue the number is omitted. Plates foxed - as seems inevitable - some minor paper repairs to the corners of a few spines; a few wrappers slightly soiled and smudged; overall in very nice condition as issued enclosed in a chemise and cloth slipcase. 20 parts in 19 as issued 8vo original pictorial blue wrappers. 40 plates. A fine set of Dombey and Son in original parts completely unsophisticated as evidenced by the ink signature on each front wrapper of a contemporary reader Stephen Blair. Dickens novels in parts with the evidence of the contemporary ownership on each wrapper are scarce and such provenance is virtually the only way to establish that a set has not been sophisticated "married" or "made up.". <br/><br/> London: Bradbury and Evans, 1846-48 hardcover books
1854226836London Bradbury & Evans 1854. 1854. First edition. 8vo. Extra illustrated with 9 original watercolors of Dicken's characters by Clayton Clark and 2 b/w engraved plates by Darley. Full red morocco by Zaensdorf spine with five raised bands and gilt titled with extra gilt inner fillets t.e.g. upper joint a little rubbed. Original olive green cloth bound in. Complete with half title page. 1st Edition. Hardcover. Very Good. London, Bradbury & Evans, 1854. hardcover books
185968305First Edition First Issue of "A Tale of Two Cities" DICKENS Charles. BROWNE Hablot Knight illustrator. A Tale of Two Cities. With Illustrations by H.K. Browne. London: Chapman and Hall 1859. First edition first issue. With all eight of Smith's internal flaws necessary for the first issue present including page 213 misnumbered 113. Octavo 8 3/16 x 5 3/16 inches; 207 x 132 mm. x 1-254 pp. Sixteen inserted plates including frontispiece and engraved vignette title by Browne 'Phiz'. Without the publisher's catalog bound at the end. Half green morocco over green linen cloth boards bound by Bayntun. Spine stamped and lettered in gilt. All edges gilt. Marbled endpapers. Spine sunned to brown. Some occasional minor spots. Some light offsetting from plates. Plate facing page 150 with a closed one-inch tear. Overall a very good copy. A Tale of Two Cities was first serialized in DickensÃs periodical All the Year Round from April 30-November 26 1859. Its appearance in monthly parts July-December 1859 and book form mark DickensÃs return to his old publishers Chapman and Hall after a long stay with Bradbury and Evans. The extremely large audience for the novel in All the Year Round however left less than the usual demand for the parts issue and at first for the book both of which are now quite rare. This title also marks the authorÃs final collaboration with Phiz DickensÃs most evocative and most sympathetic illustrator. Hatton and Cleaver 33lff. Smith I 13. HBS 68305. $2750 Chapman and Hall hardcover books
1846315072London: Bradbury & Evans 1846. First edition second issue. 1 vols. 12mo. Publisher's decorative red cloth in a fine silk-lined maroon morocco clamshell case by Rivière. Minimal wear a bright copy. Some offsetting to the endpaper from the Richard Bayard Dominick bookplate which has become detached. 19 December 1846 ownership inscription on half-title. First edition second issue. 1 vols. 12mo. Usually encountered with the engraved title in the third or fourth state both the first and second issues are genuine rarities. The title banner in this second state does not have a supporting winged figure. Eckel p. 122; Sadleir 681 Bradbury & Evans unknown books
1846224743London Bradbury & Evans Whitefairs 1846. 1846. First edition second issue of the engraved title page vignette title page with publisher's imprint and no angel on the scroll. 8vo. 13 illustrations by D. Maclise R. Doyle J. Leech C. Stanfield et.al. Original gilt stamped red cloth a.e.g. Clean tight fresh copy with some slight rubbing; trace removal booksellers label on rear pastedown. Enclosed in a full red morocco slipcase with folding fleece lined chemise. F. Hardcover. London, Bradbury & Evans, Whitefairs, 1846. hardcover books
04053London: Bradbury & Evans 1850. First Edition of Charles Dickens David Copperfield<br/> An Excellent Copy in the 'Variant' Cloth Binding<br/><br/>DICKENS Charles. The Personal History of David Copperfield. With Illustrations by H.K. Browne. London: Bradbury & Evans 1850. <br/><br/>First edition in book form first state following all but two of the twenty points listed in Smith in the primary binding. Octavo 8 3/4 x 5 1/2 in; 222 x 138 mm. xiv 1 errata 1 blank 624 pp. Engraved frontispiece title page and thirty-eight engraved plates after Hablot K.Browne aka "Phiz". The two points not in their first state are p. 132 line 20 "screamed" for "screwed" and double end quotes on p. 368 line 24. <br/><br/>Publisher's 'variant' binding of moderate olive green fine-diaper grain cloth; the front and back covers entirely stamped in blind with a three line border which encloses a rectangular frame that occupies the length of the covers. Within the frame there is an ornament of leaves and stems in each corner and a chain like design that runs along its inner surface; each segment of the chain encloses s four-headed flower and is bordered by a nipple 30 on each cover: 10 at each side and 5 each at the top and bottom. The spine is stamped in blind with; the lettering is in gold DAVID/COPPERFIELD between the first and second panels and CHAs. DICKENS centered within the third panel from the top. The facing end-papers have a pale orange yellow coating. Bookplates of Victor B. Levit on front paste-down and free end-paper. Small booksellers label of J. Moddie Miller Edinburgh on front paste-down.<br/><br/>Some small and very neat repairs to spine extremities. Inner hinges expertly and almost invisibly repaired. Spine very slightly faded a few very minor and pale stains on the cloth sides corners very slightly bumped with a little show-through of the boards. A very good copy the plates remarkably clean and fresh for this book.<br/><br/>Following the serial publication of the novel in parts May 1849 - Nov. 1850 the novel was published in book form on November 14 1850.<br/><br/>"As is well known this novel being largely biographic was the first one by Dickens written in the first person. The original sales did not exceed 25000 copies its later popularity more than equalized the failure as an early money-maker. With many lovers of the author's works 'David Copperfield' ranks as the finest of his writings. With a book which gave to the world such characters as Betsy Trotwood Micawber the Pegottys and Mr. Dick to mention only a few it would have been strange if it had been otherwise. The rather meagre profits again brought to the author the necessity for a personally-owned and conducted periodical and this subsequently formulated itself into his Household Words. <br/><br/>Smith I:9. Eckel p. 77. Sadleir 686. London: Bradbury & Evans, 1850 unknown books
186470168London: Chapman and Hall 1864-1865. 20 original parts bound in 19 as issued. First Edition. Decorated throughout with illustrations by Marcus Stone and with the great bevy of advertisements as issued and bound into the front and rear of each volume. 8vo publisher's original blue printed wrappers now housed in a fold-over case of brown cloth with black morocco lettering label gilt decorated. A very handsome set the sheets uncut and the text and plates all preserved very well and present. The great number of ads are also in excellent condition and include many not often encountered such as the 'Foreign Bank Notes' ad in Part 19/20; page "13" misprinted "31" in No. 10 and noted by Hatton and Cleaver as appearing in a few copies with the yellow announcement slip for "All the Year Round" in No. 8 with the rare yellow slip "At the Bar" "In Number 335" in No. 18 as well as the yellow Mappin & Webb advertisement the volumes are in original condition and with some expert and essentially invisible refurbishment at the spine panels some very light wear at some edges as is to be expected but a truly fine and lovely set in beautifully preserved condition. FIRST EDITION IN THE ORIGINAL PARTS. With the Mutual Friend advertiser and related matter at the beginning and end of each part and slip explaining the title in Part 1. A great bevy of the advertisements called for by Hatton and Cleaver are present. A fine survival of the original parts issues.<br> This was the second to last book that Dickens would write and the last one that he would actually finish. The years shortly before the publication of OUR MUTUAL FRIEND were fraught with domestic sorrow that would lead to his eventual decline. He separated from his wife Catherine in 1858 after his admiration for the young actress Ellen Ternan strained his already deteriorating marriage. He further had to defend himself against scandal and protest his innocence when wagging tongues of gossip linked his name to his sister-in-law Georgina’s who had served as his housekeeper for many years. He threw his restless energy into increased productivity and public readings of his work both of which were physically and emotionally exhausting. He suffered from recurrent illnesses during the creation of OUR MUTUAL FRIEND but nonetheless managed to maintain the level of genius in his prose that had pervaded his previous works. He died unexpectedly only five years later while he was writing THE MYSTERY OF EDWIN DROOD.<br> Like most of Dickens’ work OUR MUTUAL FRIEND was published in monthly serial parts the first in May of 1864 and the last in November of 1865 as here. Chapman and Hall hardcover
18371264371837. London: Chapman and Hall 1837-40. <br /> <br /> 3 vols. 12mo. Six engraved plates by Phiz Hablot K. Browne in each. Original pictorial printed blue paper boards yellow coated endpaers rebacked. Upper board of Young Ladies detached boards darkened and a little soiled scattered foxing. Custom slipcase.<br /> <br /> § First editions of these separately issued volumes. A harmonious set in a custom slipcase unusual in original boards. unknown
1844153231844. . in the original cloth With Illustrations by Phiz. London: Chapman and Hall 1844. Original blind-stamped diagonally-ribbed blue cloth.<br/> <br/> First Edition in book form published immediately at the conclusion of the 20-in-19 monthly serial parts issued from January 1843 through July 1844. MARTIN CHUZZLEWIT marks Dickens's return to conventional serial parts with separate plates followed by a single octavo volume as with NICHOLAS NICKLEBY in 1839; since then he had tried weekly parts composed of a single illustrated folded sheet MASTER HUMPHREY'S CLOCK consisting of both THE OLD CURIOSITY SHOP and BARNABY RUDGE published all-together in book form in three oversized volumes. CHUZZLEWIT was the first of Dickens's novels to lose readers during serialization; when the publisher Hall accordingly suggested Dickens's fees should be reduced though it never happened it created a rift that was not bridged until Chapman and Hall published A TALE OF TWO CITIES in 1859. Included are the forty plates by Hablot K. Browne "Phiz" two of which had appeared in each part. This copy is in the primary cloth binding for MARTIN CHUZZLEWIT blind-stamped diagonally-ribbed blue cloth. The errata leaf is in the usual 14-line state; the vignette title page has "100£" printed thus and has seven studs along the top edge of the trunk Smith's state "1" -- one of three states without precedence. The volume's condition is very good-plus -- unusually attractive externally with only the slightest of wear at the extremities. The pale yellow endpapers appear to be original with no evidence of anything underneath the paste-downs but in our opinion they are too clean too intact and perhaps a slightly variant hue of yellow -- so we believe they are later in other words that the volume was deftly re-cased but without any external evidence. The "Phiz" plates and the text are quite clean and free of foxing -- though there is a marginal corner repair to the frontispiece. In all this is clearly a better-looking copy than most. All of the thick octavo-format Dickens novels the six others being PICKWICK PAPERS NICHOLAS NICKLEBY DOMBEY AND SON DAVID COPPERFIELD BLEAK HOUSE and LITTLE DORRIT are difficult to obtain in presentable original condition as the bulk of text and plates was too heavy for the simple cloth bindings and delicate endpapers; however in our experience MARTIN CHUZZLEWIT incidentally the only one of the seven to be bound in blue rather than olive-green cloth is one of the toughest. Housed in a handsome morocco-backed cloth clamshell case. Smith I pp 63-67. unknown
183787474London: Chapman and Hall 1837. Fine. Chapman and Hall London 1837 13.50 x 21.30 cm relié First edition illustrated with 43 plates including a frontispiece and title-frontispiece. MCCCXXXVII on title page. 28 plates have captions while the rest have none. Our volume possesses several features attesting to the very first printing: 5 lines at bottom of page 9; p.10 last line mark between the R and U and M of RUM; Line 29 p. 260: ""holding""; p. 341 line 1: L.5 p. 341 Inscriptino; ""inbe-licate""; p. 342 line 5: ""S. Veller""; p. 432 the F of Posthumous papers of is poorly printed. The engraved title is in second state with Tony Weller's name above the porch the first state having simply Veller. Contemporary full brown calf binding. Spine with false raised bands decorated with gilt thick fillets long tools on the bands and blind wavy patterns on the spine. Red calf title label: Pickwick. Wide blind ruled frame on boards doubled with a gilt border. Traces of rubbing. Spine slightly faded. As almost always due to the acidity of the paper the engravings often show browning notably and often a browned frame in the margin. The posthumous papers like all of Dickens's works first appeared in parts from April 1836 to November 1837 then in volume form. Written by a 24-year-old Dickens the work propelled the writer into a glory from which he never descended. The reception of the work was immense and very popular; it was claimed at the time that only the Bible and the works of Shakespeare exceeded The posthumous papers in circulation. Chapman and Hall hardcover
1851138215London: Bradbury & Evans 1852-54 i.e. 1851-53. In the original cloth First editions in book form first issues with the advertisements at the ends of each volume with the relevant points. Dickens's history of England for children "intensely anti-aristocratic and anti-monarchical" ODNB originally appeared anonymously in Household Words between January 1851 and December 1853 with the volumes published in book-form in the December of those years post-dated to the following years. In style subject and composition the book differed from all Dickens's other works. 3 vols large sextodecimo. Each vol. with the half-titles and engraved frontispieces by F. W. Topham. Original reddish-brown cloth gilt titles and decoration to spines blind stamped border and gilt pictorial decoration to front covers marbled endpapers and edges. Contemporary ownership signature to half-title of vol. I. Loss at head of spine of vol. I front hinges just starting some light foxing to contents. A fresh set cloth bright. Eckel p. 128; Smith II 10. hardcover
1836138166London: Chapman and Hall 1836. Dickens defends the poor man's right to a free sabbath First edition of the young Dickens' pseudonymous political pamphlet defending the right of the poor man to a free Sabbath in opposition to a proposed law put forward by Andrew Agnew 7th Baronet Agnew of Lochnaw prohibiting all work and all recreation on a Sunday. This copy differs to the description in Eckel in that there is no "price two shillings" note on the front cover; it matches the other points which distinguish it from the two known facsimiles: the words "Sunday Under Three Heads" beginning page 35 and the spelling "hair" rather than "air" on page 7 line 15. Provenance: Richard Manney book-label to chemise sale of his library at Sotheby's New York 11 October 1991 lot 77; the Lawrence Drizen collection of Charles Dickens Sotheby's 24 September 2019 lot 4. Small octavo. With 3 illustrations by Hablot K. Browne who also designed the heads on the front cover and title page. Original brown wrappers printed in black rebacked. Housed in a blue cloth chemise within blue morocco slipcase spine lettered in gilt. Further light repairs to wrappers contents with light creasing slight stain to top right corner throughout. A very good copy. Eckel p. 102; Gimbel B30. hardcover
1844154882London: Chapman and Hall 1844. Publisher's deluxe binding First edition in book form in the publisher's full morocco binding the most deluxe of the three original binding options offered by the publisher and very scarce. Martin Chuzzlewit was initially issued in monthly parts from December 1842 to July 1844 and in book form on completion. In an advertisement in the final monthly part the publishers announced that it could be purchased in three formats: in cloth for £1 1s. in half morocco with marbled edges for £1 4s. 6d. and in full morocco with gilt edges for £1 6s. 6d. This full morocco binding is much scarcer than copies in the original cloth which are themselves by no means common. This is the first copy of this novel in the full morocco binding that we have handled. The early owner of this copy Howell Blood whose signature dated 1862 appears on a preliminary blank was typical of the customer Chapman and Hall was targeting with their offer of deluxe full morocco binding - the upwardly-mobile middle class with pretensions to have the "best looking" copies of Britain's newest literary sensation. "The sons of small farmers retail traders and small masters. were now benefiting from the reformed grammar schools and recently founded academies. A first generation Witham solicitor Joseph Howell Blood was clerk to the powerful attorney Jacob Howell Pattisson related through his mother's side. By the 1840s Blood had become clerk of the workhouse clerk of the JP's bench and chairman of the Board of Guardians the kind of post that would not have existed in the eighteenth century. By the 1850s he had set up his own legal practice in the town later joined by his eldest son" Davidoff & Hall p. 265. The ownership signature may be that of either Joseph Howell 1806-1876 or his son Howell 1837-1911 who was educated at Rugby and became a clergyman. Chapman and Hall continued to issue first edition sheets for many years after publication binding up copies from their stock as required including in this deluxe format. There are many variations between the morocco bindings of Dickens's novels variations which have not yet been subject to a sustained bibliographical study identifying priority - the marbled endpapers and gilt turn-ins here are indicative of binding in the 1850s. Martin Chuzzlewit is placed by Dickens's biographer Peter Ackroyd as marking "a great change in Dickens's conception of moral characteristics. For the first time Dickens begins to explore the contradictions and difficulties of the contemporary human world; these are no longer figures defined by a single characteristic or animated by the wilful principle of a 'humour' but ones who are seen to change with the changing world to live and grow" Ackroyd p. 392. Dickens wrote to John Forster on 2 November 1843 that "I think Chuzzlewit is a hundred points immeasurably the best of my stories" Pilgrim Letters III pp. 590. Octavo 211 x 132 mm. Engraved frontispiece and vignette title page £ sign not transposed no priority 38 plates by Hablot Knight Browne Phiz. Bound without half-title. Original purple pebble-grain morocco spine lettered in gilt spine bands and covers ruled in blind gilt floral turn-ins marbled endpapers gilt edges. With ink ownership signature of "Howell Blood Witham 1862" to initial binder's blank and his pencil ownership signature to facing binder's blank see note. Slight splits and wear at head of joints but holding firm offsetting to preliminaries plates browned as often early gatherings and first plate somewhat soiled with a few peripheral nicks and chips letterpress leaves afterwards clean small patch of tape repair in gutter of p. 32 6 cm closed tear affecting text without loss to pp. 461/2 3 cm closed tear not affecting text to pp. 603/4. A good copy. Kremers pp. 79-82 288; Smith I.7. Peter Ackroyd Dickens 1990; Leonore Davidoff & Catherine Hall Family Fortunes Men and Women of the English Middle Class 1780-1850 2013. hardcover
