Dickens, Charles.

Collection of six First Editions, all bound uniformely around 1850 and all in their original state. A stunning set with nearly all of the books in their First state of First Edition printing and with all plates complete. The collection includes: Bleak House / Little Dorrit / Nicholas Nickleby / Martin Chuzzlewit / Dombey and Son / David Copperfield. A very rare occasion in which a contemporary 19th-century lover of Dickens’ Literature had all Novels in their first edition bound to his/her liking. The mid-19th-century bindings beautiful in their simplicity and uniform style.

London, Chapman and Hall, 1839 – 1857. Octavo. Hardcover / Mid-19th-century Half-Leather with gilt lettering on spine. Original marbled endpapers. Very good condition with only few layers and illustrations loosened and the usual tanning to the illustrations. Very good condition with only minor signs of wear. [The David Copperfield Volume has a defect (see detailed description below)]. Perfect collection of first editions to start a Dickens-Collection in contemporary, 19th-century bindings.

Condition – Report on the set:

1. Dickens, Charles – Nicholas Nickleby. London, Chapman and Hall, London 1839.
First Edition with mixed states (Second and First State). All text errors (first state of first edition points), but one (!), present: On page 123, line 17 already reads corrected “sister” instead of “visiter”;
First State points follow in the rest of the publication: “flys” for “flies” on page 245 line 10; “visiters” instead of “visitors” on page 272 line 2; “incontestible” for “incontestable” on page 297 line 22; “suprise″for “surprise” on page 586 line 24.

2. Dickens, Charles – The Life and Adventures of Martin Chuzzlewit. With Illustrations by Phiz. London, Chapman and Hall, 1844.
First state of text with “100£” on the engraved title page. 14-line-Errata-leaf in second state as usual. Some tanning to plates as always. Binding slightly rubbed.

3. Dickens, Charles – Dealings with the Firm of Dombey and Son, Wholesale, Retail and for Exportation.
With Illustrations by H.K.Browne. London, Bradbury & Evans, 1848.
First issue points of First Edition printing are all present: In the title-page vignette, Capt. Cuttle’s hook is erroneously on his left arm / pages XV has no page-entry for the frontispiece and vignette / no quotation-marks around “the Party” line 2 / p.26, line 11 has “fidgetty” / on page 40, lines16-17 read “shewed” and “shew” instead of “showed” and “show” / page 284, fifth and sixth lines from the bottom, “Delight” instead of “Joy” / page 324, last line “Capatin” for “Captain” / page 426, line 9 “if” is not present / page 582, the last line has no full stop / Binding slightly rubbed.


4. Dickens, Charles. The Personal History of David Copperfield. With Illustrations by H.K. Browne. London, Bradbury & Evans, 1850.
First edition, with first issue points. Binding cleanly separated from bookblock. Binding boards fully intact (repair is included in price to the liking of any future buyer).

5. Dickens, Charles – Bleak House. London: Bradbury and Evans, 1853.
First edition, with first issue points: “elgble” on page 19, line 6; “chair” on page 209, line 23; “counsinship” on page 275, line 22. Bound in decorative, contemporary 19th century half-leather with gilt lettering on spine. One layer loosened (pages 119 – 122/plus illustration).
With 38 illustrated plates plus frontis and engraved title page. Near Fine with the plates as usually tanned at the borders with some mild foxing throughout.

6. Dickens, Charles – Little Dorrit. London: Bradbury and Evans, 1857.
First Edition in book-form, with first issue points, still retaining signature “B2” on page 371 and “Rigaud” mistakenly substituted for “Blandois” on pages 469-74. Eckel, 82-85. Smith I:12. Gimbel (Podeschi) A141. Dickens’ most outspoken and outstanding novel, with 40 illustrations by Phiz, including frontispiece and vignette title page. “In Little Dorrit, Dickens mounts his single most ferocious onslaught against England and English society; against its government, against its financiers, against its artists and even against its ordinary citizens who, at least in Bleeding Heart Yard, believed that ‘foreigners were always immoral that foreigners had no independent spirit”” (see Ackroyd, 758). Perhaps unsurprisingly, many reviewers reviled the book upon its publication. Dickens’ friend Hans Christian Andersen advised the author to ignore the critics: “They are forgotten in a week, and your book stands and lives” (Ackroyd, 780).

A “wonderfully rich novel, rich in ideas, rich in characterization, rich in incident, and written in a richly imaginative prose. Many critics regard it as Dickens’ masterpiece” (see Watts, 108).

• Keywords: Catalogue No.10 – International Literature · Catalogue Ten – International Literature · Catalogue Two – Children’s Books · English Literature – Rare · English Literature of the 19th century · New Arrivals
• Language: English
• Inventory Number: 31270AB

EUR 18.800,-- 

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