Charles Dickens, Signed (244 results)

First edition, presentation copy, inscribed by the author at the head of the half-title, "Thomas Beard Esquire, From his old friend Charles Dickens, Devonshire Terrace, Nineteenth May 1846". The inscription is dated the day after publication. Thomas Beard (1807-1891) was almost the oldest of Dickens's friends, and their friendship was uninterrupted until the novelist's death in 1870. Dickens joined Beard as a reporter on the Morning Chronicle in August 1834 through Beard's recommendation; Beard was best man at his wedding and godfather to his eldest son (Letters of Charles Dickens, eds. Madeleine House & Graham Story, p. 3, vol. 1, 1965). Smith II, 7. Small octavo. Original moderate blue fine-diaper cloth, spine lettered in gilt, spine and covers stamped in blind, pale yellow coated endpapers. Recent custom blue morocco-backed folding case. Title vignette and 3 wood-engraved vignettes in the text. The Suzannet copy, with the engraved bookplate of Alain de Suzannet (Sotheby's, 22 Nov. 1971, lot 87, to J. E. Teale; subsequently resold at Sotheby's, 1984.) Rebacked with original spine laid down, light toning to margins, a very good copy.

Presentation copy, inscribed by Dickens to William Cullen Bryant (1794-1878), editor of the New York Evening Post and a leading poet of his generation: "William Cullen Bryant From his friend and admirer Charles Dickens", signed with his characteristic lavish underscores. Dickens met Bryant for their first private audience on his American tour on Tuesday 22 February 1842 and presented him with a gift of six books, all American editions of his own works. Bryant reciprocated by presenting Dickens a copy of this own The Fountain and other Poems, his inscription using the same form of words (that copy later in the Stephen H. Wakeman collection, sold American Art Association, April 1924, lot 26, $400). Bryant was well-disposed to Dickens, at that time the most famous living author in the world, but he, like many other Americans, was dismayed by the criticisms Dickens expressed in his American Notes (1842) and in the American chapters of Martin Chuzzlewit (1844). However, he recovered sufficiently to visit Dickens as an old friend on his return to America in 1867. The fact that this is an American edition of Dickens's first publishing success is evocative: Dickens had strong feelings on the contentious issue of international copyright, and the subject hung over the whole trip. He mentioned it himself several times during his public engagements, eventually drawing on himself the wrath of the American press. Lea and Blanchard (successors to Cary and Lea) were Dickens's "official" American publishers and had prepared for his visit by reprinting his works to date, but the American economy was in the middle of a depression, general fiction could only be sold in the cheapest possible formats, and the cash-strapped publishers were not eager to further erode their profits by paying royalties to foreign authors. Large octavo. Original brown vertical grain cloth, covers blind-stamped, spine with figure and title in gilt (stained, worn), inscribed to Bryant "from his friend and admirer, Charles Dickens". Housed in a brown quarter morocco solander box by the Chelsea Bindery. Provenance: by descent from the recipient. Substantial dampstaining to top edges of boards, also affecting contents but to a lesser extent, head and tail of spine chipped, wormholes to joints, boards rubbed and scuffed, ring stain to front board, some spotting and oxidisation of plates, sporadic foxing and tanning to text.

First authorized collected edition, presentation copy, inscribed by the author on the inserted blank facing frontispiece, "Agnes Sarah Lawrence, from her affectionate friend Charles Dickens, Twenty Second November 1852". The recipient Agnes Sarah Lawrence (born c.1835, and a young lady at the time of this inscription) was the daughter of John Towers Lawrence of Balsall Heath, near Birmingham. Dickens corresponded with her father in February that year about bringing a group of amateur players to Birmingham. The following Christmas, Dickens returned to Birmingham to give a three-and-a-half-hour reading of A Christmas Carol and The Cricket on the Hearth at the Birmingham Town Hall - the first of his famous readings. Copies for presentation were evidently specially prepared with a heavy text leaf replacing the standard tissue guard. The Gimbel Collection, now at Yale, includes three presentation copies of this edition, each similarly inscribed on an inserted front blank and dated November 1852. Dickens's Christmas books were published here together for the first time, with a new preface by Dickens. This copy was later in the library of noted collector Carrie Estelle Doheny (1875-1958) with her red morocco book label to the front pastedown. Doheny's library in Camarillo, California "represented one of the rarest book libraries in the United States. Within the collection, 4,000 volumes were rare books and first editions. Fifteen hundred of the volumes were comprised of autograph letters and important historical and literary manuscripts. Early vellum manuscripts such as bibles, gospels, commentaries, liturgical works, and ornamented books revealed the prominence of the collection" (Bakken & Farrington, p. 97). Gimbel D5. Gordon Morris Bakken & Brenda Farrington (eds.), Encyclopedia of Women in the American West, 2003. Octavo (180 x 118 mm). Contemporary reddish-brown calf, titles in gilt to green calf label to spine, spine elaborately blocked in gilt, frames to covers in gilt and blind, board edges rolled in gilt, edges gilt, marbled endpapers, green silk bookmark. Housed in a custom red cloth chemise and red morocco-backed slipcase. Engraved frontispiece by John Leech, text in double columns. Spine professionally refurbished, repair to front joint. Auction cataloguing tipped in at front. Crease to gutter of frontispiece. Slight rubbing to extremities, boards a little marked and scuffed; a very good copy, internally bright.

Presentation copy, inscribed by Dickens to William Cullen Bryant (1794-1878), editor of the New York Evening Post and a leading poet of his generation, inscribed by Dickens: "William Cullen Bryant From his friend and admirer Charles Dickens", signed with his characteristic lavish underscores, and with two accompanying autograph letters signed. In the first letter Dickens writes: "With one exception (and that's Irving) you are the man I most wanted to see in America". Dickens excuses himself for not having been able to see Bryant when he called, adding though that "As I lost what I most eagerly longed for, I ask you for your sympathy and not for your forgiveness". He presses Bryant to come and breakfast with him - "I don't call to leave a card at your door before asking you, because I love you too well to be ceremonious with you. I have a thumbed book at home, so well now that it has nothing of you on the back, but one gilt 'B', and the remotest possible traces of a 'y'. My credentials are in my earnest admiration of its beautiful contents". The second letter was the cover note to the gift of six American editions of Dickens's works, all similarly inscribed: "If I had any control over the accompanying books, they should be unillustrated, and in outward appearance more worthy your acceptance." After the delays indicated by the first letter here, Dickens finally met Bryant for their first private audience on his American tour on Tuesday 22 February 1842. Bryant responded to the gift of books by presenting a copy of this own The Fountain and other Poems, his inscription using the same form of words (that copy later in the Stephen H. Wakeman collection, sold American Art Association, April 1924, lot 26, $400). Bryant was well-disposed to Dickens, at that time the most famous living author in the world, but he, like many other Americans, was dismayed by the criticisms Dickens expressed in his American Notes (1842) and in the American chapters of Martin Chuzzlewit (1844). However, he recovered sufficiently to visit Dickens as an old friend on his return to America in 1867. The fact that this is an American edition is evocative: Dickens had strong feelings on the contentious issue of international copyright, and the subject hung over the whole trip. He mentioned it himself several times during his public engagements, eventually drawing on himself the wrath of the American press. Lea and Blanchard (successors to Cary and Lea) were Dickens's "official" American publishers and had prepared for his visit by reprinting his works to date, but the American economy was in the middle of a depression, general fiction could only be sold in the cheapest possible formats, and the cash-strapped publishers were not eager to further erode their profits by paying royalties to foreign authors. Large octavo. Original brown vertical grain cloth, covers blind-stamped, spine with figure and title in gilt (stained, worn), inscribed to Bryant "from his friend and admirer, Charles Dickens". Housed in a quarter morocco solander box by the Chelsea Bindery. With two autograph letters signed to the poet and journalist William Cullen Bryant, Carlton House, New York, 14 and 27 February 1842, together 3 pages, 8vo, the second with later annotation to upper margin. Provenance: by descent from the recipient. Spine expertly repaired, with restoration at head, dampstaining to top edge of contents, boards scuffed and dampstained, foxing throughout, offsetting and oxidisation to plates, as usual with American piracies of this date, overall a good copy.

First edition, presentation copy, inscribed by the author on the half-title "William Haldimand Esquire With the cordial remembrance and regard of Charles Dickens Twenty ninth March 1849". A former director of the Bank of England and a Member of Parliament for Ipswich, William Haldimand (1784-1862) was the brother-in-law of William de Cerjat, one of Dickens's lifelong friends and correspondents. Dickens met Haldimand during his visit to Switzerland in 1846, where Haldimand had retired in 1828. This was a time of some mental frustration for Dickens, and he gained some relief by reading the first number of Dombey and Son to Haldimand and Cerjat. Haldimand's friendship was evidently of some significance to Dickens - he named his seventh child Sydney Smith Haldimand Dickens. The Haunted Man, published on 19 December 1848, was the fifth and final of Dickens's Christmas books. "As soon as he returned from Broadstairs to London, he started work on the Christmas Book he had for so long been contemplating, a book about lost time. The Haunted Man and the Ghost's Bargain is concerned with the power of memory, with family life which is destroyed and replaced only by the wretched anxieties of a distinguished but solitary man. the theme itself revolves around Dickens's belief that memory is a softening and chastening power, that the recollections of old sufferings and old wrongs can be used to touch the heart and elicit sympathy with the sufferings of others. It has been said that in this autobiographical fragment Dickens is only suppressing his feelings of hurt and jealous rage, but it seems more likely that he was actively involved, after Fanny's death, in the process of transcending them" (Ackroyd, p. 553). Provenance: the Comte Alain de Suzannet, with his bookplate to front pastedown (this copy not recorded in the catalogue for the sale of his collection at Sotheby's, 22 November 1971); the collector Michael Sharpe, morocco book-label to front pastedown; the Lawrence Drizen Collection of Charles Dickens. Eckel p. 124; Smith, II, 9, pp. 68-70. Peter Ackroyd, Dickens, 1990. Octavo. Original red cloth, titles and decoration to spine and front cover in gilt, frame stamped in blind to covers, yellow endpapers, gilt edges. Housed in a custom red half morocco box and chemise. Frontispiece, engraved title page, and 15 illustrations in the text, by Leech, Stanfield, Tenniel and Stone. Neat early ownership signature to front free endpaper. Wear at spine and joint ends, top of backstrip loosening, light soiling and rubbing to cloth front hinge starting, initial leaves loosening but stitching holding; still very good copy in the original cloth.

First edition, presentation copy to the radical political journalist Albany William Fonblanque, with an autograph letter signed from Dickens tipped-in, and in the deluxe binding, as used for presentation copies. Nicholas Nickleby was one of the most politically pointed of Dickens's novels, written at the end of a turbulent decade, in which the Reform Act and Poor Law Amendment Act had led to widespread unemployment and depression, and published in the year of the first Chartist uprising at Newport, making this a particularly compelling association. The letter, dated 14 November and headed from Dickens's Doughty Street address, reads: "My Dear Sir, Do me the favor [sic] to accept a copy of Nickleby, and with it the assurances of my warm regards and admiration. I shall be removing in the course of a few weeks nearer to your neighbourhood Devonshire Terrace, York Gate and when this comes to pass, I cherish the hope of seeing you more frequently. Believe me always my dear sir faithfully yours Charles Dickens". Fonblanque's signature is on the front free endpaper. Fonblanque had risen to prominence as a major voice of English radicalism, inspired by Owenite ideals. "Fonblanque's period of greatest influence as a journalist was from 1826 to 1837, when he was a prominent 'philosophic radical'. He was strongly opposed to the aristocratic principle, a fierce champion of suffrage extension, and thus a leading supporter of the 1832 Reform Bill. John Stuart Mill commented on 'the ardour of his sympathy with the hard-handed many' and praised his 'verve and talent, as well as fine wit. [He] was zealous in keeping up the fight for radicalism against the Whig ministry'; Thomas Carlyle, from a different political perspective, considered that Fonblanque's journalism made him 'the cleverest man living of that craft at present'" (ODNB). During the 1830s, his radicalism eased, and he moved closer to mainstream whiggism in his subsequent journalism, though he remained esteemed and feared for his force and wit. Dickens met Fonblanque through an introduction from his friend and future biographer John Forster. The pair thereafter moved in similar circles; Fonblanque attended Dickens's dinner parties, and they yachted together. Fonblanque later wrote political leaders for Dickens's newspaper the Daily News. The publishers offered the finished novel in three binding options at varying costs, in cloth, half morocco, and the present full morocco. Other presentation copies we have traced were also in the deluxe full morocco binding. Eckel pp. 64-5; Smith I, 5. Peter Ackroyd, Dickens, 1990. The letter is published in the Pilgrim Edition of The Letters of Charles Dickens (vol. I, Clarendon Press, 1965, p. 603). Octavo. Original green morocco, spine lettered in gilt, spine bands tooled in blind, concentric blind panelling to covers, blind turn-ins, yellow endpapers, gilt edges. Housed in red cloth chemise and half morocco box by Bayntun. Engraved portrait of Dickens after D. Maclise with facsimile signature and 39 plates by Phiz. Recent bookplate of Jeremy & Penny Martin to front pastedown. Neat repair to front joint, spine ends and front free endpaper, superficial split to front joint and hinges, some browning and foxing to plates as usual. An excellent copy.

Second US edition in book form, inscribed by the author on his first visit to America on the title page: "George Morris from Charles Dickens New York. First June 1842". The recipient was the noted American journalist and poet George Pope Morris (1802-1864), editor and founder of various papers including the New-York Mirror and Ladies' Literary Gazette, which published the writings of many of the best authors of the day including Washington Irving, Edgar Allan Poe, and Dickens himself. Dickens had first met Morris earlier that February, writing to his friend John Forster that at a grand ball in New York he was "waited upon" by Morris "in the full dress uniform of Heaven knows what regiment of militia", most probably in his role as Brigadier-General in the New York State Militia (Letters, Pilgrim Edition, vol. III, p. 71). On 1 June 1842, Dickens inscribed to Morris six known copies of his books, all once offered together in the Rosenbach catalogue of English Literature in November 1913, and since dispersed. Dickens's US visit was by no means successful, as the author was furious at the piracy of his works by American publishers, and his public criticism of their practices led to the condemnation of Dickens by various newspapers. He nonetheless gathered material which he worked into his survey of the country, American Notes, published later that year. The Old Curiosity Shop (which includes Master Humphrey's Clock) was first published in the US in serial form from 1840 to 1841, with the first edition in book form published later in 1841. Provenance: Sotheby's, 24 November 1927, sold to the noted Dickens' collector the Comte Alain de Suzannet (with his bookplate to the front pastedown and inner chemise); sold in his sale at Sotheby's, 22 November 1971, lot 59; sold by J & S Graphics, Inc in their Catalogue number 16, 1973; subsequently in the acclaimed Dickens' collections of Kenyon Starling (bookplate to front pastedown); and William E. Self (ditto), sold in Self's sale at Christie's New York, 4 February 2008, lot 78; and again at the Sotheby's sale of the Lawrence Drizen Charles Dickens Collection, 24 September 2019, lot 78. Smith, Charles Dickens: A Bibliography of His First American Editions, p. 166. Octavo. Original brown cloth, spine lettered with vignette in gilt, covers blocked in blind, plain endpapers. Housed in a custom green half morocco slipcase and chemise. Additional title-page for Master Humphrey's clock, engraved frontispiece, title, and 8 plates after George Cattermole, Hablot K. Browne and Thomas Sibson, numerous woodcut illustrations throughout text. Lightly rubbed, some minor browning, a couple of gatherings a little sprung. A very good copy.

First US edition in book form, inscribed by the author on his first visit to America on the vignette title page: "George Morris from Charles Dickens New York. First June 1842". The recipient was the noted American journalist and poet George Pope Morris (1802-1864), editor and founder of various papers including the New-York Mirror and Ladies' Literary Gazette, which published the writings of many of the best authors of the day including Washington Irving, Edgar Allan Poe, and Dickens himself. Dickens had first met Morris earlier that February, writing to his friend John Forster that at a grand ball in New York he was "waited upon" by Morris "in the full dress uniform of Heaven knows what regiment of militia", most probably in his role as Brigadier-General in the New York State Militia (Letters, Pilgrim Edition, vol. III, p. 71). On 1 June 1842, Dickens inscribed to Morris six known copies of his books, all once offered together in the Rosenbach catalogue of English Literature in November 1913, and since dispersed. Dickens's US visit was by no means successful, as the author was furious at the piracy of his works by American publishers, and his public criticism of their practices led to the condemnation of Dickens by various newspapers. He nonetheless gathered material which he worked into his survey of the country, American Notes, published later that year. This first US book form edition of Barnaby Rudge was published on 20 December 1841, with the title page postdated 1842. It had originally been serialized in 19 parts by Lea and Blanchard between 12 March and 18 December 1841. The publisher's paid Dickens a set fee for the advance sheets of each English number, first published from February to November that year. Provenance: Sotheby's 24 November 1927, sold to the noted Dickens' collector the Comte Alain de Suzannet (with his bookplate to the front pastedown and inner chemise); sold in his sale at Sotheby's, 22 November 1971, lot 62, to Francis Edwards; re-appearing at the sale of the collection of Neville L. Fakes at Sotheby's, 11 July 2002, lot 212; and again at the Sotheby's sale of the Lawrence Drizen Charles Dickens Collection, 24 September 2019, lot 79. Smith, Charles Dickens: A Bibliography of His First American Editions, p. 184. Octavo. Original brown cloth, spine lettered with vignette in gilt, covers blocked in blind, plain endpapers. Housed in a custom green half morocco slipcase and chemise. Engraved title, frontispiece and 14 engravings after Cattermole, H. K. Browne and Sibson by J. Yaeger, numerous woodcut illustrations throughout text. Very light wear at extremities, a couple of gatherings a little sprung, light bumping, occasional slight browning to contents. A very good copy.

Signed "Charles Dickens (with a large flourish) Washington, D.C. Seventh February 1868." Large oval portrait photograph measures 13 inches by 13 inches. Matted in a walnut frame which measures 24Âinches by 27 inches. ÂOn his Washington tour Dickens met President Andrew Johnson and signed this photograph on the date of that meeting, February 7, which also happened to be Dickens' birthday. HeÂdiscussed in a letter to his friend and agent John Foster regarding that day, "This scrambling scribblement is resumed this morning, because I have just seen the President: who had sent to me very courteously asking me to make my own appointment. He is a man with a remarkable face." From the Library of The Cosmos Club in Washington, D.C. Portrait photographs of this size signed by Dickens are exceptionally rare, especially with such noted provenance. Charles Dickens was an English writer and social critic. He created some of the world's best-known fictional characters and is regarded by many as the greatest novelist of the Victorian era. His works enjoyed unprecedented popularity during his lifetime, and by the twentieth century critics and scholars had recognized him as a literary genius.

An extraordinary letter encapsulating the moment of deciding to write A Christmas Carol A fine two-page autograph letter, on the first and third sides of a folded sheet, signed by Dickens, 10th March 1843, to social reformer Thomas Southwood Smith. After corresponding for some time about sanitary conditions for working children in England, and deciding to publish a pamphlet exposing the scandal, Dickens here writes with a change of plan. In full: My Dear Dr. Smith, Don t be frightened when I tell you that since I wrote to you last, reasons have presented themselves for depriving the production of that pamphlet until the end of the year. I am not at liberty to explain them further, just now, but rest assured that when you know them, and see what I do, and where and how, you will certainly feel that a sledge hammer has come down with twenty times the force twenty thousand times the force I could expect gy following out my first idea. When so recently as I wrote to you the other day I had not contemplated the means I shall now, please God, use. But they have been suggested by me, and I have guided myself for their service, as you shall see in due time. f you will allow our tete a tete and projected conversation on this subject, still to come off, I will write to you as soon as I see my way to the end of my month s work. Always faithfully yours, Charles Dickens . An astonishing letter written at the very moment of inspiration to write A Christmas Carol. It is, in fact, well-known that Dickens used Sledge Hammer as his working title for his novel for some time, the purpose of his book being to strike a hammer s blow on behalf of the poor children of England - a firm aim documented quite clearly in this letter.

[Festive Ghost Stories] ALL FIRST EDITIONS, each with an associated letter tipped-in. Five volumes, octavo (19 x 13 x 10cm). Publisher's red cloth covers (brown cloth for 'Carol') with gilt blocking and gilt edges. [1] A Christmas Carol: FIRST EDITION, FIRST ISSUE, FIRST STATE, with uncorrected text, scarce yellow endpapers, and title page dated 1843. 'D' of Dickens on stamp to upper board is perfect, conforming to the description of the first impression, first issue binding in Smith (p.27). Also with an associated manuscript letter by Dickens, addressed to a Mr Becker, dated 1856 (published in 'The Pilgrim Edition' of the letters of Charles Dickens, the recipient likely Bernard Henry Becker, writer and journalist for Daily News and a special correspondent in Sheffield, Manchester and Ireland. [2] The Chimes: FIRST EDITION, FIRST ISSUE, with autograph signed letter from the book's illustrator Richard Doyle. [3] Cricket on the Hearth: FIRST EDITION, FIRST ISSUE advertisements at rear. With an autograph signed letter by Lord Francis Jeffrey, a Scottish judge and literary critic and the dedicatee of this volume. [4]The Battle of Life: FIRST EDITION, SECOND STATE title page. With autograph signed letter from the book's illustrator John Leech. [5] The Haunted Man: FIRST EDITION. With autograph signed letter from the book's illustrator John Tenniel. A clean, near fine set (occasional marks to joints where tipped-in, old description to pastedown of 'Carol'), letters with associated folds and creases, cloth generally bright. Each volume in a vintage plain red paper-backed cloth jacket and all housed in an exquisite binocular style pull-off case with full gilt backs. A very clean set, attractively presented with much additional material. Smith, Walter E., Charles Dickens in the Original Cloth, Volume II: The Christmas Books, 2 vols (Los Angeles, CA: Heritage Book Shop, 1982), pp.19-29.

First edition in book form, presentation copy from Dickens to his friend William Harness, inscribed by the author on the title page "The Rev: William Harness From Charles Dickens Christmas, 1860". Dickens's friendship with the Shakespearean scholar William Harness (1790-1869) probably began at the Athenaeum - where both were members - in 1838, and was no doubt cemented when both men became members of the Shakespeare Society in 1840. Harness was one of the small circle invited to attend the private reading of The Chimes at John Forster's rooms in December 1844, and is depicted as overcome with emotion in Daniel Maclise's drawing of the reading. "Dickens was a very kind friend to Mr Harness; he regarded him as one of the literary men of the past, and occasionally asked his opinion, and sent him little presents, which were of course very gratifying. Mr Harness thoroughly appreciated the great novelist and his works, and was supremely happy whenever he could persuade 'Charles' to be a guest at his table. When Dickens was giving Readings in his later years, he told Mr Harness that he would always have a chair placed for him close to the platform; but Mr Harness never accepted the kind offer although he attended all his Recitations; and on those appointed nights it was impossible to persuade him to accept any invitation" (A. G. L'Estrange, The Literary Life of the Rev. William Harness, pp. 167-8). The Uncommercial Traveller comprises 17 sketches composed by Dickens after his nocturnal walks, originally published in his journal All the Year Round between January and October 1860, and published in the present book form on 15 December that year, the title post-dated 1861 as often for books published towards the end of the year. "The 'Uncommercial Traveller' essays, which feature some of the finest prose ever written by Dickens, take sometimes a quasi-autobiographical form, with reminiscences of childhood, like 'Nurse's Stories' or 'Dullborough Town' (that is, Rochester), and are sometimes examples of superb investigative reporting, notably of lesser-known aspects of life in London; yet others focus on the process of travel itself, in its many various forms" (ODNB). The book remained in the Harness family many years following the presentation, with a loosely inserted note "Given to my gt-gt. uncle the Revd William Harness by Charles Dickens from Miss M. S. Roberts", and inscribed on the half-title verso "Margaret Stewart Roberts from aunt Marge Nov: 12 1927". Smith II: 11; Eckel, p.132; Gimbel A145. Octavo (184 x 117 mm). Contemporary green half roan, red morocco label, marbled sides, speckled edges. Housed in a dark green quarter morocco solander box by the Chelsea Bindery. With 32pp. of advertisements at the end dated December 1860. Spine and extremities worn, joints firm, contents clean; a good copy.

Hardcover. Condition: Near Fine. 1st Edition. First Edition, First Printing. This book has the First issue point with the 'Fireside' plate and the author credited as 'Boz' to the title page. This copy is SIGNED by Charles Dickens on a laid in envelope. An attractive copy with light wear to the spine and edges. The bindings in all three books are tight, bound in the ORIGINAL publisher's cloth. The pages are clean with light discoloration. There is NO writing, marks or bookplates in the book. Overall, a lovely copy of this (3) Volume First Edition SIGNED by the author. We buy Charles Dickens First Editions. Signed by Author(s).

Hardcover. Condition: Near Fine. 1st Edition. First Edition, First Printing. This is the TRUE FIRST EDITION with the First issue point with page 213 miss-paginated. The publisher's catalog is present and dated November 1859. This copy is SIGNED by Charles Dickens on a laid in check dated 1859, the same year this book was published. A wonderful UNRESTORED copy bound in the ORIGINAL publisher's Red Cloth. The binding is tight with light wear to the boards. The pages are clean with minor discoloration to the endpapers. There is NO writing, marks or bookplates in the book. Overall, a lovely copy of this First Edition SIGNED by the author. We buy Charles Dickens First Editions. Signed by Author(s).

Soft cover. Condition: Fine. 1st Edition. First Editions, First Printings in the ORIGINAL MONTHLY PARTS SIGNED by Charles Dickens on a laid in check. A superb set in the publisher's green pictorial wrappers with minor wear to the spines and edges. These ORIGINAL wrappers include 27 additional plates with the rare suppressed plates by R. W. Buss in part 3. A total of 70 plates present, with the 27 additions showing different versions of the original 43, some plates being variants not mentioned in Hatton and Cleaver. "These three artists (Seymour, Buss, "Phiz") etched, in all, 92 plates for the completed work; of which 43 are the "Originals" as they appeared in the first issue of the monthly parts, 4 are "Replacements," 2 are "Substitutes," and 24 are "Duplicates" of the originals: total 73. The remaining 19 are not dealt with in this bibliography" (Hatton and Cleaver pp 17). Fourteen of the front wrappers and twelve of the back wrappers are first issue (the wrappers, like the plates, can be found in a number of variants). The text has issue points in twelve of the nineteen books, in this set two of the parts show first issue text and ten show later issue text. The Pickwick advertiser is present and complete in eleven of the sixteen parts which call for it. The set also retains five of the seven "addresses" that were issued in the course of publication. Back ads present are Parts IX, one ad;, part X, one ad; Part XIII, two ads; Part XIV, one ad; Part XV, seven ads; Part XVII, three ads; Part XVIII, four ads; and Part XIX-XX, four ads. This shows twenty-three of the thirty-four ads called for in Hatton and Cleaver. Not complete as for the advertisements, but still with many more ads here than most copies in recent years. An overall excellent set documenting the progression and development of the illustrated plates and their variations housed in a custom clamshell slipcase for preservation SIGNED by the author. Signed by Author(s).

Autograph letter signed from Charles Dickens to Thomas C. Grattan (1792-1864), Irish novelist and British consul in Boston, upon Dickens's return from his first trip to America, in total around 200 words in his hand. A bitter Dickens reflects upon his trip, generally seen as unsuccessful following controversies over copyright, and has come back to find that the only change in Britain is an increase in income tax. He is nonetheless friendly, asking to be commended to their mutual friend and to Grattan's family, commenting on the death of a well-known publisher, and wishing him well. Dickens visited America on a six-month tour in 1842, partly as he had always admired the country, and also with the intent of publishing his observations, which were indeed published as American Notes for General Circulation in October 1842. Dickens landed in America in January 1842, welcomed by local dignitaries and cheering crowds, and was lined up with an itinerary including a visit to the White House, meetings with various literary and political figures, and numerous banquets. However, he soon found his literary stardom oppressive, being unable to keep up with the flood of correspondence and overwhelmed by the surge of admirers. It was the issue of copyright which was the greatest blight on the trip. Throughout his publishing career, the lack of effective copyright was Dickens's bugbear. Even within Britain, where he was protected under British copyright law, Dickens found that from the publication of The Pickwick Papers onwards his novels were plagued by unauthorized stage adaptations, piracy, parodies, and "sequels". In America, which had no legal requirement to recognize British copyright or to pay royalties to authors, Dickens was most afflicted with piracy. Dickens's success in America had been as great as in Britain, and his novels - already in 1842 including Barnaby Rudge, The Old Curiosity Shop, Nicholas Nickleby, Oliver Twist, and The Pickwick Papers - had proved bestsellers in various pirated editions, for which Dickens had not received a penny. In his frustration, Dickens sought to use the trip to raise the issue, which he recounts to Grattan, "You will have seen that I have followed up the International copyright question". In two speeches, at public banquets in his honour on 1 February and 8 February, he criticized the lack of an international copyright agreement. The American reaction was instantly negative, with widespread condemnation in the newspapers, partly no doubt fed by publishers who had a vested interest in the continued absence of international copyright agreements, but also reflecting American outrage that their feted author had debased himself with the subject of money, especially at banquets meant for his honour. The press attacks were often blatantly offensive, attacking his character and motives. However, it was one incident which particularly angered Dickens, albeit not surprising him, as he writes to Grattan: "They have forged a letter under my hand in the American papers - which does not surprise me in the least. Nothing but Honesty or common sense would startle me, from such a quarter." On 11 August 1842 (after Dickens had returned to Britain) the New York Tatler published a letter allegedly written by Dickens to the Morning Chronicle in July, full of contempt for his American hosts and for the hospitality he had received. This forgery, for Dickens, was emblematic of the contempt he was facing, further embittering him against the country. "Dickens's romantic dream of America as a pure, free, 'innocent' land, untrammelled by the corrupt institutions and the pernicious snobberies and class hatreds of the Old World, was rapidly turning sour, and he resolved to decline all future invitations of a public nature" (ODNB). Notwithstanding Dickens's bitterness, his letter to Grattan is affable. Born in Dublin, Grattan was initially educated for the law, but turned instead to writing, publishing a few novels, and the travelogue Highways and Byways (1823). He took up residence as British consul in Boston in 1839, and would himself publish a book critical of America, Civilized America, in 1859. Dickens writes to Grattan "let me report that we are all well and happy, as I shall hope to hear you are". He writes concerning the recently deceased publisher Thomas Longman, who had died three days before Dickens's letter: "the older Longman is just dead. He fell from his horse, and never recovered. I have not heard to whom he has bequeathed his valuable collection of authors' skulls", the last line a sardonic comment on the large number of writers whom Longman published, including Coleridge, Southey, Wordsworth, and Scott. Dickens mentions the great English tenor John Braham - "If you should foregather, any of these odd days, with Braham, commend me to him heartily" - which may well be a pointed comment, as Braham had also made a largely unsuccessful trip through America from 1840 to 1842. Maintaining the friendly tone, Dickens asks that he also pass on the commendations "with all manner of remembrance from Mrs. Dickens to Mrs. Grattan - and to your sons and daughter". Though obviously happy to be back in Britain, Dickens's woes were added to upon finding that Robert Peel had instituted a tax on income over £150 a year. He reports back to Grattan: "everybody is cursing the Income Tax, except the men to whom it gives places - and that there is nothing else new in this Hemisphere". Published in The Pilgrim Edition of the Letters of Charles Dickens, vol. III, 1974, p. 317. Folded bifolium (total leaf size 377 x 226 mm), one page of letter text, another of integral address (and note to send by the Great Western, the first regularly scheduled transatlantic steamship), verso blank, two British postmarks: "Ship Letter" and the cancellation stamp "New York Ship, Sept. 18", wax seal. Housed in a custom green half morocco folding box, green cloth sides, spine and front panel lettered in gilt, latter o.

Hardcover. Condition: Fine. 1st Edition. First Editions, First Printings of this two volume set. A wonderful copy SIGNED by Charles Dickens on a handwritten letter by Dickens laid into the book. The books are bound in the publisher's original green cloth. The bindings are tight with NO cocking or leaning with minor wear to the edges. The pages are clean with NO writing, marks or bookplates in the books. A superb copy SIGNED by the author. We buy Dickens in the original parts. Signed by Author(s).

A superb memento of Dickens's theatrical high-water mark, his bravura performance as the "craven and boastful" Captain Bobadil in his own "strictly private" production of Ben Jonson's comedy Every Man in his Humour. The invitation card - in effect a ticket to the performance - carries his characteristic flourished signature on the verso and a holograph entry in his hand, requesting the pleasure of Miss Holskamp's company at the first night, seating her in number 44 in the "Boxes, Second Circle". The success of Dickens's performance is attested by a portrait of him in the role, painted by C. R. Leslie in 1846 and lithographed by Thomas Maguire. The playbill is annotated to give a virtually complete cast list and in this regard may well be unique. "Stimulated after giving a reading of The Chimes to a small audience of friends [at Christmas 1844], [Dickens] resolved to organize some amateur theatricals of his own. Returning from a spell of residence in Italy, 'he flung himself with the passionate fullness of his nature into' gathering a cast and choosing a play. On 20 September 1845, Ben Jonson's Every Man in his Humour was played to a private audience at Miss Kelly's Theatre, 'with a success that out-ran the wildest expectation', as Forster recalled, 'and turned our little enterprise into one of the small sensations of the day'" (V&A Dickens centenary catalogue 1970). The attendee, a Miss Holskamp, was one of four sisters, all born in the Somers Town area of London, near St Pancras. The most likely to have been invited to this performance would be Margaret Holskamp (1827 1908), cited as a correspondent of Kate Dickens by Lillian Nayder in her biography of Dickens's wife: "In May [1846], Catherine's description of their trip [to Italy] was more definitive, particularly in regard to its southern boundary, a line that she herself drew [the Dickenses disagreed about the ultimate destination of their year abroad]. 'We are on the move again,' she wrote Margaret Holskamp, who knew the de la Rues and had discouraged the advances of Augusta [de la Rue]'s brother William" (The Other Dickens: A Life of Catherine Hogarth, 2011, p. 139). The friendship with the de la Rues is a minor but intriguing episode in Dickens's life: "In Genoa [in 1845] and elsewhere he became intensely involved in using, either directly or long-distance, the power of mesmeric healing he discovered in himself to alleviate the condition of Mme de la Rue, an Englishwoman who suffered great distress from hallucinations. This strange intimacy with Mme de la Rue caused Catherine considerable uneasiness, not surprisingly. Dickens's response was righteous indignation (eight years later, when he again met the de la Rues abroad, he wrote home to Catherine admonishing her that he thought it would become her now to write Mme de la Rue a friendly letter, which she obediently did). The Dickens family were back in London in July 1845 and Dickens energetically set about organizing a production of Jonson's Every Man in his Humour to be given by a band of his literary and artistic friends, the Amateur Players. This took place on 21 September [sic] in a private theatre in Dean Street, Dickens's own virtuoso performance as Captain Bobadil winning many plaudits" (ODNB). The playbill is annotated in another hand, listing all performers (bar two minor parts), and this is important as it sheds light on the roles taken by Dickens's siblings and friends: Henry Mayhew as Knowell, Fred Dickens as Edward Knowell, Mark Lemon as Brainworm, Dudley Costello as George Downright, T. J. Thompson as Wellbred, Forster as Kitely, Dickens as Bobadil, Douglas Jerrold as Master Stephen, "Leach" (John Leech) as Master Mathew, Augustus Dickens as Thomas Cash, Percival Leigh as Oliver Cob, Marcus Stone as Justice Clement, Frederick Evans as Roger Formal, "Charles" as William, "Jerrold Jun[io]r" (Blanchard Jerrold) as James, Miss Fortescue as Dame Kitely. "It is important to note that the rest of the cast - Mark Lemon, John Leech, Henry Mayhew, Douglas Jerrold, Gilbert a'Beckett [who appears not to have performed on this first night but is named on the ticket] - came from a specific group, a little band of journalists known as the 'Punch brotherhood' to themselves and as 'those Punch people' to outsiders" (Peter Ackroyd, Dickens, 1990, p. 470). It was an extraordinarily lavish evening at Miss Kelly's Theatre: Jonson's comedy was to be preceded by the overture to Rossini's William Tell and followed by silver-fork novelist Catherine Gore's one-act farce, A Good Night's Rest; or, Two O'Clock in the Morning (a two-hander, the characters being "Mr. Snobbington" and "The Stranger"), which itself was to be preceded by the overture to another Rossini opera, La Gazza Ladra - better known as The Thieving Magpie. Dickens had recently returned from Italy and in Pictures from Italy (published in May 1846) notes several visits to the Carlo Felice theatre in Genoa, where a "second-rate opera company" was performing. It is interesting to speculate that this may have given him the idea of punctuating the theatrical proceedings with Rossini's irresistible music. Both ticket and playbill are from the collection of celebrated bibliophile William E. Self, who formed a fine Dickens library; he recorded that the names of the players was "filled in by Mrs. Charles Dickens" (the items once appearing in the market with a copy of the note, since lost). The fact that Catherine Dickens contributed to the production in some small measure is attested by Lillian Nayder: "Catherine had seen the first performance, at Frances ('Fanny') Kelly's Royalty Theatre, in September, writing many of the invitations herself" (ibid.). In fact, in September 1850 Catherine appeared as Bridget in Jonson's comedy during rehearsals for another performance by Dickens's troupe, scheduled for November at Knebworth House, the home of Edward Bulwer Lytton (an onstage accident prevented her appearance). It is not wholly fanciful.

Hardcover. Condition: Fine. Thick 8vo., bound in three quarter dark blue levant morocco, raised bands, lettered in gilt; top edge gilt. Early printing of the trade edition, without date in Roman numerals on copyright page. A stunning copy of a classic of American literature, awarded the Pulitzer Prize posthumously ----- Extra illustrated edition -- Inserted within the text are approximately 80 portrait engravings and 50 documents signed by Henry Adams s circle of associates, including: (page i) Henry Adams, 4-page autograph letter signed (ALS) to C.W. Ernst, April 24, 1894, critiquing HA's "History of the United States"; (viii) Henry Cabot Lodge (HA's close friend), affixed signature; (5) James K. Polk, 1-page document signed; August 7, 1845, regarding a land transaction; (10) Louisa Catherine Adams (HA's grandmother), 1-page ALS, July 8, 1845, regarding a fire at the Adams home; (19) Joshua Johnson (HA's great-grandfather), 3-page document signed, July 1, 1799, regarding a dispute between neighbors; (20) William P. Hunt (JQA's pastor), 1-page ALS to N. Hale, May 9, 1842, regarding a possible story publication; (22) John Quincy Adams II (HA's brother), 1-page ALS to President Andrew Johnson, November 2, 1867, requesting assistance for a friend; (26) Charles Francis Adams (HA's father), 1-page ALS to R. B. Clark, July 10, 1856, demanding payment for services rendered; (34) Horace Mann (HA's hero ), 21-page ALS to G. B. Upton, December 20, 1844, regarding a visit to a school; (41) Charles Francis Adams, Jr. (HA's brother), 2-page ALS, no date (nd), declining a speaking engagement; (50) Caleb Cushing (CFA s diplomatic colleague), 1-page ALS, nd, regarding a lecture; (60) Louis Agassiz (HA's Harvard teacher), 1-page ALS to Franklin B. Sanborn, nd, requesting assistance; (72) Charles Dickens (English novelist whom HA admired), 1-page document signed, June 12, 1866, check; (86) Clarence King (HA's close friend), 1-page ALS, nd, defending a friend against slanderous charges; (90) Giuseppe Garibaldi (HA's hero ), 1-page ALS to George N. Sanders, April 11, 1854, regarding the destiny of Italy and his role; (100) Henry Winter Davis (CFA's political colleague), 1 ½ page ALS, nd, regarding his home, along with a sketch of his garden; (104) Richard Hildreth (CFA's colleague), 1 ½ page ALS to his publisher, March 9, 1855, regarding his "History of the United States"; (108) Horace Gray (HA's law mentor), 1-page ALS, nd, accepting a dinner invitation; (124) Richard Monckton Milnes (HA's English political friend), 1-page ALS, nd, regarding poetry; (136) Benjamin F. Butler (Massachusetts politician disliked by the Adams family), 1-page TLS to O. D. Barrett, August 12, 1887, regarding a weekend visit; (148) William M. Evarts, (secretary of state and HA's friend), 2-page ALS, April 11, 1862, discussing a recent court case; (158) Lord Lyons (British minister to US and CFA's colleague), 3-page ALS to J. Carlisle, March 1961, regarding patents and citizenship; (164) Benjamin F. Butler (Massachusetts politician), 1-page ALS to O. D. Barrett, January 24, 1884, regarding litigation of a paving company; (184) James Mason (Confederate Trent commissioner; CFA's adversary), 1-page ALS, August 29, 1848, regarding a financial settlement; (192) George Grote (Classical historian whom HA admired), 1-page ALS, August 6, 1831, regarding life insurance; (200) Samuel Wilberforce (English bishop with whom HA socialized), 2-page ALS, October 25, 1845, regarding sales of his "History of the Protestant Episcopal Church"; (206) George Canning (British statesman included in HA's "History of the United States"), 2-page ALS; January 6, 1853, regarding a misunderstanding; (210) Francis Barlow (Lawyer-politician in HA's circle), 2-page ALS, nd, regarding a book; (214) Thomas Woolner (HA's English sculptor friend), 1-page ALS to William Gladstone, June 4, 1864, regarding a statue at his studio; (244) (Continued at # ABE-12664270773.). Signed by Author(s).

Hardcover. Condition: Good. 1st Edition. London: Richard Bentley, 1838. First Edition, First Issue with Boz on the title pages (replaced with Charles Dickens in later states) and with the Fireside plate (later replaced with the Church plate). WITH AN AUTHENTICATED SIGNED LETTER bound in a folder in the same style as the volumes from Dickens to Mrs [Georgiana] Morson, Matron of Uriana Cottage; AUTHENTICATED BY Dr Leon Litvack, THE Principal Editor of "THE CHARLES DICKENS LETTERS PROJECT" and Reader in Victorian Studies at The School of Arts, English and Languages at Queen's University, Belfast. The letter is unrelated to the volumes. Autograph letter signed ("Charles Dickens"), to Mrs [Georgiana] Morson, responding: "Yes, to both of your enquiries", 1 page, folded, very light dust-staining, 8vo, Tavistock House, 20 January 1853. From DICKENS TO THE MATRON OF URANIA COTTAGE, the home for 'fallen women' that he had established with Angela Burdett-Coutts at Shepherd's Bush, just outside London, and in which he took an active interest, often visiting several times a week. Georgiana Collin was born in Merton. She married James Morson, a doctor for St George's Hospital, in 1838. Shortly after their marriage, James Morson was appointed as Chief Medical Officer for the Brazilian National Mining Association. He died in 1848, leaving Georgiana with three children to provide for by her own efforts. In 1854, Morson would resign from her post as matron of Urania Cottage in order to marry George Wade Harrison, a printer and bookseller, and they settled in Sevenoaks. On 26 May 1846, Dickens wrote Burdett-Coutts a lengthy letter stating his desire to open an asylum for girls and women working in London's streets as prostitutes. The letter included planning for the asylum ranging from finding a property in London to a detailed process of rehabilitating fallen women. For example, Dickens suggests introducing a marks system and probationary period for asylum residents. Dickens located a home for the asylum originally named Urania Cottage in Shepherd's Bush, Middlesex in 1847. Georgiana Morson served as a dedicated matron of Urania Cottage from 1849 to 1854. In her book, Charles Dickens and the House of Fallen Women, Jenny Hartley describes how, "Georgiana Morson proved herself the best matron Urania ever had. she taught the girls to read and write, as well as all the household skills a servant needed. She presided over the dining table, and made mealtimes a social occasion the girls had not known before. They ate the good food she had taught them to cook and chattered about their future prospects." Oliver Twist; or, the Parish Boy's Progress. By "Boz." In Three Volumes. Vol. I. [II. III.] London: Richard Bentley, 1838. Rebound in three half leather volumes with a slipcase bound in the same style containing the letter. First edition, first issue, with the title-page author stated as "Boz" instead of Dickens and with the "Fireside" version of the final plate. Three octavo volumes (approximately 7 ¾ x 5 inches; 19.7 x 12.5 cm.). Volumes I and III in twelves (gathering of twelve pages), volume II in eights (gathering of 8 pages). Walter E Smith wrote an authoritative bibliography on all of Dickens works and these volumes have been compared to his collation: Vol I [ii Smith states iv this volume lacks the half title], [1], 2-331, [lacking 4 pages of advertisements as is often the case when books are rebound], all other first edition points are present save the Bentley imprint at the base of the 10 illustrations which have been trimmed historically; colophon Printed by Samuel Bentley to the final printed page; Vol II [ii Smith states iv this volume lacks the half title], [1], 2-307, [308]; all other first edition points are present (including for example, on page 151, line 3, a gap between the r and unning , and Chapter XXIX printed XXVIX) save 2 points and the Bentley imprint at the base of the illustrations which have been trimmed historically, 7 p. Signed by Author(s).

First edition, bound from the original parts in the publisher's primary cloth binding, and scarce thus. Pickwick Papers was Dickens's first great success, the novel that transformed him from an obscure journalist into England's most famous writer in a matter of months. The novel is notoriously difficult to secure in the original cloth in desirable condition: "Pickwick (ignoring points) is rarer 'fine in original cloth' than fine in parts" (Sadleir). Upon the completion of the part issue, serialized from March 1836 to November 1837, Chapman and Hall offered Pickwick Papers in book form in three formats: in the present cloth for 21s., full morocco with gilt edges for 26s. 6d, and half-morocco with marbled edges for 24s. 6d. The also offered owners of the original parts their binding services, binding their parts in the same format at a much lower price than purchasing a new book form copy - cloth, 1s. 6d, full morocco 6s. 6d, half morocco, 4s. 6d. A slip inserted in the 19th number of the part issue (dated 30 October 1837) advertised these services and prices (see Kremers, pp. 285/6). This copy is an example bound from the original parts in cloth, with the characteristic stab-holes in the gutter where unstitched from the wrappers. The publisher continued to offer binding services long after publication, and variants in the cloth exist that reflect later binding this cloth here is established as primary by both Smith and by Kremers, and matches a copy we have handled with an ownership signature dated on publication day. It is common to cite various issue points for copies in the cloth, but copies bound from the 19 original parts as here necessarily comprise a mix of issues. The key indicators of issue - wrapper and advertisement variations - were discarded when copies were bound. This copy has the following textual and plate states: the plates do not have Chapman and Hall's imprint (added later), and the title is dated 1837 (later issued with subsequent years). The title reads "Weller", available simultaneously with those reading "Veller". The signature "E" is present on p. 25, the first state without it. As in all but a tiny proportion of copies, the Seymour plates are re-engraved by Phiz, following the former's suicide soon into publication of the parts. The Buss plates, which Dickens disliked and rejected, are also replaced by those of Phiz as usual. Hatton and Cleaver pp. 1 ff; Kremers pp. 54-69; Smith, I.3. Robert Patton, Dickens and his Publishers, p. 326. Demy octavo. Original purple fine-diaper cloth, covers stamped in blind, blind-stamped spine lettered in gilt, pale yellow coated endpapers. Engraved frontispiece, vignette title page, and 41 plates by Robert Seymour and Hablot Knight Browne ("Nemo" and "Phiz"). Spine sunned, cloth faded, spine with a couple of nicks and one small chip at foot, few short splits to rear joint, tips worn, generally clean and fresh internally, the plates in good condition without foxing or oxidisation, early inscription carefully cleaned from head of half-title, plate facing p. 89 with tear from foot up to page number neatly closed, plate facing p. 94 with tiny tear in fore edge similarly closed, very good overall.

Original pen, ink and wash on card. Signed by the artist in the lower right hand corner and below the painting in Rackham's hand is the caption, "Mrs Cratchit brings in the Christmas Pudding, Dickens' A Christmas Carol" and a further full signature. 22.8cm x 17.8cm. The image in very good condition indeed, with a little browning to some sections of the background. Arthur Rackham and Charles Dickens are perfect companions to provide a Christmas cheer. LITERATURE: A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens (Heinemann, 1915) p.88. Also used as the dustwrapper artwork for an American edition of the same title.

Soft cover. Condition: Fine. 1st Edition. First Editions, First Printings of All 20 original parts bound in 19 wrappers SIGNED by Charles Dickens on a check laid into volume 1. A wonderful set in the publisher's green printed wrappers with minor wear to the spines and edges. The pages are clean with minor wear. Otherwise, a beautiful set housed in a custom clamshell slipcase for preservation SIGNED by the author. We buy SIGNED Dickens First Editions. Signed by Author(s).

Hardcover. Condition: Very Good. 1st Edition. First edition 1839, with most first issue points, Smith 5, p.41/42. Rare and early signature, Faithfully Yours Charles Dickens, signed two days after publication  in October 25th, 1839 tipped in between plate and title page. Dickens signatures are scarce but this early is scarcer still. Contemporary half-calf binding, rubbed, with slight bumping to corners and extremities. Internally clean, some spotting to plates, occasional tears or marginal loss, most repaired and not affecting illustrations. Final leaf pp.623-624 torn with loss affecting text, otherwise complete. 8vo. Signed by Author(s).

Hardcover. Condition: Very Good. 1st Edition. SIGNED on a laid in paper bearing only Dickens' clear signature, First Edition of his immortal Oliver Twist, the first Victorian novel with a child protagonist. First published as a serial from 1837 to 1839 and released as a three-volume book on November 9, 1838 before the serialization ended. 3 vols. Volume one with the plate list inserted after title (not found in all copies); Bound in later 19th century 1/2 calf over marbled boards, with marbled page ends. FIRST EDITION, FIRST ISSUE in book form, meeting all points as per Eckel and Smith, including the later canceled "Fireside" plate in volume 3. Smith 1, 4; Eckel 59. Ownership inscription of Grace Pfeifer to front endpapers. In 2008, Christie's sold a signed first of Oliver Twist, inscribed directly to the book for $229,000. Book #Cv2105. $10,000. We specialize in Rare Ayn Rand, history, and science. Signed by Author(s).

Hardcover. Condition: Near Fine. Limited Edition. Title printed in red and black, with twelve mounted coloured plates (with captioned tissue-guards) and numerous drawings throughout the text by Arthur Rackham. Long recognised as a principal artist in the Golden Age of British book illustration 'A Christmas Carol' marks the first time Rackham illustrated a work by Charles Dickens. Signed by Author(s).

hardcover. Condition: fine. Rackham, Arthur (illustrator). Limited. Color frontispiece and 11 other mounted color plates by Arthur Rackham. Many b/w line drawings. 4to, white vellum, pictorially stamped and lettered in gilt. Uncut edges, t.e.g. Philadelphia: J.B. Lippincott, no date, [1915]. Limited Edition - one of only 100 copies, signed by Rackham. An absolutely fine, bright copy, except for the missing silk ties.

With a Fine Original Watercolor on Calf Doublure By Helen R. Haywood Granddaughter of Master Binder Robert Riviere [DICKENS, Charles]. HAYWOOD, Helen R., artist. Little Dorrit. With Illustrations by H.K. Browne. London: Bradbury and Evans, 1857. First edition, first issue with all twenty-one internal text flaws as noted by Smith. Octavo. (8 1/2 x 5 1/2 in; 216 x 138 mm). xii, 625, [1, blank] pp. Forty engraved plates by "Phiz" (H.K. Brown), including frontispiece and engraved vignette title page. With an inserted preliminary leaf printed "With Water Colour Drawing on Calf Doublure by" [signed] Helen R. Haywood. Bound ca. 1930 by Rivière and Son (stamp signed to upper doublure) in full wine crushed morocco. Gilt French fillets. Gilt vignette to upper board. Five gilt ruled raised bands. Gilt lettered and decorated compartments. Original watercolor painting by Helen R. Haywood on calf to upper doublure (signed "HRH" at lower left corner) with gilt rolled decorative borders. Red moire silk endpapers. Red moire silk to lower doublure with gilt rolled borders. All edges gilt. Neat ink inscription on front blank "Louise Dalton Kirk./from/Mother and Dad-/1936-". A unique and fine copy. Housed in the binder's original fleece-lined red cloth slipcase. The exquisite ca. 1930 original watercolor on calf and signed by Helen R. Haywood elegantly reproduces in color the Phiz plate "Flora's Tour of inspection" found opposite to page 519. Helen R. Haywood (1908-1995), English painter and children's book illustrator Helen R[iviere]. Haywood was the granddaughter Robert Riviere, founder of the great bindery which executed this lovely binding. Her mother, Mabel, was Riviere's ninth and last child. She was born in England in 1908 but was taken as a child to Chile, where her father, an engineer, worked on the trans-Andean railway. She remained in Chile until she was approximately 15 years old. Her experiences were recounted in an unpublished novel,"Childhood in Chile." Miss Haywood was a keen student of science and an amateur naturalist and anthropologist. Many of the books she illustrated for the publisher Hutchinson & Co., London, were keenly observed and scrupulously accurate depictions of plants, birds and animals. When commissioned to do illustrations for a children's book on dinosaurs, her research into the skin colors she subsequently chose for her dinosaur illustrations was cited by the Royal Academy of Sciences. Haywood was also a practitioner of the art of fore-edge painting. She became acquainted with the art form through an uncle who was associated with the Bayntun-Riviere Bindery of Bath. She did several fore-edge and double fore-edge paintings on commission every year from the 1930s to the 1970s for Inman's Books, an antiquarian book dealer in New York City. She died in Bournemouth, England in 1995. "Little Dorrit originally appeared in twenty numbers, bound in nineteen monthly parts, the last part forming a double number, from December 1855 - June 1857. It was published in book form on May 30, 1857" (Smith). Provenance: Louise Dalton Kirk 1936; Purchased by David Brass Rare Books from a private California collection 2007; sold to Randal Moscovitz 2008. Smith I, 12. Eckel pp. 82-85.

Signed limited edition of Rackham's illustrated edition of Dickens' classic Christmas tale. Quarto, original gilt-decorated full vellum, pictorial endpapers, illustrated with 12 tipped-in color plates with lettered tissue guards in addition to numerous black-and-white illustrations throughout the text. One of 500 numbered copies for sale in Great Britain, Ireland, and the Colonies signed by illustrator Arthur Rackham, this is number 20. In near fine condition. A Christmas Carol "may readily be called the Bible of Christmas. It was issued about ten days before Christmas, 1843, and 6000 copies were sold on the first day"(Eckel, 110). "It was a work written at the height of Dickensâ great powers, which would add to his considerable fame, bring a new work to the English language, increase the festivities at Christmastime, and contain his most eloquent protest at the condition of the poor" (John Mortimer). One of the leading literary figures during the Golden Age of British book illustration, Arthur Rackham's work is noted for its robust pen and ink drawings, which were combined with the use of watercolor, a technique he developed due to his background as a journalistic illustrator. "Arthur Rackhamâ s fanciful imagination gave his illustrations instant recognition, and his dedication to illustration kept him in the public eye for 30 years" (Hodnett, 233).

First and limited deluxe American edition, number 41 of 100 numbered copies signed by Arthur Rackham; 4to (295 x 240 mm); illustrated with a tipped-in colour frontispiece and a further 11 tipped-in colour plates, all with captioned tissue guards, numerous in-text black & white illustrations, the odd spot to first and last few leaves, else fine; publisher's deluxe full vellum binding, stamped in gilt; replacement silk ties; top edge gilt, other edges untrimmed, as published, illustrated endpapers, mild age discolouration and slight bowing to upper boards, otherwise very good indeed; (xvi), 147, (1) pp. A beautiful copy. Riall, pp. 124-25; Latimore and Haskell, pp. 44-45.