Available Copies from Independent Booksellers
Price: US$61.14 + shipping
Condition: Very Good
Description: Original marbled boards with half-calf spine wap and fore corners; moderate rubbed wear to cover and leather. Spine: Gilt titles on black label, five raised ribs with gilt design. 3cm closed split to head of spine on frontside seam. Mild wear to extremeties. Edges: red speckeld, light soiling. Marbled eps. Splitting to front guttering hinges. Ffep with two old style signatures 1872 & 1888. Illustrated frontispiece with 3cm tear at bottom edge. Few only faded foxing to a few pages albeit mostly to the whitespace margins. Binding is VG. 420p
Seller: BOOKMARK, Auckland, New Zealand
Price: US$61.96 + shipping
Description: 260mm x 170mm (10" x 7"). vi, 78pp, 426pp. Over 80 b/w vignettes. Heavy item - shipping supplement may apply for overseas. G : in Good condition. Cover rubbed and scuffed. Spine faded. Slight foxing Brown hardback half-leather cover with marbled boards
Seller: Barter Books Ltd, Alnwick, NORTH, United Kingdom
Price: US$80.00 + shipping
Condition: Very Good
Description: First edition in VG condition, 3 volumes in 2, original half morocco with marbled paper covered boards with gilt to spines, some rubbing and shelfwear to edges and spine, corners bumped, spine of Volume I has a split but with no loss, quartos, hinges starting, all illustrations present and are by George Cattermole and Hablot Browne. Volume I collates as (x)+306+(vi)+228 pages, volume II as (viii)+229-306+1-426 pages. It incorporates the stories of The Old Curiosity Shop and Barnaby Rudge with characters from Pickwick as well. Eckel pages 61-65; Smith I pages 44-57.
Seller: J. King, Bookseller,, Garden Bay, BC, Canada
Price: US$92.36 + shipping
Condition: Good
Description: Hard cover with gilt titles within maroon frame on green leather spine and corners, and marbled boards. Cover wear involves tear to upper spine end with 1x2cm piece missing, minor rubbing of leather and some minor wear to boards, but front board is detached. Interior includes frontispiece by Dalziel, title page for The Old Curiosity Shop with 39 illustrations by C Green probably in the 1870s with a preface by Dickens April 1840, list of illustrations, 138 pages followed by part of a printed page pasted on blank page; frontispiece and title page for Master Humphrey's Clock dated 1841 vol. II, preface dated March 1841, vi, 228 pages; vignette and title Barnaby Rudge chapter the first, pages 229 to 306, end of vol. II; frontispiece and title page for Master Humphrey's Clock and Barnaby Rudge, Vol. III, vi, 426 pages including 6 pages at rear entitled Master Humphrey from his clock-side in the chimney corner. Published in 1841 these 3 volumes in a single book of Dickens would be in very good condition but for the detached front board. Charles Green was tasked with the illustrations in 1876 so I assume this is the publication date for this volume and the three books have been bound in the incorrect order. Further information readily available if required.
Seller: McGonigles', Cerne Abbas, United Kingdom
Price: US$96.21 + shipping
Condition: Very Good
Description: First edition. Hardback. Vol. 3. Hardback. Bound in textured brown cloth with gilt spine titles. Covers slightly marked and faded with slight bruising to corners and splitting and chipping at spine, otherwise a very good copy with clean contents.
Seller: ROBIN SUMMERS BOOKS LTD, Aldeburgh, United Kingdom
Price: US$102.50 + shipping
Condition: Good
Description: Chapman and Hall 1841 hardback Vol 3 Includes Barnaby Rudge. Bound in uniform in half leather and marbled covers, gilt titles to spine, 426 pages George Cattermole (Illustrator), Hablot Browne (Illustrator), has neat pencil name dated 1844, light scuffs to boards edges and some tan spots mainly o extremeties but still in very good tight clean reading order for age. Full refund if not satisfied. 24 hour dispatch. If not pictured in this listing, a scan of the actual book is available on request.
Seller: D2D Books, Berkshire, United Kingdom
Price: US$128.28 + shipping
Condition: Very Good
Description: First edition. Hardback. Vol. 2. Hardback. Bound in textured brown cloth with gilt spine titles. Covers slightly marked and faded with slight bruising to corners and splitting and chipping at spine, a few pages with slightly creased corners, otherwise very good.
Seller: ROBIN SUMMERS BOOKS LTD, Aldeburgh, United Kingdom
Price: US$150.00 + shipping
Condition: Fair
Description: Brown cloth with gilt spine titles. Illustrated by George Cattermole and Hablot Browne. Two volumes bound in one and called Vol. II and Vol. III on title pages. Both volumes 1841. Covers and spine cloth detached with spine label laid in now in 3 pieces. Text block split into 2 pieces with a couple pages detached from text block. Both volumes have Dublin Library Society stamps throughout. Vol II starts with The Old Curiosity Shop "Chapter The Thirty-Eighth and is followed by 306 numbered pages. Vol III is Barnaby Rudge and begins with Chapter The Thirteenth and is followed by 422 numbered pages. Some edge tears and repaired pages within as well as an occasional pencil notation. Laid in is a May 1941 Customs clearance form stating this volume is "free of duty" due to age. Also laid in is 2 page type written letter signed and dated April 1941 from The Hermitage Sompting Sussex addressing the merits of this publication.
Seller: Diamond Island Books, Gorham, ME, U.S.A.
DICKENS.CHARLES. MASTER HUMPHREY'S CLOCK. LONDON: CHAPMAN AND HALL, 1841, 1841.
Price: US$165.00 + shipping
Condition: Good
Description: THREE VOLUMES.FIRST EDITIONS.EMBOSSED COVERS, WITH GILT DECORATED COVER (CLOCK) AND SPINE AND LETTERING, SHOW SOME EDGEWEAR CHIPS, AND CRACKING TO THE SPINES BUT REMAIN BRIGHT AND LEGIBLE.BINDING ON VOLUME I SHAKEN BUT FIRM; BINDINGS ON VOLUMES II AND III ARE TIGHT.CONTENTS CLEAN AND BRIGHT IN ALL VOLUMES.ILLUSTRATED.COVERS THE OLD CURIOSITY SHOP AND BARNABY RUDGE.
Seller: Angus Books, SHEFFIELD, MA, U.S.A.
Price: US$173.17 + shipping
Description: YEARS: 1840, 1841. Volume I dated: MDCCCXL. Volume II dated MDCCCXLI ( Volume II is stated on the spine, however on the title page it is given as volume III). The spines have wide raised bands decorated in gilt. Although there is some loss at the top of both spines (about 1cm), and a little weakness at the hinges, again towards the head of the spine. The text block and illustrations are clean and free of spotting etc. Half Calf Marbled boards.
Seller: anglimm books, Truro, United Kingdom
Price: US$250.00 + shipping
Condition: Fair
Description: Master Humphrey s Clock. By Charles Dickens With illustrations by George Cattermole and Hablot Browne. This set is complete in 2 separate volumes in damaged but matched bindings. Vol. 1 & Vol. 2 bound together in the first volume. 306 pages + 228 pages. London. Chapman and Hall. Each with its own title page, dated 1840 & 41. Hardcover. Bound in 3/4 leather with marbled paper over boards. The spine is chipped and the front spine-hinge is cracked, so the spine is flapping free. The leather label on the spine identifies this book as Old Curiosity Shop . Pages slightly toned from age, but no foxing to speak of. Illustrated throughout. The 2nd volume, bound in a matching 19th century binding also 3/4 leather this one says Barnaby Rudge on the spine label. Title page is Master Humphrey s Clock. Volume II. Pages numbered 229-306, then the pagination starts again at 1 and goes to 426. (there is no title page where the numbering starts again). As with the volume described above, illustrated throughout, marbled paper over boards, leather spine faded and scuffed, corners bumped. Marbled paper endpapers, reinforced at the gutter. Usually this first book edition of Master Humphrey s Clock (which Includes Barnaby Rudge) is bound in 3 volumes. This 2 volume edition is unusual & that explains the awkward pagination. All the text is present. Please email with questions or to request photos.
Seller: Riverby Books, Fredericksburg, VA, U.S.A.
Price: US$250.00 + shipping
Condition: Fair
Description: Master Humphrey's Clock by Charles Dickens London. Chapman and Hall. 1840 & 1841. 3 volumes. Uniformly bound in formerly-handsome 19th century binding. Brown leather spine and corners, gray bookcloth over boards. Marbled endpapers and page edges. Raised cords on the spines, with black title labels stamped in black. When new and fresh, this was a very lovely binding. There is chipping and fading to the binding now - and the cloth over the boards is unevenly faded and aged. There is a binders tag on the inside front cover "Sharpe Book Binder, Warwick." First volume has a 5" split in the leather at the front hinge but it doesn't affect the strength of the binding. The name Henry Summerfield boldly signed on the back of the first blank. Engraved frontispiece. Title page dated 1840. No date on the copyright page. 306 pages. Illustrated throughout by Cattermole and Browne. The Old Curiousity Shop begins in this volume, interspersed with other short pieces - the speculation is that Dickens had not yet planned to expand it into a novel of its own, so this 1840 version is the first appearance and would later be revised for publication as a freestanding novel. Second volume does not have and splits to the leather; only bumps and scuffs. Title page stated Vol II, and is dated 1841. 306 pages. The story Master Humphrey's Clock ends on page 228, and Barnaby Rudge starts on 229. Illustrated throughout by Cattermole and Browne. Third volume is split at the gutter at the front endpaper, so the front cover and spine are attached by rear hinge and board only. Title page states Vol III. Dated 1841. 426 pages. The title "Master Humphrey's Clock" is the name of a monthly periodical that Dickens wrote and published in 1840-1841 - well aware at that time of the financial benefits of releasing his work serially and then again as novels when it was all finished. Measures about 7 x 10 inches. Please email with questions or to request photos.
Seller: Riverby Books, Fredericksburg, VA, U.S.A.
Price: US$288.62 + shipping
Description: First edition in book form of this scarce novel, attractively bound and containing "quasi-autobiographical relevations [in] imitation of the earlier style of Charles Dickens" (ODNB). Dickens was not impressed when the illustrator Thomas Onwhyn produced plates for pirated editions of The Pickwick Papers and Nicholas Nickleby; however, he "objected to piracy but not to imitation and was friendly with Charles Selby, the author of Maximums and Specimens [sic] of William Muggins". For this reason, Dickens remained in better humour when Selby released a dramatization of Barnaby Rudge halfway through its serialization, writing to Selby that "if I could give you a patent for dramatizing my productions I would gladly do so; inasmuch as if they must be done at all, I would rather have them done by gentlemanly hands" (ibid.) The actor and playwright Charles Selby (c.1802-1863, real name George Henry Wilson) was a member of the company at the Strand Theatre who "performed principally character parts and supplied a long series of plays, mainly farces and burlettas - about ninety in all, according to Allardyce Nicoll - many of which were adapted from the French" (ibid.) Maximums and Speciments previously appeared in an unillustrated serialization in the Sunday Times. Library Hub records only three copies in the UK, at the British Library, Cambridge, and Scotland. Octavo (232 x 145 mm). Contemporary calf, red and brown spine labels, spine decorated in gilt, French fillets on covers with gilt cornerpieces, board edges gilt, gilt floral tooling on turn-ins, green endpapers, top edge gilt, others untrimmed. With 12 steel-engraved plates by Thomas Onwhyn. Couple of marks on covers, slight rubbing at extremities, oxidization to a couple of plates as usual, sparse foxing, else largely clean. A very good copy indeed.
Seller: Peter Harrington. ABA/ ILAB., London, United Kingdom
Price: US$314.28 + shipping
Condition: Very Good
Description: Large 8vo in a late 19th century half leather binding with marbled endpapers & page edges, Complete in one volume, Pages numbered 229-420, Illustrations among text by George Cattermole & H.K.Browne. Lacking the frontis plate otherwise complete, Some light rubbing or minor scuffs & bumps to cover, Endpapers foxed, Occ light foxing or crease to page corners but overall a better than average copy in an attractive leather binding
Seller: Elder Books, Ross on Wye, Herefordshire, United Kingdom
Price: US$350.00 + shipping
Description: Large 12mo, three volumes; pp. [i-v] vi [misnumbered "iv"] [vii-viii] [1] 2-306; [i-v] vi [1] 2-306; [i-v] vi [1] 2-426, three frontispieces, 170 woodcut illustrations and 25 decorative initials, most drawn by H. K. Browne, mid-nineteenth-century three-quarter brown leather and marbled boards, spine richly tooled in blind, with brown leather title and number pieces, brown coated endpapers. First edition. MASTER HUMPHREY'S CLOCK was a weekly magazine Dickens intended as a flexible framework for his fiction and other writing in more frequently published units. Circulation fell quickly and a serial, THE OLD CURIOSITY SHOP, began in the fourth issue. BARNABY RUDGE followed and, upon completion of that serial (a total of 88 weekly parts), Dickens returned to the monthly parts format. This is an fairly early copy of the three volume form with the most of the errors called for by Smith. Smith 6. Leather rubbed and scuffed at edges, edges of text block a bit darkened, several stains on page 13 of volume one, minimal scattered foxing, illustrations generally quite clean and sharp, a sound, attractive copy. (#157236)
Seller: Currey, L.W. Inc. ABAA/ILAB, Elizabethtown, NY, U.S.A.
Price: US$369.44 + shipping
Description: FIRST EDITION, PUBLISHED IN BOOK FORM Two volumes, large 8vo., bound in half calf, raised bands to spine with gilt lettering and decorations, marbled boards, edges and endpapers; 3 vols bound in 2 (1840, 1841, 1841). Pp iv, 306; vi, 306; vi, 426. Both Volumes with b/w frontispiece plus text illustrated throughout by GEORGE CATERMOLE and hABLOT BROWNE. Some rubbing to boards, edges a little scuffed, inner hinges stretched, Volume II title page becoming detached. Overall a Good Set. (Shelf 4) PLEASE NOTE: VERY Heavy SET (2.5 kg+) Postage rates vary according to destination, weight and speed. For an accurate overseas quote PLEASE either call or email us before ordering. [AbeBooks shipping quote is based on items weighing up to 1 kilo only]. Buyer is responsible for any additional duties, taxes, or fees required by recipient's country.** Pictures available upon request.** Visit our homepage for our shop opening hours. Over 20,000 books in stock - come and browse. PayPal, credit and most debit cards welcome. Books posted worldwide. For any queries please contact us direct.
Seller: Chaucer Bookshop ABA ILAB, Canterbury, United Kingdom
Price: US$450.00 + shipping
Description: Large 12mo, three volumes; pp. [i-v] vi [misnumbered "iv"] [vii-viii] [1] 2-306; [i-v] vi [1] 2-306; [i-v] vi [1] 2-426, three frontispieces, 170 woodcut illustrations and 25 decorative initials, most drawn by H. K. Browne, mid-nineteenth-century three-quarter green leather and marbled boards, spine tooled in blind, with brown leather title and number pieces, white endpapers. First edition. MASTER HUMPHREY'S CLOCK was a weekly magazine Dickens intended as a flexible framework for his fiction and other writing in more frequently published units. Circulation fell quickly and a serial, THE OLD CURIOSITY SHOP, began in the fourth issue. BARNABY RUDGE followed and, upon completion of that serial (a total of 88 weekly parts), Dickens returned to the monthly parts format. This is an fairly early copy of the three volume form with the most of the errors called for by Smith. Smith 6. Early owner's bookplate affixed to the front paste-down of each volume. Leather rubbed and scuffed at edges, some browning to green leather, mostly to the spine panels, text paper white and free of foxing, illustrations clean and sharp, a very good, sound, attractive copy. (#169634)
Seller: Currey, L.W. Inc. ABAA/ILAB, Elizabethtown, NY, U.S.A.
Price: US$481.04 + shipping
Condition: Very Good
Description: ~Mid nineteenth century half light brown calf, marbled paper to boards. Blind decorated ruling to calf on boards. Raised bands, gilt ruling, and elaborate gilt decor to spines. One green gilt and one dark brown gilt label per spine. Corners slightly rubbed. Wear to board edges, particularly bottom edges. Page edges and endpapers marbled in Turkish pattern, matching paper on boards. Armorial bookplate of Henry Yorke Musgrave (d. 1898), lawyer, per vol. Minor foxing to blank endpages and prelims, and a few sporadic instances throughout. Small 4tos (17 x 26cm). Ornate wood-engraved frontis per vol. Profusely illustrated with 194 in text illustrations, including 25 decorative initials. All illustrations (except one, by Daniel Maclise, Vol. II, p. 108), by George Cattermole (139 woodcuts) and Hablot Knight Browne, better known as 'Phiz' (154 woodcuts). Frontis to vol. I by Cattermole, frontis to vols II & III by Browne. Many of Browne's illustrations are signed 'H.K.B.' (Eckel, 1913, p.64). Master Humphrey's Clock was first published as a periodical, written and edited entirely by Dickens, between 4 April 1840 and 4 December 1841. During this period, it was published simultaneously as 88 weekly parts, 20 monthly parts, as separately bound volumes of its two serialised novels, and in this three-volume edition, the first edition of the entire work as bound volumes. Dickens originally intended the periodical to consist of miscellaneous articles, stories, and sketches, but public demand led to it becoming a vehicle for the publication of two novels, The Old Curiosity Shop and Barnaby Rudge, which appear in these volumes in their first published form. An attractive set, presenting two classic Dickens novels in their original serialised format. ~Robust packaging. Size: iv, 306 + vi, 306 + vi, 426pp
Seller: St Philip's Books, P.B.F.A., B.A., Oxford, United Kingdom
Price: US$500.00 + shipping
Description: Book condition is Very Good- in boards. A few stains and some foxing to interior. Edgewear, including a few bumps, to exterior. Hinge is starting. Bookplate inside front cover of each volume. Cloth spine with marbled boards. Text is unmarked, illustrated throughout. ; Large 8vo 9" - 10" tall.
Seller: Evolving Lens Bookseller, Kingston, NY, U.S.A.
Price: US$600.00 + shipping
Description: A very good set. Original cloth (spines well repaired in buckram backing the original backstrips). Vol. 1, entitled The Old Curiosity Shop, in stamped brown cloth with lightly marbled endpapers and all edges. Archival (linen?) tape steadying the hinges. A well preserved copy with a few instances of foxing; overall the text is clean and the binding solid. Vol. 2 entitled Barnaby Rudge, has olive green covers faded at the edges and spine to brown. Some rubbing to corners and front fore-edges. As the spine has been rebacked under the original backstrip, the binding is solid. Text is clean and fresh. Possible rain-stain to back boards, and a splash mark to front paste-down & front free end page. Else in remarkably good condition. Price is for both volumes. [Our rating system: 1. Fine; 2. Near Fine; 3. Very Good; 4. Good; 5. Fair.]
Seller: Montreal Books, Westmount, QC, Canada
Price: US$600.00 + shipping
Description: A very good set. Original cloth (spines well repaired in buckram backing the original backstrips). Vol. 1, entitled The Old Curiosity Shop, in stamped brown cloth with lightly marbled endpapers and all edges. Archival (linen?) tape steadying the hinges. A well preserved copy with a few instances of foxing; overall the text is clean and the binding solid. Vol. 2 entitled Barnaby Rudge, has olive green covers faded at the edges and spine to brown. Some rubbing to corners and front fore-edges. As the spine has been rebacked under the original backstrip, the binding is solid. Text is clean and fresh. Possible rain-stain to back boards, and a splash mark to front paste-down & front free end page. Else in remarkably good condition. Price is for both volumes. [Our rating system: 1. Fine; 2. Near Fine; 3. Very Good; 4. Good; 5. Fair.]
Seller: RPBooks, Champlain, NY, U.S.A.
Price: US$609.31 + shipping
Condition: Good
Description: First Seperate Edition. Title Page Dated MDCCCXLI (1841). Advertisement Page following Title Page states "This Tale is Now Reprinted, for the Reader's Greater Convenience, from the Stereotype Plates of "Master Humphrey's Clock", and is here presented, complete, in one volume.As it began to appear in the second volume of that Publication, the numbering of the pages in the Present Edition will occasionally be found to be defective." (N.B. Barnaby Rudge was first published in a set of three volumes, The Old Curiosity Shop, Master Humphrey's Clock and Barnaby Rudge.) B&W In=Text illustrations throughout. 420 Pages, 1.1 Kilos, 10 3/4" Tall. Original Green textured Cloth Cover with blind embossed Ropetwist Decorative Border. Cloth backstrip missing from spine. Some edgewear and fraying, top corners bumped and bottom corners worn. Slight crack to front hinge. Text block firm. Some foxing for the first 10 pages but only a very occasional spot after that. Most pages in very good, clean condition. Size: 4to - over 9¾" - 12" tall
Seller: Bay Books, Penzance, United Kingdom
DICKENS, Charles.. BARNABY RUDGE; A TALE OF THE RIOTS OF 'EIGHTY.. Chapman And Hall,, London,, 1841.
Price: US$615.73 + shipping
Condition: Very Good
Description: First Edition Thus. Hardback. Large 8vo. Variant binding in olive-green fine diaper cloth, covers and spine stamped in blind, covers with borders, leaf and chain-like design, spine lettered in gilt. [Smith 16B; Sadleir 680; Wolff 1794; Gimbel/Podeschi A62]. pp 229-306, 1-420. Vignette illustrations and initials after Hablot K. Browne and George Cattermole by E. Landells, C. Gray, S. Williams, and Vasey. FIRST SEPARATE ISSUE. Bought in Sotheby's 9 August 1995 for £1495 (copy of receipt loosely inserted). Sotheby's described it thus: 'A FINE COPY. The bibliographer deduces the existence of this binding without having seen any such copies: "since two issues, and possibly three of both novels [Barnaby Rudge and The Old Curiosity Shop] were distributed in identical bindings, I would suspect, although I have not seen any as yet, that copies of Barnaby Rudge may also have been bound in bold-ribbed and moderate olive green fine-diaper cloths, which match the variant and secondary bindings of The Old Curiosity Shop." (Walter E. Smith, Charles Dickens in the original cloth: A Bibliographical Catalogue).' Excellent near fine copy with very slight fading on spine and very slight bumping at corners.
Seller: Burwood Books, Wickham Market, United Kingdom
Price: US$705.52 + shipping
Description: First separate edition, large 8vo, (v-vi, iv), (229)-306, 420 pp, with the preface leaf bound in before the title. Engravings in the text, marbled endpapers and edges, s small closed tear with very slight loss to the top edge of the rear free endpaper. Original blind stamped cloth, spine slightly sunned with light wear to ends. Smith I 6B. Originally published in volumes II and III of "Master Humphrey's Clock"; it was bound directly from the unaltered sheets with a new title page.
Seller: Bow Windows Bookshop (ABA, ILAB), Lewes, United Kingdom
Dickens, Charles. BARNABY RUDGE; A Tale of the Riots of 'Eighty. , 1841.
Price: US$750.00 + shipping
Description: With Illustrations by George Cattermole and Hablot K. Browne. Complete in One Volume. London: Chapman and Hall, 1841. Original blind-stamped olive green cloth. First Separate Edition. After NICHOLAS NICKLEBY was published in monthly serial parts with separate plates in 1838-1839, Dickens decided that his future novels would be published in weekly serial parts that included the illustrations within the text -- loosely connected under the title of MASTER HUMPHREY'S CLOCK. He began this project in April 1840 with his tale THE OLD CURIOSITY SHOP; after forty-plus parts he completed that tale, and swung into the beginning of BARNABY RUDGE. In November 1841, after a total of 88 weekly parts, BARNABY RUDGE was complete. During this serialization, MASTER HUMPHREY'S CLOCK (containing both novels) was also published in three volumes, one at a time; after serialization (in December 1841), each novel was also published separately in one volume, as with BARNABY RUDGE here. This is why the pagination of BARNABY RUDGE is odd -- with the text running from page [229] to page 306 (second half of Vol II of MH'sC), then from page [1] to page 420 (Vol III). At the conclusion of BARNABY RUDGE, Dickens abandoned this weekly method of plate-less serialization, and reverted to his prior method with MARTIN CHUZZLEWIT. This copy is in the binding variant noted by Smith, of olive green fine-diaper cloth blind-stamped with a chain-like design running around the border's inner surface (as was later used on DOMBEY AND SON). The original endpapers are peach-coated -- one of several colors to be found, without known priority. The volume is in very good condition, with a bit of wear at the extremities of the spine and along the lower edges. The delicate original endpapers are only slightly cracked. Tough to find in better condition. Smith I pp 61-2.
Seller: Sumner & Stillman [ABAA], Yarmouth, ME, U.S.A.
Dickens, Charles. Master Humphrey's Clock. Chapman and Hall, London, 1841.
Price: US$825.00 + shipping
Condition: Very Good
Description: 3 vol. Large 8vo. [5], iv, [1], 2-306; [3], vi, [1], 2-306, [2]; [3], vi, [1], 2-426 pp. Half-bound in contemporary brown calf over marbled boards, each spine has four raised bands and two black morocco labels with lettering in gilt. Bound from the weekly parts. With illustrations by George Cattermole and Hablot Browne. Illustrations are wood cuts (excepting the frontispieces), a departure from the usual steel-etching. Hatton & Cleaver 163; Eckel 67; Smith I 6. Dickens intended the story to center around a large group of characters, with new characters being introduced and old characters rotated in and out of the stories. This project was scrapped due to lack of readership and Dickens began a serial titled "The Old Curiosity Shop". These volumes contain "The Old Curiosity Shop" and "Barnaby Rudge", and are bound without wrappers and the advertisements, thus the gatherings collate in sixes. A Very Good set with light wear and rubbing to the boards and scattered foxing throughout, two leaves have a small tear (not affecting the text).
Seller: Evening Star Books, ABAA/ILAB, Madison, WI, U.S.A.
DICKENS, Charles. Master Humphrey's Clock. Chapman and Hall, 186, Strand, London, 1841.
Price: US$1200.00 + shipping
Condition: Very Good
Description: First edition. Three volumes. With illustrations by Hablot K. Brown ("Phiz") and George Cattermole. Bound in half brown morocco, gilt spine in six compartments with raised bands, marbled endpapers, topedges gilt. Back board of volume one is detached, else a very good or better set with some rubbing to the joints and scattered foxing mostly to the endleaves. An attractive set. Contains *The Old Curiosity Shop* and *Barnaby Rudge*.
Seller: Between the Covers-Rare Books, Inc. ABAA, Gloucester City, NJ, U.S.A.
Price: US$165000.00 + shipping
Condition: Fine
Description: DICKENS, CHARLES. (1812-1870). English novelist of the Victorian era; his numerous beloved works include: A Christmas Carol , A Tale of Two Cities Barnaby Rudge , Bleak House , David Copperfield , Dombey and Son , Great Expectations , Martin Chuzzlewit , Nicholas Nickleby , Oliver Twist , The Old Curiosity Shop , and The Pickwick Papers . His book: THE OLD CURIOSITY SHOP. London: [Bradbury and Evans for] Chapman and Hall, 1841. Quired in 6s (251 x 167 mm). Dedication leaf to Samuel Rogers (not called for by Smith, but that in vol.1 of Master Humphrey's Clock from which this is separately issued). Illustrations in text by George Cattermole and Hablot K. Browne ["Phiz"]. Gilt-ruled on covers, gilt-decorated on spine, deep green/black and red morocco lettering pieces, all edges gilt, ink stamp of Chapman and Hall on front free endpaper and of the binder Hayday on rear free endpaper. Housed in a vintage custom full leather embossed slip case, of excellent quality. BOLDLY INSCRIBED TO: WALTER SAVAGE LANDOR FROM HIS HEARTY FRIEND, CHARLES DICKENS , ON THE TITLE PAGE. THIS PRESENTATION IS ONE OF EXTRAORDINARY ASSOCIATIONS, one made even more so when one considers Landor (1775 - 1864) was 37 years Dickens senior, and then further inscribed by Landor to his son, opposite the title page, Arnold Savage Landor / from Babbo [a family nickname]. Landor was an immediate admirer of Dickens works. In April 1839, before Dickens was introduced to Landor by John Forster, [both Landor s and Dickens biographer, literary advisor and inner circle friend], Landor wrote to Forster, Tell Dickens he has drawn from me more tears and more smiles than are remaining to me for all the rest of the world, real or ideal. Dickens and Landor first met in January 1840, through Forster, at Lady Blessington s literary salon. On February 10, 1840, Landor wrote to his friend G.P.R. James: In town I made a new acquaintance -- is a really popular, and what is much better, truly extraordinary man the author of Nicholas Nickleby. He comes on Saturday to spend a few days with me at Bath, and on Monday I have invited my elite of beauty (the Paynters) to meet him How I wish you could too! Dickens is really a good as well as a delightful man. It is rarely that two such persons meet, as you and he nor in any other society could I easily be the least of three. In 1869, a year before his death, Dickens wrote to Forster: Landor s ghost goes along the silent streets before me. Forster wrote it was the first meeting in Bath on February 7, 1840, that there came into the novelist s mind the first stirrings of imagination that eventually took form as Little Nell who became to Landor as one who had really lived and died. Dickens on May 9, 1869, in a letter to Forster, confirmed what Landor had often previously told friends that it was at Landor s lodgings in Bath that Dickens first thought of Nell. Landor later declared that he had never in his life regretted anything so much as having failed to buy the house and burn it to the ground, so that no meaner association should ever desecrate the birthplace of Nell. It was during this first trip that Rose Paynter, Landor s elite of beauty and best friend in Bath, introduced Dickens to the original of Quilp in The Old Curiosity Shop , a frightful little dwarf named Prior, who let donkeys on hire and used a heavy stick impartially on his wife and donkeys. On September 13, 1840, in a letter to John Forster, Dickens determined he wanted to separate and publish The Old Curiosity Shop from Master Humphrey s Clock, although it wasn t until April 20, 1841, in a letter to his dear friend Miss Angela Burdett Coutts [Coutts Bank family] that he had given his binder instructions to put The Old Curiosity Shop in one Volume. Since The Old Curiosity Shop (40 weekly numbers published from April 25, 1840 to February 6, 1841) was a part of Master Humphrey s Clock, Dickens had to add sections to make it a viable separate novel. On February 11, 1841, Dickens asked Landor to be his newly born fourth child s godfather, which incredibly excited and honored Landor. The Christening took place on December 4, 1841, eleven days before the first separate publication of The Old Curiosity Shop . Landor s life is a story in its own right. It is an amazing catalogue of incidents and misfortunes, many of them self-inflicted, but some of no fault of his own. His headstrong nature and hot-headed temperament, combined with a complete contempt for authority, landed him in a great deal of trouble over the years. Landor s writing often landed him on the wrong side of the laws of libel. Many times his friends, including Dickens and Forster, had to come to his aid in smoothing the ruffled feathers of his opponents or in encouraging him to moderate his behavior. His friends were equally active in the desperate attempt to get his work published, where he offended or felt cheated by a succession of publishers who found his work either unsellable or unpublishable. He was repeatedly involved in legal disputes with his neighbors and Dickens characterization of him as Lawrence Boythorn in Bleak House (1852-3) revolves around such a dispute over a gate between Boythorn and Sir Leicester Dedlock. His stormy marriage with his long-suffering wife resulted in a long separation (she and his family lived in Florence) and when she finally decided to take him back, he tried to escape several times, only to be brought or coaxed back. Yet, Landor was described as the kindest and gentlest of men. He collected a coterie of friends who went to great lengths to help him as his loyalty and liberality of heart were as inexhaustible as his bounty and beneficence of hand. Modern day biographers of Dickens concluded that Landor s aggressive talk was a cover for an extremely sensitive, sentimental and generous character, who was exceptionally loyal to his friends. Simply superb and with associations of the highest order!
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