For any lover of Charles Dickens, the ultimate prize is a complete collection of his works. Throughout his life, Dickens was an advocate for social reform, rights for children, and the freedom of education. Much of those ideals can be seen in his work which is often considered pseudo-biographical in nature. The resume of Dickens involves over a dozen major works, several short stories, plays, essays, and non-fiction books across a wide spectrum of topics and genres including his famous Christmas tales, his prose works highlighting the plight of the poor, and his personal essays on social issues of the day.
We collected a sample of 37 auction results of Dickens, Charles's The Works of Charles Dickens from 3 different auction houses. The lowest overall price realized in our sample was $80 and the highest overall price realized was $5700. The overall average price was $1673 and the median price realized for the book was $1187. There were 2 auctions (100%) with a price realized below the low estimate, 0 auctions (0%) exceeding the high estimates, and 0 auctions (0%) within the range of the low and high estimates. Auctions of interest include: a Bonhams sale on September 21, 2016 of a 1880 - Chapman and Hall edition for $5250 that first edition in original monthly parts described as an "excellent example of a fragile set"; a Bonhams sale on June 08, 2010 of a 1938 - Nonesuch Press edition for $5457 that described as a very good set; a Bonhams sale on June 20, 2007 of a 1900 - Estes edition for $5700 that described in fine condition;Auction House | Auction Date | Author | Title | City | Publisher | Year | Estimate | Sale Price | Auction Page | Copies For Sale | |
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Bonhams | June 14, 2017 | Dickens, Charles. | The Works of Charles Dickens | London | Chapman and Hall | 1898 | - | $4180 | |||
Bonhams | September 21, 2016 | Dickens, Charles. | The Works of Charles Dickens | London | Chapman and Hall | 1880 | - | $5250 | |||
Bonhams | November 11, 2015 | Dickens, Charles. | The Works of Charles Dickens | Macdonald | 1900 | - | $4180 | ||||
Bonhams | October 21, 2015 | Dickens, Charles. | The Works of Charles Dickens | London | Chapman and Hall | 1900 | - | $668 | |||
Bonhams | June 16, 2015 | Dickens, Charles. | The Works of Charles Dickens | London | Chapman and Hall | 1876 | - | $1504 | |||
Bonhams | June 16, 2015 | Dickens, Charles. | The Works of Charles Dickens | London | Chapman and Hall | 1890 | - | $2006 | |||
Bonhams | November 25, 2014 | Dickens, Charles. | The Works of Charles Dickens | London | Chapman and Hall | 1890 | - | $535 | |||
Bonhams | June 25, 2014 | Dickens, Charles. | The Works of Charles Dickens | London | Chapman and Hall | 1882 | - | $3678 | |||
Bonhams | November 26, 2013 | Dickens, Charles. | The Works of Charles Dickens | London | Chapman and Hall | 1880 | - | $468 | |||
Bonhams | September 10, 2013 | Dickens, Charles. | The Works of Charles Dickens | London | Chapman and Hall | 1882 | - | $2173 | |||
Bonhams | July 28, 2013 | Dickens, Charles. | The Works of Charles Dickens | London | Chapman and Hall | 1876 | - | $1187 | |||
Bonhams | February 13, 2011 | Dickens, Charles. | The Works of Charles Dickens | London | Chapman and Hall | 1899 | - | $2074 | |||
Bonhams | June 8, 2010 | Dickens, Charles. | The Works of Charles Dickens | Boston | Houghton Mifflin | 1894 | - | $642 | |||
Bonhams | June 8, 2010 | Dickens, Charles. | The Works of Charles Dickens | Nonesuch Press | 1938 | - | $5457 | ||||
Bonhams | March 23, 2010 | Dickens, Charles. | The Works of Charles Dickens | London | Chapman and Hall | 1910 | - | $3371 | |||
Bonhams | December 1, 2009 | Dickens, Charles. | The Works of Charles Dickens | London | Chapman and Hall | 1880 | - | $1444 | |||
Bonhams | June 10, 2009 | Dickens, Charles. | The Works of Charles Dickens | Boston | Cassino | 1890 | - | $854 | |||
Bonhams | February 24, 2009 | Dickens, Charles. | The Works of Charles Dickens | London | Chapman and Hall | 1880 | - | $2247 | |||
Bonhams | December 4, 2007 | Dickens, Charles. | The Works of Charles Dickens | London | Chapman and Hall | 1870 | - | $1920 | |||
Swann | November 29, 2007 | Dickens, Charles. | The Works of Charles Dickens | Philadelphia | Morris and Co. | 1900 | $3000-$4000 | $2400 | |||
Bonhams | November 27, 2007 | Dickens, Charles. | The Works of Charles Dickens | London | Chapman and Hall | 1870 | - | $80 | |||
Bonhams | July 3, 2007 | Dickens, Charles. | The Works of Charles Dickens | London | Chapman and Hall | 1882 | - | $642 | |||
Bonhams | June 20, 2007 | Dickens, Charles. | The Works of Charles Dickens | Boston | Estes | 1900 | - | $5700 | |||
Bonhams | February 13, 2007 | Dickens, Charles. | The Works of Charles Dickens | London | Chapman and Hall | 1880 | - | $502 | |||
Bonhams | November 13, 2006 | Dickens, Charles. | The Works of Charles Dickens | London | Chapman and Hall | 1880 | - | $282 | |||
Bonhams | October 17, 2006 | Dickens, Charles. | The Works of Charles Dickens | London | Chapman and Hall | 1900 | - | $717 | |||
Bonhams | October 10, 2006 | Dickens, Charles. | The Works of Charles Dickens | London | Chapman and Hall | 1882 | - | $298 | |||
Bonhams | October 10, 2006 | Dickens, Charles. | The Works of Charles Dickens | London | Chapman and Hall | 1902 | - | $188 | |||
Bonhams | July 3, 2006 | Dickens, Charles. | The Works of Charles Dickens | London | Chapman and Hall | 1882 | - | $660 | |||
Bonhams | July 3, 2006 | Dickens, Charles. | The Works of Charles Dickens | London | Chapman and Hall | 1894 | - | $754 | |||
Bonhams | September 20, 2005 | Dickens, Charles. | The Works of Charles Dickens | London | Chapman and Hall | 1900 | - | $288 | |||
Bonhams | November 30, 2004 | Dickens, Charles. | The Works of Charles Dickens | - | $1336 | ||||||
Bonhams | May 13, 2003 | Dickens, Charles. | The Works of Charles Dickens | London | Chapman and Hall | 1876 | - | $735 | |||
Bonhams | May 13, 2003 | Dickens, Charles. | The Works of Charles Dickens | Educational Book Company | 1910 | - | $223 | ||||
Bonhams | May 13, 2003 | Dickens, Charles. | The Works of Charles Dickens | Hazell and Watson | 1950 | - | $127 | ||||
Bonhams | March 11, 2003 | Dickens, Charles. | The Works of Charles Dickens | London | Chapman and Hall | 1882 | - | $2514 | |||
PBA | September 12, 2002 | Dickens, Charles. | The Works of Charles Dickens | London | Chapman and Hall | 1882 | $1000-$1500 | $600 |