1837 The Posthumous Papers of the Pickwick Club

Description

First Edition, Illustrated, Leather Binding, Rebound

The first edition in book form of Charles Dickens' first novel, initially published serially over the course of twenty months. A mixed issue copy of this work, as is common, but with a significant number of first issue points.

Including the scarce two suppressed Buss plates, facing pages 69 and 74.

Illustrated with a frontispiece, engraved title page and forty-one plates, by Buss, Phiz - who is known for illustrating many of Dickens' works - and Robert Seymour, who died whilst illustrating the work. Collated, complete.

With the later issue 'Weller' to the sign on the engraved title page, rather than the first issue 'Veller'. Other second issue points include the last 'e' of page 17 unbroken; 'inde-licate' to line 1 of page 341, rather than the first issue 'inbe-licate'; line 5 of page 341 correctly reading 'inscription'; ‘S. Veller’ at p. 342.

First issue points include: five lines of footnotes to page 9; mark between 'r' and 'u' in 'rum' in the last line of page 10; with the signature 'E' present to the tail of pages 25 and 27; without the parenthesis in lines 14 and 15 from the bottom of page 34; with the quotation mark indistinct before 'Sir' in the ninth line of page 244; line 29 of page 260 reading 'hodling'; page 261 correctly signed 'X2'; with the second '3' in the page number present to page 303; 'Picwkick' to the running title of page 375; 'this friends' on page 400, line 21, and incomplete 'F' in headline of page 432. Majority of plates in first state, with page numbers rather than titles, and without the publisher's imprint.

Lacking the original half title.

With an inscription to the recto of a front blank, dated 1855, addressed to Miss Charlotte Battershill.

The first edition in book form of this publishing phenomenon from Charles Dickens, his first novel credited with defining a new genre. It popularised both the serial format, and stylistic feature of the cliff hanger.