The Works. Illustrated Library Edition. London: Chapman and Hall, 1874-6.

DICKENS, Charles

About this Item

First luxury edition of Dickens's works, complete in 30 volumes. 'The Library Edition came about largely because of the suggestion of Forster that while Dickens's works were available in volumes in the Cheap Edition and in reprints of the serial parts, there was no high-quality edition that would appeal to the wealthy. Dickens eventually came round to the idea that an elegant edition could raise the stature of his writings. He faced a complication, in that the rights to the works were divided between Chapman and Hall and Bradbury and Evans. Consequently, the volumes contained the imprints of both publishers. With a dedication to Forster, the Library Edition appeared in 22 volumes in 1858-9 at 7s 6d per volume . Titles included Pickwick, Nickleby, Chuzzlewit, Old Curiosity Shop, Reprinted Pieces, Barnaby Rudge, Hard Times, Sketches by Boz, Oliver Twist, Dombey, Copperfield, Pictures from Italy, Bleak House, Little Dorrit, and Christmas Books. The only illustrations were the frontispieces. Between 1861 and 1874 this edition was reissued in 30 volumes with the addition of Tale of Two Cities, Great Expectations, Our Mutual Friend, The Uncommercial Traveller, A Child's History of England, Christmas Stories, and Drood. The reissue contained illustrations - the frontispieces plus additional illustrations by artists such as Marcus Stone, John Leech, and Clarkson Stanfield - and came to be known as the Illustrated Library Edition. Recognizing the continuing potential for sales of Dickens's works, Chapman and Hall in 1873 published a prospectus for the Second Illustrated Library Edition, containing, they contended, all the works the novelist wished to preserve. Calling it the first well-printed issue, with specially cast type and better paper than that used in previous editions, this set was published in 30 volumes between 1873 [in fact 1874] and 1876 and sold at £15 for the set, a high price for the time' (Oxford Reader's Companion to Dickens, pp. 205-206). PROVENANCE: from the library of the merchant banker Maurice Moses (1822-98), who in 1868 changed his surname to Beddington. The family lived in a large house by Hyde Park in central London. This set was inherited by his daughter Beatrice Beddington, who around 1900 moved to Winchelsea in Sussex, where among her friends were Ellen Terry and Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. She in turn bequeathed the set to a friend, in whose family it has been ever since and on whose behalf we are offering it for sale. PHYSICAL DESCRIPTION: 30 volumes, large 8vo [210 x 135 mm] with the original illustrations throughout, contemporary half calf over marbled boards, spines gilt in six compartments with raised bands and contrasting morocco labels, rubbed and with a few light scuffs, chipping to some headcaps, marbled edges and endpapers with bookplates, isolated light foxing mainly confined to a few endpapers, Vol. 27 'Our Mutual Friend' with a patch of damp corrosion to rear edge of upper board affecting outer margins of first 50 or so pages (the only significant flaw, please see image), otherwise a single leaf loose in Vol. 14 and the upper joint of Vol. 29 superficially a little ragged but firm, generally a sound and attractive set. PLEASE NOTE: AN EXTRA SHIPPING CHARGE WILL APPLY DEPENDING ON DESTINATION (please ask for details). Seller Inventory # ABE-1556300998081

Bibliographic Details

Title: The Works. Illustrated Library Edition. ...

Binding: Hardcover

Condition: Very Good