Posthumous Papers of the Pickwick Club, The
London: Chapman & Hall Ltd., 1890. Item #06155
Dickens in a Delightful Art Nouveau Binding by the Guild of Women Binders
A Fine Two-Volume Set in Red Morocco, Elegantly Gilt with Hearts and Flowers
DICKENS, Charles. [GUILD OF WOMEN BINDERS, binders]. The Posthumous Papers of the Pickwick Club. With Illustrations. London: Chapman and Hall, Limited, [n.d., ca. 1890].
Two octavo volumes (8 1/2 x 5 1/2 inches; 216 x 140 mm.). Volume I: [i–vii], vi–xvi, [2, list of illustrations, verso blank], [1]–471, [1, imprint] pp. Volume II: [i–v], vi–viii, [2, list of illustrations, verso blank], [1]–491, [1, blank] pp. Forty-three engraved plates, including two frontispieces and an engraved title, after the original illustrations by Robert Seymour, Robert William Buss, and Hablot Knight Browne ("Phiz").
Finely bound by the Guild of Women Binders, with their gilt signature stamp on the front turn-in of each volume. Full crushed red morocco, covers framed by delicate gilt rules and decorated with four small floral ornaments composed of stylized flowers and foliage. Spines with five raised bands, elegantly tooled in gilt with an attractive Art Nouveau arrangement of flowers, leaves, and heart-shaped ornaments, and lettered in gilt in compartments. Marbled endpapers, top edges gilt. Armorial bookplate of Adam Rivers Steele on the front pastedown of each volume. Half-title of Volume I slightly creased. A fine and exceptionally attractive set.
A particularly elegant example of the restrained Art Nouveau style associated with the Guild of Women Binders, one of the most interesting and influential enterprises in the history of British artistic bookbinding.
The Guild of Women Binders was established in London in 1898 by the bookseller and entrepreneur Frank Karslake (1851–1920), who had become interested in the work of women bookbinders following the Victorian Era Exhibition at Earl's Court in 1897. Among the binders whose work attracted his attention were Annie S. Macdonald and the sisters Edith and Florence de Rheims.
Karslake subsequently organized an Exhibition of Artistic Bookbinding by Women at his London premises, which ran from November 1897 until February 1898. Its success encouraged him to establish the Guild, which promoted and marketed the work of women binders while also providing opportunities for training and professional advancement.
Operating until 1904, the Guild played an important role in the development of British artistic bookbinding at the turn of the twentieth century. Its members and associated craftspeople produced bindings ranging from elaborate pictorial and modeled-leather designs to more restrained compositions characterized by elegant gilt tooling, stylized floral ornament, and the flowing decorative vocabulary of Art Nouveau.
The present binding is a particularly pleasing example of the latter tradition. The rich red morocco provides an ideal background for the delicate gilt floral ornaments, while the spines display an attractive combination of hearts and flowers. The overall effect is one of refinement and balance, the decoration enhancing rather than overwhelming the volumes.
First published in monthly parts between March 1836 and November 1837, The Posthumous Papers of the Pickwick Club was Charles Dickens's first novel and the work that established his extraordinary popularity. Originally conceived as a series of humorous sporting illustrations accompanied by explanatory text, the project rapidly developed into a richly comic narrative centered upon the adventures of the benevolent Samuel Pickwick and his fellow members of the Pickwick Club.
The introduction of Sam Weller transformed the fortunes of the publication, helping to establish Dickens as one of the most widely read and celebrated authors of his generation. The novel's exuberant humor, memorable characters, and affectionate portrayal of English life made it an immediate publishing phenomenon and ensured its enduring place among the classics of Victorian literature.
A beautifully preserved two-volume set of Dickens's first novel, distinguished by its elegant signed Guild of Women Binders bindings. An appealing example of the intersection of Victorian literature, the Arts and Crafts movement, and the emergence of women as professional artistic bookbinders.
Price: $1,800.00