I have been in the rare and antiquarian book business for over forty years; my family has been in the rare books business since 1876. Rare books are in my blood.
Personal History of David Copperfield, The
London: Bradbury and Evans, 1849. Item #06271
"I hope that real love and truth are stronger in the end than any evil or misfortune in the world."
Charles Dicken's David Copperfield in the Original Parts
DICKENS, Charles. The Personal History of David Copperfield. With illustrations by H.K. Browne. London: Bradbury and Evans, 1850 [i.e., May 1849-November 1850].
First edition in the original monthly parts, twenty numbers bound in nineteen; first issue, following all points in Hatton & Cleaver.
Octavo. (8 7/8 x 5 5/8 inches; 226 x 142 mm.). [i-vii] viii [ix] x-xii [xiii] xiv [xv-xvi], [1], 2-624. Forty inserted plates, including frontispiece and vignette title. Complete, with all called for advertisements, with the exception of the rare Lett's Diary fold-out advertisement, and the eight sample pages, all other slips present; Part VIII "Advertiser" without the erratum "Lile" for "Life."
Publisher's light blue printed pictorial wrappers. Expert and almost invisible restoration to spines of wrappers. Text and plates remarkably clean, some of the text unopened. All plates with tissue guards. Subscribers name on front wrappers of parts II & VIII, small booksellers label at foot of front wrapper of part IX. Part VII with small professional repair to lower corner of front wrapper; part VII, rear wrapper re-margined and first leaf of advertiser with small loss at lower gutter. Parts XIX/XX with professional repair to corner of rear wrappers. A near fine and complete set (albeit without the Lett's Diary fold-out advertisement and eight pages of samples) rarely seen in this condition. Chemised in a later quarter purple morocco over decorative paper boards slipcase, spine with four raised bands, lettered in gilt in compartments.
A remarkably clean set of one of Charles Dickens's best loved novels.
David Copperfield is one of the rarer Dickens titles in the original first issue parts.
"As is well known this novel being largely biographic was the first one written in the first person. The original sales did not exceed 25,000 copies, its later popularity more than equalized the failure as an early money-maker. With many lovers of the author's works "David Copperfield" ranks as the finest of his writings. With a book which gave to the world such characters as Betsy Trotwood, Micawber, the Pegottys and Mr. Dick, to mention only a few, it would have been strange if it had been otherwise. The rather meagre profits again brought to the author the necessity for a personally-owned and conducted periodical, and this subsequently formulated itself into his Household Words… (Eckel, pp. 77-78).
References: Hatton & Cleaver, pp. 253–272; Podeschi (Gimbel Collection), A121; Sadleir, Excursions in Victorian Bibliography, p. 261.
Price: $12,500.00