Lot 115
  • 115

Dickens, Charles.

Estimate
30,000 - 50,000 GBP
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Description

  • The Life and Adventures of Nicholas Nickleby. Chapman and Hall, 1839
  • PAPER
8vo, first book edition, half-title, without the engraved portrait frontispiece of the author by Maclise, presentation copy inscribed by Dickens on the title page to his friend Walter Savage Landor ("Walter Savage Landor | From his warm admirer | Charles Dickens"), subsequently inscribed by Landor to his son Charles, inscribed opposite the half-title "Charles S. Landor | from Babbo", 39 engraved plates by "Phiz" (Hablot K. Browne), plates up to p.35 apparently in the later state (without publisher's imprint), contemporary pebbled green morocco gilt, covers with fillets in gilt and blind, spine decorated with gilt bands and lettered in gilt, gilt edges and turn-ins, pale yellow endpapers, some offsetting and foxing (chiefly to plates and adjacent leaves), edges of binding slightly worn

Provenance

Walter Savage Landor, presentation inscription to him by the author; his son Charles Savage, further inscription to him

Charles Savage was the father of the painter, writer and anthropologist Arnold Henry Savage Landor (1865–1924)

Literature

Smith I:5; Eckel pp.64-66; Sadleir 695

Condition

Condition is described in the main body of the cataloguing, when appropriate.
"In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective, qualified opinion. Prospective buyers should also refer to any Important Notices regarding this sale, which are printed in the Sale Catalogue.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS PRINTED IN THE SALE CATALOGUE."

Catalogue Note

A fine inscribed presentation copy. The binding is probably one of the special publisher's bindings prepared for a number of Dickens' works around this period (also see previous lot, Pickwick Papers).

"In town I met a new acquaintance in a...popular, and what is much better, truly extraordinary man--the author of Nicholas Nickleby. He comes on Saturday to spend a few days with me in Bath..." (letter by Landor to G.P.R. James, postmarked 10 February 1840, quoted in note on p.23 of The Letters of Charles Dickens, volume 2 1840-41, edited by M. house and G. Storey). The presentation by Dickens to Landor of both this work and The Posthumous Papers of the Pickwick Club (see previous lot) took place in Bath or London a few weeks later, as recorded by the editors in the same note.