Charles Dickens | The Life and Adventures of Nicholas Nickelby, 1838-38, first edition in original parts

Charles Dickens

The Life and Adventures of Nicholas Nickleby... Edited by "Boz". London: Chapman and Hall, April 1838-October 1839

FIRST EDITION IN THE ORIGINAL 19/20 PARTS, 8vo (225 by 140mm.), engraved portrait of Dickens by Finden after Maclise, and 39 etched plates by "Phiz" (those in first 2 parts without imprints, plate 29 with the uncommon short title), coloured pencil drawing, heightened in crayon, of the illustration "Newman Noggs Leaves the Ladies in the Empty House" (what appears to be an original pencil sketch of the plate, by "Phiz"), lacking the inserted advertisements in part 1, the Mechi catalogue and most of the "Advertiser" in part 2, the scarce Amesbury advertisements in part 3, the Medical Casket in part 16, and the Valentine Vox advertisements in part 19/20, all other advertisements present (although the rare "Hill's Wafers" advertisement in part 19/20 has had 4 of the 5 specimen seals removed), original blue-green wrappers, enclosed in two crimson levant morocco book-form pull-off cases, some browning to plates as usual, one spine neatly rebacked, some others slightly worn

Dickens' third novel, as it originally appeared in serial form. "Dickens was under pressure all through 1838 with the [...] double monthly tasks [...] of Oliver [Twist] and Nickleby.' His biographer John Forster 'said later that he never knew him work so much after dinner or such late hours. There was extra urgency because he had promised to complete Oliver for publication in book form [...] months before the series publication was to end" (Tomalin).

LITERATURE

Hatton and Cleaver, pp. 131-160; Tomalin, Dickens: A Life, passim

PROVENANCE

Anderson Galleries, sale of the library of Mr. Edwin W. Coggeshall of New York, 25 April 1916, lot 99