Dickens, Charles--Bryant, William Cullen.

contemporary calf, from the library of charles dickens inscribed to him on front free endpaper ("Charles Dickens Esq. | with the sincere regards | of Rich^{d. H.l Dana."), with dickens's bookplate and book-label ("From the Library of Charles Dickens, Gadshill Place, June, 1870"),  additional engraved title, contemporary calf gilt, all edges gilt, upper cover detached, missing lower portion of spine, endpapers discoloured}



[with:] [Charles Dickens.] Memoirs of Joseph Grimaldi. Richard Bentley, 1838, 2 volumes, first edition, illustrations by George Cruikshank, nineteenth-century half calf, marbled boards, red edges (3)

[Bryant:] Charles Dickens, inscription to him, bookplate and book-label; [all three volumes:] the bibliophile, author and editor Horace N. Pym (1844-1896) of Foxwold, Kent

The bulk of Horace Pym's library was sold at Sotheby's London on 23 April 1996.

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."

The poet and essayist Richard Henry Dana, Sr (1787-1879), son of the Revolutionary patriot and Chief Justice of Massachusetts Francis Dana, met and was captivated with  Dickens during the novelist's American tour in 1842. He  spoke at the dinner held in Dickens's honour on 1 February of that year. Dana was a close friend of the writer and journalist William Cullen Bryant (1794-1878), then one of America's leading poets, whose own Democratic principles allied him with the sympathies he saw demonstrated in Dicken's works. He later supported Dickens over international copyright. This gift of Bryant's Poems is recorded by both Dana's letter to Dickens of 3 February 1842 ("...Pray do me the kindness to take home with you this copy of my friend Bryant's Poems...You have heard of our Autumn Woods; & Bryant, as you may remember, has beautifully sung them here...": letter formerly in the Gimbel Collection, now at Yale, quoted in The Piilgrim Edition of the Collected Letters, vol. 3, p.49) and also by Dickens's response of the next day ("My Dear Sir. I thank you most heartily...for the copy of Bryants Poems...I assure you that I shall prize it very highly for your sake...": op.cit., p.49). According to Dana, her daughter slipped some autumn leaves into the volume, and one of these is still present.

Loosely inserted in Bryant's Poems is a letter by Kathleen Tillotson, one of the General Editors of the Pilgrim Edition, to John Pym.