Dickens, Charles

8vo, FIRST EDITION, PROOF COPY, SENT BY THE AUTHOR TO LADY BLESSINGTON AFTER 6th DECEMBER 1844, half-title, frontispiece and additional engraved title, illustrations by Daniel Maclise, Richard Doyle, John Leech, Clarkson Stanfield, nineteenth-century full green crushed green morocco by Riviere & Son, top edge gilt, preserved in cloth slip-case, hinges expertly repaired

M.C. Borden, bookplate; John C. Eckel [Dickens's bibliographer], red morocco book-label

cf Smith II: 5

Condition is described in the main body of the cataloguing unless otherwise stated
"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."

A PRE-PUBLICATION PRESENTATION COPY OF THE CHIMES. The work was published on 16 December 1844 (despite title-page being postdated 1845). This proof was clearly sent to Lady Blessington between the time of the author writing to her on 6 December (see below) and this date.

Bound after the half title is an autograph address leaf in Dickens's hand: "Private | the Countess of Blessington. | Charles Dickens", and an engraved portrait after A.E. Chalon. At the end is a press-cutting recording the sale of this copy, described as the "only gem" of a Dickens sale. The author wrote to Lady Blessington on 6 December 1844: "My proofs have been delayed. I send them to you the moment I receive them. As the book is not published until the sixteenth, I need not ask you to keep them 'close'" (Collected Letters, volume 4, p.235). There is an additional India Proof plate bound in opposite p.19, of an illustration (unused in the published edition) of Veck and Meg by John Leech. There is a similar proof copy recorded in the catalogue for the Gimbel Collection, where it is described as "a trial issue". The Gimbel copy is signed by Charlotte Jeffrey and is the copy sent for review to Francis Jeffrey of The Edinburgh Review. The differences between the first issue and this Proof Copy are as follows: the type in which the author's name is set on the titlepage is one millimetre taller; pages 34 and 120 lack running titles and printed page numbers; the text is reset in lines 17 to 19 of page 95, lines 15 to 21 of page 119, line 1 and 2 of page 123, and lines 4 and 5 of page 171; there is broken or raised type in line 18 on page 87, line 6 on page 139, line 22 on page 147, and line 22 on page 163.