Dickens, Nicholas Nickleby,1838-1839, first edition in original parts

DICKENS, CHARLES

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

8vo (225 by 140mm.), FIRST EDITION IN THE ORIGINAL 19/20 PARTS, part IV in FIRST ISSUE (misprint "visiter" for "sister" on page 123) and part V in FIRST ISSUE (misprint "latter" for "letter" on page 160); 40 etched plates by "Phiz" (Hablot K. Browne) with part I plates with publisher's imprint, part II plates with publisher's imprint, part VIII plate 16 from third steel ("in" omitted), part XII plate 23 with "Mr" present and part XV plate 29 in first impression, front advertisements (comprising "The Nickleby Advertiser") present (part XI without "New books for Children" slip on yellow paper); back advertisements present (part VIII without "This day is published" advertisement, part XII without "Norton’s Camomile Pills" advertisement, part X "Steel Pens" on green paper, part XVI without "The Medical Casket" advertisement and part XIX/XX with all five seal wafers present); original blue-green blue-green wrappers, collector’s red morocco-backed folding box, plates occasionally offset and browned in margins, extremities of wrappers frayed with creases and small tears, minor loss to spine of part II, preliminary leaves in part XIX/XX unopened, collector's box splitting at upper joint, spine faded

REFERENCE:

Hatton and Cleaver, pp. 131-160

PROVENANCE:

"Mrs Hamilton", ownership signatures (parts I-XVIII) and "Miss Hurst", ownership signature (part XIX/XX)