Overs--[Dickens], Evenings of a Working Man, 1844, first edition, unrecorded variant binding

OVERS, JOHN--[DICKENS, CHARLES]

Evenings of a Working Man, being the occupation of his scanty Leisure… with a preface… by Charles Dickens. London: T.C. Newby, 1844

8vo (170 x 104mm), FIRST EDITION, title-page printed in red and blue, 3pp. publisher’s advertisements at end, UNRECORDED PUBLISHER’S VARIANT BINDING in green cloth, design of arches and floral motifs in blind on upper and lower covers, spine lettered in gilt, uncut, pale yellow endpapers, without half-title, some light spotting, binding slightly stained, spine slightly discoloured, slightly skewed, slightly rubbed, upper hinge split, lower hinge splitting

Eckel notes that the author was "a worthy mortal who was evidently in distress. He was John Overs, a carpenter who had shown some literary ability. Becoming a victim of tuberculosis he decided with the advice of Dickens to collect what he had written into a little volume…" Dickens contributed a preface.

A previous owner of this copy has noted on the title-page "Probably unique". The standard edition was issued in brown cloth with gilt edges (see next lot).

REFERENCE:

Eckel, pp. 146 – 47; Gimbel B151 (copies in brown cloth)

PROVENANCE:

John Ashton, bookplate; C.E. Stewart, bookplate; Maggs Bros., (recorded in Suzannet’s annotated 1934 catalogue); Alain de Suzannet, bookplate, the sale of his collection, Sotheby’s, 22 November 1971, part lot 57; Kenyon Starling, bookplate, William E. Self, bookplate, the sale of the family collection, Christie’s New York, 2 April 2008, lot 122