Shelf Life: Books, Manuscripts and Works on Paper from the Library of Stanley J. Seeger and Christopher Cone

Charles Dickens A Christmas Carol. London: Chapman & Hall, 1843 FIRST EDITION, ECKEL'S FIRST ISSUE (red and blue title-page dated 1843, green endpapers, "Stave I", uncorrected text, blue half-title), 12mo (163 x 102 mm), hand-coloured engraved frontispiece, 3 hand-coloured engraved plates and 4 woodcuts in the text by John Leech, 2pp. advertisements at end, original cinnamon vertically-ribbed cloth stamped in blind and gilt, gilt edges, green endpapers, housed in a modern red quarter-calf box, front free endpaper with neatly repaired large tear, joints very slightly splitting at head of spine AN ATTRACTIVE FIRST EDITION OF DICKENS'S FIRST CHRISTMAS BOOK, THE NOVEL THAT ALMOST SINGLE-HANDEDLY INVENTED THE IDEA OF A JOYOUS CHRISTMAS. Dickens first had the idea in October 1843 and by the following month John Leech, introduced to him by George Cruikshank, was working on the illustrations. Dickens composed the story in his head while walking the streets of London at night. It was issued ten days before Christmas and 6,000 copies were sold on the first day. Dickens paid for the production on the understanding he took all the profit. It was, however, an excessively lavish and expensive production, so his profit was low even though sales were high. According to Eckel, first and second issues of the first edition have the same issue points except for the endpapers, which were originally green for the first issue, but were changed to yellow for the second issue. LITERATURE: Smith II: 4; Eckel pp. 110-115

View 1 of Lot 48: Charles Dickens | A Christmas Carol, 1843, first edition, original cloth

charles dickens | a christmas carol, 1843, first edition, original cloth

Charles Dickens Pictures from Italy. London: Bradbury & Evans, 1846 FIRST EDITION, INSCRIBED BY THE AUTHOR ON THE HALF-TITLE in brown ink: "The | Countess of Blessington. | From her Friend | Charles Dickens | Devonshire Terrace | Nineteenth May 1846.", small 8vo (175 x 113 mm), 4 woodcuts after Samuel Palmer, advertisement leaves at beginning and end, original blue fine-diaper cloth, covers decorated in blind with arabesque designs in corners and central circular designs, spine lettered in gilt, pale yellow endpapers, housed in a modern bespoke silk-lined brown morocco folding case by Root, London, hinges cracked A SUPERB PRESENTATION COPY, WARMLY INSCRIBED BY DICKENS ON THE DAY AFTER PUBLICATION TO HIS FRIEND LADY BLESSINGTON. This book was sent simultaneously with another presentation copy inscribed to Lady Blessington's lover (and Dickens's close friend) Count D'Orsay, as is recorded in the author's letter to Lady Blessington of the same date: "...I have been every day expecting to be able to send you the enclosed little Volume, and could get no copies until last night... Count d'Orsay's copy of the 'Pictures'. with my cordial remembrance and regard..." (Letters, volume 4, p. 548). Bradbury and Evans's accounts record 25 presentation copies in all. The copy inscribed to Count D'Orsay was offered in these rooms as part of the Lawrence Drizen Collection, 24 September 2019, lot 127. Eight of these sketches originally appeared in The Daily News from 21 January to 11 March 1846; Dickens amended and added to them for this book publication. PROVENANCE: Presented by the author to Marguerite Gardiner, Countess of Blessington (1789–1849) on 19 May 1846, presentation inscription to half-title and bookplate of Lady Blessington; sale, Christie's New York, 15 December 1995, lot 12 LITERATURE: Smith II: 7; Eckel p. 126

View 1 of Lot 49: Charles Dickens | Pictures from Italy, London, 1846, first edition, warmly inscribed by the author to Lady Blessington the day after publication

charles dickens | pictures from italy, london, 1846, first edition, warmly inscribed by the author to lady blessington the day after publication

Fine Books and Manuscripts, Including Americana. Part 2

Dickens, Charles The Christmas Books. London: 1843-1848 Lot includes: A Christmas Carol. In Prose. Being a Ghost Story of Christmas. London: Chapman & Hall, 1843. 8vo (163 x 103 mm). Half-title and verso of title printed in blue, red and blue title-page dated 1843, hand colored engraved frontispiece, 3 hand-colored plates, and 4 woodcuts in the text by John Leech, first issue "stave I" on p. 1, and 2pp. of advertisements at the end, old ownership signatures, bookplate of John Francis Neylan; some stray spots, a few creased corners, intermittent pale dampstaining at the head of the title and a few other leaves. Original cinnamon vertically-waved cloth, stamped in blind and gilt, Todd's first impression, first issue, with 14–15 mm between closest points of blind-stamping and gold wreath of upper cover, the "D" of "Dickens" unbroken, green endpapers, all edges gilt; cloth a bit faded and soiled, a few spots of wear at spine ends and board edges, light bumps to two corners and two spots on the fore-edge, some pale stains, and a few tiny black spots, spine somewhat cocked, endpapers rubbed. The Chimes: A Goblin Story. London: Chapman and Hall, 1845 [1844]. 8vo (166 x 104 mm). 13 illustrations, including frontispiece and vignette title, by Maclise, Doyle, Leech and Stanfield, second state of the vignette title, advertisement for tenth edition of A Christmas Carol at the beginning; a few pale spots to the frontispiece and vignette title, a faint strip of toning to the pages adjacent the endpapers. Original deep red horizontally-ribbed cloth, upper cover stamped in blind and pictorially gilt with design of seven goblins above six chimes, spine and upper cover lettered in gilt, pale yellow endpapers, all edges gilt; spine a bit toned, minor soiling to boards, light wear to spine ends and corners, hinges cracked, an attractive, bright copy. The Cricket on the Hearth. London: Printed and published for the author by Bradbury and Evans, 1846 [1845]. 12mo (165 x 101 mm). Half-title, engraved frontispiece and title-page vignette after Maclise, illustrations throughout text, 2pp. of advertisements at end (second state) bookplate of John Francis Neylan. Original deep red vertically ribbed cloth, stamped in blind and pictorially gilt with heath, spine and upper cover lettered in gilt, all edges gilt, yellow endpapers; a few instances of very faint soiling, spine a bit toned with a slight lean. The Battle of Life. A Love Story. London: Bradbury and Evans, 1846. 12mo (165 x 102 mm). Engraved frontispiece and title-vignette after Maclise (Todd's E1, Eckel's fourth state), illustrations throughout, 2pp. of advertisements at end; a few pale spots. Original deep red cloth stamped in blind and pictorially gilt with fairy motif, spine and upper cover lettered in gilt, all edges gilt, yellow endpapers; minor soiling, light rubbing along the joints and board edges, wear to spine ends and corners, spine a bit toned, still, a bright copy. The Haunted Man and The Ghost's Bargain. London: Bradbury and Evans, 1848. 8vo (165 x 105 mm). Advertisement leaf, frontispiece, vignette title-page and 15 illustrations by John Leech, Clarkson Stanfield, John Tenniel and Frank Stone, bookplates of John Francis Neylan and Percy Thuillier Westmorland; a few pale spots. Original deep red horizontally-ribbed cloth, covers stamped in blind and pictorially gilt with wreath and mistletoe, spine and upper cover lettered in gilt, all edges gilt, yellow endpapers; very light rubbing and wear to corners and extremities, spine ends softened, spine a bit dulled and slightly cocked. Housed together in a gilt red morocco-backed top-loading slipcase, with reproductions of leather spines for the five titles facing out. A handsome set of Dickens's five Christmas Books—all first editions in their original gilt cloth bindings. Dickens first had his conception of A Christmas Carol in October 1843, and by the end of the month had John Leech, a fine artist introduced to him by Cruickshank, working on illustrations. By 10 November he was discussing the cover and advertising with Forster. As he told his Boston friend Felton, he composed the story in his head while walking around "the back streets of London, fifteen and twenty miles, many a night when all the sober folks had gone to bed" (see Tomalin, p. 148), frequently weeping and laughing and weeping again as he worked and strode about. Like Carlyle and Engels, Dickens was fired up with anger at the indifference of the rich to the fate of the poor, who had almost no access to education, no care in sickness, saw their young children set to work for ruthless factory-owners, and could consider themselves lucky if they were only half-starved. But it was Dickens's special genius to express this anger in a completely compelling narrative, putting into it all his vivid childhood memories of Camden Town and his own labor as a child together with the great insight that a grown man may pity the child he had been, resulting in an artistic creation which has captivated readers and audiences throughout the world ever since, and which simultaneously invented the modern idea of the joyous Christmas festival. REFERENCE: Smith II: 4, 5, 6, 8, 9; Eckel pp. 110-115, 116-118; 119-120; 121-123; 124-125 PROVENANCE Various owners (early ownership inscriptions and signatures; see bookplates described above) — purchased as a set from Kenneth W. Rendell Gallery

View 1 of Lot 402: Dickens, Charles | Set of the Christmas Books, all first editions in publisher's cloth

dickens, charles | set of the christmas books, all first editions in publisher's cloth

A fourth edition of A Christmas Carol by <a href="https://www.sothebys.com/en/search?query=Charles+Dickens&amp;pfilters.dateRange=upcoming" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Charles Dickens</a>.<ul><li>Charles Dickens (English).</li><li>London: Chapman and Hall, 1844.</li><li>Illustrated with 4 hand colored engraved plates by John Leech and 4 black and white illustrations by W.J. Linton.</li><li>Bound in the original straight grained rose colored cloth, gilt tile and wreath to spine and front cover, yellow pastedowns and endpapers, all edges gilt.</li></ul> Regarded as Dicken's most widely read novel and considered to be "the greatest Christmas book ever written in any language" selling more than 6000 copies in the few days leading up to Christmas. The work was extravagantly costly as Dickens for the first time (and incidentally his last) used color in the title-page and etchings as he wanted to make the book a beautiful gift and to be a celebration of the Christmas spirit. After the initial success, Dickens continued the series throughout the 1840's, maintaining "the Carol" philosophy to "strike a sledgehammer blow" for the poor, uneducated, and repressed.

A Christmas Carol In Prose Being A Ghost Story of Christmas | Fourth Edition

An attractive set of <a href="https://www.sothebys.com/en/search?query=Great%20Expectations&amp;tab=objects&amp;sortBy=bsp_dotcom_prod_en" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Great Expectations</a>, the most popular of <a href="https://www.sothebys.com/en/search?query=charles%20dickens&amp;tab=objects&amp;sortBy=bsp_dotcom_prod_en" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Dickens</a>’ novels, in a contemporary binding.&nbsp;<ul><li>Sold as a set of 3 volumes.</li><li>Charles Dickens (English).</li><li>London: Chapman &amp; Hall, 1861.&nbsp;</li><li>Octavos.</li><li>Second, second, and third ‘editions’ [impressions].</li><li>Contemporary half calf gilt over marbled boards, morocco labels. </li></ul>&nbsp;&nbsp;Although the title-pages states ‘Second and third editions’, in fact the first five editions are really only different impressions of the same edition. Apart from the title-pages the only differences are in the text where the type in the earliest impressions shows fewer signs of wear and damage. The title-pages were altered to encourage sales.&nbsp;

Great Expectations

Montblanc Charles Dickens resin and sterling silver ballpoint pen.<ul><li>Model: Patron's Edition</li><li>Number: 10246/16000</li><li>Cap: Sterling silver and green resin</li><li>Barrel: Black and green resin and sterling silver</li><li>Nib/Tip: Sterling silver plated tip</li><li>Signed: Montblanc on cap, Charles Dickens on barrel</li><li>Does not include a presentation box.</li><li>This piece is final sale and not eligible for return.</li></ul>

Charles Dickens Ballpoint Pen

A first edition, second state copy of A Christmas Carol.<ul><li>Charles Dickens (English, 1812-1870).</li><li>London: Chapman &amp; Hall, 1843.</li><li>Octavo.</li><li>166 pages.</li><li>Bound in publisher's original raw sienna cloth, stamped in blind and gilt with gilt title and wreath to spine and front cover, all edges gilt, pale yellow endpapers.</li></ul>

A Christmas Carol

A first edition, Deluxe Issue copy of A Christmas Carol.<ul><li>Charles Dickens (English).</li><li>Illustrated by Arthur Rackham.</li><li>London:&nbsp;William Heinemann,&nbsp;1915.</li><li>Quarto.</li><li>Includes 12 full-page mounted illustrations in color and 20 drawings in black and white by Arthur Rackham.</li><li>One of 525 copies signed by Rackham.&nbsp;</li><li>Bound in original full gilt-decorated vellum, housed in custom vellum backed box with chemise.</li></ul>

A <a href="https://www.sothebys.com/en/buy/luxury/books-&amp;-manuscripts/book/first-edition?locale=en" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">first edition</a>, second issue of <a href="https://www.sothebys.com/en/search?query=Charles+Dickens&amp;pfilters.dateRange=upcoming" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Charles Dickens</a>' A Christmas Carol.<ul><li>Charles Dickens (English).</li><li>London: Chapman and Hall, 1843.</li><li>Illustrated with 4 hand colored engraved plates by John Leech and 4 black and white illustrations by W.J. Linton.</li><li>Chapter heading reading "Stave One."</li><li>Bound in the original straight grained rose colored cloth, gilt tile and wreath to spine and front cover, front cover has a perfect 'D' in 'Dickens', yellow pastedowns and endpapers, all edges gilt.</li></ul>

A Christmas Carol | First Edition

A <a href="https://www.sothebys.com/en/buy/luxury/books-&amp;-manuscripts/book?locale=en&amp;Book%20Type=Fine%2520Bindings%2520and%2520Sets" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">set</a> of the Nonesuch Press edition of the works of <a href="https://www.sothebys.com/en/search?query=Charles+Dickens&amp;pfilters.dateRange=upcoming" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Charles Dickens</a>.<ul><li>Sold as a set of 25 volumes.</li><li>Charles Dickens (English).</li><li>Edited by Arthur Waugh [and others].</li><li>London: The Nonesuch Press, 1937-38.</li><li>Large octavo.</li><li>Nonesuch edition, number 433 of 877 limited sets.</li><li>With illustrations printed from the original plates.</li><li>With the original steel plate 'Fagin in the condemned Cell' from Oliver Twist, with a letter of authenticity from the publisher.</li><li>Text based upon the Charles Dickens Edition, the last to be revised by Dickens himself.</li><li>Publisher's vari-colored cloth, morocco labels, top edges gilt on the rough, others uncut.</li></ul> After the Depression of the early thirties, the Nonesuch Press was effectively saved from bankruptcy by the intervention of the American, George Macy. 'The Dickens' set was very much his project and it was due to his great energy that it was produced so quickly. It was described at the time by the Daily Telegraph as 'one of the most glorious achievements of publishing in our time. Robert Lynd in the News Chronicle declared it the most pleasant Dickens to read that has ever been published, while The Scotsman observed: No more handsome edition of Dickens has yet appeared; nor is it easy to conceive of any which might surpass this one.'

The Nonesuch Dickens

A <a href="https://www.sothebys.com/en/buy/luxury/books-&amp;-manuscripts/book/first-edition?locale=en" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">first edition</a>, second issue of A Christmas Carol by <a href="https://www.sothebys.com/en/search?query=Charles+Dickens&amp;pfilters.dateRange=upcoming" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Charles Dickens</a>.<ul><li>Charles Dickens (English).</li><li>A Christmas Carol In Prose Being A Ghost Story of Christmas.</li><li>London: Chapman and Hall, 1843.</li><li>Chapter heading reading "Stave One", illustrated with 4 hand colored engraved plates by John Leech and 4 black and white illustrations by W.J. Linton.</li><li>Bound in fine full red morocco, ribbed gilt decorated spine, covers ruled and paneled in gilt, front cover with gilt portrait of Dickens, rear cover with Dickens signature in gilt, gilt dentelles, marbled pastedowns and endpapers, all edges gilt, original cloth covers and 1 yellow endpaper bound in, by Bayntun.</li></ul> Regarded as Dicken's most widely read novel and considered to be "the greatest Christmas book ever written in any language" selling more than 6000 copies in the few days leading up to Christmas. The work was extravagantly costly as Dickens for the first time (and incidentally his last) used color in the title-page and etchings as he wanted to make the book a beautiful gift and to be a celebration of the Christmas spirit. After the initial success, Dickens continued the series throughout the 1840's, maintaining "the Carol" philosophy to "strike a sledgehammer blow" for the poor, uneducated, and repressed.

A Christmas Carol First Edition

<a href="https://www.sothebys.com/en/buy/luxury/books-&amp;-manuscripts/book/first-edition?locale=en" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">First edition</a>, second issue of A Christmas Carol by <a href="https://www.sothebys.com/en/search?query=Charles+Dickens&amp;pfilters.dateRange=upcoming" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Charles Dickens</a>.<ul><li>Charles Dickens (English).</li><li>London: Chapman and Hall, 1843.</li><li>Illustrated with 4 hand colored engraved plates by John Leech and 4 black and white illustrations by W.J. Linton.</li><li>Chapter heading reading "Stave One."</li><li>Bound in the original straight grained rose colored cloth, gilt tile and wreath to spine and front cover, front cover has a perfect 'D' in 'Dickens', yellow pastedowns and endpapers, all edges gilt.</li></ul> Regarded as Dicken's most widely read novel and considered to be "the greatest Christmas book ever written in any language" selling more than 6000 copies in the few days leading up to Christmas. The work was extravagantly costly as Dickens for the first time (and incidentally his last) used color in the title-page and etchings as he wanted to make the book a beautiful gift and to be a celebration of the Christmas spirit. After the initial success, Dickens continued the series throughout the 1840's, maintaining "the Carol" philosophy to "strike a sledgehammer blow" for the poor, uneducated, and repressed.

A Christmas Carol In Prose Being A Ghost Story of Christmas | First Edition

A first edition, second issue copy of the holiday classic A Christmas Carol.<ul><li>Charles Dickens (English, 1812-1870).</li><li>A Christmas Carol In Prose Being A Ghost Story of Christmas.</li><li>London: Chapman and Hall, 1843.</li><li>Illustrated with 4 hand-colored engraved plates by John Leech and 4 black and white illustrations by W.J. Linton.</li><li>Bound in the original straight grained rose-colored cloth, gilt tile and wreath to spine and front cover, yellow pastedowns and endpapers, all edges gilt.</li></ul> Regarded as Dickens' most widely read novel and considered to be "the greatest Christmas book ever written in any language" (Eckel p. 116) selling more than 6,000 copies in the few days leading up to Christmas. The work was extravagantly costly as Dickens for the first time (and incidentally his last) used color in the title-page and etchings, as he wanted to make the book a beautiful gift and to be a celebration of the Christmas spirit. After the initial success, Dickens continued the series throughout the 1840s, maintaining "the Carol" philosophy to "strike a sledgehammer blow" for the poor, uneducated and repressed.

The Jay T. Snider Collection of Benjamin Franklin

Benjamin Franklin Some observations on the proceedings against the Rev. Mr. Hemphill: with a vindication of his sermons. Philadelphia: Printed and Sold by B. Franklin, 1735 Small 8vo (155 x 98 mm). Type ornaments, with early ownership signature and annotations in text; general wear, with some dampstaining and a few small spots, lightly toned, the textblock trimmed close, shaving the signature and annotations on the title, losses at the corners of the title, chewed, mostly affecting the last gathering, with losses touching a few letters, a hole in the final leaf with loss to a small portion of two lines of the text. Disbound. Brown morocco slipcase, chemise. The extremely rare first edition of this Franklin imprint, a pamphlet penned by the young Benjamin Franklin, one of just two copies known and the only example to retain all of its leaves. Franklin wrote this controversial pamphlet anonymously and published it under his own imprint. In it, he defends Samuel Hemphill, a young Presbyterian minister who, in April 1735, had been charged with unsound doctrine by his Synod and suspended from his pastoral duties—the first heresy trial in American Presbyterian history (William S. Barker, "The Hemphill Case," p. 243). After excommunicating Hemphill, the Synod published an explanation of its actions titled An Extract of the Minutes of the Commission of the Synod. Franklin responded with the pamphlet offered here. As he recalled in his autobiography: "About the year 1734 there arrived from Ireland a young Presbyterian preacher, named Hemphill, who delivered with a good voice, and apparently extempore, most excellent discourse, which drew together considerable numbers of different persuasions, who join'd in admiring them. Among the rest, I became one of his constant hearers, his sermons pleasing me, as they had little of the dogmatical kind, but inculcated strongly the practise of virtue. … Those, however, of our congregation who considered themselves as Orthodox Presbyterians, disapprov'd his doctrine, and were join'd by most of the old clergy, who arraign'd him of heterodoxy before the synod, in order to have him silenc'd. I became his zealous partisan, and contributed all I could to raise a party in his favor. … There was much scribbling pro and con upon the occasion; and finding that, tho, an elegant preacher, he was but a poor writer, I lent him my pen and wrote for him two or three pamphlets, and one piece in the Gazette of April 1735. Those pamphlets, as is generally the case with controversial writing, 'tho eagerly read at the time, were soon out of vogue, and I question whether a single copy of them now exists" (pp. 167–68). Franklin's pamphlet was obviously popular, quickly running to a second edition. It was answered in turn by A Vindication of the Reverend Commission of the Synod purportedly written by Jonathan Dickinson (Miller). Evidently, this is the only copy of the first edition in private hands. The only other copy known at Yale University lacks the title page and final leaf—and is only identifiable as a first edition due to the differences in the setting of type in gatherings A and B. REFERENCES Miller 105; ESTC W17011; Evans 3904; Ford 5; Hildeburn 511; William S. Barker, "The Hemphill Case, Benjamin Franklin and Subscription to the Westminster Confession," in American Presbyterians, Vol. 69, No. 4 (1991), pp. 243-256 PROVENANCE Charles Heartman, offered in 1930 for $2,500 — Samuel Freeman and Co., auctioned in 1937 (per Miller) — Goodspeed, offered in 1938 and 1940 — Laird U. Park Jr. (Sotheby's New York, 29 November 2000, lot 96)

View 1 of Lot 10: Benjamin Franklin | An extremely rare Franklin pamphlet, the only complete copy of the two extant

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