CHARLES DICKENS, TWO TORTOISESHELL BOXES PRESENTED TO HIM BY THE ACTOR J.L. TOOLE, 1869

tortoiseshell with silvered metal mounts, vesta case with silk interior, lids with central cartouches within engraved belt or garter, the cigar case cartouche inscribed "To Charles Dickens from J L Toole 1869", the vesta case cartouche inscribed "to C.D. from J L Toole 1869", 145 x 75 x 35mm and 70 x 45 x 25mm

A GIFT TO DICKENS FROM ONE OF HIS FAVOURITE ACTORS. John Lawrence Toole (1830-1906) was amongst the greatest of Victorian stage comedians. Dickens had admired Toole's acting since first seeing him on stage in the early 1850s, and the pathos of his performance as Caleb Plummer in an 1862 adaptation of The Cricket on the Hearth sealed his reputation in melodrama. The occasion of this gift is not recorded but it may be connected to Dickens's attendance at Uncle Dick's Darling in December 1869, which starred Toole and Henry Irving (for whom see lot 477). This was to be the final play Dickens saw before his death.