A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens. With Illustrations by H. K. Browne. London: Chapman and Hall, MDCCCLIX (1859)
FIRST EDITION OF DICKENS' MOST SOLD NOVEL, BEING ONE OF THE BEST SELLING BOOKS OF ALL TIME WITH OVER 200 MILLION COPIES SOLD SINCE THE PUBLICATION OF THIS FIRST EDITION!
-------------------
Edition Points as According to Smith I.,13:
- pp. vii, Chapter VII, "Monseigneur" for "Monsieur". (not present)
- pp. vii, Chapter VIII, "Monseigneur" for "Monsieur". (not present)
- pp. ix, entry 8, "Striver" for "Stryver". (lacking pp.)
- pp.98, comma instead of a period after chapter number. (present)
- pp.134, line 12, "affetcionately". (lacking pp.)
- pp.166, 5 lines up, "l" and "f" missing or not fully printed in "himself". (present)
- pp.213, numbered "133" (corrected in later copies). (present)
- pp.238, line 14, triple end quotes. (present)
Size: 141 x 215 mm (approx.)
Condition:
[(2), frontis, engraved title, t.p., 1ff. (dedication), 1ff. (preface), vii-viii (contents), 2 plates, pp.1-32, 2 plates, pp.33-68, 2 plates, pp.69-100, 2 plates, pp.101-132, 2 plates, pp.165-196, 2 plates, pp.197-254, (2)]
Late 19th to early 20th century half calf over cloth backed boards with a red gilt tooled label between raised bands. Spine lightly rubbed. Both boards securely attached with rubbing along joints, front hinge a little cracked, and rear hinge starting. Boards with very minor scuffing. Front board with minor white marks and light creasing to cloth. Minor shelf and edge wear. Dulling to page edges. Text block very clean with light toning and occasional foxing. Ink ownership inscription to front blank, lightly transferred onto the verso. Frontispiece partially detached at the bottom. Engraved title relatively unnoticeably backed onto an identically sized newer leaf, repairing a small edge tear. Damp stain to the bottom half of the engraved title. Ink ownership inscription to engraved title, covering "A Tale" part of the title. Stamp to the title page, overlapping "Cities" but legible. Small ink stains to the upper corner of the first page of the preface and the verso. Lacking list of plates leaf (pp.ix-x) and pp.133-164 (end of book two) else is complete. Note: the text block is not complete. Bound without the catalogue as usual. Repair to the bottom of pp.viii. Plates atypically bound in pairs, see collation, very clean, as they are often toned and foxed, here with only occasional foxing to some and larger dampstains to most. Small closed tear to the top of pp.165/166, does not affect text. Crude rear hinge reinforcement with a similar marbled paper, and hinge still starting through it. 14 out of 16 plates present, including the frontispiece and engraved title page, thus lacking 2, presumably from the aforementioned missing gathering (pp.133-164). Small stains in the gutter to plates, not affecting the text block. The plate opposite pp.132 rebacked with small loss to the top of the plate.
[Smith I., 13].
