Bleak House by Charles Dickens 1853 First Edition First Impression

Edition Points:

• 40 total plates including engraved title page & frontispiece.
• pp.19 line 6 "elgble" for "eligible"
• pp.209 line 23 "chair" for "hair"
• pp.275 line 22 "counsinship" for "cousinship"
• pp.547 'dark' plate present

Size: 145 x 225 x 55 mm.

Condition: 

Collated as complete with all plates called for including frontis and engraved title page. Shows very attractively on the shelf and externally a superior example of this rare first impression. Some rubbing and minor dulling. Rubbing across the joints with both boards securely attached. No shelf lean. Shelf and edge wear with some wear to corners and slight deformation to them. Page fore edge is non-uniform due to the first few gatherings being misbound to the spine as is fairly typical for these as they were bound from the original parts. Some dulling to page edges. Without any attached bookplates but with an ink ownership inscription to front free endpaper of Samuel Alford in a Victorian hand, with a later ownership inscription (presumably a descendent) to the next leaf (head of the half title) of the same name. Frontis and engraved title page heavily toned as typical, though much better than normal as they are without any foxing. Text block very clean with some very small minor stains, the largest to the head of pp.78-79 not affecting the legibility of any text. Plates with toning around the edges but are otherwise clean and without foxing etc. Some pencil writing identifying the various first impression errors in the margin throughout and another mentioning that all the plates are present to the head of the list of plates leaf verso. Text block complete in 624pp. 

A superior example of this scarce first impression of one of Dickens' most beloved novels.