Bleak House by Charles Dickens. With Illustrations by H. K. Browne. London; Bradbury and Evans; 1853.
FIRST EDITION FIRST IMPRESSION; A PHENOMENAL EXAMPLE IN A CONTEMPORARY BINDING.
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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"
Size: 22.5 x 14.5 x 5.5 cm.
Condition:
[(1), frontis, t.p., t.p., vi-xvi, 624pp, (2)]
A lovely example of the first edition of Bleak House with the requisite first issue points in the text per Smith's bibliography. Bound in contemporary half calf over marbled paper backed boards, perhaps original? Lacks tooled label, binding rubbed, but presents well. Both boards are securely attached, the binding is secure, and without shelf lean. Joints partially cracked at the head of the front side, but remains secure. No attached bookplates or ownership inscriptions. Some minor toning/oxidation to plates as very typical, but here it is significantly better than the typical example, with the plates a little oxidised but generally in excellent condition. The text block is similarly excellent throughout, never with loss of sense to the text. Collates as complete including the dedication leaf, with the errata containing 6 lines (first issue). A truly beautiful example!
