1848 Dombey and Son

Description

Early Edition, First Edition, Illustrated, Publishers' Original Binding

A very early issue of the first edition. Issue points present: 'Chapman and Hall' to the title page rather than 'Bradbury and Evans' which appeared in the first issue; the vignette title shows the hook on Captain Cuttle's left arm rather than his right; no quotation marks around the word 'party' to page XV line 2; 'delight' rather than 'joy' to page 284 5 lines up from the bottom; no apostrophe in 'aint' on page 1 10 lines up from the bottom; and 'fidgetty' for 'fidgety' on page 26 on line 11. Issue points as stated by John C. Eckel in his 1913 publication 'The First Editions of the Writings of Charles Dickens'.

In the original publisher's cloth binding, the 'Primary' cloth binding.

Illustrated with a frontispiece, vignette title page, and thirty-eight plates. All plates are present.

Plate 35, 'On the Dark Road' facing page 547, is the first published example of a 'dark plate'.

Half-title is present. Bound without the errata leaf.

‘Dombey and Son’ is about Paul Dombey, the owner of a shipping company, who intends to pass down ownership of his company to his son, ignoring his daughter, Florence. The novel tells the story of their family, and their hopes and fears

Dickens is one of the most popular authors of the Victorian age. His novels show the grimy side of poverty and prosperity in Victorian England, showing poor social conditions alongside repulsive characters.

Illustrated by Hablot Knight Browne, most often known by his pen-name 'Phiz'. As Phiz, he illustrated many of Dickens' novels, including 'David Copperfield', 'Dombey and Son', and 'Bleak House', as well as illustrating for 'Punch' throughout his life.

Stamp to the recto to the front endpaper, 'B. Cecil Bassett'. Label to the rear pastedown.