Dickens, Charles | The original, serialized publication
Dickens, Charles
Bleak House. London: Bradbury and Evans, March 1852 - September 1853
20 parts in 19, 8vo (223 x 140 mm). Frontispiece, additional title and 38 plates by Hablot K. Browne, advertisements include "The Village Pastor" in part 15, part 3 with New London Weekly Newspaper advertisement in duplicate, part 9 with note stating "An accident having happened to one of the plates, it has been necessary to cancel one of the illustrations"; plates browned, initial advertisements in part 5 misbound. Original blue pictorial wrappers by Browne, a few quires unopened; some upper wrappers a little frayed at edges, some rebacking and repairs to spines.
First edition, in original monthly parts
"Fog everywhere. Fog up the river, where it flows among green aits and meadows; fog down the river, where it rolls defiled among the tiers of shipping and the waterside pollutions of a great (and dirty) city."
As Eckel notes: "two material innovations were present in the new novel. The author had wisely discarded the lengthy titles which burdened his previous books and accepted the sanity of short ones...The other change was from the 'green leaves' as he called his earlier books in parts. In Bleak House he used a distinctive blue cover." Bleak House also contains ten "Dark Plates," which required two distinct etchings, and "machine-tinting" of the steels, resulting in an effect similar mezzotinting. Phiz's other plates were largely produced by a new method of lithographic transfer from the steels. Both proved susceptible to browning. Bleak House also marked a shift away from humour for Dickens, and for this reason, it failed to garner entirely positive reviews. Forster, for example, felt that the book was "too real to be pleasant." The public took no notice, however, and it sold fantastically well in Britain and America.
"Dickens spoke to the people, and the people responded, and saw that Bleak House is among the greatest of his books" (Claire Tomalin).
REFERENCE
Eckel 79-81; Gimbel A102; Hatton and Cleaver 275-304
PROVENANCE
C.J. Rawlinson (contemporary ownership signature to part 3) — Christie's London, 1 June 2009, lot 127
Condition Report:
Condition as described in catalogue entry.
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Dickens, Charles
Bleak House. London: Bradbury and Evans, March 1852 - September 1853
20 parts in 19, 8vo (223 x 140 mm). Frontispiece, additional title and 38 plates by Hablot K. Browne, advertisements include "The Village Pastor" in part 15, part 3 with New London Weekly Newspaper advertisement in duplicate, part 9 with note stating "An accident having happened to one of the plates, it has been necessary to cancel one of the illustrations"; plates browned, initial advertisements in part 5 misbound. Original blue pictorial wrappers by Browne, a few quires unopened; some upper wrappers a little frayed at edges, some rebacking and repairs to spines.
First edition, in original monthly parts
"Fog everywhere. Fog up the river, where it flows among green aits and meadows; fog down the river, where it rolls defiled among the tiers of shipping and the waterside pollutions of a great (and dirty) city."
As Eckel notes: "two material innovations were present in the new novel. The author had wisely discarded the lengthy titles which burdened his previous books and accepted the sanity of short ones...The other change was from the 'green leaves' as he called his earlier books in parts. In Bleak House he used a distinctive blue cover." Bleak House also contains ten "Dark Plates," which required two distinct etchings, and "machine-tinting" of the steels, resulting in an effect similar mezzotinting. Phiz's other plates were largely produced by a new method of lithographic transfer from the steels. Both proved susceptible to browning. Bleak House also marked a shift away from humour for Dickens, and for this reason, it failed to garner entirely positive reviews. Forster, for example, felt that the book was "too real to be pleasant." The public took no notice, however, and it sold fantastically well in Britain and America.
"Dickens spoke to the people, and the people responded, and saw that Bleak House is among the greatest of his books" (Claire Tomalin).
REFERENCE
Eckel 79-81; Gimbel A102; Hatton and Cleaver 275-304
PROVENANCE
C.J. Rawlinson (contemporary ownership signature to part 3) — Christie's London, 1 June 2009, lot 127
Condition Report:
Condition as described in catalogue entry.
Sale price
Estimate
Time, Location
Auction House
