signed first edition
by DICKENS, Charles
London: Bradbury and Evans, 1853. There were two classes of charitable people:
one, the people who did a little and made a great deal of noise;
the other, the people who did a great deal and made no noise at all"
First Edition, First Issue of Dickens' Ninth Novel
With an original cheque, handwritten and signed by Charles Dickens, inlaid and bound-in at front
DICKENS, Charles. Bleak House. With illustrations by H.K. Browne. London: Bradbury and Evans, 1853.
First edition, first issue (following all of the points in Smith), in book form of Dickens' ninth novel.
With an original cheque, handwritten and signed by Charles Dickens, inlaid and bound-in at front. The cheque is dated August 30, 1867 and is made payable to Wimbledon School in the amount of £112.0.6 - this was a considerable amount in 1867. Wimbledon School was where four of Dickens' sons attended including his youngest son "Plorn" who would have been in his last year when the cheque for school fees was written.
Octavo (8 1/4 x 5 1/4 inches; 210 x 133 mm.). xvi, 624 pp. Engraved frontispiece, title-page, and thirty-eight plates after Hablot K. Browne ("Phiz") including the ten 'dark' plates, which were created by a machine process that tinted the etched plate and heightened its black-and-white contrast. The ten dark plates in Bleak House are: The Frontispiece; The Ghost's Walk; Sunset in the Long Drawing-Room at Chesney Wold; Tom All Alone's; A New Meaning in the Roman; Shadow; The Lonely Figure; The Night; The Morning; The Mausoleum at Chesney Wold. The smooth blending of light and shadow on these illustration vividly contrast with the other illustrations in the novel and are fine examples of the dark plate process.
Handsomely bound by Morrell of London ca. 1880. Full polished tan calf, covers triple ruled in gilt, spine with five raised bands elaborately tooled in gilt in compartments. two maroon and one dark green morocco labels, lettered in gilt. Gilt decorated board edges and turn-ins, pale gray endpapers. Engraved bookplate of Dr. Norman E. Sabel on front flyleaf. With an old bookseller's typed description on a card laid in. An exceptionally clean and very fresh copy.
Bleak House is the ninth novel by Charles Dickens, first serialized between March 1852 and September 1853. It is one of Dickens's most intricate works, with numerous characters and interwoven subplots centered on the infamous case of Jarndyce and Jarndyce, a long-running legal dispute in the Court of Chancery over conflicting wills. The case drags on for years, devastating the lives of many involved.
The narrative structure of Bleak House is unique, featuring a dual perspective: part of the story is told by Esther Summerson, the novel's heroine, in the first person, while the other part is narrated by an omniscient third-person narrator. This approach adds both a personal and societal dimension to the storytelling, giving readers intimate access to Esther's experiences alongside broader societal commentary.
Dickens drew inspiration from real-life legal cases, particularly Thellusson v Woodford, a case about a contested will that dragged on for decades, beginning in 1797 and not concluding until 1859. Although some legal professionals at the time criticized Dickens's portrayal of the Court of Chancery as exaggerated, Bleak House played a role in raising public awareness about the inefficiencies of the legal system. This ultimately contributed to judicial reforms in the 1870s.
Additionally, Bleak House holds a special place in Dickens's life, as his youngest child, Edward "Plorn" Dickens, was born just a day after the novel's first installment was published, on March 13, 1852.
Edward Bulwer Lytton Dickens (13 March 1852 - 23 January 1902) was the youngest son of English novelist Charles Dickens and his wife Catherine. He emigrated to Australia at the age of 16, and eventually entered politics, serving as a member of the New South Wales Legislative Assembly from 1889 to 1894. He died at the age of 49.
Smith I:10; Sadleir 682; Woolf 1795. (Inventory #: 06036)
one, the people who did a little and made a great deal of noise;
the other, the people who did a great deal and made no noise at all"
First Edition, First Issue of Dickens' Ninth Novel
With an original cheque, handwritten and signed by Charles Dickens, inlaid and bound-in at front
DICKENS, Charles. Bleak House. With illustrations by H.K. Browne. London: Bradbury and Evans, 1853.
First edition, first issue (following all of the points in Smith), in book form of Dickens' ninth novel.
With an original cheque, handwritten and signed by Charles Dickens, inlaid and bound-in at front. The cheque is dated August 30, 1867 and is made payable to Wimbledon School in the amount of £112.0.6 - this was a considerable amount in 1867. Wimbledon School was where four of Dickens' sons attended including his youngest son "Plorn" who would have been in his last year when the cheque for school fees was written.
Octavo (8 1/4 x 5 1/4 inches; 210 x 133 mm.). xvi, 624 pp. Engraved frontispiece, title-page, and thirty-eight plates after Hablot K. Browne ("Phiz") including the ten 'dark' plates, which were created by a machine process that tinted the etched plate and heightened its black-and-white contrast. The ten dark plates in Bleak House are: The Frontispiece; The Ghost's Walk; Sunset in the Long Drawing-Room at Chesney Wold; Tom All Alone's; A New Meaning in the Roman; Shadow; The Lonely Figure; The Night; The Morning; The Mausoleum at Chesney Wold. The smooth blending of light and shadow on these illustration vividly contrast with the other illustrations in the novel and are fine examples of the dark plate process.
Handsomely bound by Morrell of London ca. 1880. Full polished tan calf, covers triple ruled in gilt, spine with five raised bands elaborately tooled in gilt in compartments. two maroon and one dark green morocco labels, lettered in gilt. Gilt decorated board edges and turn-ins, pale gray endpapers. Engraved bookplate of Dr. Norman E. Sabel on front flyleaf. With an old bookseller's typed description on a card laid in. An exceptionally clean and very fresh copy.
Bleak House is the ninth novel by Charles Dickens, first serialized between March 1852 and September 1853. It is one of Dickens's most intricate works, with numerous characters and interwoven subplots centered on the infamous case of Jarndyce and Jarndyce, a long-running legal dispute in the Court of Chancery over conflicting wills. The case drags on for years, devastating the lives of many involved.
The narrative structure of Bleak House is unique, featuring a dual perspective: part of the story is told by Esther Summerson, the novel's heroine, in the first person, while the other part is narrated by an omniscient third-person narrator. This approach adds both a personal and societal dimension to the storytelling, giving readers intimate access to Esther's experiences alongside broader societal commentary.
Dickens drew inspiration from real-life legal cases, particularly Thellusson v Woodford, a case about a contested will that dragged on for decades, beginning in 1797 and not concluding until 1859. Although some legal professionals at the time criticized Dickens's portrayal of the Court of Chancery as exaggerated, Bleak House played a role in raising public awareness about the inefficiencies of the legal system. This ultimately contributed to judicial reforms in the 1870s.
Additionally, Bleak House holds a special place in Dickens's life, as his youngest child, Edward "Plorn" Dickens, was born just a day after the novel's first installment was published, on March 13, 1852.
Edward Bulwer Lytton Dickens (13 March 1852 - 23 January 1902) was the youngest son of English novelist Charles Dickens and his wife Catherine. He emigrated to Australia at the age of 16, and eventually entered politics, serving as a member of the New South Wales Legislative Assembly from 1889 to 1894. He died at the age of 49.
Smith I:10; Sadleir 682; Woolf 1795. (Inventory #: 06036)
(818) 222-4103
