pickwick papers (5 Ergebnisse)

On one side of 8 x 18.5 cm piece of paper, torn from the end of a letter. In fair condition, aged and worn, with traces of brown paper from mount adhering to the blank reverse. The item would appear to be entirely in the hand of the Earl, but the matter is not quite certain, and it may be in a secretarial hand, with only Cork's signature in autograph. It reads: '[.] | Sir | Your Royal Highness's | very obedient | and very humble Servant | Cork | Col | [Som.?] Reg.] Addressed to 'His R. H. | The Duke of York | &c &c &c'. Annotated, in two separate contemporary hands: 'Novr. 1795' and 'Nov. 1795.'.

Twelve captioned black and white prints, each on a loose 22 x 28 cm. leaf of cream wove paper. All in good condition, lightly aged. In worn paper bifoliate wallet, the leaves of which have become detached from one another, with title printed on front, and two-pages of illustrative quotations from Dickens's book on verso of first leaf and recto of second. Twelve characteristic illustrations by Brock, in his attractive and characteristic style. No copy at the British Library. COPAC lists five copies.

A set of six scarce pieces of unusual Dickensiana. Difficult to date: the nature of the illustrations (printed in negative) gives them a modernist feel, but their purpose would place them before the 1920s. The six items, printed in black on pieces of grey-white card, range in size from 12 x 16.5 cm ('SAM WELLER.') to 4.5 x 6 cm ('JOB TROTTER'). In good condition, lightly aged. Four of the six have soot stains on their blank reverses, presumably caused by the hot lantern. The images comprise representations of the characters, with captions printed beneath them in heavily-leaded Victorian-style type. The outlines of all six have been cut away, in the fashion of characters from a toy theatre, and they all have black areas on them which are meant to be cut out in order to project shadows onto a wall. Mr Pickwick (the only figure with a sub-caption: '"Drive on Samivel."'), for example, stands in half-profile, with his left arm behind his back pushing up his jacket, and his right hand gesticulating upwards. The hand, torso, breeches and face are all printed in black, while the jacket and outlines of the features, jacket, boots, spectacles and features are all left white. The possessor is meant to cut away at the black areas, thus turning the illustrations into stencils. This a previous owner has started to do in three cases ('SAM WELLER.', 'Mr. WELLER, Senr.' and 'JINGLE.'), and completed in one ('FAT BOY.'), exhibiting no small degree of skill with the scalpel. These items are scarce: no other copy has been traced. See Image.

Full leather. Zustand: Near fine. First edition of The Posthumous Papers of The Pickwick Club by Charles Dickens, in a stunning Cosway-Style Binding. (illustrator). First Edition, Second State. Octavo, xiv, [2], 609pp, [7]. Full green morocco over beveled boards, title in gilt on the spine. All edges gilt. Five decorative raised bands, gilt lettering and decorative compartments. Doublures with inlaid red morocco and gilt dentelles. Inset hand-colored portrait of Dickens after paintings by Daniel Maclise, under glass with brass frame, in front doublure. Bound by Sangorski & Sutcliffe for Charles J. Sawyer, LTD of London. Front hinge reinforced with archival leather restoration, almost indistinguishable. This work is the second issue of the text, with the half-title, the corrected "W" in Weller on the vignette title, "loud knocking" on page 18 is slightly mutilated, signature "E" present on pages 25 and 27, and pagination present for page 26. Solid text block, light wear to edges of some leaves, faint foxing. Complete with vignette title page, frontispiece portrait and 41 illustrated plates by Robert Seymour and H.K. Brown ("Phiz"). (Smith I, 3) (Hatton & Cleaver 3-88pp) A beautiful Cosway-Style binding. The Cosway-style binding originated in London in the early 20th Century, created by bookseller and Dickens scholar, John Harrison Stonehouse. The style was named after Richard Cosway (17421821), the celebrated English miniaturist painter, known for his delicate portrait work. Stonehouse commissioned Sangorski & Sutcliffe to create bindings that incorporated miniature watercolor portraits set into the covers under glass. These miniaturespainted on ivory by artists such as Miss C.B. Curriewere often portraits of the book's author, a key character, or a historical figure related to the text. Each was framed within the leather cover, usually of richly gilt morocco, and accompanied by elaborate tooling and jeweled ornamentation. The style became a hallmark of Edwardian luxury bookbinding. After the deaths of Sangorski (1912) and later Currie, the tradition continued under Sutcliffe and later firms, and "Cosway-style" came to denote any binding featuring such inset miniatures, even when produced elsewhere.

It is hard to overestimate the impact of 'Ion' on Victorian audiences in Britain and America. According to Talfourd's entry in the Oxford DNB, the play was 'first performed at Covent Garden Theatre, London, on his birthday, 26 May 1836. He had circulated the play privately to influential individuals, including Wordsworth, Robert Southey, and Gladstone, which ensured that the theatre was packed with the most distinguished audience contemporary reviewers could remember, including Dickens, Robert Browning, Walter Savage Landor, Pitt, Melbourne, Lord Chief Justice Denman, Lord Grey, and Lady Blessington. Ion caused a sensation and remained popular for many years. [.] The political impact of Ion was increased by the known republican sympathies of the actor in the leading role, William Charles Macready. [.] Ion was seen as a stage play of lasting stature. It was performed continuously for over a year and consistently revived in London until at least 1861. It was even more popular in the United States, where the transvestite actress Ellen Tree performed in it repeatedly. ' 1p, 12mo. Aged and spotted with a small lengthened hole causing loss to three words of text. Folded twice. Reads: 'Mr. Sergt. Talfourd presents his compliments to Mrs. Walter and takes the liberty of sending her a copy of a little dramatic [p]oem which is not published but pr[in]ted for private circulation among tho[s]e whose kindness may induce them to look indulgently on its slender claims to their attention. / Reading / 21 October 1835'. See image.