LITERATURE 6 “Please, Sir, I Want Some More”: Dickens’ Friend Lord Denman’s First Edition Of Oliver Twist 02DICKENS, Charles. Oliver Twist; Or, the Parish Boy’s Progress. By “Boz.” London, 1838. Three volumes. Octavo, contemporary threequarter calf, custom slipcase. $15,000 First edition, with the first-issue “Boz” title pages and second-issue “Church” plate. This copy from the collection of Dickens’ good friend Lord Denman. “When Bentley decided to publish Oliver in book form before its completion in his periodical, Cruikshank had to complete the last few plates in haste. Dickens did not review them until the eve of publication and… had Cruikshank design a new plate. This Church plate was not completed in time for incorporation into the early copies of the book, but it replaced the Fireside plate in later copies. Dickens... also disliked having ‘Boz’ on the title page.... The plate and title page were changed between November 9 and 16”—i.e., in the first week of publication (Smith, 35). Mixed issue, with first-issue “Boz” on the title pages, and secondissue “Church” plate. Bound without half titles or publisher’s advertisements. Bookplates of Thomas Denman (1799-1854), Lord Chief Justice of England from 1832 to 1850. Interiors remarkably clean, inner hinges expertly reinforced. Near-fine in contemporary calf, with exceptional provenance. “It Was The Best Of Times, It Was The Worst Of Times”: Handsomely Bound First Edition Of Dickens’ Tale Of Two Cities 03DICKENS, Charles. A Tale of Two Cities. London, 1859. Octavo, contemporary full green polished calf gilt. $13,500 First edition, first issue of Dickens’ second historical novel—a powerful tale of self-sacrifice and rebirth amid the turmoil of the French Revolution. “So great was [Dickens’] enthusiasm for the story that it had indeed ‘taken in possession’ of him… The force of the novel springs from its exploration of darkness and death but its beauty derives from Dickens’ real sense of transcendence, from his ability to see the sweep of destiny” (Ackroyd, 858). A Tale of Two Cities is the last of Dickens’ books to be illustrated by H.K. Browne (“Phiz”), with 16 engraved plates by him. “Browne, for 23 years responsible for all the etchings which had so successfully embellished these [Dickens] books, produced his last drawings for the present work” (Hatton & Cleaver, 333). First issue, with page 213 misnumbered as 113 and other first-issue points as called for. Originally published as a serial in Dickens’ weekly journal All the Year Round, issued in eight parts from June to December 1859. Slight darkening to covers, front board slightly creased. A near-fine and desirable copy in attractive contemporary calf-gilt.
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