DICKENS, Charles (1812-1870). The Personal History...of David Copperfield. London: Bradbury and Evans, 1849-1850.
20 parts in 19, 8vo. Engraved frontispiece, title and 38 plates after Hablot K. Browne ["Phiz"]. (Some plates slightly browned.) Original printed blue-green pictorial wrappers (some light soiling, a few short tears); half green morocco slipcase. FIRST EDITION IN ORIGINAL MONTHLY PARTS, VIRTUALLY COMPLETE WITH ADVERTISEMENTS AND INSERTED SLIPS, with the "Copperfield Advertiser" in each part and all ads listed by Hatton & Cleaver, except: back wrappers differ in parts 1, 2, 8, and 19/20; with all front ads except lacking slip before plates parts 7 and 19/20, with a different slip part 10; lacking a few of the back ads parts 12, 18, and 19/20 (but with back ads present in each of those numbers). David Copperfield, written at the midpoint of Dickens' career, draws from the author's own life. The novel is scarce in parts. As Eckel notes, the printing was comparatively small, the parts were "much read and roughly handled," and "fine, clean and unrepaired copies [were] difficult to procure" even in 1932. Hatton & Cleaver pp.253-272; Sadleir 686; Yale/Gimbel A121. A FINE COPY.
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