Books

London: Chapman and Hall, 1859. 1st Edition. Hardcover. Very Good. Original maroon cloth covers, rebacked with matching leather spine. With Illustrations by H.K. Browne. 1859. First edition, second state with title-page still dated 1859 but with corrected pagination on page 213 and no signature "b" on the list of plates. Octavo. [i-vii]viii[ix-x], [1]2-254 pp. Sixteen inserted plates, including frontispiece and vignette title, by Browne ['Phiz']. From the silk manufacturing family empire of George Courtauld, signed and dated 1859 by George Courtauld (unclear if the father or the son) on the front free endpaper, and with the bookplate of (son or brother) Sydney Courtauld on the front pastedown. A vestige of British history. Far more desirable with the original cloth instead of the far more common complete rebinding. Housed in a custom-made collector's slipcase.

A Tale of Two Cities is a historical novel by Charles Dickens, set in London and Paris before and during the French Revolution. The novel tells the story of the French Doctor Manette, his 18-year-long imprisonment in the Bastille in Paris and his release to live in London with his daughter Lucie, whom he had never met. The story is set against the conditions that led up to the French Revolution and the Reign of Terror.

First editions of 'A Tale of Two Cities' can be identified by the presence of the publisher's name, Chapman & Hall, on the title page. Additionally, the phrase 'All the Year Round' on the title page indicates that it might be a first edition as the book was serialized there alongside its initial publication in book form.