Books

London: Chapman and Hall [and] John Camden Hotten, no date [circa 1870]. [Literature] FINELY BOUND SET, ex libris Sir William Thomas Madge. Twenty-one volumes bound as fifteen. Octavo (18 x 13 x 53cm). Each title with eight illustrated plates, including a frontispiece (excepting Life and Speeches). Quite thin paper with small print. INSCRIBED in 'Sketches by Boz' by the owner and editor of The Globe newspaper, George C.H. Armstrong (1836-1907), to his close colleague W.T. Madge, with whom he would go on to establish 'The People' in 1882: 'Presented by the | Proprietor of the "Globe" | to Mr. W.T. Madge | as a token of respect | and acknowledgement of | his valuable services as | publisher, | Geo. C.H. Armstrong, | Jan. 1st 1872 | 110 Strand.' Contemporary red half morocco, with raised bands, gilt titles and decoration to spines, and matching grained cloth over boards. All edges gilt, with marbled endpapers. Internally crisp and clean. Bindings toned to spines, with some moderate…

Bleak House is a novel by Charles Dickens, originally published as a serial between March 1852 and September 1853. It is considered one of his finest works, containing a vast, complex plot and an extraordinary number of characters.