Books

First edition in book form. With this satire, the author was "writing at the height of his powers... the novel has since the middle of the twentieth century been widely acclaimed as his greatest work" (ODNB). The novel was first issued in monthly parts between March 1852 and September 1853 and issued in book form on completion. Of note is the inclusion of a new mode of illustration particularly fitting to the novel: "As Dickens's vision of society darkened, Browne adjusted his techniques, pioneering in the use of 'dark plates', where the plate was machine-ruled in parallel grooves which printed an almost uniform tone either before or after the figures and background were hand drawn. These brooding, atmospheric designs harmonized with the gloomy, foggy world of Bleak House" (Schlicke, p. 59). Octavo (204 x 133 mm). Finely bound in light brown morocco by Bayntun c.1980, spine with raised bands, compartments lettered and elaborately tooled in gilt, French fillet to covers, gilt inner dentelles, marbled endpapers, edges gilt. Etched frontispiece, 38 plates (including the 10 "dark" plates) by Hablot Knight Browne (Phiz), illustrated title page. Bound without half-title. Occasional spots of foxing to contents. A near-fine copy. Smith I, 10. Paul Schlicke, ed., The Oxford Companion to Charles Dickens, 2001.

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.