Books

pp: vi [1]2-305; [iv][1]2-302; [i-iii]iv-viii [1-3]4-375. THE SECOND SERIES. Three volumes uniformly bound in half black leather over marbled boards, raised bands with gilt trim to spine, marbled endpapers, and pictorial title page. The twenty-seven plates include two not found in the first edition. These volumes each lack the half-title page. Dickens' first book had an immediate impact. His writing ".broke new ground.written in a new style.seemed to bring a refreshing breath of reality into the literary atmosphere." (Gissing, 'The Immortal Dickens', 1924). True first editions of this book are extremely scarce. Eckel comments on this and points out that ".so rare are first-class copies of the early issue of the original edition that a record price.was established for a set in parts.in 1908". (Eckel 'The First Editions of the Writings of Charles Dickens' 1913). The second series contains an extra story not found in the first issue. 'The Drunkards Death' is the final story in volume III. It was completed by Dickens while he was working on several other projects. A very good, or better, set with light shelf rubbing. The green ribbon markers are present all volumes but is detached and laid in volume 1. There is some soiling to the gilt top edges of all three volumes.

Sketches by Boz, Illustrative of Every-day Life and Every-day People is Charles Dickens's first book, a collection of stories and essays that had been previously published in various periodicals.