Books

London: Chapman & Hall, 1839. First edition. Hardcover. Very Good. 8vo. [7], viii-xvi, [1], 2-624 pp. Bound in later dark brown leather, spine with 5 raised bands with gilt ruling and gilt lettering, marbled endpapers and pastedowns, all edges gilt. Illustrated by an engraved frontispiece (portait of the author engraved by Finden from a painting by Maclise) along with 39 additional plates by H.K. Browne ('Phiz'). First edition bound from the parts (with the front wrapper of part XVIII bound in at the rear). All is as called for in Smith for the first state (including the errors on page 123 and page 160, and the imprint of Chapman & Hall on the first four plates and the frontispiece (n.b the imprint on the frontispiece is at the very bottom edge and is only visible upon close inspection). Smith I, 5; Gimbel A 40. A very attractive copy of Dickens' third novel. A few traces of wear to the extremities and darkening to the edges of most of the plates, but the leaves and the images on…

The Life and Adventures of Nicholas Nickleby is a novel by Charles Dickens. Originally published as a serial from 1838 to 1839, it was Dickens's third novel. The lengthy work follows the life of Nicholas Nickleby, a young man who must support his mother and sister after his father dies.

For first edition copies of Nicholas Nickleby, collectors should look for the publisher's name 'Chapman & Hall' along with the date on the inside title page, the placement of certain illustrations, and the presence of any errors that were corrected in later editions.