Bleak House
London: Bradbury & Evans, 1853. First edition. Hardcover. Large 8vo. [7], viii-xvi, [1], 2-624, [2] pp. Half contemporary sheep dyed black over marbled paper boards, boards ruled in gold, spine in six compartments with gold tooling and a red leather label lettered in gold; all edges sprinkled red. Bound from the parts, as evidenced from sea-green wrapper residue on one of the leaves. Illustrated with a vignette title page and an engraved frontispiece, with ten dark plates, in total the illustrations contain 40 steel lithograph plates. Lacks the advertisements, wrappers, and half-titles. Text collates as complete, as per Hatton & Cleaver. The plate that was mistakenly bound in Part 10 (Visitors at the Shooting Gallery) is bound in Part 9 in this copy, facing the correct page. The three errata as well as the errata called for by the list of illustrations are present in this copy. An old British booksellers tag is affixed to the front pastedown, Myers & Co on New Bond Street in London. Eckel 79. Hatton & Cleaver 275. Bleak House focuses on the abuses in the Courts of Chancery, and was a source of controversy for Leigh Hunt, a man who was rumoured to be the source for the character Skimpole. Very Good or better. Item #00007549
Wear to the front joint, the binding is secure, a name written on the front pastedown, very few spots of foxing throughout.
Price: $850.00