THE POSTHUMOUS PAPERS OF THE PICKWICK CLUB by (BINDINGS - COSWAY-STYLE). DICKENS, CHARLES - 1837.

London:: Chapman and Hall,, 1837.. FIRST EDITION in Book Form, mostly First Issue points, most plates in First State (see below).. 210 x 127 mm (8 1/4 x 5"). xiv, [2], 609 pp. VERY FINE COSWAY-STYLE CRIMSON CRUSHED MOROCCO, LAVISHLY GILT AND INLAID, BY SANGORSKI & SUTCLIFFE (stamp-signed on rear turn-in), both covers gilt with thin fillet borders around a very handsome frame comprised of stippling, foliate sprays, and inlaid blue morocco flowers (24 on each cover), the corners of the frame with a small gilt bust of either Mr. Pickwick or Mr. Winkle, raised bands, spine compartments with ruled panels framing the same gilt busts, BEAUTIFUL FRONT DOUBLURE OF BLACK MOROCCO ELABORATELY DECORATED IN A GILT DIAPERED PATTERN employing chains of rosettes and simple fleurons AND FEATURING AT CENTER A FINELY EXECUTED RECESSED OVAL MINIATURE OF DICKENS ON IVORY UNDER GLASS, THE MINIATURE WITH AN INTRICATELY GILT-DECORATED COLLAR CONTAINING FOUR SMALL PEARLS, rear pastedown and front and rear free endpapers of watered silk, all edges gilt. In a (somewhat worn but still sturdy) felt-lined clamshell box. WITH 43 ENGRAVED PLATES (including frontispiece and engraved title page), two by Robert Buss, and the rest by Robert Seymour and Hablot Knight Browne ("Phiz"). Loose slip of paper with Charles Dickens' penned signature laid in at front. Eckel, pp. 51-56; Podeschi A-16; Grolier English 78. Small expert repairs to a handful of plates, many plates with either light foxing or narrow band of discoloration around edges, one plate with faint (two-inch square) stain in lower fore corner, otherwise excellent internally, the text fresh and clean, with only the most minor isolated foxing. THE EXQUISITE BINDING BRIGHT, UNWORN, AND ENTIRELY PLEASING. Although the artist of our miniature is unidentified, the work here is remarkably well done, with carefully painted detail contributing to an impressively realistic portrait of a vibrant Dickens in the prime of life. Cosway bindings are found on a range of books, but they more often than not adorn works that are of lesser value when considered on their own. Here, however, our binding covers the first book edition of a major work in English literature. Dickens (1812-70) was still quite a young man when he published "The Pickwick Papers," the work that made him famous. It is filled with droll characters and rollicking humor, the funniest book Dickens ever wrote. When two of the original 20 parts of this work had been issued, Robert Seymour, the initial artist employed for "Pickwick," committed suicide. After a false start involving the illustrator Robert William Buss, the fledgling author entrusted the completion of the work's engravings to the unknown Hablot Knight Browne (1815-80), not quite 21 years old, two years younger than Dickens himself, and their collaboration, lasting many years, became famous. The text of our copy has "S. Veller" on page 342, line 5; "this friends" for "his friends" on page 400, line 21; and an imperfect "F" in the word "OF" in the headline on page 432 (all first issue points). "Weller" in the sign on the engraved title page is in a later state, changed from "Veller." According to Eckel, of the 43 plates here, 27 are in their first state.