Personal History of David Copperfield by DICKENS, Charles - 1850: With Illustrations by H. K. Browne.

London: Bradbury & Evans, Whitefriars, 1850. BROWNE, Hablot Knight. With Illustrations by H.K. Browne. London: Bradbury and Evans, 1850 [i.e., May 1849-November 1850].

First edition in the original monthly parts, twenty numbers bound in nineteen. Octavo. [i-vii]viii[ix]x-xii[xiii]xiv[xv-xvi], [1]2-624. Forty inserted plates, including frontispiece and vignette title. Collates nearly complete with almost all ads and slips as called for by Hatton and Cleaver, with the rare fold-out "Letts" ad in part VIII (lacks slip after plates in part IX, rear slip in part XII, rear slip in part XIII, front slip in part XVI, lacks last page of last ads in part XIX-XX). This copy has seven specimen diary leaves in part VIII, variant ads in parts XII (2A) and XVIII (Waterlow alternate on yellow paper). As in the Martin set, the "Advertiser" Part VIII correctly reads "Life of Goldsmith" instead of "Lile."

Original blue printed wrappers. All parts expertly rebacked. A few tiny frayed spots on corners. Some scattered foxing to text and plates. A small stain on front wrapper of Part III. Part VII opened a bit wide after plates, but holding firm. Part X, pages 5-6 of back advertisement torn with loss of half the page. Part XII, pages 3-6 of back advertisement torn with loss of text from the ad. Part XV with text pages 471-474 bound in backwards, but present. Part XVI with a tear to page 7 of the slip following the plates, affecting text of the ad. Plates a bit tones, mainly to the four in Part XIX-XX. Overall, an attractive set. Housed in a quarter blue morocco slip case.

Copperfield is one of the rarer titles in parts.

Hatton and Cleaver, pp. 253-272.

HBS 68265.

$9,500.