D 2 2 5 9 1 8 — t'l • ■ ,' 'S \*)Kiti\v.:&:)::' . Mm'-: ':'':' [ ft* >'■.■/! '. ' ' :|'!V'i;i''i\,' ]^'X I r :'■.'.';■;■;■' i' ■■■'.'■ THE GIFT OF MAY TREAT MORRISON IN MEMORY OF ALEXANDER F MORRISON DICKENS MEMENTO. PICKENS MEMENTO WITH lU^TTipDUCTIOU^ "BY F%qAU^CIS "PHILLIoMOTiQ AND "HIOXTS TO "DICKSC^^S COLL&CTOT{S" "BY JOHC^Q F. T>&XTQR Catalogue With Purchasers' Names £^ Prices Realised OF THE (|)ic^ure0t ©ra5Bin30 anb (D6jec^0 of (^xi OF THE LATE Charles (Dickens SOLD BY AUCTION IN LONDON By Messrs. Christie, Manson &> Woods ON JULT ^th, 1870 Field y Tuer, The Leadenhall T^ress, 6.C. Stmph'n, oMarshall y Co.; Hamilton, cAdams & Co. U^ew York : Scribner isf JVel/ord, 743 y 745, 'Broadway. FIELD & TUER, THE LEADENHALL PRESS, E.C. T 4,193- 4578 Introdttction BY FRANCIS PHILLIMORE 1 f ^ ERE are many evidences by which we may judge that a contemporary celebrity is being continued into a lasting fame. Among the most prevalent of these may be reckoned just now a certain combination of biblio- mania and hero-worship. The collector of first editions does his collecting with a double intention. His mania is not precisely that of the collector of cocked hats or of postage stamps (to mention the most curious of passions) ; for he generally unites a literary admiration for his authors with a love of rarities. There is no more appropriate relic of a great writer than his books, or a book which testifies to his greatness. It is not surprising, therefore, to find that the reprint of the Catalogue of the Dickens Sale should be an object of the relic-buyer's passion. The great author's taste and pleasures are illustrated by the list itself; and the prices and the names of buyers witness to his reputation. Such a catalogue is a literary and a personal curiosity. It is full of memories and of allusions. The story of old and new friendships, dear ties, and wonderful renown of a man who was much loved, may be read between the lines. Some of the most intimately personal of Dickens's relics were, it is true, selected and kept by those to whom that privilege was specially be- queathed ; but what remained was personal enough, pathetically interesting to those who knew the author nearly ; and now, after fourteen years, it is asso- ciated with other names which, like his own, have passed into silence. What was scattered once at this famous sale has been scattered again since Forster's death ; and much that was precious then has become doubly precious now — as, for instance, the work of the gay and gentle Stanfield, who is already regarded as the representative of an older school of painting. The fame of Dickens has had its bound and its rebound. It has now pro- bably settled down to its place and measure. In his youth his name was one to B I conjure ^p'a£^s^ conjure with. Towards his later years his popularity, though it lost something of its furiousness, took a wider, larger, and deeper range. But after his death, when his old friends began to follow him one by one ; when the personal memories of his first victories lived in fewer and fewer minds ; when the arti- ficialities and the doubtful justice and the elaborate candour of the " Life " by Forster, had caused a certain revulsion of feeling among even the enthusiastic — a younger generation was rising, with calmer opinions, a somewhat different code of taste, and a very different sense of humour. The question was. How would the young people relish Dickens ? And the answer was divided. By many — rather fastidious than refined we may consider them — Dickens's pathos and his dramatic movement, his caricature and his comedy were all involved in a general and complete rejection, as something too strong and coarse and obvious for modern feeling. By others, divisions and distinctions were made ; a rich genius was revered in its own immortal powers, and the swagger and grimace and effort of so much of its work were liberally acknowledged as acci- dental rather than essential — spots upon a most radiant and enduring sun. Dickens's humour is of course relied on, even by his moderate admirers, for the preservation of his fame. But, strange to say, it is in his humour that a natural distinction is forming itself decisively. Some of his fun lives, some dies. It is as futile as it is cheap to prophesy the verdict of those who are to follow us. So we shall not hazard the vaticination that what has kept fresh for forty years will keep fresh for eighty years to come. It is safer to say that what has not stood the test so far is probably dead for ever, past revival. Sam Weller, rather than any other single figure in Pickwick, made Dickens's first enormous fame ; and yet will any candid reader assert that he finds Sam Weller comic in the only way worth having — freely, freshly comic, without delay or second thought in our laughter ? Or will he aver that Bob Sawyer's humours give much food for modern mirth ? On the other hand, almost all that belongs to Mr. Pickwick himself has kept its indefinable quality of fun. His adventure at the boarding- school, and the misfortunes which befel himself and his friends when they undertook to ride and to drive — these and their like are now what they were at their first conception. So too we laugh at Pecksniff and at his daughters, and at a few of the American passages in the same book, and at Mr. Augustus Moddle ; but we hesitate at Mrs. Gamp. And Mrs. Nickleby compels us to the laughter which the Kenwigs family cannot win from us. Now, in glancing at these changes of taste we are much tempted to a Pharisaical self-congratulation on the fact that it is the passages which the fastidious might not inexcusably call vulgar, the passages of ugly low life and the drunken passages, which have lost for us their frolic and charm of folly. Are we nicer than our fathers ? We are evidently less large in our sympathy with the coarseness, the evils, and the humours of the majority. 2 Whatever Whatever our criticism may be now, when many of us have never seen the master of whom wc speak and write, the year 1870 saw another stage of public feeling. His sudden death revived an almost passionate public interest, not to be marred for many months to come by the biography ; and the memorable sale of his collections caught the general sentiment at its heiglit. The death of Dickens was in every sense sudden. After some years in which nothing more important than the annual Christmas numbers had been added to his works, a novel, published in the old familiar form of monthly parts, was appearing, and was gaining readers in numbers never before paralleled. The pen fell from the master's hand in the middle of " Edwin Drood," and at its strongest and most dramatic work. Failing health and the menace of death had not dimmed the fire or dulled the impulse which formed so large a part of his genius. But in one or two comic passages the effort of weariness was too apparent ; and the humours of the impossible lodging-house keeper in this book are the only dead failure ever made by Dickens. It had been said that he was resolved to be funny at all costs, and in this last novel it was obvious that he had determined to be funny at a very painful cost of physical suffering and mental exhaustion. It is clear that writers and others who create or perform for the public have always found something well worth living for in their faculty of evoking laughter. It is fine to command a world's tears and to move masses to action, whether by the pen or the tongue. But to excite at will the delightfully sympathetic response of a laugh would seem to be more precious than all to the possessor of the power. The comic actor clings longest to the stage ; the teller of good stories dines out long after the age at which all other natural inclinations would lead him to prefer a modest meal at his own fireside, however solitary ; and the comic author spurs his failing force in order to win that form of applause which is his best reward. The power of humour failed in Dickens before those other powers which he prized less ; but it was precisely the power of humour that he would not forego. Hence some small parts of " Edwin Drood " were dismal reading on the appearance of the book, and are melan- choly reading now. Otherwise it was a masterly story, and left its author in the fulness of his fame. Charles Dickens's collection of household treasures had been made with mixed taste. The art was the art of his youth, and public taste had long outgrown it. In the bric-d-brac, perhaps, the connoisseur found most that was desirable. Here, it is true, modern French work appeared in contrast with Oriental, but almost all was fine of its kind. The relic-hunter, however, made no distinctions. The pictures alone brought nearly ;^8ooo. Frith's " Dolly Varden," in which Dickens had seen the realisation of his pleasant conception of a little city heroine, had been painted before the time of the artist's popular fame, and it is said that it passed from him to Dickens at a price of but £a,o. 3 At At the sale it was bought for ;£'iooo. Maclise's portrait of the novelist brought 693 guineas, although that artist's work had already begun to suffer a great depreciation. This picture was the one to which Thackeray alluded in his Notes in Eraser's Magazine on the Royal Academy of 1839: "Look at the portrait of Mr. Dickens — well arranged as a picture, good in colour and light and shadow, and as a likeness perfectly amazing ; a looking-glass could not render a better facsimile. Here we have the real identical man Dickens. . . . What cheerful intellectuality in this man's eyes and large forehead ! The mouth is too large and full, too eager and active, perhaps ; the smile is very sweet and generous. . . . The past and the future, says Jean Paul, are written in every countenance. I think we may promise ourselves a brilliant future from this one. There seems no flagging as yet in it, no sense of fatigue, no consciousness of decaying power. Long mayest thou, O Boz ! reign over thy comic kingdom ; long may we pay thee tribute — whether of threepence weekly or of a shilling monthly, it matters not. Mighty prince ! at thy im- perial feet, Titmarsh, humblest of thy servants, offers his vows of loyalty and his humble tribute of praise." The figure is seated ; the head, with what the language of the day would call its clustering masses of rich hair, is turned slightly over the shoulder ; the neck is swathed in a satin stock, and the art of the tailor has been directed to producing that sloping-shouldered effect, then in vogue, to which most men of to-day would prefer a hump-back. Neverthe- less, and in spite too of Maclise's somewhat effeminate mannerism, we can understand from this portrait what Dickens's contemporaries meant when they spoke of him as being " beautiful " in his youth. But the great prize of the Sale was the set of Pickwick silver ladles, which were partly formed of figures of the characters in the famous book, and which Messrs. Chapman & Hall presented to their author on its completion. It was, rather foolishly, calculated that these ladles were bought at the rate of ^10 an ounce. The six realized ;^272. As might have been foretold, the ladle which was decorated with the placid form of Mr. Pickwick himself was the favourite ; then came the Sam Weller ladle ; then that consecrated to Mr. Weller pere ; the fat boy was next, then Jingle, and Winkle last. And who will wonder that for the raven, the " Grip " of " Barnaby Rudge," there was an eager competition ? Stuffed, and in his glass case, the poor bird represented much old delight in the days when Dickens was studying the raven for his book, and when the tricks of the bird formed the theme of his talk and of his gay and fantastic letters. Memories like these were, for such as could remember, bound to all the relics of Gad's Hill. And they are such precious memories still that the very record of their sale, reprinted, has become in itself a thing to be prized for the love of a memorable name. 4 Such Such extraordinary prices were realized fourteen years ago at the sale held by Messrs. Christie, IManson and Woods, of the effects of Charles Dickens, as to induce an immediate reprint of the catalogue with the addition of prices and names of the purchasers. While the number of copies could not of course by any possibility increase, collectors of first editions of the works of Dickens and mementos of the great novelist have multiplied very largely indeed, and the catalogue referred to has naturally become very scarce. Few who attended this memorable sale will ever forget the intense excite- ment under which the bidders laboured who crowded the room almost to suffocation. For once the cautious amateur, and still more cautious dealer, alike forgot their prudence, and bid against each other for the various lots until prices were realised that can be characterised as little less than fabulous and certainly foolish. It may be taken as a fact that not a single lot then sold would, if again put up to competition, realise anything like the price then paid. While this applies to the mementos of the great master of fiction then offered under special conditions to an excited public, first editions of his works not only maintain a high price, but have gone on steadily increasing in value, and will most probably continue to do so as long as there are collectors to buy and appreciate. Hints to Dickens Collectors. BY JOHN F. DEXTER. jHE earliest manuscript of Dickens that I l:now of, and a portion of which I have seen, is the first sheet of a burlesque of Othello, now in the possession of a friend of mine, who had it given to him by John Dickens, with whom he was well acquainted when living at Alphington, near Exeter. It is not a little singular that Dickens must have entirely forgotten the existence of this as well as of many others that were written at this period of his life (1830-33) ; for in the preface to the first cheap edition of "Sketches by Boz," he states that they (the " Sketches ") " comprise my first attempts at authorship, with the exception of certain tragedies achieved at the mature age of eight or ten, and represented with great applause to overflowing nurseries." One of these "mature" tragedies Forster mentions in the Life of Dickens: "Misnar, the Sultan of India, was the name of one of these early productions, founded (and very literally founded no doubt) on one of the tales of the Genii." My friend regrets at this moment that he did not take the whole of the burlesque, as no value was set upon it. John Dickens, however, identified the page by writing the following note at the top : — " This page is from an unpublished Travestie, written by Mr. Charles Dickens for private performance in his own family (1S33), and is in his own handwriting ; the ' Great Unpaid ' was your humble servant, John Dickens, Alphington, 6 June, 1S42." Then follows the title "O'Thello" (part of the Great Unpaid). I cannot find out what became of the remainder of the MS. ; none of the Dickens family seem to know or remember anything about it. I mention it here merely as a literary curiosity, and perhaps it is better for his fame that the rest of the MS. is lost, for being written for " home consumption " the brew is not particularly strong. John Payne Collier in his privately printed book, " An Old Man's Diary " 7 for (for six months of the year 1833), mentions meeting Mr. Barrow, who invited him to dinner to meet Dickens. At this dinner the latter sang two songs (after much pressing), one of which was his own composition, entitled " Sweet Betsy- Ogle." Gf this oniy one verse is given in the " Diary " ; but in Collier's own copy of the book he. gives in MS. the entire song. He also gives in this same copy a transcript of a " monopolylogue written by Dickens, like those of the elder Mathews." On the margin of the monopolylogue Collier has recorded the following information regarding its authenticity : "V. Dowling gave me this song, and said it was written by C. Dickens." It relates the adventures and mishaps of a tailor and his friend at the Epping hunt, in a MS. of 6 pp. 4to. It has never, to my knowledge, been printed, nor had I heard of it till quite recently. Next in order comes the " SKETCHES BY Boz," written as separate papers for the RIonthly Magazine, Tlie Everting Chronicle, and Bell's Life in London (full particulars of which will be found in Mr. R. H. Shepherd's Bibliography, second edition, 1882). They are signed variously, "Boz," "Tibbs," " W. P.," and have become very rare in the separate parts or volumes. Even some of the odd parts of the Monthly Magazine have been sold for ^i by the booksellers. I do not remember seeing a set of any of them for sale at the auction rooms. The " Sketches " were afterwards collected and published by J. Macrone, 2 vols., 1836, with sixteen etchings by G. Cruikshank. The first edition of these two vols, has now become extremely difficult to obtain in its original dark green cloth or uncut form, as it is undoubtedly the best edition ; the etchings in these volumes are far superior to those executed for the octavo volume pub- lished in 1839. The book ran through four editions, the second of which contained an additional preface. Each edition was entirely reset or printed by different firms of printers, no two editions being alike either in type or pagination. The second series of the " Sketches by Boz," was also pub- lished by Macrone (i vol., 1837). The first edition in a pink cloth contains ten etchings by Cruikshank ; and the second edition contains two additional etchings by G. C, viz. " The Last Cab " and " The First of May." Collectors of Dickens's works have a very pernicious habit of inserting the two extra plates into the first edition ; this is a very grave mistake, as it leads most people who possess that " little knowledge," which is a " dangerous thing," to infer that it is a second edition with the first title inserted ; it also creates confusion in the mind, and is not in the true spirit of collecting. Where there are variations and additions of importance, amateurs should possess themselves of each edition, and not mix up one thing with another, for in doing so they only succeed in making sophisticated copies of the book, and to a certain extent reduce their value when offered for sale. The three volumes, first editions of both series, have been sold for very high prices quite recently, a complete set being worth at present from £16 to ;^i8. The other editions, are perhaps, worth half that 8 amount amount. In the list of advertisements of new works for publication, at the end of the second series of " Sketches by Boz," occurs the following announcement : "A novel by Boz, GABRIEL Vardon, by Charles Dickens, Esq., author of ' Sketches by Boz,' ' The Pickwick Papers,' etc. Three volumes, post 8vo." This was a first idea for " Barnaby Rudge," but it is scarcely necessary to add that it never appeared in the three vol. form. The three volumes of " Sketches by Boz," however, are not perhaps so scarce as the octavo edition published in 1839 by Chapman & Hall in twenty parts, with a pretty pink wrapper designed by G. Cruikshank ; but it is only in this immber state that it is so rare and valuable. A fine copy of the twenty parts has been sold for ^20. It was not a successful edition, in spite of the high price (.£^2000) paid by Dickens to Macrone for the re-purchase of the copyright, which was originally sold by him for £1^0. I may here mention that on the first proof of the cover designed by Cruikshank for this edition, the name of Macrone appears instead of Chapman & Hall. Macrone an- nounced the publication of the " Sketches " in parts, and it was this advertise- ment that caused Dickens to re-purchase the copyright. I have never seen but one India proof of the cover with Macrone's name, and conclude that it must be very scarce. It is important to get this edition in the original parts, as it contains matter that was never used in the cloth copies of the book — an address to the public (a favourite method of the author's) in Part II., December, 1837 — setting forth the reasons why each part contained less printed matter than the " Pickwick Papers." Part 5 also contains a very interesting proclamation (3 pp. 8vo) signed Boz, advertising " Nicholas Nickleby," and therein threatening fearful vengeance against the pirates who were stealing the author's thunder, and who had already been pretty successful with the " Penny Pickwick by Bos." The proclamation had as much effect as water on a duck's back, for the piracies were continued until 1841, when Dickens dropped down upon the publishers, and completely crushed them ; not, however, before they had issued a valedictory address in the fourth part of " Mister Humphries' Clock by Bos," wherein they state their grievances, accept the situation, and pose in the light of "injured innocents." The whole twenty parts were issued in cloth 8vo, with a short advertisement by the author. The title bears the date of 1S39, and it also has " new edition," a very misleading word to beginners, as they are apt to imagine that it is not the first octavo edition. There is another edition in a cheap form, published in 1850, commonly called the "double column edition," which contains an original preface, and also a woodcut frontispiece designed by Cruikshank. It has no particular market value, and can be bought at any time for a few shillings ; still, it adds a link to the chain. The " Library of Fiction " was issued in fourteen monthly parts, concur- rently with " Pickwick," and it is very interesting to get in this state ; for on the C 9 back back of the lavender coloured covers to Parts i and 2 appears an original address written by Dickens, announcing the publication of " Pickwick." Part I contains a sketch by Boz — " The Tuggs's at Ramsgate " — and has two woodcut illustrations designed by R. Seymour, the same artist furnishing two more to the second part. Part 3 contains another Sketch signed Boz, " A little talk about Spring and the Sweeps," with one woodcut only, designed by R. W. Buss.* Both the sketches were afterwards issued in the collected series of Sketches by Boz, 1837 and 1839. Phiz supplied some of the illustrations to the other parts, only one of which calls for any comment. That is the illustra- tion to the tale " John Smith," by E. Mayhew, wherein Pate Poinden is evidently understudying the character of Tony Weller, and doing it to the life ; it certainly is a most marvellous resemblance. The book was published in two volumes by Chapman & Hall, and has gone through several editions, the first bearing the dates 1836-1837. J. Oilier commenced a Vol. 3, enlarged in size and with two etchings to each part by John Leech — probably his first attempts at etching. I know of only two parts of this volume, but there may have been more than that number issued. The two volumes in cloth have been sold as high as ;^5. It is more valuable in the parts, but I do not remember ever to have seen a copy for sale. "Sunday under three Heads," by Timothy Sparks, i2mo, published by Chapman & Hall, 1836, with woodcut illustrations designed by Phiz, and perhaps the worst that he ever did. This was issued in a wrapper with the three heads on it, the same as on the title. It was published with scraped edges, but a very few copies are to be found entirely uncut, and it has realized as much as ;^iS. Two reprints of it have been issued within the last six months. " The Village Coquettes," a comic opera. The music was composed by Dr. John Hullah, who died quite recently. It was published by Richard Bentley in 1836. About half a dozen of the songs were published separately by Cramer, Addison, & Beale in 1837. Several editions of these songs have been pub- lished from 1837 up to, and even after, the author's death. Three or four years ago, when the alterations were made in the St. James's Theatre, a few of the playbills of this opera, " The Strange Gentleman," and " Is she his Wife .' " were turned out amongst a lot of rubbish. They were soon pounced upon by the collectors, and have now become as rare as hen's teeth. The last lot sold for a guinea apiece. They have now all disappeared. In addition to the words of the opera published by Bentley, the management of the St. James's Theatre also sold books, or rather pamphlets, of the songs, choruses, and concerted pieces (i2mo, 16 pp.), with a list of the dramatis personcB on the back of the title. The * This part contains the first announcement of " Sunday under three Heads." 10 opera opera was printed and published by Bradbury & Evans, in 1837, and sold for tenpence in the theatre. It now sells for £2 2s. The Bentley publication sells for ^10. This latter has been reprinted by R. Bentley in facsimile in 1878, but the fact that it is a reprint is stated on the back of the title. A frontispiece was etched for this by F. W. Pailthorpe a year later, but published separately. "The Posthumous Papers of the Pickwick Club," published by Chap- man & Hall, in twenty parts the " green leaves " having a woodcut illustration designed by R. Seymour. Part i contains four etchings by Seymour; at least it should do so, but ninety-nine copies in parts out of every hundred have only Phiz's copies of these etchings. Mr. Joseph Aked has stated that only four hundred of the first part were stitched up and put in the wrappers, which will readily account for the rarity of the Seymour etchings. Part 2 has only three etchings by the same artist ; these are not at all difficult to obtain, as they were used in all the sets in parts and also in the first cloth issues. Seymour com- mitted suicide by blowing out his brains with a fowling-piece, and this part contains a rare address from the author stating the fact. On the wrappers of the two parts it states that the illustrations are by R. Seymour. After his death it became necessary to select another illustrator, and R. W. Buss sent in an etching illustrating Part 2, executed very much in the style of Seymour, a resemblance which was no doubt the means of securing him the commission to illustrate " Pickwick." I have an impression of this plate, which is probably unique, the plate having been spoilt by some process or other. It was certainly much more suitable in style than those afterwards furnished by Buss. Part 3 contains two etchings by R. W. Buss, not at all in character, and clashing terribly with those by Seymour. It was by reason of this lack of harmony that Buss was given up and Hablot K. Browne accepted. Every one knows of course that Thackeray offered to illustrate the book, and imagined that he had ob- tained the commission ; tradition says that he and Browne dined off sausages and mashed potatoes to celebrate the event. Phiz, however, was the chosen one, and the selection was fortunate, as Thackeray's style of illustrating, though full of humour, was as unsuitable as Buss's. Browne, on the other hand, caught the Dickens spirit exactly, and made his work conform to that of his pre- decessor. He ended by illustrating nearly all the Dickens books. The Buss plates were cancelled, and Phiz supplied two capital etchings (after the two to Part 4) to fill their place. Part 3 contains an original address by Dickens, and also a copy of a letter from a correspondent, whose ideas of punctuation were full of fancy and originality. The periods seem to have been sprinkled with a pepper castor, they are so plentiful. Part 4 contains Phiz's first etchings to " Pickwick," which were signed " Nemo," but very indistinctly. He after- wards adopted " the sobriquet of Phiz to harmonize with Dickens's Boz," as he says in a letter to Mr. James Cook, 15th March, 1879. The first plate — "The 1 1 Upset " Upset" — is rather poor, and the only indifferent etching in the book. This inferiority is in all probability owing to his slight knowledge of the process of " biting in." He was greatly assisted in this by Mr. Robert Young, a great friend of his, a very charming engraver and a pupil of Finden's. Wonderful are the strides Browne made in the art of etching. Each successive part shows marked improvement as well as the artist's own inimitable talent. Part 5 I pass over, as it has nothing curious about it. Part 6 is interesting on account of the figure of Potts (in the etching of Mrs. Leo Hunter's garden-party) being so wonderfully like the late Lord Brougham. In the first issue of the etching, " The unexpected breaking up of the seminary for young ladies," there is a mistake in the pagination, viz. page 154 should be page 169. This must have been altered immediately, as I have only seen the mistake in one impression, which is now in my collection. I have looked at dozens of copies, but have never been able to find a duplicate of it. I will pass over Parts 7, 8, and 9, and take Part 10. This has an original address written by Dickens. I may here add that all the addresses were printed on separate fly leaves and do not appear except in the very first issues of the parts. Hablot Browne began with this part to etch duplicate plates, the popularity of the book being so great that one set of plates was not sufficient to supply the constantly increasing demand for the parts ; and from. Part 10 up to 20 there were two sets of plates being worked, full particulars of which will no doubt be given in Mr. D. C. Thomson's book on Hablot Knight Browne. Li all these latter parts the plates of the first and second states are mixed up indiscriminately ; they were printed at the same time, and this will account for the frequent occurrence of one of each state in the parts. Part 15 has a fourth address written by Dickens to account for the inter- ruption that took place in the issue, caused by the death of his wife's sister, to whom he was devotedly attached. The author seems annoyed at the conclusions drawn by the public for the non-appearance of the 15th Number at the usual time, " which he thought had been sufficiently emphatically stated before." This may have been true, but there are very few traces of that statement now, a small slip of paper written by Dickens, and inserted in Bentley's Miscellany by the publisher.s, and a curt sentence at the head of the " Answers to Correspondents " for the June Number of the same Miscellany, being all the notice that I have seen. There may have been some in the daily papers of the time, but papers were then 3^'. and A,d. each, and they had not anything like the circulation that they have now ; hence the public ignorance. I have heard it stated that the young lady was engaged to be married to D. Maclise, that they were all at the theatre together one night, and that she died two hours after reaching home. I have a letter of Dickens, written the day after the death, regretting his inability to accept an invitation to dinner and giving the particulars of the sad event. I should like to give it here in facsimile, as it is one of the most 12 charming charming letters ever written by him ; even the flourish that he usually put under his name seems to be in mourning, it is so blurred and indistinct. Parts 19 and 20 contain only a publisher's notice with regard to the publica- tion of the work in a complete form, and an announcement to the effect that a new work by Boz would shortly be commenced in the same form as the " Pickwick Papers." This eventually appeared under the title of " Nicholas Nickleby." There must have been about a dozen different issues of " Pickwick " in the parts. Mr. Aked states that its circulation towards the close was 40,000. I should think that the publishers sold just about double that quantity in the parts and cloth copies. An edition was published with inscriptions under all the etchings for the first time (the illustrations to the parts having the page etched in up to part 12 onl}>). A new set of plates was etched by Phiz to illustrate the first portion of the book up to page 265 (excepting the two plates to face pp. Ti and "jG) and the latter portion of the book was illustrated with one of the sets issued with the parts. It was published with the printed title bearing the date of 1S37, but I have a strong impression that it must have been about the middle or end of 1S3S. These new illustrations by H. K. Browne are excellent and far superior to the former ones published with the parts. A complete copy in parts and in fine state is worth £\0^ but a fine copy in parts, with the four addresses, the advertisements to each part, (which are of great rarity,) and all the plates in the first state, has not been sold by auction for the last fifteen years. It would doubtless realise ;£■ 15 to £20. I think I can safely assert that there are not a dozen copies in existence. The cloth edition of 1837, with the lettered impressions of the plates, is now worth ^3 to £if, according to condition. There is also a cheap edition, the first of the double column series, published in 1847, wit^h a new preface by Dickens, who also wrote an address to the public with a prospectus, which is to be found in some of the early numbers of "Dombey & Son" amongst the advertisements. The MS. of this prospectus, entirely in Dickens' autograph, was sold about four 3-ears ago at Sotheby's. This cheap edition has a frontispiece designed by C. R. Leslie, R.A. It is worth about three or four shillings. The extraordinary popularity of " Pickwick " brought into existence a perfect swarm of extra-illustrators, plagiarists, pirates, and others. Of the plagiarisms and piracies a fairly complete list will be found in Mr. Cook's "Bibliography," published in 1879. Of the extra illustrators, the principal artists were A. Crowquill, T. Onwhyn, W. Heath, Sir John Gilbert, R.A,, Sibson, and Hablot K. Browne himself The six woodcuts designed by Phiz to illustrate the 1847 edition are by far the best, being some of his happiest efforts. The other extra illustrations are rare, especially the Heath, Crowquill, and Gilbert series. The plates etched by Onwhyn are still in existence, and 13 can can be bought for is., but the original set in parts is worth £^. The other illustrations are worth from £^ to ^5 a set. Phiz designed a set of 5/ woodcuts to the Household Edition of " Pickwick," but it would have been better for his fame if he had not done them ; they are among his very worst efforts. The following interesting lot was sold at Sotheby's on the 25th July, 1883:- 150. Dickens (Charles), Autograph portions of the original manuscripts of the " Pickwick Papers " (chapters xxxv. and xxxvi., pp. 50 to 82), and of "Nicholas Nickleby" (chapter ix., pp. ^j to 103, chapter xv. 1-70, and chapter xvii. I to 106), with engraved portrait of the author, four holograph letters, signed, etc., and copy of humorous rhymes from him to Mr. Hicks added, half morocco. The humorous verses are as follows : — " Private and confidential. To Mr. Hicks. "Oh, Mr. Hick — s, I'm heartily sick Of this sixteenth " Pickwick," Which is just in the nick, For the publishing trick, And will read nice and shck, If you'll only be quick ! I don't write on tick, That's my comfort avick ! " It was sold to B. F. Stevens for ;^Si. I sent a commission of £\o for it, but I have been given to understand that even double that amount would not have obtained it for ine. It has gone to America, unluckily, and I suppose that we shall never see it back again. Its proper place was the South Kensington Museum, with the rest of the manuscripts in the Forster collection ; but they seem very chary at that institution of spending money on a MS., even when a " Pickwick " wants completion. " An account of the origin of the ' Pickwick Papers,' (by Mrs. Seymour widow of the distinguished artist who originated the work,) with Mr. Dickens's version and her reply thereto, showing the fallacy of his statements ; also letters of her husband's and other distinguished men. London : Printed for the Authoress, 2, Drayton Villas, Old Brompton, i2nio., 36 pp. n.d." * The particu- lars of the pamphlet given above were copied from the authoress's corrected proof copy, the only copy I have ever heard of This pamphlet is very rare, probably on account of the contempt with which it was naturally and deservedly treated by the public in general. It died a natural death and was not resuscitated until ♦ No Date. 14 1866, 1 866, when a son of R. Seymour made another claim. In t\\Q Athenancm of 31st March and 7th April, 1866, Charles Dickens gave full particulars about the " Pickwick Papers." It was such a crushing reply to the assertions that were made that the question has never been reopened. There is a curious portrait of " Boz," etched by Phiz during the publication of " Pickwick," that every Dickens collector should have. It is unique as a Phiz etching. It shows a most profound contempt for the laws of perspective, and is in other respects an abominable caricature. "The Strange Gentleman" was published by Chapman & Hall, 1837, in a lavender coloured wrapper, with a frontispiece etched by Phiz. It must also have been issued without the frontispiece, as it is the exception to find a copy with it in. I have had a dozen through my hands, but only one with the frontispiece. There is a copy in the Forster Collection at South Kensington Museum, and but very few Dickens collectors possess this rarity. The book has been beautifully reprinted, and is so closely copied from the original, that given a little age and dirt it would deceive a good many people. It lacks the frontis- piece by Phiz, but one was etched for it, after publication, by F. W. Pailthorpe, and is to be obtained with the book for ys. or Ss. The rare original, though, with the Phiz etching is worth ;^I2, and £S without it. There are also some original playbills of the performance at the St. James's Theatre, not easily obtainable, and worth a guinea luhen yoii get them, " Is She his Wife ; or, Something Singular," supposed to have been published in London about 1837. In a weekly periodical called "The Pen," and published in 18S0, there was a very interesting article, written by Mr. R. H. Shepherd, giving full particulars, as far as he was able, of this one act burletta. The work was reprinted by James Osgood & Co., Boston, U.S.A., 1877, 32mo, and unfortunately the original copy was destroyed in the fire which burned their business premises in December, 1879. Mr. Osgood states that this was a demy Svo of thirty pages, without wrapper, but he had entirely forgotten the publisher's name. I have never seen a copy of it, nor do I know of any one in this country who has ; it would certainly create a small sensation in the Dickens world if a copy should turn up by any chance. The American reprint (entirely out of print) is getting scarce, and sells now for I5i-. The playbill of the per- formance at the St. James's Theatre is in existence, and is now worth a guinea. One of these playbills is exceedingly curious and gives particulars of a song that no one seems to have mentioned or even heard of. It was sung on the occasion of Mr. Harley's benefit at the St. James's Theatre, Monday, March 13th, 1837. Under the cast of " Is She his Wife ; or. Something Singular," by " Boz," occurs the following: — "Mr. Harley will, in the character of Mr. Pickwick, make his first visit to the St. James's Theatre, and relate, to a Scotch air, his experiences of ' a whitebait dinner at Blackwall,' edited expressly for him by his biographer IS 'Boz,'" 'Boz.'" This was followed by "The Strange Gentleman," "58th, and last night this season." So says the programme ; but it was acted twice again after this, making in all 60 performances. This playbill is indeed a rarity ; but what has become of the song ? When the St. James's Theatre was altered a few years ago by Messrs. Hare & Kendal, a pile of acting copies of dramas, etc., were sold as waste paper, and in amongst these were four out of the six parts of "Is She his Wife?" written by the theatrical copyist; but Harley's part was not amongst the number. The names of the performers and the parts that they were to assume were in the handwriting of Chas. Dickens, on the brown paper wrappers. "Sketches of Young Gentlemen," published by Chapman & Hall, 1838, with six illustrations by Phiz, written by Dickens as an indignant remonstrance against the " Sketches of Young Ladies " (which was written, I believe, by one of the Brothers Mayhew). It was not acknowledged by Dickens at the time, and he thought that the price (;^iSo) that he received a very good one, taking into consideration that it was written anonymously. Dickens agreed with Mr. Tegg to write the " History of Serjeant Bell and his Raree Show," and accepted the offer of ;^ioo that was made, but for some reason it never came off. I have an autograph letter of his, wherein he offers to write it for .£'120, but on con- dition that the name of Boz should not appear on the title. At the top of the page Mr. Tegg has written, " The amount offered and accepted is ;£'ioo." This letter was written at Furnival's Inn, and although there is no date it was pro- bably at the end of 1836 or beginning of 1837. Let us, however, "return to our muttons." There were several editions of the "Young Gentlemen" in 1838, all in thick boards with a woodcut on the green wrapper designed by Phiz. The first edition, if it be in fine state, is worth ;^3. It is not particularly un- common. About 1849 a shilling edition was issued in a limp wrapper, and two or three " cheap and nasty " editions have been issued since with the plates lithographed. A plagiarism of this book was published under the title of " Characteristic Sketches of Young Gentlemen," by Quiz Junior, with woodcut illustrations, probably by Robert Cruikshank. It was published by W. Kidd, Tavistock Street, Covent Garden, N.D., as the companion to " Sketches of Young Ladies," thin fcap. 8vo, brown cloth. "Oliver Twist," 3 vols., post 8vo, published by Richard Bentley, 1838, in a brown cloth cover, with 24 illustrations by G. Cruikshank. The first edition is very difficult to obtain in nice clean state, the plates being almost invariably foxed, and the text more often soiled than not. It should have on the titles, " Oliver Twist ; or, the Parish Boy's Progress, by Boz," and the last plate in the third volume should be that of Rose Maylie, Harry and Oliver sitting in front of the fireplace. This is commonly called the cancelled plate. It also has a list of the plates in the first volume next to the title, which does not appear in 16 any any of the other issues excepting the so called third edition (whicli, b}- the way, is about the sixth edition). The author was so disgusted witli the last plate that he poHtely but forcibly requested Cruikshank to etch another. This was done at once ; and although it is an improvement on the first, neither the one nor the other is an embellishment to the book. This is an accusation that cannot be brought against the rest of the illustrations, as they are undoubtedly Cruik- shank's finest efforts. The substituted plate, " Rose Maylie and Oliver standing at Agnes' tomb," was published in an unacknowledged second edition, which bears a different title from the first, viz. "Oliver Twist, by Charles Dickens." There were two issues of "Oliver Twist" in the three- volume form in 1839, one of them bearing "2nd edition" on the title. Another edition was issued in 1840. In 1841 the author made arrangements with Mr. Bentley for the re-purchase of the copyright of " Oliver Twist," and also for the projected tale of " Barnaby Rudge" that was advertised to appear in 3 volumes, post 8vo. The sum paid was £22^0. The remaining stock was handed over, and a third edition was published by Chapman & Hall in 1 841, with a new preface by Dickens. The first two volumes of the tale appeared in Bentlcf s Miscellany \x\. 1837-38, and in the third part of the Miscellany appeared " An E.xtraordinary Gazette," announcing the forthcoming " Oliver." It is a parody on the royal speech, consisting of 3 pp. 8vo, with a pretty woodcut portrait of Dickens, designed by H. K. Browne. It has become very scarce and is occasionally catalogued at a guinea. There were six contributions by Dickens to the Miscellany apart from "Oliver" (which was concluded in the beginning of the year 1S39), besides prefaces and a valedictory address in 1839, when the editorship was handed over to W. Harrison Ainsworth. The first octavo edition of " Oliver Twist " was published by Bradbury & Evans, 1846, and was issued in ten monthly parts in a green wrapper with a very pretty woodcut designed by G. Cruikshank. The plates were repaired, but not by Cruikshank, and their appearance is certainly not im- proved. This defect does not in any way alter the value of this edition, as it has often been sold for as much as the first edition — a fact which does not say much for the judgment or taste of collectors. The double column or cheap edition was next issued by Bradbury & Evans, with a woodcut frontispiece designed by G. Cruikshank, and a capital new preface written by the author, wherein he holds Sir Peter Laurie up to the public ridicule that he deserved, and shakes him much in the same way that a terrier would a rat. The MS. of this preface is in my possession, as well as two or three of the corrected proof sheets ; there are some paragraphs in the MS. that do not appear in the printed preface. The value of the first edition of " Oliver Twist," in 3 volumes cloth, is about £6, if fine and clean and with the cancelled plate ; that of the next edition with the substituted plate t> 17 about about ^4 los. Amateurs should purchase both these editions and keep each intact, instead of inserting the plate of the second issue into the first, which is an invariable habit with them. It is a wonder to me that they do not take the preface out of the third edition and insert it in the first, which would be about as judicious a proceeding. The third edition is valuable for its preface, and is worth about £^ los. The first octavo edition, z/i parts only, is worth £6, and has been sold as high as £\o. In the cloth case it is worth about ^3 \os. The cheap edition can be bought for 2s. or ■^s. Nearly every one knows that George Cruikshank laid claim to the " original ideas and characters" in this book, a claim that he affected to believe in himself, but he never succeeded in convincing any one else. Another fact and one not generally known (which quite settles any doubt as to the first statement) is that Cruikshank also claimed to have originated the " Pickwick Papers." This is awkward for Seymour, who made a similar pretension with the same grounds for assertion. Cruikshank's invention was not literary. Has any one ever had the patience to read his teetotal twaddle in the Fairy Library (beauti- fully illustrated du rcste) ? In one of these tales, I forget which, the following powerful bit of writing occurs : " The King complimented him (the prince) upon his manly observations about the crops and the weather." As Thackeray would say, " Here's the hoighth of foine language intirely." Cruikshank had plenty of genius as an etcher, and should have been content with that. " Memoirs of Joseph Grimaldi," 2 vols., pink cloth, published by Richard Bentley, with twelve etchings by G. Cruikshank. This book was merely edited by Boz ; the MS. being prepared by John Dickens from Mr. Egerton Wilks' autobiographical notes. Except the preface he did not write a line of this biography, such modifications or additions as he made having been dictated by him to his father. His own estimate of the book was brief but expressive — '' Twaddle." Dickens's hand can be traced, however, in the anecdote of " Mr. Mackintosh's Covey," which is immensely funny and told in Boz's best vein of humour. The illustrations by Cruikshank are excellent, although in none of them is there a likeness to " Joe." Cruikshank knew Grimaldi well, in fact the latter once stood for his portrait to George, in costume, and made a grimace for him, all of which were duly etched, and form the heading of a song pub- lished by Laurie & Whittle, in 18 15. There was a second issue of the book, in two black cloth volumes, dated 1838, which is remarkable for the curious state of the etching called "The last Song." Some idiot who could neither etch nor draw, was kind enough to make a scrawl all round this etching, and this embellishment has been variously ascribed to A. Crowquill and Mr. G. A. Sala, an outrage on both of them, for they could etch, whereas the man who perpetrated this atrocity could not even draw. It is difficult to imagine Cruikshank, a past grand master in the art of 18 etching. etching, allowing any one to improve his plates. I should think that this work must have been done after the quarrel of Bentley with Cruikshank, but the publisher had the good sense to clean it off the plate before issuing another edition. Strange perversity of the dilettante nature — the collectors of Cruik- shank and Dickens prefer the spoiled plate to the other. An edition of " Grimaldi," the two volumes i2mo bound up in one in red cloth, was pub- lished by Bentley, 1S46, with only ten etchings by G. Cruikshank, but with a coloured frontispiece, engraved by J. Harris after a drawing by S. de Wilde. It is a portrait of Grimaldi as clown in the pantomime of " Mother Goose." This is the only edition in which this frontispiece appeared. Why the two etchings by Cruikshank were withdrawn from this edition I have never been able to ascertain ; the other plates are still in existence, though very much worn, and have been published several times by Messrs. Routledge & Sons. The first edition of Grimaldi sells for ;^8, in uncut state, and the second issue in the black cloth with the spoilt etching realises the same amount. The 1S46 edition with the coloured frontispiece sells for £^. It is an important edition for lovers of theatrical biography, as it has additional notes, supposed to have been written by Charles Whitehead, but in reality supplied by J. H. Burn. "Nicholas Nickleby," published in 20 Parts by Chapman & Hall 1838-39. There are several series of plates etched by Phiz to this book ; as many as four plates were etched for some of the parts, notably "Miss Snevellicci's great bespeak," and "Mr. Mantalini in reduced circumstances." A curious thing about the latter plate is that Phiz seems to have drawn the figure of the woman in the most confidential articles of feminine apparel, and afterwards clothed her with the thinnest of garments ; the effect is anything but pretty. There is another instance of it in " David Copperfield " in the plate " My child-wife's old com- panion," and equally objectionable. Nickleby in parts is to be obtained without much difficulty for £^. Several sets of illustrations were engraved for Nickleby, the most interesting being a series of 24 heads designed on wood by Kenny Meadows, and published in six parts with a pretty wrapper. A set of 40 was etched by T.- Onwhyn in 9 parts ; the plates are in existence, 32 of which are sold for is., the original sets being worth £^. Of another set of 32 woodcuts, four are designed by Sir John Gilbert ; the others, I should think, were done by Catnach or some such genius, and are happily very scarce. There is also a set of three illustrations engraved by Finden after Frank Stone, and very good they are. The pirates produced another book of the penny dreadful order, and called it " Nickelas Nickelberry." It was published in penny parts. Most of the piracies were written, I believe, by a Mr. J. P. Prest, and published by one Lloyd, who, I have heard it stated (but with what truth I know not), was the founder of Lloyd's Weekly Neius. Another book entitled " Nickleby Married " was pub- lished in II parts, green wrappers, with 22 plates by Quiz ; it was pretentiously 19 gotten gotten up, and published by John Williams, 44, Paternoster Row, 1840. Who the author was nobody knows. Dickens about this time, or perhaps earlier, sat for his portrait to a miniature painter living in Golden Square, by the name of Miss Drummond. I wonder whether she sat for the portrait of Miss La Creevy ? The miniature is now in the possession of Mrs. Perugini. The first cheap edition of Nickleby was published in 1S48, with a new preface, and frontispiece designed on wood by T. Webster, R.A. The painting of " Dothcboys Hall " was said to be excellent ; about the woodcut the less said the better. This edition is to be bought for 3^., and is interesting only to the collector. " The Loving Ballad of Lord Bateman," with 1 1 illustrations and one sheet of music, etched by G. Cruikshank. Published by Charles Tilt, 1839. The preface and notes were written by Dickens for Cruikshank, and here both author and artist are at their very best. It would be difficult to say which is the funnier of the two. The notes and preface are rollicking with fun and the etchings arc intensely comic. Mr. G. A. Sala has written on different occasions that the notes were by W. M. Thackeray, a statement that I beg respectfully but flatly to con- tradict. Firstly, because there is not the slightest internal evidence to warrant such an assertion. Secondly, because the notes are brimming over with animal spirits, a complaint that Thackeray was never accused of suffering from. Lastly and most importantly, George Cruikshank told me on three different occasions that the notes were written by Dickens, and he was not likely to credit that particular author with anything that was not strictly his due. He also told me distinctly and emphatically that they were not written by W. M. Thackeray. The first edition is in dark green cloth with a block printed in gold on the outside. This was also designed by Cruikshank. It represents the marriage of Lord Bateman and the Fair Sophia, and is quite worthy of the rest of the book. It has been scarce for the last twenty years. I gave £i \^s. for a copy at Sotheby's two years ago, but it is now worth close upon £^ in fine condition. There have been several editions of it since — in 1840 and 1841, and one in 1S51, which is noticeable on account of two of the plates being touched up by some meddler on mischief bent ; he was not successful in his attempt to spoil them, but he did his level best to that end. The last edition has just been published by Bell, of Covent Garden, and very nicely it is done. " Sketches of Young Couples," with 6 illustrations by Phiz, published by Chapman & Hall, 1840 ; in light green boards, with a woodcut designed by Phiz. At the end there is a pros^DCctus among the advertisements, written by Dickens, announcing the publication of " Master Humphrey's Clock." This prospectus was also used in octavo form with a charming woodcut designed by Phiz. This is a portrait of Boz opening the doors of Master Humphrey's clock and letting out a host of characters, including Pickwick. I have seen but one 20 example example of this prospectus, and that I bous^ht a year ago ; I had been hunting for it for years. There were hundreds of it printed at the time, no doubt ; but lis it is only an odd fly-leaf it has also been destroyed by the hundred. The " Sketches of Young Couples " must have had a very limited sale as a first edi- tion, for it is very difficult to procure; it is the exception to meet with it in fine condition. It sells for £$ or £6 very readily. " Master Humphrey's Clock," in 88 Numbers, published by Chapman & Hall, 1840-41, in white wrappers, price 3^. It was also published in monthly parts in green wrappers at is. and is. 3^., according to the quantity of matter contained in the part ; all the wrappers had a woodcut designed by H. K. Browne. The illustrations were furnished by G. Cattermole and Phiz, and one by D. Maclise, R.A. No. 9 contains a notice by the author, and No. So has a valedictory address on the inside of the wrapper, which was continued in the Nos. to 83 and then repeated in No. 87, with the addition of a postscript by the author. There is also the prospectus with the woodcut portrait mentioned under the head of " Sketches of Young Couples." At one time this book was easily obtainable in 3^/. Nos., and that not more than four years ago. It could then be bought for 30.^. easily ; now it sells for £4, and has been sold as high as £6 in very clean state. It is important to get the book in the white wrappers as the sheets there are not cut down in any way, whereas in the monthly parts in green wrappers they are slightly cropped at the sides and bottom, but in the cloth copies issued on completion of the work the edges are absolutely ploughed down all round. The " Old Curiosity Shop " is one of the most beautiful of all Dickens's creations ; Mr. R.H. Home in his "New Spirit of the Age " called at- tention at the time to the fact that towards the end of the story whole pages of prose can be turned into blank verse, with scarcely any alteration. Dickens was so strong in his writing at this period that he went sailing away with his stories as if there were 176 numbers ahead instead of half that number; and the printer had to remind him occasionally that there was a page or a page and a half too much. I have some of the galley proofs of " Master Humphrey's Clock," wherein huge paragraphs are ruthlessly cut out to keep the matter within the limits of the Number. With this publication the piracies came to an end, but not so the extra illustrators. On the contrary they were in greater force than ever, and nearly all good, or at least characteristic. Sibson (very much improved on his first illustrations to Dickens), Absolon, Corbeaux, K. Meadows, J. Parallel, Hablot K. Browne and R. Young were among them, the two latter by far the best of all. There is nothing in the range of Dickens illustrations more beautiful than those of Phiz. The artist seems to have revelled in his subjects. One or two indeed are weaker than the rest ; for instance " The Death of Little Nell," which is a trifle mawkish ; and then again in the etching " Barnaby and Hugh," the " Hugh " is not loutish enough. But the 21 "Dolly " Dolly Varden " is perfection. Phiz has done nothing else that can in any way compare with this portrait. There she is as Dickens describes her : " How well she looked } Well ? Why, if he had exhausted every laudatory adjective in the dictionary, it wouldn't have been praise enough. When and where was there ever, such a plump, roguish, comely, bright-eyed, enticing, bewitching, captivat- ing, maddening little puss in all this world, as Dolly ! " Emma Haredale, the Marchioness, and Barbara are all super-excellent, the latter perhaps not quite so good as in the drawing of her that I have, where Phiz has given her a demure look that is more in keeping with the text. Both Maclise and Frith painted portraits of Dolly Varden ; of the two I much prefer Frith's, but his conception is in no way superior to Phiz's. Frith's " Dolly Varden " was engraved by C. E. Wagstafif and published by John Mitchell in 1843. I mention this because after the sale of Dickens's pictures in 1870, Mr. Frith wrote to the Daily Telegraph a letter in which he says : "After criticising my picture of Dolly Varden, you say that I sold it for £ji, and that it was engraved by Mr. Mitchell, of Bond Street, close upon thirty years ago. The price Mr. Dickens paid me for the picture was ;^20, the sum I asked him in the year 1843, and it has never been engraved." The engraving is before me at this present moment of writing, and a very beautiful India proof it is, coloured by an artist at the time after the original picture, and one of a dozen that were so published. Mr. Frith must have forgotten all about it, or else there were two Richmonds in the field. Maclise's portrait of Dolly was also engraved in mezzotint. Sibson's illustrations, of which there were 72 not 70 as given in the list, were published in 18 parts. Parallel's had 12 etchings in two parts; they are the worst of all the illustrations to this book, their merit being scarcity and not quality. An important addition to the collector's library is the " Master Humphrey's Clock " in the Edition de luxe published about four years ago. In it the illustrations are printed from the wood blocks for the first time ; in all the previous editions, including the numbers and parts, the illustrations were printed from stereotypes. In the re- cently published life of Hablot K. Browne, three unused woodcut illustrations are criven as belonging to Humphrey's Clock. Of one of them there can be no doubt, but the author of the Life is most certainly in error in accepting the other two as such. The first one, given as " Mrs. Jarley and Nell," cannot belong to the book, as Dickens's Little Nell is always mentioned as the child, and is pictorially represented in short frocks ; whereas in the woodcut given, it is a girl of 18 or 20, and in a dress. As for the second, it is an illustration of one of Lever's books, (probably an Irish driver on his jaunting car,) but has nothing to do with the " Clock." I do not think that Dickens ever described but one Irish character, and that one is Mr. Bevan's Footman in Martin Chuzzlewit. In only one instance does Shakespeare mention one ! The first 22 cheap cheap edition of "The Old Curiosity Shop" was publislied in 1S48, with a new preface by the author, and a frontispiece designed by G. Cattermole. " Barnaby Rudge," also published in the same series, with a capital preface, giving a history of the author's two ravens, and a pretty woodcut frontispiece designed by H. K. Browne. It is the best illustration (with the exception of Cruikshank's two) in the whole series. In 1841 was published a portrait of C. Dickens, drawn on stone by Count d'Orsay, wherein the artist gives the author a decidedly Jewish cast of coun- tenance. It was published by J. Mitchell, Bond Street, and is now very scarce and often sold for a guinea. "Pic-Nic Papers." 3 volumes, green cloth, published by Henry Colburn, 1841. This was edited by Charles Dickens, who wrote the first story in the first volume, called " The Lamplighter's Story." This was originally intended as a farce for Covent Garden Theatre, then under the manage- ment of his friend Macready. In the TJicatrical Observer, Nov. 15, 1837, the following statement is made : " Mr. Charles Dickens, author of the ' Pickwick Papers,' has received most liberal offers from Mr. Macready to write for Covent Garden, but we are informed they have been declined. . . It is confidently said that ;£^500 down, together with contingent advantages, were promised by the manager for a comedy in five acts. — Sunday Paper" The farce was published, for the first time, about five years ago, only 250 copies were printed, i2mo, blue wrapper, under the title of "The Lamplighter: a Farce by Charles Dickens (1838). Now first printed from a manuscript in the Forster collection at the South Kensington Museum, London, 1S79." It sells from lOj. to \i,s. The " Pic-Nic Papers " were collected and published for the benefit of Macrone's (the publisher) widow and children, with two illustrations by Cruikshank and six by Phiz, the illustrations to the third volume being furnished by R. J. Hamerton. Its present value is about ;^S in clean and uncut state. There are several editions of the book in one volume ; they sell for lOs. or thereabouts. On Dickens's return from America, where he had been battling against the transatlantic pirates, he sent a circular in the form of a letter on International Copyright with America to all the principal authors and publishers of the day. This is very scarce in the separate form ; the copy I have is addressed to William Pickering (the publisher). The name, and the " Dear Sir," are in Dickens's handwriting. As it never occurs for sale it would be difficult to put any value on it. It is printed on a quarto sheet of note paper. The " Patrician's Daughter," by J. Wcstland Marston, was published in 1841, but was not acted until " Saturday evening, December loth (1842), Drury Lane Theatre [according to the play bill that I have before me]. The prologue, 2 ; written written by Mr. Charles Dickens, will be spoken by Mr. Macready." This pro- logue was printed in No. 157 of the Tlicatrical Journal and Stranger's Guide, published the following Saturday, December 17, 1842, p. 407. It was also printed in the "Letters of Charles Dickens," 18S0, vol. i. There is the same number of lines in each publication ; viz. forty-eight. "American Notes." 2 volumes, brown cloth, published by Chapman & Hall, 1842. The author wrote an introduction intended to be published with the two volumes, but he was persuaded to suppress it by his friend, John Forster, who however printed it in his " Life of Charles Dickens," vol. ii. pp. 13 to 17. There were four editions of the book in the two-volume form. The first edition sells for 50X., but it is not an uncommon book. The first cheap edition, with a new preface by Dickens, was published in 1850, with a sketch of the "Britannia" by Clarkson Stanfield as a frontispiece. A reply to this book was written, entitled " Change for the American Notes," supposed to be written by an American lady, and published by Wiley & Putnam, Stationer's Court, 1843. It sells for about io.f., which, considering the twaddle that it con- tains, is mighty dear. " Martin Ciiuzzlewit." 20 Parts, green wrappers, with a design by Phiz, and 40 etchings by the same artist, published by Chapman & Hall, 1843. This book has got to be quite scarce in the original parts, although it rarely sells even in that form for over .^5. Somehow it is not very popular with collectors, although one of Dickens's best books. There was one complete set of the illustrations, with about 50 duplicate plates (quadruplicates of some of the subjects), which will give a collector no little trouble in getting a complete set. The first cheap edition was published in 1849, with a new preface by the author, and a frontispiece by F. Stone. It is very common, and easily obtainable for a few shillings. Only one attempt was made to extra illustrate this book, and it was a miserable failure in both the pecuniary and the artistic sense. A single part with four shabby woodcuts, was all that was published. R.I. P. The extra illustrators collapsed in a most extraordinary manner ; they do not indeed seem to have made the slightest effort, which was unusual with them ; for whenever a book of Dickens' had appeared before, they had gone to work at it tooth and nail. Even Phiz did not attempt the task till about thirty years afterwar Js, when he designed two woodcuts, one for Cassell's " Penny Readings," and the other for the Christmas number of the Bookseller. They are certainly not in his best style, and perhaps in about his worst. "The Christmas Carol," with 4 coloured etchings and 4 woodcuts by John Leech, published by Chapman & Hall in a dull red cloth, gilt edges, 1843. The title-page to the first edition is printed in red and blue, with the date of 1843. I have seen a very few copies (with no statement as to " edition ") with the title printed in red and green, but with the date of 1844. I do not think 24 that that these latter arc first editions, although the book was printed and published at the close of 1S43. It is not an unusual practice of publishers to date a book with the coming year, and thus it is just possible that these may be first editions, but I doubt it very much, in spite of their great scarcity. The first edition of this work in very fine state sells for ^^5 ; even a dirty copy seldom sells under £2, and it is not to be wondered at, for it is a lovcable book. As Thackeray says : " Who can listen to any objections with regard to this book .? " It was one of his favourites, together with " Pickwick " and " Copperficld ; " and it certainly is one of the three most delightful stories in the English language, the other two being the "Vicar of Wakefield" and the "History of Henry Esmond." These will go down to posterity together, and be read with just the same relish in the distant future as they are now. " The Christmas Carol " went through twenty-four editions in the red cloth. The first cheap edi- tion was published with a woodcut frontispiece by Leech, but it is merely a copy of one of his charming etchings to the first edition of the book. It had a new preface, and was published in 1852 by Chapman & Hall with the rest of the Christmas books. "Athenaeum Address," 1843. Dickens was president of the first soiree held in 1843, and made a long speech, which has been reprinted in a separate form in The Orator, royal 8vo, cloth, 1868, and in a collection of Manchester Athenaeum Addresses, published by the directors in 1S75, i2mo, green wrapper. It was also published in the collected edition of speeches, J. C. Hotten, 1S70. " Birmingham Polytechnic Institution Conversazione, with the Speech of Charles Dickens, Esq." i2mo. Published at Birmingham, 1844. Also pub- lished with the collected speeches. "The Keepsake " for 1844. Edited by the Countess of Blessington, pub- lished by Longmans, 1844, in red silk, gilt edges. Royal 8vo. It contains at page 73 a poem by Charles Dickens, and is to be bought for io.f. or \2s. Hood's Magazine and Comic Miscellany. Vol. i. of which contains a paper by Dickens. It was published in parts in 1844, and the article occurs in the May number. It is valued at 20s. to 30J. "Evenings of a Working Man," by John Overs, i2mo, brown cloth, gilt edges, published by T. C. Newby, 1844. The preface was written by Charles Dickens, and I cannot say that I think it does him much credit, as it has always struck me as being particularly objectionable, not to say snobbish. There is an air of patronage about it that is positively irritating ; it may not have been in the writer's intention, still there it is. There was only one edition of it, and it now sells for £'^. I have seen uncut copies, but they are unusual, and were probably unsold stock. "The Chimes," with illustrations by Maclise, Stanfield, Leech, and Doyle, published by Chapman & Hall, 1845, in a bright red cloth, gilt edges. The E 25 frontispiece frontispiece and vignette title were engraved by F. P. Becker after drawings by Maclise, and there are two states of the plate. The first has the name of Chap- man & Hall etched in the clouds at the bottom of the illustration ; the second state has the publisher's name engraved under the names of the designer and eno-raver. The first edition has got to be very scarce, and with the first state of the frontispiece is now worth about £2. The book went through about twenty editions. "The Cricket on the Hearth," with illustrations designed on wood by Maclise, Stanfield, Leech, and Doyle, published by Chapman & Hall, and dated 1846, but issued at the end of 1845. It seems to have been amazingly popular ; and with good reason, being undoubtedly the second best of Dickens's Christ- mas books; for in 1847 the publishers were advertising the twenty-second edition, at the same time that they were publishing the tenth edition of the " Carol " and the twelfth of the " Chimes." It was issued in a bright red cloth, with gilt blocks on side and back. Dickens at the beginning of 1846 undertook the editorship of \\\& Daily Neivs, but at the end of a fortnight resigned, as he found the work very uncon- genial. He continued to write occasionally for the paper, however, and when in Italy supplied descriptive letters. These were afterwards collected in a i2mo volume, blue cloth, entitled " Pictures from Italy," and published by Brad- bury & Evans, 1846, with a few illustrations drawn on wood by S. Palmer. It passed through two editions, and is now to be bought for iSj., but more often under that price. The other contributions to the Daily News will be found in Mr. R. H. Shepherd's "Bibliography," where particulars are also given of Dickens's contributions to the Examiner. Professor Ward in his excellent essay on Dickens (" English Men of Letters ") mentions that several articles were contributed to the Morning Chronicle as well as the Examiner that are not mentioned in the Bibliography. This deficiency will no doubt be supplied in some later edition. "Proceedings of the General Theatrical Fund," 1847. i2mo, red cloth, printed by Brewster & West, 1847. At pages 20-25 there is a speech by Charles Dickens. It has not been reprinted tb.at I know of, nor had I ever seen a copy until I bought one three months ago, with an autograph letter, for £2. It formerly belonged to Benjamin Webster. In the same year, on the occasion of the amateur performance at the Theatre Royal, Manchester, for the benefit of Leigh Hunt, an address was writ- ten by Serjeant Talfourd, and spoken by Mr. Charles Dickens. It was printed by Bradbury & Evans, July 26th, 1847, Svo, pink wrapper. A circular was written by Dickens, and a letter of his lithographed in facsimile, both of which were sent to all who were likely to contribute anything towards the fund for ' Leigh Hunt's benefit. They are both dated from the Piazza Coffee House. 26 " The "The Battle of Life," with illustrations drawn on wood by Maclise, Stanfield, Leech, and Doyle, published by Bradbury & Evans, 1846, in a bright red cloth, with gilt blocks on side and back designed by Maclise. There is only one edition of this book, but the first issue of it has the imprint of Bradbury & Evans on the vignette title ; very few however must have been sold, as this im- print is met with only once in a hundred copies. An example with the imprint is worth a sovereign ; one without it, los. or \2s. The book was parodied by one Thomas Marinhe O'Kcefife under the title of " The Battle of London Life, or ' Boz ' and his Secretary," by Morna, with 6 illustrations drawn on stone by G. A. Sala, published by G. Pierce, 310, Strand, 1849, '" Pi"'^ boards with a very pretty design by G. A. Sala on back and front. This illustrated cover contains a number of caricature portraits, amongst others those of the principal contributors to /'////c/^— Thackeray, Jerrold, Lemon, A'Becket. The frontispiece is a portrait of " Boz " sitting in his study. I have Cruikshank's copy with his autograph (it was presented to him by the author) which I bought at the sale of his books, etc, in 1878. I thought that the book was written by Mr. G. A. Sala, but on my writing to him he was kind enough to give me the author's name. It is a very scarce little work, and is now worth £3. " DOMBEY AND SON." 20 Parts, in green wrappers, the design on which is by Hablot K. Browne, with 40 etchings by the same artist. Published by Bradbury & Evans, 1848. Great care should be taken by the collector to see that he gets impressions from the plates, as many of the parts contain only lithographs. There was such a large circulation of this book in the parts that the printing from the plates could not be done fast enough, the etchings being rarely sent in until the very last minute ; it was therefore necessary to litho- graph some of the designs until duplicate plates could be etched. There are two complete sets of etchings by Phiz to this book, and it will give amateurs no little trouble, as well as amusement, to complete the two sets. Fine copies in the parts sell for about ^3. Dickens seemed very difficult to please over the illustrations to " Dombey." In Forster's "Life," vol. ii. pp. 317-18. there are two pages of studies for the portrait of Mr. Dombey alone. With the first illustration of Paul and Mrs. Pipchin the author was terribly disappointed, and in a letter to Forster he says, " I would cheerfully have given a hundred pounds to have kept this illustration out of the book. He never could have got that idea of Mrs. Pip- chin if he had attended to the text. Indeed I think he does better without the text, for then the notion is made easy to him in short description." After this Dickens adopted the plan of supplying Phiz with written descriptions of the characters. It seems curious that the author did not see the drawing for this etching, which is now in my possession, with some others to " Dombey," one of 27 which which was evidently submitted to him, as it has writing of Browne's underneath asking his opinion whether this drawing or another of the same subject was the better. I should think that there are two or three drawings by Phiz to every subject in the book. During the progress of the work Phiz, in conjunction with Robert Young, published four lovely portraits of Edith, Florence, Alice, and Little Paul, the two latter being simply perfection. They were issued by Chap- man & Hall in 1848, in a green wrapper, with the sanction of Charles Dickens. I have a letter of the author's, wherein he praises the Little Paul and Alice very highly. About the same time Phiz etched eight full length portraits as extra illustrations to " Dombey." These were also published by Chapman & Hall, 1848, in a green wrapper, and with the other four extra illustrations comprise some of H. K. Browne's very finest efforts. These sets have often been sold for 16s. and 30?. respectively. Mr. Renton Nicholson, of "Judge and Jury" notoriety, was kind enough to issue, about this time, what he was pleased to call a moral fiction under the title of " Dombey and Daughter," in 12 numbers, at i|