MASTER HUMPHREY'S CLOCK Charles Dickens 1st Ed. 1840 1841 3 Volumes in 1
$ 26.4
Description
MASTER HUMPHREY'S CLOCK Charles Dickens 1st Ed. 1840 1841 3 Volumes in 1. Two penciled-in notations on the inside endpapers claim that this is a 1st Edition (see pics), so I am going with that, though I don't know if this is accurate - from what I can gather, there appear to be different ideas of what constitutes a '1st Edition' of this work. You are bidding on Master Humphrey's Clock by Charles Dickens, and published in London by Chapman and Hall. It was illustrated by George Cattermole and Hablot Browne. This is 3 volumes in 1, and the first volume is © 1840; volumes 2 & 3 are © 1841. Two penciled-in notations on the inside endpapers claim that this is a 1st Edition (see pics), so I am going with that, though I don't know if this is accurate - from what I can gather, there appear to be different ideas of what constitutes a '1st Edition' of this work. DO YOUR OWN RESEARCH. This 3-in-1 volume contains Dicken's The Old Curiosity Shop and Barnaby Rudge . Somebody long ago decided it would be a good idea to cover the spine with black tape, which makes some things hard to ascertain. I think the spine and cover are some kind of green cloth, with paper corners; but the old adhesive on the tape is failing, and some is peeling back (see pic). Oddly, from what I can see it appears that the original leather title has been retained on the spine; perhaps this is a re-bind? It might be possible to remove some or all of the tape, but I'm sure the spine underneath would be damaged, on top of whatever was originally wrong with it. The page edges are marbled. A previous owner's private bookplate is on the inside front cover, and there is more (white) reinforcing tape on the front and back inside hinges, and the aforementioned penciled-in notations. But the good news: The pages are generally in very good to excellent condition, lightly tanned by age - perhaps a smidge darker near the edges. Except for the couple of heavily-foxed back endpapers (obviously of a different quality of material), there is little to no spotting or foxing, and only a small number of the stains and smudges you might expect to find in a book now nearly 200 years old. It does appear that a drop of fountain pen ink fell on the long edge of the text, but this scarcely intrudes onto the faces of the pages. I did not see any rips/tears. From a smoke-free home - no tobacco stench. Altogether, this is a nice copy of a historically significant work. Only the unfortunate condition of the (possibly re-bound?) cover dissuades me from starting this auction at a higher price.
