Dealings with the Firm of Dombey and Son, Wholesale, Retail and for Exportation by Charles Dickens New York: Wiley & Putnam, 161 Broadway 1847. 1/4 by 7 5/8 inches, 499 pages, 20 full page plates
This is volume 1 is the first US edition of the Dickens classic. The sections were first published as serials and then bound together. There was variation in the binding, so I will describe the cover and title page – please email any questions. On the spine is written Library of Choice Reading, Dombey And Son, Dickens, Wiley & Putman. Impressed on the back and front boards is an Celtic knot design with the publishers initials in the centre and their name and library of Choice Reading in a circle around the initials. The title page reads as I have written it on the first line of the auction. The illustrator is not named on the title page, but the delightful plates are signed J. W. Orr, Sc. The title page also makes no mention of the fact that this is only 1 of 2 volumes – 31 of a total of 62 chapters are present. The pages are foxed, and all of the plates except the frontispiece have browned. The pages also have brown lines from a water stain – some are worse than others. The cover has slight wear on corners, some damage on the spine and some stains. The book, considering that it is composed of serial sections is holding together well. A true 1st edition and 1st printing rarity! Find volume 2, then worth 10x more