DICKENS, Charles (1812-1870). The Personal History...of David Copperfield. London: Bradbury and Evans, 1849-1850.

20 parts in 19, 8vo. Engraved frontispiece, title and 38 plates after Hablot K. Browne ["Phiz"]. (Some minor browning.) Original printed blue-green pictorial wrappers (chipping with minor losses, soiling to a few wrappers, a few short tears); maroon morocco pull-off case gilt, chemise. Provenance: Thomas Latchwitt? (signatures).

FIRST EDITION IN ORIGINAL MONTHLY PARTS, VIRTUALLY COMPLETE WITH ADVERTISEMENTS AND INSERTED SLIPS, with the "Copperfield Advertiser" in each part and all ads listed by Hatton & Cleaver except with slight variations to front ads in parts 2 and 6, and with an additional 8pp. slip “The Architectural Antiquities of Athens” inserted before the Copperfield Advertiser in part 19/20 not called for in Hatton & Cleaver.

David Copperfield, written at the midpoint of Dickens' career, draws from the author's own life. The novel is scarce in parts. As Eckel notes, the printing was comparatively small, the parts were "much read and roughly handled," and "fine, clean and unrepaired copies [were] difficult to procure" even in 1932. Gimbel A121; Hatton & Cleaver pp.253-272; Sadleir 686.

DICKENS, Charles (1812-1870). The Personal History...of David Copperfield. London: Bradbury and Evans, 1849-1850.