Charles Dickens' Works
This collection includes almost 200 books and ephemeral publications by and about Charles Dickens, with a large number of first and early editions in various formats, including first-edition parts (issued at regular intervals) and single- or multi-volume novels. These early editions include Oliver Twist (1838), The Old Curiosity Shop (1841), A Christmas Carol (1843), Bleak House (1853) and Great Expectations (1861). The collection also includes adaptations, collected works, and recent fine press editions. Adaptations comprise titles such as The Pic-Nic Papers (1841) by various hands, The Penny Pickwick (1837–39), a penny dreadful published by Edward Lloyd, and The Pickwick Club; or, The Age We Live In: A Burletta in Three Acts (1837), an adapted play by Edward Stirling.
Ephemera includes an illustrated ticket to a theatrical performance (PN 2582 T48 G86 1851) by the Guild of Literature and Art (established by Dickens and Edward Bulwer Lytton) and an exceedingly scarce 1857 playbill listing Charles Dickens as an actor in The Frozen Deep, a play by Dickens’s lifelong friend Wilkie Collins and heavily edited by Dickens himself (PR 4825 J4 Z63 1857 folio). The play was inspired by the Franklin Expedition, which left England in May 1845 in search of the Northwest Passage. Although Dickens is remembered today for his fiction, this item highlights his strong ties to the theatre.
The collection also includes a rare invitation card and annotated playbill from Charles Dickens’s 1845 amateur production of Every Man in His Humour, in which he starred as Captain Bobadil. The card, which served as a ticket, features Dickens’s distinctive signature and a handwritten note assigning seat 44 in the Second Circle to a Miss Holskamp for opening night (PN 2582 T48 M57 1845). It is accompanied by an annotated playbill that records a near-complete cast list of Dickens's family and friends, potentially making it a unique surviving example (PN 2582 P54 M57 1845).
Additional highlights of the collection include a small number of rare studio photographs of Charles Dickens, as well as a volume of unpublished letters documenting the 1856 purchase of his childhood dream home, Gad’s Hill Place (PR 4584 C43 1930 folio). Bound by Sangorski & Sutcliffe, this volume contains an autograph letter from Dickens, correspondence from his agent W.H. Wills and tenant Joseph Hindle, and accompanying typescript transcripts. It also features a calligraphic title page, an essay by F.J. Harvey Darton, and original illustrations by Alicia Darrington. Alongside these historical items, the collection encompasses modern works that engage with Dickens's legacy, such as Rachel Walsh’s The Metaphorical Kindle: Explaining the Kindle to Charles Dickens (N 7433.4 W23 A6 M48 2011 folio).
Collection Formats: 19th Century, 20th Century, Books, Ephemera, Fine Press Books, Limited Edition Books -- click to see other collections with this format
Dickens, Charles. Oliver Twist; or, The Parish Boy's Progress (PR 4567 A1 1838 v.1-3).
Dickens, Charles. The Personal History, Adventures, Experiences, & Observation of David Copperfield (PR 4558 A1 1849 no.V).
The Penny Pickwick (uncatalogued; housed with other penny dreadfuls).
Three early editions of Dickens' "Christmas Books" (PR 4552 1843 v.1-5; PR 4552 1843a v.1-5; PR 4552 1843b v.1-5).
Woodcut and illustration from Dickens' Our Mutual Friend entitled "Mr Boffin does the honours of the nursery door," accompanied by a letter from publisher Chapman & Hall attesting to its authenticity. From The Nonesuch Dickens (PR 4550 F37).