Sales catalogue: Sotheby's

Date:
November-December 1931
Reference:
WA/HMM/CM/Sal/20/973
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: Sales catalogue: Sotheby's. Source: Wellcome Collection.

    13/44 page 11
    Lor 49—continued. Part XVIII. Inside front wrapper advertising Weller’s “ Illustrations of Pickwick”; The Pickwick Advertiser (No. XVIII), 8 Il, the notice of completion of Pickwick, and 71]. of advertisements at end; inside back wrapper, Mr. Charles Heath’s “Gems of Beauty”; outside, Splendid Annual for 1838. Parts XIX anp XX. Inside front wrapper advertising ‘“ Seymour’s Popular Sketches”; The Pickwick Advertiser (Nos. XIX and XX), 12 ll.; one leaf of advertisement, announcing New Works, by Boz; at end 3 ll. of advertisements, and Mechi’s Catalogue (same as appears in No. XII); inside back wrapper, advertising Magazine of Domestic Economy ; outside, advertising Savory’s Silver Goods. As compared with what can now be stated to be a copy of “ Pickwick ” possessing every known point, this copy lacks :— Part I. Front advertisement, 8 pp. New Works of Chapman & Hall, dated March, 1836. Parr III. Front advertisement, 4 pp. advertising ‘Sunday under Three Heads.” | Part V. Back advertisements, 4pp., and a folding 4to sheet. Part VI. Front slip, “ Phrenology made Easy.” Part XIII. Prospectus—Pigot’s Coloured Views, 4 pp. Lerrerpress. All Parts are First Issues of the text. Puates. All the plates are in first state. INSERTIONS IN THE PARTS :— ParT III. The two “Buss” in an undivided state, and two “ Phiz” plates also undivided. Part VI. Two plates showing the corrected pagination. Part xX. ‘Christmas Carol,’ an hitherto unknown leaflet in verse advertising Rowland’s Macassar Oil, Kalydor, and Odonto. It was dis- covered stitched in as an integral unit of a virgin copy, first issue. It appears to be an alternative or variant to the more generally known advertisement slip headed “ Literary Announcement.” Parr XII. A leaf (pp. 341-2) taken from an 1845 edition of Pickwick with the misprints “inbe” and “tino” proving that it is not a point of a first issue. Points oF First ISSUE oF LETTERPRESS. The owner of this copy of “ Pickwick,” has compiled some interesting Notes on the letterpress “points” of the first issue of the monthly parts of “Pickwick” which we now append for the benefit of collectors :— The following details are intended only to give a quick and easy indication of the earliest issue in the printing of the original monthly parts. The first impression is obviously that which appears to the eye as such, but it is not an easy matter without much comparison or a key to the “ points,” to say which particular copy has the clearest impression to be expected from new and unworn type. The most definite proof of the first printing of each monthly part is that obtained by a very close measurement of the printed page. It will be appreciated that in course of production, the “ forme” which secured and held the movable type had constantly to be adjusted after slight corrections, or after the working loose of the frame by continuous usage, and each readjustment entailed a tightening up, so that the length or breadth of type would be contracted. It can be accepted that the copy giving the maximum length of letterpress is of an earlier printing than one of lesser dimensions. The compiler of these notes has through many years compared
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