The Posthumous Papers of the Pickwick Club – Charles Dickens – 1837 | First Edition, Phiz & Seymour

The Posthumous Papers of the Pickwick Club was one of Charles Dickens’ lesser-known works, much overshadowed by “Christmas Carol” and “Oliver Twist”. The story follows the rambling travels and absurd trials of Mr. Pickwick and his companions.

This 1837 first edition includes each of the 43 engravings from Seymour and Phiz as well as many of expected first edition points (see below).

This example is curious as it contains two pieces of ephemera laid-in including a short pamphlet titled “The Life of Charles Dickens” from Haughton & Co., as well as a paste-down record of an auction mentioning this book.

Bibliographic Details

• Title: The Posthumous Papers of the Pickwick Club
• Author(s): Charles Dickens
• Illustrator(s): Robert Seymour; Hablot Knight Browne (Phiz)
• Publisher: London: Chapman and Hall
• Edition: First edition, 1837
  • signature ‘E’ to the foot of p.25
  • p.43 – includes “ruined wall”; first line, 2nd paragraph, chap V
  • p.260, line 29 – includes “holding” in loose type
  • p.261 – signature misprint “x2”
  • p.261, line 6 – “Pickvick” instead of “Pickwick”
  • p.282 & p.299 – “Chapter XXVIII”
  • p.303 – corrected pagination
  • p.342., line 5 – includes “S. Veller”
  • p.400, line 21 – “this friends” corrected to “his friends”
  • p.553, line 9 from bottom – “Considdring” corrected spelling to ‘considering’.
• Format: (8vo), single volume
• Binding: Leather over marbled boards, gilt spine, marbled page edges
• Size:  8.75in x 5.75in (22cm x 14.5cm)
• Collation: xiv, [2], 609, [1]
• Illustrations: 43 engraved illustrations
• Contents Include:
  • Full text of The Posthumous Papers of the Pickwick Club
  • All 43 plates
• Provenance: Includes ephemera: Haughton & Co. pamphlet and auction record from 1888 (see above for details)
• Reference(s): Eckel 17

Condition:

Very Good. The leather binding is solid and tight with gilt spine details. Marbled edges and boards show light shelf wear. Pages remain clean and sharp, with minimal age toning. Plates complete and well-preserved. Ephemera intact.

Why Collect This?

• First edition of Dickens
• All original plates by both Seymour and Phiz
• Fine leather binding and marbled boards
• Includes Dickens-related ephemera, unique to this example

Item Number: # 28952