Description
G.K. Chesterton’s Appreciations and Criticisms of the Works of Charles Dickens, first American edition / first printing, published in 1911 by J.M. Dent & Sons and E.P. Dutton & Co. A classic early study of Dickens, bringing together Chesterton’s influential prefaces to the Everyman Dickens series, and an attractive copy in the original blue cloth binding with gilt top edge and portrait plates.
This volume is historically important as one of the key books that helped revive Dickens’s reputation in the early twentieth century, and complete 1911 copies in original cloth with all plates present are not common, especially with a gift inscription dated Christmas 1911 that firmly anchors it to its year of publication.
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1911 first American edition / first printing, co-published by J.M. Dent & Sons and E.P. Dutton & Co.
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Original dark blue cloth with gilt titles to spine and front board; top edge gilt
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Complete with all eight portrait plates of Charles Dickens from life (1840-1868), several with facsimile signatures beneath
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Approx. 243 pages plus prelims; classic essays on nearly all of Dickens’s major works
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Early ink gift inscription on front free endpaper: “Dorothy P. Drew / from / Delano / Christmas, 1911”
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A solid, collectible example of an important Chesterton/Dickens title
Condition: Good to very good for age. Cloth shows light rubbing and shelf wear at spine ends and corners, with a few small marks and spots to boards. Gilt lettering and top edge remain attractive. Inner hinges sound; binding tight and square. Pages lightly toned with age; occasional small spots of foxing. Notable stain on the title page (see photos) but text remains fully legible. All eight plates present and firmly attached. No markings inside beyond the 1911 gift inscription.
Overall, a complete and appealing 1911 first edition in original gilt-topped cloth, offering both literary significance and a nice period feel for the Dickens or Chesterton collector.
