Chapter 23

THE NATIONAL EDITIONOF THE WORKS OFCharles DickensIncluding upwards of One Hundred and Thirty Articles now collected for the first time.HISLETTERS, SPEECHES, PLAYS, and POEMS,TOGETHER WITHFORSTER’S LIFE OF THE AUTHOR.

THE NATIONAL EDITION

OF THE WORKS OF

Charles Dickens

Including upwards of One Hundred and Thirty Articles now collected for the first time.

HIS

LETTERS, SPEECHES, PLAYS, and POEMS,

TOGETHER WITH

FORSTER’S LIFE OF THE AUTHOR.

The pictures, numbering upwards of 850, comprise all the Original Illustrations; with a complete series of Portraits, Additional Illustrations, Facsimiles and Reproductions of Handwriting, many of which have not been included in any collected edition of the novelist’s works; the whole printed upon India Paper, and mounted on Plate paper.

Strictly limited to 750 sets for England and America. Complete in 40 Volumes.Royal 8vo. Price10s. 6d.net per vol.

Strictly limited to 750 sets for England and America. Complete in 40 Volumes.

Royal 8vo. Price10s. 6d.net per vol.

The National Edition of the Works of Charles Dickens is designed to rank as the final and definitive edition of his works, and to serve as a worthy memorial to the connection which has subsisted for over seventy years between the firm of Chapman and Hall and the immortal memory of Charles Dickens. It is by far the most handsome edition of Dickens ever placed upon the market, and being strictly limited in number is likely to take its place in a very short time among those treasures of the booklover which change hands at highly enhanced prices.

The edition is being printed by Messrs. T. and A. Constable of Edinburgh, His Majesty’s Printers, in a type newly cast for the purpose, upon pure rag paper of the highest quality.

THE TEXT.—The text used is that which was corrected by Charles Dickens himself in the last two years of his life, and therefore contains all the copyright emendations which he made when the volumes passed for the last time through his hands.

The edition contains all the collected papers from whatever source that seemed worthy of permanent association with the name of their author—fromThe Examiner,Daily News,Household Words,All the Year Round, over 130 in all—the most notable of these being all Dickens’s contributions toHousehold Words, some 90 in number,which have been identified for the first time by indisputable evidence.

THE ILLUSTRATIONS.—As regards the choice of illustrations, the Publishers’ plan has been to include only those pictures which were drawn for their editions during the life of the author, and which may therefore be held to have received his personal approbation. Under this arrangement they are able to reproduce for the first time in a Collected Edition a number of illustrations not usually associated with the novels, and the utmost care has been taken to do justice to the artists’ workmanship. The original illustrations are printed from a duplicate set of the steel plates on the best India paper and mounted on plate paper—a process which gives a greatly refined value to the delicacy of the original steel plates.

THE ARTISTS.—Dickens, as is well known, took the keenest possible interest in the illustrations to his books, and was very particular over the choice of the artists. At the same time, his work offered such infinite possibilities to pen and pencil, that all the best talent of his time was eager to be employed in his service, with the result that the muster-roll of the artists represented in the present edition contains the names of all the leading masters of Black and White throughout the Victorian Era. It may be said without exaggeration that the illustrations alone form an historical picture gallery of their time, as will be admitted when the following list is studied and understood.

ARTISTS REPRESENTED.George Cruikshank.Hablot K. Browne (Phiz).Robert Seymour.John Leech.R. W. Buss.C. R. Leslie, R.A.Frank Stone, A.R.A.T. Webster, R.A.George Cattermole.Daniel Maclise, R.A.H. Warren.Kenny Meadows.Richard Doyle.J. Mahony.E. G. Dalziel.G. J. Pinwell.W. Maddox.J. Absolon.F. Corbeaux.Marcus Stone, R.A.Clarkson Stonefield, R.A.Samuel Palmer.F. W. Topham.Sir Edwin Landseer, R.A.Sir John Tenniel, R.A.Fred. Walker.Arthur Boyd Houghton.W. P. Frith, R.A.F. A. Fraser.H. French.Townley Green.Charles Green.Sir Luke Fildes, R.A.Charles Alston Collins.

ARTISTS REPRESENTED.

George Cruikshank.Hablot K. Browne (Phiz).Robert Seymour.John Leech.R. W. Buss.C. R. Leslie, R.A.Frank Stone, A.R.A.T. Webster, R.A.George Cattermole.Daniel Maclise, R.A.H. Warren.Kenny Meadows.Richard Doyle.J. Mahony.E. G. Dalziel.G. J. Pinwell.W. Maddox.J. Absolon.F. Corbeaux.Marcus Stone, R.A.Clarkson Stonefield, R.A.Samuel Palmer.F. W. Topham.Sir Edwin Landseer, R.A.Sir John Tenniel, R.A.Fred. Walker.Arthur Boyd Houghton.W. P. Frith, R.A.F. A. Fraser.H. French.Townley Green.Charles Green.Sir Luke Fildes, R.A.Charles Alston Collins.

George Cruikshank.

Hablot K. Browne (Phiz).

Robert Seymour.

John Leech.

R. W. Buss.

C. R. Leslie, R.A.

Frank Stone, A.R.A.

T. Webster, R.A.

George Cattermole.

Daniel Maclise, R.A.

H. Warren.

Kenny Meadows.

Richard Doyle.

J. Mahony.

E. G. Dalziel.

G. J. Pinwell.

W. Maddox.

J. Absolon.

F. Corbeaux.

Marcus Stone, R.A.

Clarkson Stonefield, R.A.

Samuel Palmer.

F. W. Topham.

Sir Edwin Landseer, R.A.

Sir John Tenniel, R.A.

Fred. Walker.

Arthur Boyd Houghton.

W. P. Frith, R.A.

F. A. Fraser.

H. French.

Townley Green.

Charles Green.

Sir Luke Fildes, R.A.

Charles Alston Collins.

THE ADDITIONAL ILLUSTRATIONSwill be—

All the original covers, printed from the wood blocks on tinted paper.

All the pictorial covers of the “People’s Edition,” printed from the wood blocks on tinted paper.

The steel vignette title-pages to the “Library Edition.”

The frontispieces of the First Cheap Edition, by Leslie, Webster, A. Boyd Houghton, Frank Stone, Marcus Stone, R.A., Stanfield, Phiz, Cruikshank, and others.

The plates by Phiz, Buss, Leech, Cruikshank, Maddox, Warren, Absolon, Corbeaux, Frank Stone, and others, which were either cancelled from the original edition or appeared separately as sets of extra illustrations.

The frontispieces and other plates from “Master Humphrey’s Clock,” which, on account of their size, do not appear in other editions.

The illustrations which appeared only in the first editions of “A Child’s History of England” and “Pictures from Italy,” by F. W. Topham and Samuel Palmer respectively.

All these pictures will be printed from the steel plates and wood blocks, where they exist, or from carefully reproduced blocks, on India paper, and will be mounted, as in the cases of the other pictures.

ITS COMPLETENESS.—The edition therefore may claim to represent all the authoritative literature emanating from the pen of Dickens, combining with this rich material a unique pictorial record of the association of contemporary art with the work of the greatest novelist of his generation. It will be issued at the rate of two volumes monthly, with one or two rare exceptions, when three volumes will appear together.

THE BINDING.—The edition will be bound by Messrs. James Burn and Co., of Kirby Street, Hatton Garden, in olive-green sateen, with a full gold design on the back and side, and gilt top.

Full detailed 8 pp. Prospectus on Application.

TRANSCRIBER’S NOTESSilently corrected obvious typographical errors and variations in spelling.Retained archaic, non-standard, and uncertain spellings as printed.

TRANSCRIBER’S NOTES

Back to Index Next