(London: Bradbury & Evans, 1850).

FINE FIRST EDITION. For many lovers of the author's works, DAVID COPPERFIELD ranks as the finest of his writings. “Of all my books,“ Dickens wrote, “I like this the best; like many fond parents I have my favourite child, and his name is David Copperfield.” It is certainly Dickens’ most personal and autobiographical work, especially in the remarkable early chapters describing David’s provincial upbringing and his experiences in the bleak warehouses of London. Abounding in vivid characters such as Uriah Heep, Betsy Trotwood, Mr. Micawber, the Pegottys and Mr. Dick, DAVID COPPERFIELD continues to rank among Dickens’ most popular and critically acclaimed works. In this work, Dickens displays his talents well: “his inordinate gift of observation, his sympathy with the humble, his power over the emotions and his incomparable endowment of unalloyed human fun...It gave what were then universally referred to as ‘the lower orders’ a new sense of self-respect, a new feeling of citizenship. Like the defiance of another Luther, or the Declaration of a new Independence, it emitted a fresh ray of hope across the firmament.” [EB] In this way, Dickens’ work is significant on many levels. Item #26230

First edition. With 39 illustrations by H. K. Browne 8vo, contemporary three-quarter black-green morocco over marbled boards, very handsomely tooled in gilt on the raised bands of the spine, lettered in gilt in two compartments. xiv, 624. A very handsome copy, quite fine, and with only some mild, unobtusive evidence of age to the covers and with much, much less than the usual toning to the plates.