Master Humphrey's Clock
Price: $1,500.00
Hard Cover. London: Chapman & Hall, 1840. First Edition. Near Fine.
Three volumes. Illustrated by George Cattermole and Hablot Knight Browne. First edition, mixed issue, with most of the first issue points called for by Smith. Publisher's original brown cloth, with spines lettered and decorated in gilt, clock illustration in gilt to front boards with clock-hand position indicating volume number, and boards decorated and ruled in blind. Very good set, with light toning to spines and board margins, a few corners lightly bumped, contemporary ownership signature to front pastedowns, light spotting to pages, occasional light soiling, pp. 197 - 200 almost detached in vol. 2, webbing exposed at pp. 228 - 229 in vol. 2, and a bit of separation between frontispiece and title page in vol. 3. Overall, a bright and very pleasing set. Smith I 6. Originally published in the form of weekly periodicals, Master Humphrey's Clock opens with a frame story about the lonely Master Humphrey, who houses his collection of manuscripts in a long clock, and forms a small club where members read their manuscripts aloud to one another. The book includes two novels - The Old Curiosity Shop and Barnaby Rudge - along with various short stories. It is illustrated with black and white woodblock prints designed by Hablot Knight Browne (figure pieces) and George Cattermole (architecture), including a unique frontispiece for each volume. Item #CD168
