Oliver Twist; or, the Parish Boy's Progress
Price: $4,000.00
Cruikshank, George. Hard Cover. London: Richard Bentley, 1838. First Edition. Very Good.
Three volumes. Illustrated with twenty-four steel-engraved plates by George Cruikshank. First edition in book form, first issue, with first issue points to the text, early "Boz" to the title pages, and the early "Fireside" plate in Volume III, lacking half-titles and advertisements. Finely bound in quarter red morocco over marbled boards, gilt-lettered and decorated spine, four raised bands to spine, and all edges marbled. Very good set, with some wear to spine ends, joints, and edges, some rubbing to boards, ex-libris stamp of J. A. Joseph to front pastedowns, and some light spotting to plates. Overall, a very attractive example of this powerful novel in its earliest book form. Smith I, 4. Published shortly after the enactment of the Poor Law Amendment Act of 1834, which mandated that state poor relief would only be given to workhouse residents, Oliver Twist served as a vehicle for Dickens' criticism of the effects of poverty left unabated. Specifically, this novel tells the story of poor, orphaned Oliver Twist who is drawn into the dark worlds of child labor, petty crime, and life in the London slums. The book features some of Dickens' most colorful characters, including Fagin, the Artful Dodger, Bill Sykes, and Nancy. The book has received many film adaptations over the years, including David Lean's classic 1948 version starring John Davies as Twist and Alec Guinness as Fagin, and the 1968 musical film Oliver!, which won six Academy Awards and was itself adapted from the same-titled 1960 Tony Award-winning musical. Item #CD180
