This is the second of two sets of The Mystery of Edwin Drood that are in the auction;
it is housed in a green custom slipcase, to distinguish itself from the other set that is housed in a a maroon slipcase.
The Mystery Of Edwin Drood, By Charles Dickens, With Illustrations. London: Chapman & Hall, 193, Piccadilly, Advertisements to be sent to the Publishers, and Adams & Francis, 59, Fleet Street, E.C. [The right of Translation is reserved.] on the front cover, in the original green wrappers and in the original six monthly parts, and we believe this is a first edition, second issue set.
This was Dickens’ last novel. He began writing Edwin Drood in August, 1869 and toiled to get it done, and after he had finished six parts, he died on June 9, 1870, and it became one of the best unfinished mystery stories ever told.
The story is named after Edwin Drood, although the text largely focuses on his uncle John Jasper, an opium addict and choir master who is romantically interested in his nephew’s fiancee. In the story, Drood disappears under mysterious circumstances, and due to Dickens’ premature death, the mystery is never resolved - readers never found out what happened to Edwin Drood after he disappeared.
The cover design and the vignette title page were done by Charles Collins, brother of the famous novelist Wilkie Collins; Charles Collins was also the son-in-law of Charles Dickens. Collins married Dickens’ daughter, Kate, but bowed out of doing more designs due to ill health. Dickens then turned to Luke Fildes to illustrate the monthly parts. Fildes produced twelve illustrations before Dickens died. The engraved portrait of Dickens in the last part was done by J.H.Baker, and along with the vignette title page, there are a total of fourteen engraved plates in the six monthly parts.
The first number was dated April, 1870, and the last September, 1870, and each part was priced at one shilling, until Dickens died and the last part was sold for eighteen pence.
There are several points of issue - details - that probably make this a first edition, second issue. It has the all-important “eighteenpence” slip pasted over the original one shilling price on the front wrapper of No. VI; this is the earliest issue of Part 6 - later states are printed with the corrected price - and it cannot be a first edition without this slip at the top of Part 6. The “Edwin Drood Advertiser” is present in each part. There are some uncut pages in No. I - uncut pages are usually a sign of an early printing - and all the ads are present in the six parts. except for the Cork Hat ad in No. II.
No. I has 36 pages of ads in the front, no tissue guard between the two plates after the ads, page 28 is missing part of the 8 in “28” (a printing error), there is a yellow two-page ad for Dr. De Jongh’s Light-Brown Cod Liver Oil, a four-page ad for the Scottish Widows’ Funds Life Assurance Society, four pages of ads for Cassell’s Books, eight pages of ads on yellow paper for Chapman & Hall’s books, and an uncut two-page colored ad for Henry Brett Distillers & Wine Merchants at the rear, with soiling and wear on the front cover and some creases at the lower tips on a few pages of text.
For No. II, the owner’s name is inscribed in the margin at the top of the front cover, there are 20 pages of ads in the front, there is an imperfect 2 on page 2 of the front ads, four pages of ads for the Willcox & Gibbs Sewing Machine Co. after the text, the Cork Hat ad is lacking, and there is some browning or spots on the fore-edge on some of the pages and the back cover.
No. III has 20 pages of ads preceding the two plates in front, no uncut pages, a yellow two-page ad for Dr. De Jongh’s Light-Brown Cod Liver Oil, a yellow slip for All The Year Round, eight pages of ads for Chapman And Hall’s Recent Publications, four yellow pages of ads for Chapman & Co’s Entire Wheat Flour, and four pages of ads for Cassell’s Books, including a re-issue of the Dore Don Quixote illustration at the rear, with light wear at the edges and two tips.
No. IV has a new yellow two-page ad for John F. Dunn (Hatton and Cleaver don’t mention this ad), followed by 24 pages of ads preceding the two plates in front, no uncut pages in the text, with four pages of ads for Willcox & Gibbs Sewing Machines, four pages of ads in blue for the Scottish Widows’ Funds Life Assurance Society, eight pages of Chapman & Hall’s Recent Publications and a full leaf for Chapman & Co’s Entire Wheat Flour at the rear, and slight nicks on the edges of the front cover.
No. V has 20 pages of ads in the front, the two regular plates followed by the text, no uncut pages in the text, and a two-sided leaf for Land And Water followed by a yellow four-page ad for Chapman & Co’s Entire Wheat Flour at the rear, light nicks and creases at the bottom of the front cover, a small chip on the rear cover, and light foxing in the text.
No. VI has 18 pages of ads in the front, an engraved portrait of Charles Dickens followed by an engraving of a cathedral after the ads in front, followed by the two regular plates titled “Up The River” and “Sleeping It Off”, no uncut pages of text, two pages of ads for Charles Dickens’ works, followed by a title page, three pages of Contents, an Illustrations page, four pages of ads for Willcox & Gibbs Sewing Machines titled “Concerning Stitches” and four yellow pages of ads for Chapman & Co’s Entire Wheat Flour at the rear, and there are brown spots on some ads in the front and a chip on page 180.
All the parts have the Edwin Drood Advertiser in the front, but no tissue guards in between the plates in any parts for this set, the plates are very clean, there are some light tears or creases here and there, and the original wrappers and pages are completely unrestored - no repairs whatsoever.
The custom green slipcase measures 9 11/16 x 6 11/16 in. wide and has
“The Mystery Of Edwin Drood” and “Charles Dickens” in gilt lettering on the spine, followed by “Original Parts” in black lettering and “1870” in gilt at the bottom of the spine of the slipcase, and the wrappers are 8 Vo. and measure 8 7/8 x 5 5/8 in. wide.
A scarce first edition, second issue set of Dickens’ last work in the monthly parts, in a custom green slipcase.
See The First Editions Of Charles Dickens, Their Points and Values, John C. Eckel 1932 and A Bibliography of the Periodical Works of Charles Dickens: Bibliographical, Analytical & Statistical, by Thomas Hatton and Arthur Cleaver 1933.