London: Chapman and Hall, 1861. First edition. First edition in book form, first impression. With the earliest state of every point outlined in the detailed analysis by Margaret Cardwell in the Clarendon edition of Great Expectations (1993, Appendices C & D). The “3” in “103” on page 103 and the “i” in “inflexible” on page 193, which Cardwell notes as missing in some copies, are here present. A Near Fine copy. Three volumes, octavo (195 x 122 mm). Extra-illustrated with vignette title and twenty plates by Frederick William Pailthorpe (from the 1885 Robson & Kerslake edition). Volume three bound without the terminal 32-page catalogue. Early twentieth-century green morocco by Zaehnsdorf, spines lettered in gilt. Spine browned, trace of bookplate removal to volume three, occasional spot to contents, else notably clean. Housed in custom blue quarter morocco folding box.

Great Expectations is Dickens’ masterwork and stands as the culmination of his mature style. The novel follows the exploits and emotional growth of Pip, a young orphan who aspires to great wealth and to the love of a cold temptress. In many ways, Gatsby can be seen as a roaring twenties version of Pip, with the same modest beginnings, the same goals and the same motivations. Whatever message a reader finds in the work, it is a powerful and moving novel that remains vivid today, over 150 years after its publication.

Smith I.14 (but superseded by Cardwell/Clarendon); Eckel 91-93; Sadlier 688. Near Fine (Item #7681)