[DICKENS, CHARLES]. Oliver Twist. London: Richard Bentley, 1838.
FIRST EDITION in book form, mixed issues, with many first issue points to the text, first state 'Boz' on the titlepages of volumes II & III, with 'Charles Dickens' on titlepage of Vol. I, the later "Church" plate replacing "Fireside" plate at the end of Vol. III, half-title of Vol. II present with advertisements on verso dated November 1838. Three volumes in one; leather-bound; hardcover; octavo (20 x 12 x 6 cm.); pp. [2], 331, [2], 307, 315. English text. Handsomely bound in 19th century half-calf gilt; five raised bands to spine, lettered, decorated and ruled in gilt and blind; cloth sides; marbled page edges; orange-brown endpapers; illustrated with twenty-two steel-engraved plates by George Cruikshank. Condition: VERY GOOD. Binding tight and secure. Some light rubbing to the extremities. Interior well-preserved with some light toning mostly to the plates, and a few intermittent thumb marks.
Notes: Richard Bentley decided to publish Oliver Twist in book form before serialization was complete, and Cruikshank had to complete the last few plates in a hurry. Dickens did not see them until the eve of publication and disliked the final 'Fireside' plate. Cruikshank designed a replacement but early copies went out without it. Dickens had also decided that he would no longer be known as "Boz"; again this decision was too late for the earliest copies, those published between 9 and 16 November. 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 colourful characters, including Fagin, the Artful Dodger, Bill Sykes, and Nancy. The book has received many film adaptations over the years. Smith I, 4.
