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OUR MUTUAL FRIEND.
(New York: Harper & Brothers, 1865). 240 x 150 mm. (9 1/2 x 6"). 1 p.l., [17]-186, 189-350 pp., [1] leaf (ads). First American Edition in Book Form.
Publisher's dark green cloth, patterned in blind, smooth spine lettered in gilt. Engraved title, frontispiece portrait of Dickens, illustrations in the text throughout. Front flyleaf with ink inscription reading "To Mr. C. Bradbury, from Johnnie Rathbone, Christmas 1865." Wilkins, p. 32; Podeschi A151 ("second copy"). Extremities more than a little worn, with some loss to tail, cloth a bit soiled, but the unrestored binding entirely solid; printed on two paper stocks, the first bright but with slight to significant foxing, the second clean but uniformly toned.
This is a pleasant enough copy, in its original fragile cloth binding, of Dickens' novel about false identity, blackmail, and Victorian materialism. The work is remembered especially for its portrayal of the imperial upper-middle-class Mr. Podsnap, the ultimate embodiment of Philistinism. "Our Mutual Friend" made its first appearance in the United States in "Harper's Magazine" in installments from June, 1864, to December, 1865; Wilkins is not certain if the bound volume appeared before or after the magazine installments had completed their run. (ST16660cA)
Price: $175.00