THE POSTHUMOUS PAPERS OF THE PICKWICK CLUB: CONTAINING A FAITHFUL RECORD OF THE PERAMBULATIONS, PERILS, TRAVELS, ADVENTURES AND SPORTING TRANSACTIONS OF THE CORRESPONDING MEMBERS. EDITED BY "BOZ."

Philadelphia: Carey, Lea & Blanchard, 1837. Four volumes (of five). Original linen and boards, paper spine labels. Some modest spotting, edgewear and soiling to boards, backstrips modestly soiled and sunned, fifth label eroded, some occasional foxing or staining (more noticeable in the fifth) but all things considered, for this work, a good to very good set. Wanting the first volume. Second printing of the second volume (with 'sporting' not split at end of line), first American editions of volumes three through five. As with most extant sets, assembled by a previous owner, with differing pencil ownership signatures in a couple volumes. The first edition (i.e. printing) of the first volume is quite scarce, having been issued in a printing of only 1500 copies. As the following volumes were published serially, the first and second volumes were reprinted, and one often finds mixed sets. As these volumes were set up and printed as the parts were received from London (the text of four parts per volume), a very sound case has been made, most recently by Richard Loomis in his admirable catalogue of the McGuire collection, that "it is...quite certain that four of the five Philadelphia volumes preceded the issuance of" the first British edition in book form. GIMBEL A19. SMITH 2. WILKINS, pp. 7-9. (Inventory #: WRCLIT83447)