Title: A Tale of Two Cities / American Notes (Two works bound together in one volume)
Author: Charles Dickens
Publisher: Odhams Press Limited (Long Acre, London, W.C.2)
Printer: Greycaine Book Manufacturing Company Limited (Watford, Herts)
Publication Date: Circa 1934 (Undated as published)
Illustrator: Hablot Knight Browne (famously known as "Phiz")
Binding & Features:
Original publisher's red cloth hardcover.
Features a blind-stamped circular portrait medallion of Charles Dickens on the front cover.
Decorated with an ornate Art Nouveau-style gold gilt frame and lettering on the spine.
Features a beautiful William Morris-style decorative floral border around the title page layout.
Condition Notes:
Spine & Binding: The spine shows heavy sun-fading, changing from the original deep red to a light tan/brown. There is noticeable tearing, fraying, and loss of cloth material at the extreme top edge (headcap) of the spine. The internal binding remains holding, though the hinges show expected vintage aging.
Boards: The red cloth boards have a few light cosmetic spots and surface dust but are structurally sound, with the blind-stamped portrait remaining sharp.
Interior: Clean, fully intact text pages showing a mild, uniform age-toning. The classic illustrations by Phiz are clear and sharp.
Interesting Note about this title:
A Tale of Two Cities was actually written out of a massive midlife crisis. In 1857, Charles Dickens acted in a play called The Frozen Deep, written by his close friend Wilkie Collins. While performing, Dickens fell madly in love with a young 18-year-old actress named Ellen Ternan. The overwhelming emotional turmoil of this secret affair blew his personal life apart, leading him to permanently separate from his wife of 22 years.
To escape the media scandal, Dickens threw his manic energy into creating a brand-new literary magazine called All the Year Round. He desperately needed a massive, sensational blockbuster story to launch the magazine and hook subscribers, so he structured A Tale of Two Cities to be published in weekly, cliffhanger installments. The character of Sydney Carton, a man trapped in despair who ultimately sacrifices himself for the woman he loves, was Dickens's way of channeling his own intense, real-life romantic agony directly onto the page.
Title: A Tale of Two Cities / American Notes (Two works bound together in one volume)
Author: Charles Dickens
Publisher: Odhams Press Limited (Long Acre, London, W.C.2)
Printer: Greycaine Book Manufacturing Company Limited (Watford, Herts)
Publication Date: Circa 1934 (Undated as published)
Illustrator: Hablot Knight Browne (famously known as "Phiz")
Binding & Features:
Original publisher's red cloth hardcover.
Features a blind-stamped circular portrait medallion of Charles Dickens on the front cover.
Decorated with an ornate Art Nouveau-style gold gilt frame and lettering on the spine.
Features a beautiful William Morris-style decorative floral border around the title page layout.
Condition Notes:
Spine & Binding: The spine shows heavy sun-fading, changing from the original deep red to a light tan/brown. There is noticeable tearing, fraying, and loss of cloth material at the extreme top edge (headcap) of the spine. The internal binding remains holding, though the hinges show expected vintage aging.
Boards: The red cloth boards have a few light cosmetic spots and surface dust but are structurally sound, with the blind-stamped portrait remaining sharp.
Interior: Clean, fully intact text pages showing a mild, uniform age-toning. The classic illustrations by Phiz are clear and sharp.
Interesting Note about this title:
A Tale of Two Cities was actually written out of a massive midlife crisis. In 1857, Charles Dickens acted in a play called The Frozen Deep, written by his close friend Wilkie Collins. While performing, Dickens fell madly in love with a young 18-year-old actress named Ellen Ternan. The overwhelming emotional turmoil of this secret affair blew his personal life apart, leading him to permanently separate from his wife of 22 years.
To escape the media scandal, Dickens threw his manic energy into creating a brand-new literary magazine called All the Year Round. He desperately needed a massive, sensational blockbuster story to launch the magazine and hook subscribers, so he structured A Tale of Two Cities to be published in weekly, cliffhanger installments. The character of Sydney Carton, a man trapped in despair who ultimately sacrifices himself for the woman he loves, was Dickens's way of channeling his own intense, real-life romantic agony directly onto the page.
