Great Expectations – Charles Dickens, Illustrated by F. W. Pailthorpe (Franklin Library, 1979)
Great Expectations – Charles Dickens, Illustrated by F. W. Pailthorpe (Franklin Library, 1979)
This Franklin Library edition (1979) is of interest to collectors of Charles Dickens, finely bound collector's editions, and F. W. Pailthorpe illustrated Dickens.
About: A near fine to fine copy in the Franklin Library's characteristic full red leather binding with elaborate gilt tooling throughout — double gilt border with chain-link outer rule, fleur-de-lys scatter to centre panel, acanthus corner tools to boards; raised bands to spine with gilt lettering and ornamental tools to compartments; gilt top edge; red ribbon marker; marbled endpapers. Binding bright and clean with no visible wear; gilt sharp and fully intact. Interior fresh: paper cream and clean; colour illustrations after F. W. Pailthorpe's hand-coloured etchings (originally published by Robson and Kerslake, London, 1885) bright and unfaded. A handsome presentation copy.
Details:
- Title: Great Expectations
- Author: Charles Dickens
- Publisher: The Franklin Library, Franklin Center, Pennsylvania
- Publication Date: 1979
- Edition: Franklin Library collector's edition (not a first or period edition)
- Binding: Full red leather, elaborate gilt tooling to boards and spine, gilt top edge, ribbon marker
- Illustrator: F. W. Pailthorpe (illustrations after hand-coloured etchings, originally published 1885)
- Condition: Near Fine to Fine
Synopsis: Franklin Library 1979 collector's edition in full red leather with elaborate gilt tooling; colour illustrations after F. W. Pailthorpe's celebrated 1885 hand-coloured etchings; gilt top edge and ribbon marker; a handsome display copy of Dickens’ greatest novel.
Review: Great Expectations (first published 1860–61) is widely regarded as Dickens’ finest novel and one of the supreme achievements of Victorian fiction. The story of Pip — orphan, blacksmith’s apprentice, and gentleman-in-waiting — unfolds across the marshes of Kent and the drawing rooms of London with characteristic Dickensian energy and moral complexity. The Franklin Library editions of the 1970s and 1980s were produced to a high standard of binding and production, making them attractive display and reading copies; the Pailthorpe illustrations, reproduced from the celebrated 1885 Robson and Kerslake portfolio, add genuine historical interest.