DICKENS, Charles (1812-1870). Our Mutual Friend. London: Chapman and Hall, May 1864-November 1865.

20 parts in 19, 8vo. Half-titles, frontispiece and 39 wood-engraved plates after Marcus Stone by Dalziel and W. T. Green. Original green pictorial printed wrappers, uncut and part 9 unopened (several re-backed to style, small loss at spine end of parts 5 and 9, light soiling to covers, small repairs to wraps of parts 2, 6, and 19/20); folding chemise and morocco-backed slipcase. Provenance: Hatton & Cleaver collection; modern collector's bookplate.

FIRST EDITION IN ORIGINAL MONTHLY PARTS, FIRST ISSUE. NEARLY COMPLETE WITH ALL TEXT, PLATES, WRAPPERS, SLIPS, AND ADVERTISEMENTS as called for in Hatton & Cleaver, except for the rare "Mutual Friend… Economic Life Assurance Society" 4pp. slip, which is lacking after the plates in parts 14 and 19/20. In the first state, with the following first issue points: part 1 front wrapper is without the printer's imprint at the foot; with the scarce slip addressed to the reader in part 1.

Our Mutual Friend was Dickens’ fourteenth and final completed novel and contains more advertisements in the Advertiser than any of Dickens’ other works with 320 pages as well as 89 insets and slips at the end of the parts. Eckel, pp. 94-95; Hatton & Cleaver, pp. 343-370; Yale/Gimbel A149.