The Acquisitions Table: The Life and Adventures of Martin Chuzzlewit

Martin ChuzzlewitDickens, Charles. The Life and Adventures of Martin Chuzzlewit. New York: Harper & Brothers, [1844].

The first authorized American edition of Martin Chuzzlewit was issued by Harper & Brothers in seven serial parts, all of which are present here in their wrappers. As such they are exceptionally rare; as the story goes they were hawked on the New York streets by newsboys who crowded into the store just before a part was issued to attend a speech of exhortation by Mr. James Harper. Martin Chuzzlewit is a novel of particular American interest, as in it Dickens satirically presented American characters he had envisioned after his 1842 tour of the United States.

Published by

Elizabeth Watts Pope

Curator of Books, American Antiquarian Society

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