Martin Chuzzlewit by Charles Dickens – Complete 1844 - J. Winchester Edition Bound along with the 1843 January to December Serialized New World Press Volumes (Nearly complete in 32 Chapters!)
📚 Ultra-Rare July 20th, 1844, 150 page First American Printing – Preceded Harper’s Edition by Five Days!
Barron Rare Books is proud to offer an exceptional literary artifact: a complete, bound example of Martin Chuzzlewit featuring two historic printings in one volume.
- 🗞️ Front Section: A nearly complete serialized run from The New World Press, issued monthly from January to December 1843, ending with Chapter 32.
- 📘 Bound at Rear: The scarce J. Winchester edition, printed July 20th, 1844—a full five days before Harper’s final bound version. This edition includes:
- All 54 chapters
- Complete title and preface pages
- Printed without illustrations
- Sold originally for just 25 cents (original bookseller 25 cent price written in pencil on front blank prelim)
- Also included is the complete January to June 6 part serialization of W. Harrison Ainsworth's "Windsor Castle." It is most probably the first U.S. printing of this popular Ainsworth novel.
🎩 Why It Matters: The Winchester edition is more than rare—it’s an emblem of early American publishing ingenuity. It reflects U.S. readers’ ravenous appetite for Dickens and captures a transatlantic race to disseminate literature affordably. Complete copies are nearly unheard of.
📦 Condition:4to - 11 1/4" x 8 1/4" (Jan-Dec Serialization, 424pp.) (Complete volume bound in at rear, 150pp.) New leather spine with gilt stamped titles over original marbled paper boards. Endpapers refreshed. Chipping to paper edges, leather corner tips worn, occasional spotting and foxing and a few small, closed tears to page edges.
🔍 A must-have for serious collectors of 19th-century American Dickensiana, bibliographic rarities, or early transatlantic print culture.
➡️ Don’t miss your chance to own a ghost of the print world—documented, dated, and rich in literary history.