DICKENS (CHARLES) American Notes for General Circulation, 2 vol., FIRST EDITION, FIRST STATE, Chapman and Hall, 1842DICKENS (CHARLES)American Notes for General Circulation, 2 vol., FIRST EDITION, FIRST STATE, half-titles, 6pp. of advertisements at the end of volume 2, pale yellow-coated endpapers, publisher's reddish-brown vertically ribbed cloth, covers stamped in blind with gilt lettering on spines, spine light fading with a few small spots of ink but generally clean and fresh, cloth chemise, morocco-backed slipcase, gilt lettering on spine [Eckel, pp.113-115; Gimbel A66; Smith 2:3], 8vo, Chapman and Hall, 1842Attractive copy in the variant binding described by Smith with vertical as opposed to horizontal ribbed cloth and the spines with Roman rather than Arabic numerals. Published to mixed reviews in England on 19 October, American Notes was nonetheless a success, and "In America, where it appeared in November, the sales were enormous; 50,000 copies selling in two days in New York...Liberal Americans and abolitionists naturally liked his stance on slavery..." (Claire Tomalin, Charles Dickens, 2011).Provenance: Priscilla and Samuel Meek; Ruth Harries Craig, bookplates; Sotheby's, 16 December 2004, lot 135.