Martin Chuzzlewit - True First Issue with 100£

A first edition, first printing of 'Martin Chuzzlewit', first issue with the '100£' sign on the frontispiece. Contemporary half-morocco and marbled boards. 8vo. 624pp. Illustrations by Phiz. Extra-engraved title and frontispiece. First edition, first issue. On the engraved title page the pound sign is after 100 on the signpost and there are seven studs on the trunk. The errata list has 10 corrections. The book has a total of forty plates including the frontis and engraved title. The binding is in good condition with some scuffing and edge-chipping to the marbled boards and some rubbing and wear to the leather spine and corners. There is an 1844 owner's signature on the flyleaf else the text is good with some scattered foxing and spotting. The gutter to the frontis and engraved title has some heavy staining. The plates are in good condition with some foxing (occasionally heavy). This copy has been collated and is complete. Martin Chuzzlewit is seen as the last of Dickens'picaresque novels - while he was writing it Dickens told a friend that he thought it was his best work thus far.…