American Notes.
London: Chapman & Hall, 1842. First edition, first state. Hardcover. Dickens toured New England by way of Boston, Worcester, New Haven, New York, and Philadelphia, visiting prisons and state hospitals along the way. "Dickens' tour included a fortnight in Baltimore, Washington, and Richmond. Some of his experiences and an entertaining account of his trip by stage to Fredericksburg, Va., are recounted. His chapter on slavery was influential, for it stirred the hatred of British liberals against slavery, and it was a source of inspiration for Longfellow's Poems on Slavery. But most of Dickens' views were lifted from Theodore D. Weld's work American Slavery As It Is (1839)." - Clark III-151. He also visits the eastern part of Canada. In his "Concluding Remarks", Dickens states that Americans are "by nature, frank, brave, cordial, hospitable and affectionate", and he cites what he regards as the major flaws in American society. The most serious is slavery; the perpetuation of violence, with the ideals of liberty & equality seeming to include the freedom to harm another; "universal distrust" leading people to suspect others and seek advantage over them; a scandal-seeking press; an overriding commercialism which prized pulling off a smart deal and the idolization of successful businessmen. He was particularly disgusted by tobacco juice spitting. Well, at least that is no longer an issue in America.
First state (Smith II, 3). 2 vols., 8vo. [12 (with the 10th page numbered 'xvi')], 308; vii, [1 (blank)], 306, [6] pp (adverts). 8 1/8" x 5 1/4". Two sets of endpapers, smooth yellow endpapers and a flowered motif. Text extremely clean. Slt. crease on 2 endpapers. Original purple cloth, blind stamped vertically and with scrolling design, spines lettered in gilt, faded to tan. Some slight discoloration on spine of volume 1. A very nice copy. Item #26464
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