Legend has it that in November of 1867 just prior to Dickens celebrated reading tour of America, his Readings manager Geoge Dolby sat in the bookstore of Messrs. Ticknor & Fields in Boston for 13 hours without a break taking in a staggering $12,000 in ticket sales to Dickens upcoming readings at the cities Tremont Temple. Dickens would perform 76 readings from Boston to New York between December 1867 and April of 1868 with lines for tickets sometimes reaching a quarter mile long!
 
This is a rare copy of Dickens Readings bound from the original parts, condensed by himself for his readings and as Dickens testifies himself on the copyright page of each extract; "This edition bearing the imprint of Messrs. Ticknor & Fields is the only correct authorized edition of my readings." These cheaply made copies originally sold for 25 cents in blue paper wraps at local bookstores and Dickens readings with the original 3 stab holes plainly visible on each bound in page of this copy. 
 
The first edition from Ticknor and Fields, Boston 1868. 18mo - Included in this volume are A Christmas Carol 53pp.; David Copperfield, 59pp.; Mr. Bob Sawyer's Party, 21pp; Nicholas Nickleby, 45pp.; Boots at the Holly-Tree Inn, 18pp.; The Story of Little Dombey, 45pp.; Bardell and Pickwick, 23pp.; Doctor Marigold, 37pp.; (Duplicate) Bardell and Pickwick, 23pp; Each title illustrated with a vignette by Sol Eytinge. Nicely bound in full calf leather with gilt tooled spine and covers, marbled endpapers, gilt turn-ins and dentelles, all edges gilt. Spine in five compartments with four gilt raised bands, titles stamped in gilt in the second compartment, gilt decoration in the others. The bottom compartment incorrectly states "New York 1867." Light wear and rubbing to the boards and edges, corners bumped and rubbed and a chip to the leather at the upper spine tip. A bit of toning to interior pages, repair to front flyleaf that is chipped along the outer edge and an inscription in ink to the front blank preliminary. Overall, a very good and quite rare and collectible copy of readings from Dickens final American visit.