{"product_id":"dickens-charles-the-battle-of-life-a-love-story-first-edition-1846","title":"DICKENS, Charles - The Battle of Life: A Love Story - First Edition (1846)","description":"\u003cp\u003eLondon: Bradbury \u0026amp; Evans, 1846. First edition, fourth issue (Eckel, p. 122; Smith II, 8). [12], 175, [6] pp. Illustrated with engraved frontispiece and vignette title after Daniel Maclise, and wood-engravings by Maclise, Richard Doyle, Clarkson Stanfield, and John Leech. Small 8vo, 16.5 × 11 cm. Later full green morocco by Morrell, boards ruled and decorated in gilt, raised bands with richly gilt spine compartments, gilt inner dentelles, marbled endpapers, all edges gilt. Armorial bookplate of Henry Lloyd Gibbs to front pastedown; ownership inscription “H. L. Gibbs” to preliminary blank. The vignette title is in the fourth issue, with “A Love Story” incorporated into a scroll supported by a cupid and without the publisher’s imprint beneath. Binding firm and attractive; contents generally clean, with a small patch of foxing to the verso of the vignette title.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe Battle of Life is the fourth of Dickens's five celebrated Christmas Books, following A Christmas Carol (1843), The Chimes (1844), and The Cricket on the Hearth (1845). Published in December 1846, the work is a romantic tale set against the backdrop of an ancient battlefield, exploring themes of love, sacrifice, and self-denial. \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThis copy carries notable provenance, with the armorial bookplate of Henry Lloyd Gibbs to the front pastedown. Gibbs (1861–1928) was a British banker and collector, the son of Henry Hucks Gibbs, 1st Baron Aldenham, and a member of the prominent Gibbs merchant family.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Ink \u0026 Signature Books","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":50521582207028,"sku":null,"price":850.0,"currency_code":"AUD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0745\/3648\/4916\/files\/E4E21CB4-73C3-437E-B507-E78C46460883_1_105_c.jpg?v=1790076830","url":"https:\/\/www.inkandsignaturebooks.com.au\/products\/dickens-charles-the-battle-of-life-a-love-story-first-edition-1846","provider":"Ink \u0026 Signature Books","version":"1.0","type":"link"}