Dickens, Charles.
Life of Joseph Grimaldi; the Noted English Clown. Written out from Grimaldi's Own Manuscript and Notes, Which He Left at the Time of His Death. By Charles Dickens, Author of "Oliver Twist," "Nicholas Nickleby,"... "Our Mutual Friend,"... . Petersons' Cheap Edition for the Million.
Philadelphia: T.B. Peterson & Brothers, [post-1865]. [post-1865]. - Octavo, 9-7/8 inches high by 6-1/4 inches wide. Crudely bound into a stiff brown folder with white linen tape, lacking the original wrappers. The head and tail of the stiff folder's spine and bottom corner of the front cover are chipped. The folder's spine is splitting. 176 deckle-edged pages in all, printed in 2 columns, consisting of [1] leaf and pages [19]-192. There are a couple of small tears along the stitching at the inner edge of the title page. There is minor dampstaining to the top inner corner of the first few pages and the last page is slightly soiled. Good.
Although no date is listed, the inclusion of Dickens' story "Our Mutual Friend" in the list of titles he authored would indicate this work was published after 1865.
Charles Dickens edited this autobiographical work on the 18th Century English performer who, according to The Guardian, "invented the figure of the classic clown we know today". Dickens contributed a 4-page introductory chapter. The Italian immigrant Grimaldi was the first to use white-faced makeup and performed in outrageous colored clothes. He was a friend of Lord Byron and Edmund Kean. Beneath the mask, Grimaldi's life was filled with tragedy. The death of his first wife in childbirth and the death of his son to alcoholism led him to struggle with depression. Good .
Blue Mountain Books & Manuscripts, Ltd.
Professional sellerBook number: 97533
USD 150.00 [Appr.: EURO 142.75 | £UK 117.5 | JP¥ 22765]
Keywords: LITERATURE; BIOGRAPHY; THEATER; THEATRE; COMEDIAN; CLOWN; CHARLES DICKENS; LIFE OF JOSEPH GRIMALDI; THE NOTED ENGLISH CLOWN; WRITTEN OUT FROM GREIMALDI'S OWN MANUSCRIPT AND NOTES, WHICH HE LEFT AT THE TIME OF HIS DEATH; T.B. PETERSON & bROTHERS; P