Description:

Charles Dickens
London, England, May 14, 1866 & March 19, 1870
Charles Dickens 1866 Public Reading Ticket with Illustrated London Times Article
Ticket

A printed ticket for a public reading given by Charles Dickens in London, together with a newspaper article about his Farewell reading. The ticket measures 2" x 2.25", London, dated May 14, 1866. Dicken's Reading was to be held at St. James's Hall at 8:00pm, and the ticket reserves the bearer a seat in Row D, No. 7. Accompanying the ticket is a page from the Illustrated London Times, dated March 19, 1870, with an article on Dickens's final reading performance. Both are framed to the overall size of 12.5" x 10". The ticket has moderate toning and staining with wear at the corners and edges. Overall good.

In early 1866, Charles Dickens embarked on a reading tour of Great Britain. The tour lasted from April to June and included London, Liverpool, Edinburgh, Manchester, Glasgow, Birmingham, Aberdeen, and Portsmouth. While we have been unable to discover exactly what was read at that May 14th performance, we did find that around this time of the tour Dickens was reading "Doctor Marigold", the "Trial from Pickwick", and "Nicholas Nickleby".

St. James Hall was a large concert hall, that opened in 1858, and could seat 2,000 people. In 1868, Dickens presented a final series of "Farewell Readings," at the hall, which commenced on the evening of October 6, with a program devoted to "Doctor Marigold" (from the Christmas Story) and "The Trial" from Pickwick. He had settled with his tour managers, Chappell & Co., on 100 readings for the staggering sum of £8,000.

This item comes with a Certificate from John Reznikoff, a premier authenticator for both major 3rd party authentication services, PSA and JSA (James Spence Authentications), as well as numerous auction houses.

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  • Dimensions: framed: 12.5" x 10"
  • Medium: Ticket

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June 4, 2025 10:00 AM EDT
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