Description:

Charles Dickens
[Boston, MA], ca. April 3, 1868
Charles Dickens Boston 1868 Reading Admission Ticket Mounted In Dickens Bibliographic Resource
Ephemera within Book

An admissions ticket for Charles Dickens's public reading at Boston's Tremont Temple for Friday night, April 3, 1868, affixed on the front loose endpaper of a hardcover book, Frederic G. Kitton, "The Minor Writings of Charles Dickens: A Bibliography and Sketch" (London: Elliot Stock, 62, Paternoster Row, 1900). The reading ticket is found along with about a dozen newspaper clippings, dated ca. 1870-1902, mounted on the front and back pastedown and loose endpapers. The clippings relate to Dickens literary reviews, tributes, auction results, landmarks of literary interest, and family members. The book is in green publisher's cloth with gilt-embossed front cover and spine as issued, and contains a pull-out facsimile playbill on p. 206. Expected wear including uneven toning, edge darkening, and minor to moderate burn to the endpapers. Minor shelf rubbing and scuffs to the covers and spine. Gentle toning within, with partly cracked internal binding at p. 160-161. Scattered pencil emendations in the margins. Else very good to near fine. Preface: v-viii; Table of Contents: ix-xi; 1-260 including Appendices and Index. 4.625" x 7" x 1.125.

The admissions ticket is printed on a pink stock card, and affixed to the upper right corner of the front first loose endpaper of the book. Hand-stamp cancelled along the left edge. Traces of adhesive, else very good. Actual size 1.875" x 2.5."

Granting the bearer a seat located at Slip 3, No. 17, Floor, Left of Boston's Tremont Temple, the ticket is dated Friday, April 3, 1868, and was part of Dickens's "Final Farewell Readings, Six in Number" to take place in Boston, before he traveled on to New York City, his final stop before returning to England. Dickens's second and final tour of the United States lasted several months, from December 1867 - April 1868, during which time he gave approximately 400 readings. Dickens never returned to the United States, dying just two years later, in 1870.

The Boston series of six readings took place between Wednesday, April 1 and Wednesday, April 8. On April 3rd - the date of this ticket - Dickens read excerpts from "Doctor Marigold" and "Mrs. Gamp." On other nights, Dickens regaled audiences with readings from "A Christmas Carol," "Nicholas Nickleby," "David Copperfield," and "The Pickwick Papers." Dickens was famous for his highly entertaining readings. He mastered dozens of characters' individual impressions, giving them special voices and gestures. Popular demand for Dickens's readings in Boston partly determined the venue: Tremont Temple, a Greek Revival style building built in 1827. The Temple primarily served a local Baptist congregation but was also frequently used as a venue for speeches, exhibitions, and readings since it had a seating capacity of over 2,500.

The April 3, 1868 issue of the "Boston Evening Transcript" tells us what Dickens read on each night of his Boston "Final Farewell Readings" as well as how much the tickets cost - $2 - and where they could be purchased: down the street from the Tremont Temple, at the offices of Ticknor & Field's Publishing House (see attached scan.)

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: book: 4.625" x 7" x 1.125"
  • Medium: Ephemera within Book

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