Charles Dickens - EP

Does anyone know when the last complete set of Charles Dickens was released? There is a version with Dickens' face on it, and another that is more traditional (probably released in the 1990s?). Do you know if these were all released at the same time, or on a yearly / monthly basis? Also, do you think Easton Press will release another complete set of Dickens' work in the future?

Look forward to hearing your thoughts!

If they do anymore Dickens any time soon it'll likely resemble that mini-Hemingway "Masterpieces" set that recently sold out. It was a 5-volume set of his most popular works, bound exactly like the last full set they released. EP hasn't been interested in comprehensive sets for many years, largely because their focus has been on DLEs.

One could usually order whole series at once, for those not interested in waiting for a subscription to play out. I'm sure they had to reprint at least some of the titles as time went on with each series. I only know of two Dickens sets but they were both released before I started collecting so hopefully someone else can tell you when they were originally released.

>1 Matthew1956: I found it fun to collect from a number of sets. But if you want the definitive matching set, nothing comes close to the Franklin Oxford set, which you can see at the top of the Franklin Library site.

http://www.librarything.com/groups/franklinlibrarycolle

Wow. That is absolutely stunning, though I doubt we will ever see books printed like that ever again. The emphasis appears to be on the cheapest product possible with the maximum price given.

>4 Matthew1956: there are two complete sets under Franklin Library Dickens for $2,700-$2,900 both in fine shape. If you are real Dickens fan and have the cash I would make an offer. There are 21 volumes and this set is easily worth $125 per volume when you consider what EP charges for DLE. You can also pick up individual volumes for under $100, though many are priced very high.

Do you think though, that we will ever see a complete set like the Oxford or Easton Press collection of the complete Charles Dickens' works, or even Shakespeare for that matter? It seems that this practice of beautiful, finest leather-bound editions of these works is officially finished forever. I hoped to purchase a new set, as it's always less expensive.

I own what I believe was the first EP Dickens set without the Dickens picture on the front. Mine is a darker more cherry red IMO (I’m color blind).

I love these old sets. The majority of my EP collection are these older sets. I would love if EP would produce these larger complete sets but it seems they are done with that line of product {{sigh}}

>6 Matthew1956:

Someone might, eventually, and it might not even be a publisher we're used to hearing about; maybe a crowdfunded set, even. Could be decades, though. Heck, by then, made on demand (MOD) technology might improve enough that you could order a Dickens set (or anything, really) in decent leather as a one-off design just for yourself. In the near term, though, no, it's not likely anyone will print full sets like these.

Folio Society could probably do something nice right now but it wouldn't be done in leather. However, to hear the comments in their threads for the past couple of years, this isn't very likely as FS appears to be unreliable at completing whole Dickens sets, specifically.

>6 Matthew1956:
I’m afraid >8 treereader: is right. “Really nice sets” - I’m avoiding the term “fine press” because its meaning is obscure and therefore controversial in some quarters - are likely to become scarcer and there are several reasons for it.

- People aren’t reading classics like Dickens, Shakespeare, and Austen to the extent that they used to because there have been so many good authors in the intervening years. More excitement is often generated in this forum and the FS forum when a contemporary work of science fiction is offered, for example, than when a classic work is featured. Most of us who read Shakespeare already have a set and don’t need another.

- Price increases have made the purchase of large sets impossible for many collectors. The classics are available free or inexpensively as ebooks.

- Good movies of the more popular classics like Jane Austen’s have been released in recent years.

I myself am a huge Charles Dickens fanatic. Though in my humble opinion I recommend purchasing the individual DLE. I have A Christmas Carol, Great Expectations, and Tale of Two Cities all of which are EP DLE editions. My next DLE from EP will be Oliver Twist. I am a bit devastated that I missed out on David Copperfield... I know that's not what you have asked but it’s my unasked for recommendation.

I personally prefer my covers to be all different, but to my knowledge Easton published only 11 books in non-matching covers (which I already have). Having no choice, I plan on getting the remaining titles from the black label set rather than the newer Dickens face set...

>10 George_Allen:

How many volumes do you think EP will extend the DLE treatment to? Surely not all 21, right?

12: Why not? EP is producing DLEs of all of the first editions of Twain's work (and they are lovely :)

>13 astropi:

Do you think they would make any money off of an American Notes DLE? Some of his works seem like they might only be purchased by those looking to complete a whole DLE set.

>12 treereader: >13 astropi:
One would expect them to produce Dickens and Twain DLEs as long as they sell, but I’m beginning to suspect that they might be phasing out the entire DLE series or at least scaling it back. I certainly hope not, but there were 72 selections on the DLE list in December, and now there are only 68. There are 17 volumes now on the Limited Quantities list and only one new one announced (and it isn’t scheduled for delivery until June). Perhaps it’s nothing but inventory trimming.

>15 jroger1:

As much as I'd like to see them revert back to and commit to the series-oriented product plans of their past, I don't think the DLE model is anywhere near done yet (yes: I believe they only have the resources to pursue one model or the other, but not both at the same time). If you told me that they were dropping DLEs by a rate of 10~12 per year for 2~3 years in a row then I'd begin to suspect they were phasing them out.

I just wanted to know what others thought on the odds of EP eventually producing an equivalent 21-volume set of Dickens, comprised entirely of DLEs. I think they'll get there for the 100 Greatest but doing so for an individual author of a large body of work seems unlikely. If they do make 21 total Dickens DLEs, that would be an impressively competitive set to match against those the OP spoke of and Hugo spoke of in >3 HugoDumas:.

With Charles Dickens being such an incredible author, I just don't understand why the EP doesn't just produce another set that pays tribute to the work itself. It would be nice for them to produce a masterpiece edition, like the Franklin Oxford style, of matching 21 books. They could even offer them 5-10 books per year, to allow regular collectors to slowly add to their collection, rather than just dropping the 21 volumes all at once and saying, "Limited time only: you have 12 months before we discontinue them." I don't mind the DLE versions, but they're just too overpriced. $200 to $300 per volume is ridiculous, especially when there are 21 volumes.

If they did an updated version of their 21-volume brown leather versions, with the black box spines, that would be amazing. The versions with the horribly drawn Dickens faces on them is embarrassing to look at (as is the Oscar Wilde Versions). You all agree with me deep down; admit it.

>15 jroger1:: If EP is indeed cutting back on their DLE releases, which I doubt, it can only be a good thing "IMHO" ... with some exceptions, the trend in recent years has been to put out less-than-enthralling titles (I'm being kind) with increasing frequency. When they first started the DLEs we had the likes of the famous Kelmscott Chaucer, Crusades, etc.: worthy productions that excited both our tastes and wallets. Now it's usually "meh" stuff. Of course, profit is the driver here.

>17 Matthew1956:

EP didn't limit the 21-volume sets to only a year's time. Sets like those were staples of the company and offered for many years. There was never a pressing need to purchase everything within a year's time - most people would've acquired them at the standard rate of one per month. The only time limited availability became an issue was around the time of the 2008-2009 recession when so many of their sets and series dropped like flies and with no warning to current subscribers. Prior to that the only complainable problem we faced was style transition: red-and-black to the light-brown-with-face in Dicken's case, multi-colored-unique-design to medium-brown for Hemingway, etc... You didn't want to be caught in the middle of a style change.

Thanks for this; I didn't know about that. So, the Dickens complete sets were offered at any time prior to the recession? The DLE's are not standard across the board, which is annoying, and you're right - it would not be nice to have collected a certain style of books only for them to change

>12 treereader: treereader:
I honestly believe they will keep creating the Dickens DLEs. That being said you'll be waiting years for them to develop. Like >13 astropi: astropi: said, they are creating all the Mark Twain editions, which I have and absolutely love. I just need to keep it hush hush from my wife who doesn't know how much I spend on my DLEs... She will kill me. It's a matter of time before she finds out.

Am I the only person who only buys Facsimile DLEs? I am obsessed with them and I can't stand these cheep looking sets that they create. I detest the Hemmingway set.

IMO - the smaller Hemingway set is not my favorite either. I agree it looks cheap. I like the older set they did on him that was a matching color.

I am a big fan of the DLE’s as well but also love their older style of doing matching sets.

As with both the sets and DLE I have to be selective as not all are to my liking. Some look very nice and others are not well done.

>21 George_Allen:

I hope they do. I don't quite have the right combination of patience and appreciation to buy them but, if and once complete, they would make a rather formidable and impressive set.

I do buy some DLEs but I get no excitement out of it. I've bought some Verne DLEs but only because they're issuing titles that simply aren't published in a fine/finer quality anywhere, so it's the only way to get a nice copy. And EP certainly knows it. For the money I've spent on three Verne DLEs, though, I could've had the majority of a complete EP Les Voyages Extraordinaires set, had they made one. Mathematically speaking, a full set would have to be more exciting: there are more stories present!

I agree on the Hemmingway set. The design looks identical to the last full set they offered...why not just offer the whole set again? I pieced together the prior set a while back, the one with the individualized designs, but still long after it had been retired.

>23 treereader: “I do buy some DLEs but I get no excitement out of it.”

Except for a couple of Twains, the only DLEs that have interested me for quite some time are the ones signed by the artists. I guess I hadn’t been paying attention, but it just struck me recently that almost all 17 of them are “Gothic” in the sense that they involve ghosts/monsters and terror/horror and usually death. I love light fiction like that, but I can’t afford more than a few of them.

Regarding the original questions in >1 Matthew1956: I remembered the old guides gilded-legacy-books used to have regarding EP sets. Here's the Dickens one:

http://www.ebay.com/gds/Easton-Press-Guide-to-Books-by-Charles-Dickens-/10000000...

So the big changeover in style occurred around 2000.

Thanks for this! So I take it that it is useless to hold out for the Easton Press to re-release the old style books, like they do with the beautiful 6-vol. Jane Austen complete set?

>26 Matthew1956:

You have better odds of winning the lottery while kickin' rocks around on the surface of Mars.

Well it is now in the family. I convinced my brother to purchase that near fine 21 FRANKLIN OXFORD DICKENS SET. His best offer was accepted.

Congratulations! I need a brother like that.

@HugoDumas Amazing! You have to show us what they look like on his shelf. How much did it end up selling for?

>30 Matthew1956: $2450

You can see about 40 pictures here

https://www.ebay.com/itm/1982-COMPLETE-CHARLES-DICKENS-21VL-SET-OXFORD-UNIV-FRAN...

This just confirmed my love for buying the individual DLE's.

>32 George_Allen: I was contemplating the same thing with respect to value. My 1887-1888, 1894 23 Volume Routledge set on the works of Hugo, Dumas and Sue cost slightly less but is only 8 novels. Only 5 are DLEs, while 3 are original. In my opinion the Dickens set is the better value.

The binding of the Franklin Oxford Dickens set is wonderful. I started collecting these but eventually sold them to buy the Easton Press editions instead. The Franklin Oxford editions contain one of my biggest bookish pet peeves, which is the illustrations are not in the correct location. Most of the illustrations are present several pages before the actual scene that is being illustrated. So the illustration you see as you read doesn't make sense until several pages later. I find that very annoying and I would enjoy it much more if the illustration were printed immediately next to the page of the scene being illustrated. I know this may not bother most readers, but it's worth mentioning if anyone else shares this pet peeve. I wish I could get over this so I could own that gorgeous set.

I own the majority of the Easton Press set with the Dickens face on the front covers, with the remaining books as either the Famous Editions or 100 Greatest. The editions with Dicken's face on the front cover were easier to find and collect for me. They are also of similar quality to the Easton black label set. Although on a number of different occasions, I received or saw listings of the black label editions with spotting on the gilded page edges and moire end sheets. I have never seen that issue with the editions with Dicken's face on the cover. I only stay away from the black label editions because of that.

Thank you for this. So, do you know if the black label Charles Dickens EP set is widely known to be prone to having faded gold gilding on the covers or sides? Or, was it just a few you saw online somewhere?

>35 Matthew1956: The official term for "spotting" as I was referring to is called foxing, which is brown spots caused by acidity due to aging. I have experienced three cases where I received Charles Dickens black label editions with this issue and have seen at least a dozen other books during my years of searching that had this issue. In my case, the sellers did not disclose the foxing and I didn't realize the books I ordered were affected until I received them in person. Also in the three cases where I saw this in person, it was for three separate orders from different sellers with no relation to one another. Those books had foxing/spotting on the gilded page edges and/or the silk moire end sheets. I was able to find one photo for a Amazon return I did last year:



I couldn't find any photos of the foxing on the page edges, but it looks exactly the same. Also the foxing doesn't really cause the page edge gilding to look faded. Just imaging regular gilded page edges with brown spots on it. For me, this was over years of searching for these books. I know there are many of the black label editions available without the spotting, I have seen and owned them in the past. But because I never once saw this issue with the edition with Dicken's face on the front cover, I felt better collecting these instead.

>36 NotDownInAnyMap:
I’ve never seen foxing on an Easton or Franklin book, so this set must have been produced with inferior paper. It used to be thought that foxing was produced by mold, but it is now recognized as a function of the paper used together with the temperature and humidity in which it was stored. Although a natural process, it should always be disclosed by the seller because it detracts from the book’s appearance.

>34 NotDownInAnyMap:

I hadn't thought about it in a long time but it drives me nuts, too. I'm sorry editors of the world but aligning pictures to text is not that hard...don't be so lazy and try to care about the quality of your work.

Foxing isn't necessarily caused by acidity. EP uses acid-neutral papers. If you see foxing, it's mold. Which sucks of course :/

Another complete near mint 21 Volume Franklin Oxford Dickens set has been listed on eBay; coincidentally 24 hours after my brother bought the set shown at >31 HugoDumas: above.

And got so enamored with this set that I bought 6 volumes at a decent price through Abe’s books.

Do any of you think it is wise to collect the Easton Press - Charles Dickens books (either the one with his face on it or the black label editions), one by one, and hope to find them all, or should I stock up on lottery tickets to afford a complete collection altogether?

>41 Matthew1956: why deprive yourself as you await the holy grail of sets? Get your very favorite Dickens in either EP or Franklin one at a time while hoping for complete set of Oxford Dickens (the limited edition set and 1/4 leather are the same in content) or the EP Maroon with black label if you can live with inauthentic illustrations! (Such as we see in their LEC reprints). Then in the future upgrade if your desired set becomes available. The EP and Franklin unmatched copies of the popular works are not bad. You can often find them in used bookstores on eBay or Abe’s for $30 or less.

My personal experience is that there a lot of collectors out there doing that very thing. The individual copies do not show up often and when they do they usually get bid up. Again this is my experience.

I have 1/3 of the Dickens EP books with the face on them and I’ve been collecting them for over 5 years.

I have the black labeled Dickens set complete and although it wasn’t cheap, it was about 1/2 considering what I’ll end up spending buying individual books of the other Dickens set.

Now that I’ve seen the Franklin Oxford set, I may just start saving for that set now also 😆

>43 GOBOGIE: some are available at Abe books from a dealer in Kansas. I negotiated a nice deal for 5 volumes which appear to be in mint condition. I believe they have about 14 volumes left in that set. I was contemplating getting the whole set but decided to upgrade only my 3 favorites plus I got 3 I did not have. My duplicates go to my nephews.

Thanks for the heads up. I have to be honest - trying to put the set with he faces on it together, just wore me out. I don’t really look for them like I use to :(

Thanks for the heads up though! I’ll take a look

>45 GOBOGIE: I of course am referring to only pristine Full Leather Franklin Oxford.

>41 Matthew1956:
I found that collecting sets bit by bit can get really tough. You can kick off with a partial set (6-12, let's say) on a good deal pretty easily but as you progress towards completion there are always a handful of difficult volumes, and sometimes one impossible volume, like A Tale of Two Cities in the EP black label set. Sometimes you can get one or more difficult volumes by buying another partial set but then you have to sell off or give away the duplicates. If you can manage, it's best to snag complete sets all at once. The Horror and Science sets took me a long, frustrating time to complete piecemeal.

@hugodumas - What do you mean by inauthentic illustrations for the EP maroon colored Dickens set? They don't contain the original illustrations from Dickens' works? Which set (Oxford, Franklin, etc.) contains reproductions of the original illustrations that accompanied Dickens' books?

it's not a simple answer. Dickens' books were often serializations first, without illustrations, then latr republished in book format with illustrations. I think Hugodumas is just referring to the transfer quality decreasing from the original LEC set, so the choice would be better illustrations with an LEC set or leather binding in an EP set.

>48 Matthew1956: >49 treereader: I am talking about the original illustrations by PHIZ, Leech and others as they were commissioned when the books were first published. There are 650 quality illustrations from these publications faithfully reproduced in the Franklin Oxford set; some are classic such as the work of Leech in the Christmas Books. When EP publishes Dickens in their Famous Edition or Maroon set, many times they are reprints from their LEC series with the illustrations of favorite artists from that time period such as Lynd Ward. Much of the art is fine in the Maroon set and Famous Editions. But for Dickens top works I simply wanted the best, and just got them. I could be wrong and find that later illustrations are superior; I will not know until I get the 6 volumes now in transit.

>50 HugoDumas: I still need 3 titles to complete my Dickens collection and you're making me rethink getting them as Franklin/Oxford editions. But I just can't get over the illustrations not being aligned with the text. The illustrations are presented several pages before the scene in the book. I wish it didn't bother me so much. I really love the Phiz illustrations, but the Easton Press editions have great color plates and black and white illustrated headpieces for the chapters. But without a doubt the Franklin/Oxford set has the most beautiful binding.

>51 NotDownInAnyMap: many books have illustrations not perfectly aligned with text. This does not bother me if the illustrations are a page or two away from text; I have some books where the illustration is dozens of pages away from text!. I might lament my obsession with Franklin Oxford compared to the incredible generosity of illustrations in some cases in the fine EP or Franklin publications. And yes some of those color illustrations are wonderful. I took a calculated risk on 6. And I will not look back on my decision. At Abe’s you might check a retailer named Hood in Kansas. They have 11 volumes left from the set I just purchased. And they will negotiate price for multiple books.

My thoughts exactly 😁

What is the text like in the Franklin Dickens set as compared to the various Easton editions? I have found that the text in some of the other sets which Franklin was involved in lacked richness/sharpness (to my eyes). Also, I find the leather used in Franklin sets a bit flatter and thinner compared to those put out by Easton - is that the case in this set as well?

>55 Ar40: I have half my set in Franklin or Franklin Oxford and remainder in EP. They seem equivalent in text and font quality since none are letterpress.

I was on the sidelines for quite a while between purchasing either the:

1) Folio Society 16 Volumes NoneSuch Dickens (the burgundy quarter leather edition) with the original illustrations by Phiz, etc.
2) Franklin Library/Oxford 21 volume Dickens quarter bound with red leather
3) Easton Press 21 volume Dickens (preferablbly the first version without the Dicken's photo in the front)
4) Franklin Library/Oxford 21 volume full dualtone premium leather leather

In terms of pricing, the first one, the Folio Society version, costs about 1/2 of the prices of the last two and the second one, the quarter leather Franklin Library/Oxford costs about 1/3. The price difference between the last two is about a few hundred dollars with the Franklin Library/Oxford full leather usually costing a bit more.

After reading this forum and doing my own research, I opted for what I feel is the holy grail of these sets, the full leather Franklin Library/Oxford version. I know if I had bought either of the first two, my mind would always be occupied with trying to get the better sets. If I got the Easton Press, I would think why didn't I pay a bit more to get, what I think in my opinion, is an even nicer set produced by the Franklin Library/Oxford at its highest quality era.

I had been patiently waiting on eBay for almost a year to find a complete set in near fine/fine condition that costs less than $2,000 USD. I found one on eBay several days ago. I made an offer of $1,800 Canadian dollars (~$1,350 USD) that was accepted by a Candadian seller. Six of the 21 volumes are still sealed. I had the seller send me additional photos of the set to confirm it was in fine condition.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/113522530614

>57 folio_fl_and_ep:...and your patience has been rewarded. Congrats on the great find!

>57 folio_fl_and_ep: I was wondering who got that set for a steal! Congratulations. Patience is not always rewarded. In your case it was.

>57 folio_fl_and_ep:
Congratulations! A great price for a wonderful set!
Enjoy it!

>58 saintmelville: saintmelville
>59 HugoDumas: HugoDumas
>60 booksforreading: booksforreading

Thank you everyone and I would also like to thank this group for all the helpful topics and posts on this forum. The posts were very valuable and helpful in guiding my decision on which set (Folio Society, Easton Press or Franklin Library) to purchase. I have to admit, the money I spent was quite a lot of money and it has burned a huge hole in my wallet, but it was worth it to me. It isn't every day you are able to get this set in fine condition and under $1,400 USD.

The books arrived Friday. The seller sent the books in two big boxes with each book individually wrapped. Shipment was by air from Canada Post. Since I live in San Francisco and right next to the large international airport, I got the books three days after seller shipped (usually when shipment is by air, I get most items from international sellers on eBay within a few days after they ship). Since it is two big boxes and air mail, I think the seller probably paid much more than the $100 CAD that she charged me for shipping.

One of my biggest concerns with buying any Easton Press or Franklin Library books online is when seller neglects or minimizes in their description of any scratches or damages to the gilt on the edge of the pages. I was so glad and relieved when I unwrapped all the books that this was not a problem at all! It also helped that I asked the seller to send me several close up pictures of the gilt before I made my offer.

I see another set in fine/mint condition just listed on etsy recently, but for much more:
https://www.etsy.com/listing/673013061/oxford-library-of-charles-dickens

>61 folio_fl_and_ep:

The second set you found, which costs more, doesn't look like it's worth it: most or all of the spines look faded, going towards that miserable pink. The top and bottom boards, which wouldn't ever see much sunlight, seem fine but the spines look horrible.

I've never bought from Etsy before. Any thoughts or comments?

>62 treereader: I suspect the fading is due to poor picture quality. I cannot imagine such a significant flaw would not be mentioned.

Another fine Franklin Library Dickens set listed on eBay just now:

https://www.ebay.com/itm/Charles-Dickens-Collection-The-Franklin-Library-Oxford-...

>64 folio_fl_and_ep: great price. My brother paid $2,400 for a near mint set.