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Discover Dickens through his work, his home and the things that mattered to him most
A Woodblock Illustration
In this video, join Curator Louisa Price as she shows you a woodblock of John Leech’s famous illustration, ‘Mr. Fezziwig’s Ball’ – the only illustration to be used in Dickens’s 1852 cheap edition of his Christmas stories.
The Ill Fated Binding of ‘The Rubaiyat’ by Sangorski & Sutcliffe
In this video bookseller Ben Maggs shares with us the wonderfully tragic tale of the most valuable, luxurious, book bindings of all time.
Circulating Libraries and the Beginnings of Maggs. Bros
The Beautifully Bound Books of Sangorski and Sutcliffe
Join bookseller Ben Maggs of Maggs Bros as he shares with us two beautifully bound books by the master binders featuring gold tooling, inlay inscriptions, and even precious stones.
Reading by Tallow Candles and Rushlight
From the 1850s, wealthier homes were lit with gas light but for most readers this was unaffordable. This meant the use of tallow – animal fat in the form of rushlights or tallow candles. In this video, Prof. Simon Eliot outlines just a few of the drawbacks and frustrations these light sources would have caused.
The First Cloth Bound Books
In this video, join guest Curator Prof. Simon Eliot as he explains these developments at a pivotal time in the world of publishing.
Dickens experiments with colour in A Christmas Carol
In this video, join Curator Louisa Price as she shows you a rare trail edition of the Carol and explains the importance of colour.
First edition of 'A Christmas Carol'
Object in focus: First edition of A Christmas Carol
Print block for ‘Fezziwig’s Ball’
Object in focus: Print block for ‘Fezziwig’s Ball’