Dickens’S Bleak House

Introduction

THE VANN VICTORIAN COLLECTION The Vann Victorian Collection is a treasure of the University of North Texas Libraries and an exceptional resource for the study of Victorian literature. This exhibit showcases some pieces from the collection, including rare first editions, part-issue editions, and association copies. Dr. J. Don Vann, Professor Emeritus at UNT, curated this exhibit. Don and Dolores Vann began collecting Victorian books in 1962, when they acquired a first edition of Dickens’s Bleak House. They spent the summer of 1965 in London, conducting research in the British Library and buying first editions of works by Charles Dickens and William Makepeace Thackeray. During their subsequent trips to London, the Vanns came to know many of the city’s booksellers and were offered first editions they kept hidden from all but their most favorite customers. In 2004 Don and Dolores established the Vann Victorian Endowment to provide a permanent fund to pur- chase Victorian books for the Vann Victorian Collection in Special Collections at the University of North Texas Libraries. Since 2004 the Vanns have made additional contributions to the collection, most recently in 2014. Opposite: Portrait of Charles Dickens by C. Watkins, London Stereoscopic Company, 1861. University of North Texas Special Collections, Image No. UNTA_AR0823-01-02. Acquired with funds from the Vann Victorian Endowment, 2014.

THE VANN VICTORIAN COLLECTION | 1 Introduction

THE VANN VICTORIAN COLLECTION | 1 Dickens and Victorian Britain Part Issue Publishing

The Victorian era in Britain was a period of unprece- THE PART-ISSUE FORMAT dented population growth, urbanization, and industri- Beginning with his first novel, The Posthumous Papers of alization. It was also a period of deep division between the Pickwick Club, Dickens used a “part issue” format, the rich and poor. While the wealthy and growing with each part containing thirty-two pages of text with middle-class populations were entertained by two engraved illustrations bound in green paper. There spectacular exhibitions of art and natural history, were twenty monthly parts appearing on the last day times were much harder for the poor and of the month, the last part a double issue containing working classes. both parts XIX and XX. Each part contained several Rapid industrialization and urbanization pages of advertisements. The last part contained a title resulted in high unemployment and housing page, preface, dedication, and table of contents, so the shortages. Many people were forced into tenement purchaser could take the entire thing to a binder and houses and lived in deplorable conditions. It was in this have it made into a bound volume. atmosphere that a young Charles Dickens grew up, in Until Dickens began publishing, the part issue a slum he described as “as shabby, dingy, damp, and had been used almost exclusively for reprinting pop- mean a neighborhood, as one would desire not to see.” ular works, such as encyclopedias and the Bible. Nine Shortly after his twelfth birthday Dickens was sent of his novels were published in this format, with the by his debt-ridden family to work in a shoe-blacking unfinished work The Mystery of Edwin Drood projected factory alongside other children, some as young as four for twelve parts. His other six novels were published in years old. Dickens’ family could only afford to keep The Life of Charles Dickens magazines. After serialization the novels were offered him in school for a few short years. His father served on sale as bound volumes. time in a debtors’ prison. Forster, John. The Life of Charles Dickens. London, The experiences of Dickens’ childhood left him 1900. Print. Pickwick Abroad with a lifelong concern for the most helpless and At Dickens’s request, his best friend, literary and Posthumous Papers of neglected members of society. legal advisor, and executor of his estate, John Forster the Pickwick Club Reynolds, George W. M. Pickwick Abroad: Or, the Tour in France. London:, 1839. Print. His experiences in early (1812–1876), wrote the first authorized biography. Dickens, Charles, Robert Seymour, and Hablot K. Browne. life provided him with much The novelist left Forster all his papers—manuscripts, The Posthumous Papers of the Pickwick Club. London, Because of lax enforcement of copyright law, Dickens 1837. Print. inspiration for his corrected proofs and letters—to use as sources. Forster was the victim of plagia- later novels. Dickens began work shortly after Dickens’s death in 1870. In a matter of months, The Pickwick Papers skyrocketed rism from the beginning, especially had sympathy The first volume appeared in 1872 and two further the young Dickens from obscurity to the position of with artists selling “extra” for children, whom volumes in 1873 and 1874. Forster’s Life has remained the best-selling novelist of his time. While the first sets of illustrations (not he compassionately the classic, essential source for all subsequent biog- three monthly parts sold only a few hundred copies, his authorized by Dickens) portrayed again and raphies despite Forster’s reticence about details of final installments sold approximately 40,000 copies, as to the novel. When the again in characters Dickens’s private life. everyone seemed to be reading the novel. Published in serialization was complete, like Tiny Tim Forster gave all of Dickens’s papers to the twenty parts, Pickwick was the publishing sensation of George Reynolds began a Cratchit, David Victoria and Albert Museum in London, where they the century. All sorts of association merchandise could new serial, Pickwick Abroad, Copperfield, and are gathered in the Forster Collection, a treasure trove be found for sale in shops: plates, mugs, teapots, pitch- purported to be a continua- Oliver Twist. for scholars. ers, spoons, many with images of the Pickwick characters. tion of Dickens’s novel.

2 | THE VANN VICTORIAN COLLECTION THE VANN VICTORIAN COLLECTION | 3 Dickens and Victorian Britain Part Issue Publishing

2 | THE VANN VICTORIAN COLLECTION THE VANN VICTORIAN COLLECTION | 3 Our Mutual Friend One of Our Conquerors literary fame as a comic nov- Dickens, Charles. Our Mutual Friend. Illus. Marcus Stone. Meredith, George. One of Our Conquerors. London, elist. Pendennis (November London, 1865. Print. 1891. Print. 1848–December 1849) was published serially at about Our Mutual Friend was Dickens fourteenth novel, the George Meredith (1828–1909) was a poet and novel- the same time as Dickens’s first part published in May 1864 and ist. Since income from the sale of books was irregular, David Copperfield (May 1849– the last part in November 1865. Meredith supplemented it by working as a publisher’s November 1950). The The novel is a parable of the reader for Chapman & Hall, Dickens’s first publisher public was unaware that corruption brought my money. decades earlier. both were autobiographi- Characters inhabit a hollow, One of Our Conquerors is an example of the cal novels. middle-class existence Victorian “triple decker,” a three-volume format that This first edition of Pendennis is characterized by greed had been the standard for the publication of respect- complete in two volumes; both are bound in ¾ green and pretense. able novels since the time of Sir Walter Scott in the leather and marbled paper-covered boards. The spines The novel early 1800s. The typical length of the triple decker are divided into six major sections with ornate gilt was illustrated by was around 900 pages (150,000 to 200,000 words). floral designs and applied dark red/maroon spine a law clerk, learned shorthand in order to become a Marcus Stone. This The price was half a guinea (10s 6d) per volume or labels with gilt titles. Both volumes show evidence of court reporter, and was a successful novelist. Later illustration, sarcas- a guinea and a half for the entire work—perhaps the stab holes in pages, suggesting that either the original Dickens revisited his childhood in creating some of tically titled “The equivalent of a week’s wages for a typical working part issues were rebound by the customer or were sold the events in the life of Pip in Great Expectations. Happy Pair,” shows person. Thus, when Dickens began his serialized novels as the first bound edition produced by the publisher This volume of David Copperfield is a first two characters from in part issue at 2s per installment, a mode that was from unsold part issues. edition; later editions of the same year omit the date. the novel, Mr. and Mrs. The contents of the book were issued in twenty Lammle, walking moodily monthly parts, from May 1849 to November 1850. on the beach. They are This copy bound without wrappers and advertise- walking several steps apart and Mr. Lammle’s face is ments in ¾ brown leather and brown moire-marbled downcast as he drags his cane behind him. paper-covered boards. The spine is divided into seven compartments by single gilt rules.

immediately widely copied, many more people could afford to buy literary works. These three volumes are bound in blue cloth over boards with black stamped decorations on the front covers, a blind-stamped publisher’s device on the back covers, and gilt lettering on the spines. The Personal History of David Copperfield The History of Pendennis Dickens, Charles. The Personal History of David Copperfield. Illus. H. K. Browne. London, 1850. Print. Thackeray, William M. The History of Pendennis: His Fortunes and Misfortunes, His Friends and His Dickens called David Copperfield “my favorite child,” Greatest Enemy. London, 1849. Print. perhaps because the author was able to fictionalize William Makepeace Thackeray (1811–1863) was many of the events of his life: like Dickens, David a friend of Dickens as well as his chief rival for worked in a factory in London as a child, worked as

4 | THE VANN VICTORIAN COLLECTION THE VANN VICTORIAN COLLECTION | 5 Our Mutual Friend One of Our Conquerors literary fame as a comic nov- Dickens, Charles. Our Mutual Friend. Illus. Marcus Stone. Meredith, George. One of Our Conquerors. London, elist. Pendennis (November London, 1865. Print. 1891. Print. 1848–December 1849) was published serially at about Our Mutual Friend was Dickens fourteenth novel, the George Meredith (1828–1909) was a poet and novel- the same time as Dickens’s first part published in May 1864 and ist. Since income from the sale of books was irregular, David Copperfield (May 1849– the last part in November 1865. Meredith supplemented it by working as a publisher’s November 1950). The The novel is a parable of the reader for Chapman & Hall, Dickens’s first publisher public was unaware that corruption brought my money. decades earlier. both were autobiographi- Characters inhabit a hollow, One of Our Conquerors is an example of the cal novels. middle-class existence Victorian “triple decker,” a three-volume format that This first edition of Pendennis is characterized by greed had been the standard for the publication of respect- complete in two volumes; both are bound in ¾ green and pretense. able novels since the time of Sir Walter Scott in the leather and marbled paper-covered boards. The spines The novel early 1800s. The typical length of the triple decker are divided into six major sections with ornate gilt was illustrated by was around 900 pages (150,000 to 200,000 words). floral designs and applied dark red/maroon spine a law clerk, learned shorthand in order to become a Marcus Stone. This The price was half a guinea (10s 6d) per volume or labels with gilt titles. Both volumes show evidence of court reporter, and was a successful novelist. Later illustration, sarcas- a guinea and a half for the entire work—perhaps the stab holes in pages, suggesting that either the original Dickens revisited his childhood in creating some of tically titled “The equivalent of a week’s wages for a typical working part issues were rebound by the customer or were sold the events in the life of Pip in Great Expectations. Happy Pair,” shows person. Thus, when Dickens began his serialized novels as the first bound edition produced by the publisher This volume of David Copperfield is a first two characters from in part issue at 2s per installment, a mode that was from unsold part issues. edition; later editions of the same year omit the date. the novel, Mr. and Mrs. The contents of the book were issued in twenty Lammle, walking moodily monthly parts, from May 1849 to November 1850. on the beach. They are This copy bound without wrappers and advertise- walking several steps apart and Mr. Lammle’s face is ments in ¾ brown leather and brown moire-marbled downcast as he drags his cane behind him. paper-covered boards. The spine is divided into seven compartments by single gilt rules. immediately widely copied, many more people could afford to buy literary works. These three volumes are bound in blue cloth over boards with black stamped decorations on the front covers, a blind-stamped publisher’s device on the back covers, and gilt lettering on the spines. The Personal History of David Copperfield The History of Pendennis Dickens, Charles. The Personal History of David Copperfield. Illus. H. K. Browne. London, 1850. Print. Thackeray, William M. The History of Pendennis: His Fortunes and Misfortunes, His Friends and His Dickens called David Copperfield “my favorite child,” Greatest Enemy. London, 1849. Print. perhaps because the author was able to fictionalize William Makepeace Thackeray (1811–1863) was many of the events of his life: like Dickens, David a friend of Dickens as well as his chief rival for worked in a factory in London as a child, worked as

4 | THE VANN VICTORIAN COLLECTION THE VANN VICTORIAN COLLECTION | 5 Magazines All the Year Round Dickens, Charles. All the Year Round. London, 1859. Print. Master Humphrey’s Clock in 1837 at age seventeen in his arms, an event that traumatized him. Readers of the serial could sense that Dickens edited the weekly magazine Dickens, Charles. Master Humphrey’s Clock. Illus. Household Words from its inception in George Cattermole and Hablot Browne. London, Nell was dying. Many wrote to beg him to let her live. 1840–1841. Print. In Boston Harbor as a clipper ship bringing the latest May 1850 to November 1859, leaving the editorship over a dispute with the Master Humphrey’s Clock was a weekly magazine (April installment of the novel approached the wharf, eager readers crowded onto it and shouted out to sailors on publishers, Bradbury and Evans. He 4, 1840—December 4, 1841) edited and completely then founded another magazine, All the written by Dickens. In it he published two of his deck, “Is Little Nell dead?” This illustration from The Old Curiosity Shop pictures Year Round, which began publication in novels, The Old Curiosity Shop and Barnaby Rudge. January 1860. He continued as editor the villain Daniel Quilp, a moneylender set to cheat until his death in June 1870. and ruin the lives of others. Two of his novels, A Tale of Two Cities and Great Expectations, were published in Household Words All the Year Round. Dickens, Charles. Household Words. London, 1850. Print. Dickens edited the weekly magazine Household Words from March 1850 until May 1859. The price, a mere 2p, insured it a vast audience. Dickens serialized the Dickens and Christmas

A Christmas Carol Dickens, Charles. A Christmas Carol: In Prose: Being a Ghost Story of Christmas. Illus. John Leech. London, 1844. Print. In The Old Curiosity Shop, with the death of the In 1843, with his fifth child on the way, Dickens was following months, and has never been out of print. The character Little Nell, Dickens recreated, and relived, short of money and hit upon the Carol has been described as “the most perfect work the death of his sister-in-law, Mary Hogarth, who died idea of writing a short Christmas Dickens ever wrote.” Ebenezer Scrooge is far and novel as a quick way to increase away Dickens’s best-known character, even among the balance of his bank account, people who have never read Dickens. writing the book in only six weeks. There are some over-enthusiastic fans who Because he lavished care on it, even say that Dickens invented Christmas. The fact is insisting on hand-colored plates, that among the upper classes of Victorian Britain, novels of many writers but only one of his own, Hard it brought in only a fraction of the the celebration of Christmas had been muted Times, in the magazine, although his A Child’s History profit he had hoped despite many since the Puritans’ “war on Christmas” during of England appeared there as well. He had intended to copies being sold. their rule (1642–1660). What Dickens did publish Hard Times in part issue in twenty monthly Appearing on December 19, was to make Christmas celebrations respectable installments but published it in the magazine to bolster 1843, it was an instant success, going again and restore the joy and warmth of slumping sales. through many re-printings in the the season.

6 | THE VANN VICTORIAN COLLECTION THE VANN VICTORIAN COLLECTION | 7 Magazines All the Year Round Dickens, Charles. All the Year Round. London, 1859. Print. Master Humphrey’s Clock in 1837 at age seventeen in his arms, an event that traumatized him. Readers of the serial could sense that Dickens edited the weekly magazine Dickens, Charles. Master Humphrey’s Clock. Illus. Household Words from its inception in George Cattermole and Hablot Browne. London, Nell was dying. Many wrote to beg him to let her live. 1840–1841. Print. In Boston Harbor as a clipper ship bringing the latest May 1850 to November 1859, leaving the editorship over a dispute with the Master Humphrey’s Clock was a weekly magazine (April installment of the novel approached the wharf, eager readers crowded onto it and shouted out to sailors on publishers, Bradbury and Evans. He 4, 1840—December 4, 1841) edited and completely then founded another magazine, All the written by Dickens. In it he published two of his deck, “Is Little Nell dead?” This illustration from The Old Curiosity Shop pictures Year Round, which began publication in novels, The Old Curiosity Shop and Barnaby Rudge. January 1860. He continued as editor the villain Daniel Quilp, a moneylender set to cheat until his death in June 1870. and ruin the lives of others. Two of his novels, A Tale of Two Cities and Great Expectations, were published in Household Words All the Year Round. Dickens, Charles. Household Words. London, 1850. Print. Dickens edited the weekly magazine Household Words from March 1850 until May 1859. The price, a mere 2p, insured it a vast audience. Dickens serialized the Dickens and Christmas

6 | THE VANN VICTORIAN COLLECTION THE VANN VICTORIAN COLLECTION | 7 This first edition is during the holiday season. Each year he produced a bound in a publisher’s special “extra Christmas number” of Household Words, Poetry embossed and textured employing a frame plot to bring together a series of brown cloth with a gilt stories by a variety of writers. The Christmas number The Strayed Reveller wreath and titles on the typically sold around 300,000 copies. Arnold, Matthew. The Strayed Reveller: cover and with gilt titles This 48-page volume is bound in blue paper wrap- And Other Poems. London, 1849. Print. and decorations on the pers and contains a tipped-in notice of the completion In 1849 Matthew Arnold (1822–1888) spine. The title page published his first book of poems, incorrectly identifies The Strayed Reveler, but because he did this as a fourth edi- not want to trade on the fame of tion; it was likely the his father, Thomas Arnold, he fourth printing of the first signed the book with the edition from the original form. initial “A.” Thomas Arnold was a historian who became “Fezziwig’s Ball” the headmaster of the Rugby Of the eight illustrations in the first edition of A School, celebrated by Thomas Christmas Carol none is better known than “Fezziwig’s Hughes in Tom Brown’s School Days. Matthew Arnold soon achieved fame on his own, becoming Ball,” considered to be the most popular non-secular of Our Mutual Friend, with other works advertised on image of the holiday. a major voice of Victorian skepticism. the reverse of the notice. Doctor Marigold’s Prescriptions was This very rare first edition is bound in the written in collaboration with other writers; of the eight publisher’s embossed and textured dark green cloth chapters, chapters I, VI, and VII are by Dickens. with gilt spine titles. Only 500 copies of this edition were printed.

Idylls of the King

Tennyson, Alfred T. Idylls of the King. London, 1859. Print. Alfred, Lord Tennyson (1809–1892), published Idylls of the King, a cycle of twelve narrative poems about King Arthur, between 1859 and 1885. They were dedicated to Prince Albert, the deceased husband of Queen Victoria. This first edition contains the first four of the idylls: “Enid,” “Vivien,” “Elaine,” and “Guinevere.” The Doctor Marigold’s Prescriptions volume is complete with publisher’s advertisements in Dickens, Charles. Doctor Marigold’s Prescriptions: the beginning of the volume and is bound in the pub- The Extra Christmas Number of All the Year Round. lisher’s embossed, green cloth with gilt spine titles. London, 1865. Print. Tennyson served as Poet Laureate of Great Britain With the tremendous success of A Christmas Carol, from 1850 until his death. Dickens saw the potential of offering Christmas stories

8 | THE VANN VICTORIAN COLLECTION THE VANN VICTORIAN COLLECTION | 9 This first edition is during the holiday season. Each year he produced a bound in a publisher’s special “extra Christmas number” of Household Words, Poetry embossed and textured employing a frame plot to bring together a series of brown cloth with a gilt stories by a variety of writers. The Christmas number The Strayed Reveller wreath and titles on the typically sold around 300,000 copies. Arnold, Matthew. The Strayed Reveller: cover and with gilt titles This 48-page volume is bound in blue paper wrap- And Other Poems. London, 1849. Print. and decorations on the pers and contains a tipped-in notice of the completion In 1849 Matthew Arnold (1822–1888) spine. The title page published his first book of poems, incorrectly identifies The Strayed Reveler, but because he did this as a fourth edi- not want to trade on the fame of tion; it was likely the his father, Thomas Arnold, he fourth printing of the first signed the book with the edition from the original form. initial “A.” Thomas Arnold was a historian who became “Fezziwig’s Ball” the headmaster of the Rugby Of the eight illustrations in the first edition of A School, celebrated by Thomas Christmas Carol none is better known than “Fezziwig’s Hughes in Tom Brown’s School Days. Matthew Arnold soon achieved fame on his own, becoming Ball,” considered to be the most popular non-secular of Our Mutual Friend, with other works advertised on image of the holiday. a major voice of Victorian skepticism. the reverse of the notice. Doctor Marigold’s Prescriptions was This very rare first edition is bound in the written in collaboration with other writers; of the eight publisher’s embossed and textured dark green cloth chapters, chapters I, VI, and VII are by Dickens. with gilt spine titles. Only 500 copies of this edition were printed.

Idylls of the King

8 | THE VANN VICTORIAN COLLECTION THE VANN VICTORIAN COLLECTION | 9 Writing For Social Reform Sunday Under Three Heads Lloyd’s Sixpenny Dickens Sparks, Timothy. Sunday Under Three Heads: As It Is Dickens, Charles. ‘Lloyd’s’ Sixpenny Dickens. As Sabbath Bills Would Make It, As It Might Be. Illus. A B. Frost, J G. Thomson, Frederick Barnard, Mary Barton Illus. H.K. Browne. London, 1836. Print. John M. L. Ralston, Edward G. Dalziel, Luke Fildes, Francis A. Fraser, Henry French, J Mahoney, Charles Gaskell, Elizabeth C. Mary Barton: A Tale of Manchester Life. This pamphlet, which Dickens published under the Green, Hablot K. Browne, and John Forster. London, Leipzig, 1849. Print. pseudonym Timothy Sparks, is a 1909. Print. Elizabeth Gaskell was a successful novelist who She published half a dozen novels as well as many critique on advocates of a rigid This very inexpensive edition of the works of Dickens serialized three of her novels in Dickens’s Household short stories. Many of Gaskell’s observations on the adherence to the Sabbath. shows how enterprising publishers could cash in on Words. This volume has an interesting provenance, for hardships of the working class—sickness, hunger, and Dickens believed that the popularity of Dickens. For a very small sum one it belonged to Anne Thackeray (1837–1919), whose poverty—are found in Mary Barton. the working class, who could assemble a collection of Dickens’s works. Volume initials “A.I.P” are found gilt-stamped into the first This volume is 400 pages (later editions typically only had one 18 (Little Dorrit) and Volume 21 (Nicholas Nickleby) are spine compartment from the head and whose signa- were 423 pages), ¾ bound with marbled paper over day off from work, shown here. ture appears at the top of the title page. The eldest boards. The spine is in six compartments with a should be allowed daughter of the novelist William Makepeace Thackeray, gilt-stamped title in the second compartment from to enjoy their day Anne was a lifelong friend of the Dickens children. the head. off in any way they wished. This pamphlet is one of Dickens’s earliest published works.

10 | THE VANN VICTORIAN COLLECTION THE VANN VICTORIAN COLLECTION | 11 Writing For Social Reform Sunday Under Three Heads Lloyd’s Sixpenny Dickens Sparks, Timothy. Sunday Under Three Heads: As It Is Dickens, Charles. ‘Lloyd’s’ Sixpenny Dickens. As Sabbath Bills Would Make It, As It Might Be. Illus. A B. Frost, J G. Thomson, Frederick Barnard, Mary Barton Illus. H.K. Browne. London, 1836. Print. John M. L. Ralston, Edward G. Dalziel, Luke Fildes, Francis A. Fraser, Henry French, J Mahoney, Charles Gaskell, Elizabeth C. Mary Barton: A Tale of Manchester Life. This pamphlet, which Dickens published under the Green, Hablot K. Browne, and John Forster. London, Leipzig, 1849. Print. pseudonym Timothy Sparks, is a 1909. Print. Elizabeth Gaskell was a successful novelist who She published half a dozen novels as well as many critique on advocates of a rigid This very inexpensive edition of the works of Dickens serialized three of her novels in Dickens’s Household short stories. Many of Gaskell’s observations on the adherence to the Sabbath. shows how enterprising publishers could cash in on Words. This volume has an interesting provenance, for hardships of the working class—sickness, hunger, and Dickens believed that the popularity of Dickens. For a very small sum one it belonged to Anne Thackeray (1837–1919), whose poverty—are found in Mary Barton. the working class, who could assemble a collection of Dickens’s works. Volume initials “A.I.P” are found gilt-stamped into the first This volume is 400 pages (later editions typically only had one 18 (Little Dorrit) and Volume 21 (Nicholas Nickleby) are spine compartment from the head and whose signa- were 423 pages), ¾ bound with marbled paper over day off from work, shown here. ture appears at the top of the title page. The eldest boards. The spine is in six compartments with a should be allowed daughter of the novelist William Makepeace Thackeray, gilt-stamped title in the second compartment from to enjoy their day Anne was a lifelong friend of the Dickens children. the head. off in any way they wished. This pamphlet is one of Dickens’s earliest published works.

10 | THE VANN VICTORIAN COLLECTION THE VANN VICTORIAN COLLECTION | 11 Don and Dolores Vann An Interview with Dr. Vann

DR. J. DON VANN Library, felt immediately at home, and has made In this series of short videos you may hear Dr. Vann many trips since (he does not know the exact number, discuss his research in Victorian literature, his member- J. Don Vann is a retired University of North Texas but estimates it at somewhere around forty). Several ship in the Pickwick Club, and his philosophy on Regent’s Professor and Professor Emeritus in English. of these trips have been for five-month stays while book collecting. He received his B.A. and M.A. degrees from TCU and on research grants. In 1984–85 he taught at Christ’s his Ph.D. from Texas Tech, then joined the faculty of Hospital, an English Boy’s school founded in 1553, the UNT in 1964. He taught courses in Victorian liter- first American ever to have taught there. Also, he taught ature, particularly Dickens, Tennyson, and Browning. in the UNT London program in the fall of 1993 and His doctoral dissertation on the critical reception of has taken classes of UNT students for summer courses David Copperfield in London newspapers led him to in London on three occasions. be a founding member of the Research Society for Having been members of the London Dickens Victorian Periodicals in which he held various offices. Fellowship for many years, Don and his wife, Dolores, He is also a member of and regularly attends the founded the Denton Dickens Fellowship in 1987. annual meeting of the London Pickwick Club, founded The branch received a charter from the international by Cedric Dickens, a great-grandson of the novelist. Dickens Fellowship the following year. On two occa- Don is the author or editor of eight books and dozens sions he was given the honor of delivering the eulogy at of articles. A ninth book, Tennyson’s Theory of Poetry the annual wreath-laying ceremony at Dickens’s grave in is underway. Poet’s Corner, Westminster Abbey. A confirmed Anglophile, he made his first visit Dr. J. Don Van biography taken from Denton to England in 1965 to conduct research at the British Dickens Fellowship website. Access the videos now using your smart phone or mobile device using the QR code below:

Acknowledgements All books in this exhibit are a part of the Vann Victorian Special thanks to the donors to the UNT Collection, UNT Libraries Special Collections. Libraries’ Dean’s Innovation Fund for providing the Cover illustration by Kelsea Bauer. Book photogra- funding to produce this catalog. phy by Derek Rankin. Portrait photography and videos by Josh Sylve.

12 | THE VANN VICTORIAN COLLECTION THE VANN VICTORIAN COLLECTION | 13 Don and Dolores Vann An Interview with Dr. Vann

12 | THE VANN VICTORIAN COLLECTION THE VANN VICTORIAN COLLECTION | 13 Visit the exhibit online at: exhibits.library.unt.edu/vann-victorian [email protected] (940) 565-2769

PDS_135662-9/14 S755