A Tale of Two Cities de Dickens, Charles - 1859

London: Chapman and Hall, 1859. 1st Edition. Hardcover. Very Good. Original maroon cloth covers, rebacked with matching leather spine. With Illustrations by H.K. Browne. 1859. First edition, second state with title-page still dated 1859 but with corrected pagination on page 213 and no signature "b" on the list of plates. Octavo. [i-vii]viii[ix-x], [1]2-254 pp. Sixteen inserted plates, including frontispiece and vignette title, by Browne ['Phiz']. From the silk manufacturing family empire of George Courtauld, signed and dated 1859 by George Courtauld (unclear if the father or the son) on the front free endpaper, and with the bookplate of (son or brother) Sydney Courtauld on the front pastedown. A vestige of British history. Far more desirable with the original cloth instead of the far more common complete rebinding. Housed in a custom-made collector's slipcase.