Charles Dickens’s Pocket Watch Is Heading to Auction This Month
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You probably already own a couple of Charles Dickens’s books, but now you can have one of his timepieces, too.
A vintage pocket watch once owned by the late, great English novelist is about to go under the gavel at Stride & Son in the U.K. The sale, which will take place in Chichester, West Sussex, on March 6, will also include a mid-19th-century desk set that Dickens gave his daughter for her 20th birthday. Both items are of “national importance,” Barnaby Chiari of Stride & Son says.
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Dating from 1836, the William IV gilt-metal pocket watch was gifted to the famous Victorian-era author on the first anniversary of his editorship of Bentleys Miscellany magazine, according to the auction house. (Dickens later resigned from his position as editor after falling out with publisher Richard Bentley in 1839.) The 45 mm case is engraved with the words “Dearest ‘Boz’ Editor Bentleys Miscellany Dec. 1836” and the initials “CD.” (Boz was a pseudonym the Great Expectations writer used in his early career.) In addition, the fusee movement within the open-faced key-wind timepiece has been signed by 19th-century watchmaker William Tyas.
“The watch would appear to be unprecedented in terms of historical Dickens memorabilia, both as a talisman of the author’s early literary career, and a unique object, the like of which we can find no comparison,” Chiari adds.
Dating from 1859, the walnut ebonized desk is ornately brass bound and engraved with the words “Happy Birthday Little ‘Lucifer Box.'” According to the auction house, Dickens is said to have referred to his daughter as Lucifer Box because of her firey temper. The lid of the lower section is also fitted with a circular plaque inscribed with “Catherine Elizabeth Dickens.” Dickens had 10 children, but only eight reached adulthood. Catherine, nicknamed Kate or Katey, was the author’s youngest surviving daughter and his favorite, according to her siblings.
Both lots are being put up for sale following the death of a Dickens descendant in the Portsmouth area. The pocket watch is expected to fetch between $2,500 and $5,300 (£2,000 and £4,000), while the desk is set to hammer down for between $500 and $750 (£400 and £600). Quite the steal, really.
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