This lot is closed for bidding. Bidding ended on 2/25/2023
[DIRTY DICK] The History of the Extraordinary Dirty Warehouse in Leadenhall Street. London: Printed for T. Wilson…, 1803. One third polished calf over marbled boards with roan spine label lettered in gilt. Wood-engraved frontispiece picturing Nathaniel Bentley (Dirty Dick) above his warehouse. 12mo. General toning to text block, small hole in D3 affecting one word on each page. [Bound together with] Alfred the Great in Which is Related his Conquests over the Danes… . London: Printed and Published for John Arliss, ca. 1800. Engraved frontispiece, title page engraving. [1], 2 – 36. 12mo. Bentley’s nickname was derived from the fact that he refused to wash himself after the unexpected death of his fiancée on their wedding day. Thereafter he became famous for his filth; even his warehouse and shop in London were well-known as being both shambolic and dirty. Bentley was said to be the inspiration for the character Miss Havisham in Dickens’ Great Expectations.