This silver floral engraved snuffbox with an inscription from Charles Dickens’ former tutor will be offered at auction by Philip Serrell on May 14.
It carries a remarkable inscription: To Charles Dickens Esquire "The Inimitable Boz" with no less admiration for his gentleness and generosity than for the devotion of his brilliant talents to the advancement of literature & the melioration of the condition of the distressed. From his sincerely attached friend & former Tutor W. Giles.
William Giles was Dickens' schoolmaster at Chatham. In 1836, when the box was made, Dickens was just 24 years of age and the author of Sketches by Boz.
His first novel, The Pickwick Papers, was published in instalments in this and the following year.
Mr Serrell has given it an estimate of £8000-12,000. Contact 01684 892 314.
