A rare collection of books and historical memorabilia from Charles Dickens—arguably the most prominent author of the Victorian period—will be on display at DeGolyer Library until May 12.

Dickens achieved fame during the Victorian period for his periodical style of writing that involved monthly cliffhangers and summaries.

Formally named “Charles Dickens: The First Two Hundred Years,” the collection comes from Stephen Weeks, an SMU parent.

The DeGolyer Library and the Friends of the SMU Libraries are sponsoring the exhibition.

“It is an honor to have such a treasure at our libraries,” Pamalla Anderson, head of public services at the DeGolyer Library, said. “It is an absolute joy to see these pieces.”

The collection contains many first edition publications from “David Copperfield” to “A Tale of Two Cities.” Lesser known works like “Little Dorrit,” “Bleak House” and “Dombey and Son” are also on display.

More eclectic collections include “The Opinion of the Press” by Dickens’ scholar, B.W. Matz, and “Dickens’s Dictionary of London, 1886: An Unconventional Handbook,” a dictionary printed without Dickens’ permission.

Prominent Dickens illustrators like George Cruikshank have numerous pieces in the exhibition. Cruikshank produced more than 15,000 book illustrations throughout his lifetime.

His works are so precise in detail that many historians look to them for more knowledge about Victorian architecture and clothing.

“We have school groups and archivists coming in. Kids and adults are interested to see what we have here,” Anderson said. “It is much more than just a ‘wow’ factor.”

The DeGolyer Library is optimistic about the number of people that will come visit the exhibition in the upcoming months.

“We hope the English department and students come in to see the pieces,” Anderson said. “Even history majors studying the Victorian era will get a lot out of this collection.”

Local high school and university students have been encouraged to plan fieldtrips to DeGolyer.

But the exhibition has also sparked national interest.

“I have already sold material to people from Rhode Island and New York,” Anderson said.

With some of Dickens’ first editions running in the thousands, the collection is valuable from both a monetary and magnitude standpoint.

“We have Dickens’ top 200 pieces on display in commemoration of 2012 being 200 years from his birth,” Anderson said.

“Anyone that wants a rich context for that time in history from much more than a literary standpoint should come give it a look.”