Description
First edition, first issue of A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens, published in 1843.
Small octavo, [x], [1]-166pp, [2pp ads]. Full brown calf, five raised bands, title in gilt on spine. Bound by Morrell Bindery of London, with bindery imprint to front endpaper. Thin border stamped in blind to covers. Gilt trim and turn-ins. All edges gilt. Marbled endpapers. Publisher’s cloth covers and spine affixed to rear flyleaves. Publisher’s green endpapers included. Solid text block, transference to endpapers from gilt turn-ins, touch of wear along both hinges, a near fine example.
The first issue, with half-title printed in blue, title page printed in blue and red, “Stave I” on page 1. Preface dated “December, 1843.”
(Shepherd 31) (Smith II, 4) (Todd, 170)
Complete with four hand-colored plates, including a frontispiece, and four wood engravings, all by John Leach.
Housed in a brown cloth slipcase. Bookplate of Robert Hoe III affixed to front pastedown.
Inspired by a troubling parliamentary commissioner’s report on the working conditions for children in factories and mines, Charles Dickens wrote “A Christmas Carol” in 1843 to show the average reader the struggles facing members of the lower classes. By early 1844, the novella was a global success, with publications like Fraser’s Magazine calling it “a national benefit and to every man or woman who reads it a personal kindness.”
