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DICKENS (CHARLES) A Christmas Carol. In Prose. Being a Ghost Story of Christmas, FIRST EDITION, SMITH'S FIRST ISSUE, SECOND STATE, Chapman & Hall, 1843 image 1
DICKENS (CHARLES) A Christmas Carol. In Prose. Being a Ghost Story of Christmas, FIRST EDITION, SMITH'S FIRST ISSUE, SECOND STATE, Chapman & Hall, 1843 image 2
DICKENS (CHARLES) A Christmas Carol. In Prose. Being a Ghost Story of Christmas, FIRST EDITION, SMITH'S FIRST ISSUE, SECOND STATE, Chapman & Hall, 1843 image 3
Property of Oxfam
Lot 94

DICKENS (CHARLES)
A Christmas Carol. In Prose. Being a Ghost Story of Christmas, FIRST EDITION, SMITH'S FIRST ISSUE, SECOND STATE, Chapman & Hall, 1843

Amended
10 – 20 March 2025, 12:00 GMT
Online, London, Knightsbridge

Sold for £16,640 inc. premium

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DICKENS (CHARLES)

A Christmas Carol. In Prose. Being a Ghost Story of Christmas, FIRST EDITION, SMITH'S FIRST ISSUE, SECOND STATE, with title-page dated 1843 and printed in red and blue, the text uncorrected, "Stave I" on p.[1] and light green endpapers, half-title, hand-coloured etched frontispiece and 3 plates after John Leech, 4 wood-engravings by W.J. Linton after Leech in the text, 2pp. advertisements at the end, faint spotting and toning, light uneven fading to endpapers, publisher's cinnamon vertically-ribbed cloth, stamped in blind and gilt, (Todd's first impression, first issue with 14-15mm. between closest points of blind-stamping and gold wreath of upper cover, upper serif of "D" unbroken), g.e., a little cocked, spine sunned, corners and extremities of spine slightly bumped [Eckel pp.110-115; Smith II:4; William B. Todd, in The Book Collector, Winter 1961, pp.449-454], 12mo (164 x 100mm.), Chapman & Hall, 1843

Footnotes

FIRST EDITION OF DICKENS'S MOST ENDURING CHRISTMAS BOOK, the first issue with "Stave I" in the first chapter heading, the text uncorrected, the red and blue title-page dated 1843, and green endpapers. Dickens had requested the title be printed in red and green with green endpapers to match, but he was disappointed with the appearance of the green printing. The title was subsequently printed in red and blue, the title-page date changed to 1843 (rather than the gift book convention of using the following year's date), and the green endpapers replaced with yellow ones. However, the sheets continued to be issued in various combinations with no clear priority, resulting, as in this case, with some copies showing a mixture of features from the first, second and third state.

"Dickens' changes of mind [regarding the production] led to a period in December of 1843 when there were on hand at the printers and the binders different endpapers, title-pages, half-titles and text pages already printed, though not yet cased--a situation that led to copies going out with mixed features" (Lee Biondi, Firsts, September 1997, p.30).

Provenance: Richard J. A. Leslie, bookplate.

Saleroom notices

Please note full-page neat ink addition "Mr. Charles Dickens' Farewell Reading..." on recto of rear free endpaper.

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