A Christmas Carol. In Prose. Being a Ghost Story of Christmas.

With Illustrations by John Leech.

Publisher: London: Chapman & Hall, 1843

Stock code: 59668

Price: £4,500

First edition, first issue text with the second issue yellow endpapers. Dickens’s lavish gift book was one of his biggest publishing triumphs and the foundation of many of the elements of the modern Christmas festival. With first issue points: the half-title in blue, the title page in red and blue, and “STAVE I” at head of text. The publishers had originally chosen green-coated endpapers, but part-way through the printing decided to switch to yellow. The stock of yellow-papered copies was sold off first, followed by the green, so there is some debate as to which copies should be considered true first issues.

Octavo. Original reddish-brown cloth, titles to spine and cover gilt, floral panelling to boards in blind, yellow coated endpapers. Hand-coloured steel engraved frontispiece and 3 plates, 4 woodcuts within the text. Ownership signature to half-title. Spine rolled and faded, boards lightly rubbed with dampstain and a small mark to upper board, contents lightly toned with occasional spotting and a few small areas of dampstain. A very good copy.