Dickens, Charles | "A Christmas Carol"—first edition, second issue, the Suzannet-Self copy

Dickens, Charles

A Christmas Carol. London: Chapman and Hall, 1843

8vo. Half-title and verso of title printed in blue, red and blue title-page, engraved frontispiece, 3 hand-colored plates and 4 woodcuts in the text by John Leech, 2pp. of advertisements at the end; plates very lightly toned. Original cinnamon fine-ribbed cloth, covers with decorative blind border surrounding central gilt cartouche and lettering on upper, spine lettered and decorated in gilt, all edges gilt, yellow endpapers, Todd first impression, first issue binding variant; slightly cocked, a few spots.

First edition, second issue, the Suzannet-Self copy.

Certainly one of the most beloved and enduring works of Victorian literature, through which Dickens can be credited with distilling, for all, the modern idea of Christmas through his careful reverence and description of the wondrous traditions and their deeper social purpose. The first edition, second issue is distinguished by the correction of "Stave I" to "Stave One" on the first page of text, balance of text uncorrected, red and blue title-page dated 1843, yellow endpapers, with the earliest state of the binding (the closest interval between blind decorative border on the left and the left extremity of the gilt cartouche measuring 14mm and the "D" of Dickens perfect).

Bound in its original cinnamon cloth with gilt lettering and decoration, the book features four hand-colored etchings and four black-and-white woodcuts by John Leech, capturing the festive and moral themes of Dickens’s tale. A cornerstone of any Dickens collection, this work continues to resonate for its vivid characters, social conscience, and timeless message of redemption and generosity.

REFERENCES:

Philo Calhoun and Howell J. Heaney, "Dickens' Christmas Carol After a Hundred Years: A Study in Bibliographical Evidence," in: Papers of the Bibliographical Society of America, 39 (Fourth Quarter, 1945); Eckel, p. 110; Kitton, pp. 33-37; Smith II:4

PROVENANCE:

Comte Alain de Suzannet (bookplate; his sale Sotheby's London, 22 November 1971, lot 76 - misdescribed as having "Stave I") — Kenyon Starling (bookplate; his sale Christie's New York, The William E. Self Family Collection Part I, 2 April 2008, lot 98)