Dickens, Charles | "A Christmas Carol," first edition, first issue

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; occasional very light spotting and soiling. 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's first impression, first issue, with 14-15 mm between closest points of blind-stamping and gold wreath of upper cover, the "D" of "Dickens" unbroken, all edges gilt; very slightly cocked, head and foot of spine bumped with a small patch of loss to head, endpapers discolored. Collector's chemise and slipcase.

"Bah!" "Humbug!" The first edition, first issue of Dickens' first Christmas book.

This "Ghostly little book" was first issued just before Christmas 1843, and had sold out by Christmas Eve. The first issue is distinguished by key points, including the title page dated 1843 and “Stave I” as the chapter heading on the first page of text.

"...a Ghost Story of Christmas by Charles Dickens. Over which Christmas Carol, Charles Dickens wept, and laughed, and wept again, and excited himself in a most extraordinary manner in the composition; and thinking whereof, he walked about the black streets of London, fifteen and twenty miles, many a night when all the sober folks had gone to bed. He don't like America, I am told, but he has some friends there, as dear to him as any in England; so you may read it safely. Its success is most prodigious." Dickens, to his American friend, Professor Cornelius Felton, dated January 2, 1844.

The earliest known presentation copies bear the date December 17, 1843, with publication following on December 19. These earliest examples feature a red and blue title page, yellow endpapers, and the first chapter heading as "Stave I." By February 10, 1844, Dickens informed his friend John Forster that over 6,000 copies had already been printed.

Since then, the publication history of A Christmas Carol has sparked extensive bibliographical debate. Numerous theories about the priority of the first edition’s states have emerged, with one of the most definitive articles being William B. Todd’s study (The Book Collector, 1961, pp. 449–54). Todd argued against establishing a precise order of states due to the simultaneous use of different stereotype plates. Instead, he identified the position of the gilt wreath on the front cover—stamped by a single machine—as the key marker of priority.

According to Todd, the gilt wreath shifted slightly to the left during production and soon developed a flaw in the "D" of "Dickens." This shift marks the beginning of a new operation, while the imperfection signals a later issue. As Smith later observed, this single point of differentiation provides the most reliable evidence of publishing priority for this beloved work.

REFERENCES:

Smith II: 4; Eckel pp. 110-115