Shelf Life: Books, Manuscripts and Works on Paper from the Library of Stanley J. Seeger and Christopher Cone

Charles Dickens A Christmas Carol. London: Chapman & Hall, 1843 FIRST EDITION, ECKEL'S FIRST ISSUE (red and blue title-page dated 1843, green endpapers, "Stave I", uncorrected text, blue half-title), 12mo (163 x 102 mm), hand-coloured engraved frontispiece, 3 hand-coloured engraved plates and 4 woodcuts in the text by John Leech, 2pp. advertisements at end, original cinnamon vertically-ribbed cloth stamped in blind and gilt, gilt edges, green endpapers, housed in a modern red quarter-calf box, front free endpaper with neatly repaired large tear, joints very slightly splitting at head of spine AN ATTRACTIVE FIRST EDITION OF DICKENS'S FIRST CHRISTMAS BOOK, THE NOVEL THAT ALMOST SINGLE-HANDEDLY INVENTED THE IDEA OF A JOYOUS CHRISTMAS. Dickens first had the idea in October 1843 and by the following month John Leech, introduced to him by George Cruikshank, was working on the illustrations. Dickens composed the story in his head while walking the streets of London at night. It was issued ten days before Christmas and 6,000 copies were sold on the first day. Dickens paid for the production on the understanding he took all the profit. It was, however, an excessively lavish and expensive production, so his profit was low even though sales were high. According to Eckel, first and second issues of the first edition have the same issue points except for the endpapers, which were originally green for the first issue, but were changed to yellow for the second issue. LITERATURE: Smith II: 4; Eckel pp. 110-115

View 1 of Lot 48: Charles Dickens | A Christmas Carol, 1843, first edition, original cloth

charles dickens | a christmas carol, 1843, first edition, original cloth

A fourth edition of A Christmas Carol by <a href="https://www.sothebys.com/en/search?query=Charles+Dickens&amp;pfilters.dateRange=upcoming" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Charles Dickens</a>.<ul><li>Charles Dickens (English).</li><li>London: Chapman and Hall, 1844.</li><li>Illustrated with 4 hand colored engraved plates by John Leech and 4 black and white illustrations by W.J. Linton.</li><li>Bound in the original straight grained rose colored cloth, gilt tile and wreath to spine and front cover, yellow pastedowns and endpapers, all edges gilt.</li></ul> Regarded as Dicken's most widely read novel and considered to be "the greatest Christmas book ever written in any language" selling more than 6000 copies in the few days leading up to Christmas. The work was extravagantly costly as Dickens for the first time (and incidentally his last) used color in the title-page and etchings as he wanted to make the book a beautiful gift and to be a celebration of the Christmas spirit. After the initial success, Dickens continued the series throughout the 1840's, maintaining "the Carol" philosophy to "strike a sledgehammer blow" for the poor, uneducated, and repressed.

A Christmas Carol In Prose Being A Ghost Story of Christmas | Fourth Edition

A first edition, second state copy of A Christmas Carol.<ul><li>Charles Dickens (English, 1812-1870).</li><li>London: Chapman &amp; Hall, 1843.</li><li>Octavo.</li><li>166 pages.</li><li>Bound in publisher's original raw sienna cloth, stamped in blind and gilt with gilt title and wreath to spine and front cover, all edges gilt, pale yellow endpapers.</li></ul>

A Christmas Carol

A first edition, Deluxe Issue copy of A Christmas Carol.<ul><li>Charles Dickens (English).</li><li>Illustrated by Arthur Rackham.</li><li>London:&nbsp;William Heinemann,&nbsp;1915.</li><li>Quarto.</li><li>Includes 12 full-page mounted illustrations in color and 20 drawings in black and white by Arthur Rackham.</li><li>One of 525 copies signed by Rackham.&nbsp;</li><li>Bound in original full gilt-decorated vellum, housed in custom vellum backed box with chemise.</li></ul>

A <a href="https://www.sothebys.com/en/buy/luxury/books-&amp;-manuscripts/book/first-edition?locale=en" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">first edition</a>, second issue of <a href="https://www.sothebys.com/en/search?query=Charles+Dickens&amp;pfilters.dateRange=upcoming" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Charles Dickens</a>' A Christmas Carol.<ul><li>Charles Dickens (English).</li><li>London: Chapman and Hall, 1843.</li><li>Illustrated with 4 hand colored engraved plates by John Leech and 4 black and white illustrations by W.J. Linton.</li><li>Chapter heading reading "Stave One."</li><li>Bound in the original straight grained rose colored cloth, gilt tile and wreath to spine and front cover, front cover has a perfect 'D' in 'Dickens', yellow pastedowns and endpapers, all edges gilt.</li></ul>

A Christmas Carol | First Edition

A <a href="https://www.sothebys.com/en/buy/luxury/books-&amp;-manuscripts/book/first-edition?locale=en" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">first edition</a>, second issue of A Christmas Carol by <a href="https://www.sothebys.com/en/search?query=Charles+Dickens&amp;pfilters.dateRange=upcoming" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Charles Dickens</a>.<ul><li>Charles Dickens (English).</li><li>A Christmas Carol In Prose Being A Ghost Story of Christmas.</li><li>London: Chapman and Hall, 1843.</li><li>Chapter heading reading "Stave One", illustrated with 4 hand colored engraved plates by John Leech and 4 black and white illustrations by W.J. Linton.</li><li>Bound in fine full red morocco, ribbed gilt decorated spine, covers ruled and paneled in gilt, front cover with gilt portrait of Dickens, rear cover with Dickens signature in gilt, gilt dentelles, marbled pastedowns and endpapers, all edges gilt, original cloth covers and 1 yellow endpaper bound in, by Bayntun.</li></ul> Regarded as Dicken's most widely read novel and considered to be "the greatest Christmas book ever written in any language" selling more than 6000 copies in the few days leading up to Christmas. The work was extravagantly costly as Dickens for the first time (and incidentally his last) used color in the title-page and etchings as he wanted to make the book a beautiful gift and to be a celebration of the Christmas spirit. After the initial success, Dickens continued the series throughout the 1840's, maintaining "the Carol" philosophy to "strike a sledgehammer blow" for the poor, uneducated, and repressed.

A Christmas Carol First Edition

<a href="https://www.sothebys.com/en/buy/luxury/books-&amp;-manuscripts/book/first-edition?locale=en" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">First edition</a>, second issue of A Christmas Carol by <a href="https://www.sothebys.com/en/search?query=Charles+Dickens&amp;pfilters.dateRange=upcoming" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Charles Dickens</a>.<ul><li>Charles Dickens (English).</li><li>London: Chapman and Hall, 1843.</li><li>Illustrated with 4 hand colored engraved plates by John Leech and 4 black and white illustrations by W.J. Linton.</li><li>Chapter heading reading "Stave One."</li><li>Bound in the original straight grained rose colored cloth, gilt tile and wreath to spine and front cover, front cover has a perfect 'D' in 'Dickens', yellow pastedowns and endpapers, all edges gilt.</li></ul> Regarded as Dicken's most widely read novel and considered to be "the greatest Christmas book ever written in any language" selling more than 6000 copies in the few days leading up to Christmas. The work was extravagantly costly as Dickens for the first time (and incidentally his last) used color in the title-page and etchings as he wanted to make the book a beautiful gift and to be a celebration of the Christmas spirit. After the initial success, Dickens continued the series throughout the 1840's, maintaining "the Carol" philosophy to "strike a sledgehammer blow" for the poor, uneducated, and repressed.

A Christmas Carol In Prose Being A Ghost Story of Christmas | First Edition

A first edition, second issue copy of the holiday classic A Christmas Carol.<ul><li>Charles Dickens (English, 1812-1870).</li><li>A Christmas Carol In Prose Being A Ghost Story of Christmas.</li><li>London: Chapman and Hall, 1843.</li><li>Illustrated with 4 hand-colored engraved plates by John Leech and 4 black and white illustrations by W.J. Linton.</li><li>Bound in the original straight grained rose-colored cloth, gilt tile and wreath to spine and front cover, yellow pastedowns and endpapers, all edges gilt.</li></ul> Regarded as Dickens' most widely read novel and considered to be "the greatest Christmas book ever written in any language" (Eckel p. 116) selling more than 6,000 copies in the few days leading up to Christmas. The work was extravagantly costly as Dickens for the first time (and incidentally his last) used color in the title-page and etchings, as he wanted to make the book a beautiful gift and to be a celebration of the Christmas spirit. After the initial success, Dickens continued the series throughout the 1840s, maintaining "the Carol" philosophy to "strike a sledgehammer blow" for the poor, uneducated and repressed.

Fine Books and Manuscripts, Including Americana. Part 2

Dickens, Charles The Christmas Books. London: 1843-1848 Lot includes: A Christmas Carol. In Prose. Being a Ghost Story of Christmas. London: Chapman & Hall, 1843. 8vo (163 x 103 mm). Half-title and verso of title printed in blue, red and blue title-page dated 1843, hand colored engraved frontispiece, 3 hand-colored plates, and 4 woodcuts in the text by John Leech, first issue "stave I" on p. 1, and 2pp. of advertisements at the end, old ownership signatures, bookplate of John Francis Neylan; some stray spots, a few creased corners, intermittent pale dampstaining at the head of the title and a few other leaves. Original cinnamon vertically-waved cloth, stamped in blind and gilt, 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, green endpapers, all edges gilt; cloth a bit faded and soiled, a few spots of wear at spine ends and board edges, light bumps to two corners and two spots on the fore-edge, some pale stains, and a few tiny black spots, spine somewhat cocked, endpapers rubbed. The Chimes: A Goblin Story. London: Chapman and Hall, 1845 [1844]. 8vo (166 x 104 mm). 13 illustrations, including frontispiece and vignette title, by Maclise, Doyle, Leech and Stanfield, second state of the vignette title, advertisement for tenth edition of A Christmas Carol at the beginning; a few pale spots to the frontispiece and vignette title, a faint strip of toning to the pages adjacent the endpapers. Original deep red horizontally-ribbed cloth, upper cover stamped in blind and pictorially gilt with design of seven goblins above six chimes, spine and upper cover lettered in gilt, pale yellow endpapers, all edges gilt; spine a bit toned, minor soiling to boards, light wear to spine ends and corners, hinges cracked, an attractive, bright copy. The Cricket on the Hearth. London: Printed and published for the author by Bradbury and Evans, 1846 [1845]. 12mo (165 x 101 mm). Half-title, engraved frontispiece and title-page vignette after Maclise, illustrations throughout text, 2pp. of advertisements at end (second state) bookplate of John Francis Neylan. Original deep red vertically ribbed cloth, stamped in blind and pictorially gilt with heath, spine and upper cover lettered in gilt, all edges gilt, yellow endpapers; a few instances of very faint soiling, spine a bit toned with a slight lean. The Battle of Life. A Love Story. London: Bradbury and Evans, 1846. 12mo (165 x 102 mm). Engraved frontispiece and title-vignette after Maclise (Todd's E1, Eckel's fourth state), illustrations throughout, 2pp. of advertisements at end; a few pale spots. Original deep red cloth stamped in blind and pictorially gilt with fairy motif, spine and upper cover lettered in gilt, all edges gilt, yellow endpapers; minor soiling, light rubbing along the joints and board edges, wear to spine ends and corners, spine a bit toned, still, a bright copy. The Haunted Man and The Ghost's Bargain. London: Bradbury and Evans, 1848. 8vo (165 x 105 mm). Advertisement leaf, frontispiece, vignette title-page and 15 illustrations by John Leech, Clarkson Stanfield, John Tenniel and Frank Stone, bookplates of John Francis Neylan and Percy Thuillier Westmorland; a few pale spots. Original deep red horizontally-ribbed cloth, covers stamped in blind and pictorially gilt with wreath and mistletoe, spine and upper cover lettered in gilt, all edges gilt, yellow endpapers; very light rubbing and wear to corners and extremities, spine ends softened, spine a bit dulled and slightly cocked. Housed together in a gilt red morocco-backed top-loading slipcase, with reproductions of leather spines for the five titles facing out. A handsome set of Dickens's five Christmas Books—all first editions in their original gilt cloth bindings. Dickens first had his conception of A Christmas Carol in October 1843, and by the end of the month had John Leech, a fine artist introduced to him by Cruickshank, working on illustrations. By 10 November he was discussing the cover and advertising with Forster. As he told his Boston friend Felton, he composed the story in his head while walking around "the back streets of London, fifteen and twenty miles, many a night when all the sober folks had gone to bed" (see Tomalin, p. 148), frequently weeping and laughing and weeping again as he worked and strode about. Like Carlyle and Engels, Dickens was fired up with anger at the indifference of the rich to the fate of the poor, who had almost no access to education, no care in sickness, saw their young children set to work for ruthless factory-owners, and could consider themselves lucky if they were only half-starved. But it was Dickens's special genius to express this anger in a completely compelling narrative, putting into it all his vivid childhood memories of Camden Town and his own labor as a child together with the great insight that a grown man may pity the child he had been, resulting in an artistic creation which has captivated readers and audiences throughout the world ever since, and which simultaneously invented the modern idea of the joyous Christmas festival. REFERENCE: Smith II: 4, 5, 6, 8, 9; Eckel pp. 110-115, 116-118; 119-120; 121-123; 124-125 PROVENANCE Various owners (early ownership inscriptions and signatures; see bookplates described above) — purchased as a set from Kenneth W. Rendell Gallery

View 1 of Lot 402: Dickens, Charles | Set of the Christmas Books, all first editions in publisher's cloth

dickens, charles | set of the christmas books, all first editions in publisher's cloth

The Jay T. Snider Collection of Benjamin Franklin

Benjamin Franklin Letterpress broadside document signed (“BFranklin”) as Postmaster General of British America, printed on a half-sheet of laid paper (227 x 370 mm; watermarked posthorn | D & C Blauw), [Philadelphia,] 10 January 1764, accomplished in a clerical hand, also signed by the joint Postmaster General (“John Foxcroft”), heraldic red wax seal of the Post Office; browned, rebacked with paper, closing some fold separations and a couple of small holes, with one letter and portions of two others supplied in ink facsimile. Headed “Benjamin Franklin, and John Foxcroft, Esquires, Post-Masters-General of all His Majesty’s Provinces and Dominions on the Continent of North-America,” this appointment reads, “To All to whom these Presents shall come, Greeting, Know ye, That We the said Benjamin Franklin and John Foxcroft, having received good Testimony of the Fidelity, and Loyalty to His Majesty, of Abraham Hunt, of Trenton, in New-Jersey, Gent. and reposing great Trust and Confidence in the Knowledge, Care, and Ability of the said Abraham Hunt, to execute the Office and Duties required of a Deputy Post-Master, have Deputed, Constituted, Authorized, and Appointed, and by these Presents do Depute, Constitute, Authorize, and Appoint the said Abraham Hunt, to be our lawful and sufficient Deputy, to Execute the Office of Deputy Post-Master at Trenton in New-Jersey, aforesaid, to have, hold, use, exercise and enjoy the said Office, with all and every the Rights, Privileges, Benefits and Advantages, to the same belonging, from the Day of the Date hereof for the Term of three Years, unless sooner removed by us, under such Conditions, Covenants, Provisoes, Payments, Orders and Instructions, to be faithfully observed, performed, and done, by the said Deputy, and Servants, as he or they shall, from Time to Time, receive from Us, or by our Order. In Witness whereof, We the said Benjamin Franklin, and John Foxcroft, have hereunto set our Hands, and caused the Seal of our Office to be affixed: Dated the Tenth Day of January, 1764, in the Fourth Year of His Majesty’s Reign.” Of all of his civil posts, Benjamin Franklin was a postmaster for the longest period: he became the postmaster of Philadelphia in 1737 under the British Parliamentary postal system; in 1753 he was appointed one of two Postmasters-General for the North American colonies (first with William Hunter and, after Hunter’s death, with John Foxcroft) and held this post until January 1774, when his growing sympathy for American independence led to his dismissal; and, finally, during a brief sojourn in Philadelphia between long stays in London and Paris, he served as the first Postmaster General of the Unted States from July 1775 to November 1776. Despite his lengthy tenure, postal service appointments signed by Franklin are of the greatest rarity. The Papers of Benjamin Franklin located five colonial post-office commissions signed by Franklin—all in institutional collections—in addition to the present: Thomas Vernon, Newport, Rhode Island, 24 December 1754 (New York Public Library); Woodward Abraham, Marblehead, Massachusetts, 10 April 1758 (American Philosophical Society); Thomas MacKreth, Charles Town, South Carolina, 11 July 1760 (New York Public Library); William Ellery, Hartford, Connecticut, 22 October 1767 (Beinecke Library, Yale); and Philip Skene, Skenesborough, New York, 5 June 1771 (Fort Ticonderoga Museum). Only one example appears in the auction records: Woodward Abraham’s appointment was sold at Charles Hamilton Galleries, 25 March 1971, lot 154. In addition, we have identified two United States post-office commissions signed by Franklin that extended the service of recipients of his colonial appointments: Abraham Hunt, 13 October 1775, is described in the Papers, 11:3–6 (then the property of Theodore Sheldon, Chicago; current location unknown); and William Ellery, 25 September 1775 (sold, Heritage Auctions, 8 August 2025, lot 47072). “Franklin had been appointed joint deputy postmaster general of North America in 1753 and had journeyed as far as New Hampshire and Williamsburg, Virginia, to plot the best postal routes and set up new post offices. Over the next few years he enlarged the reach of the post office north, south, and west, and made mail delivery along the major routes quicker and more frequent. He designed forms for postmasters, instituted home delivery of letters in the cities, advertised uncollected mail, created a dead-letter office, and began delivering newspapers and magazines (and charging for doing so). He was the most entrepreneurial, efficient postmaster America ever had—and the only one under whom the post office ever made a profit” (Lemay). Abraham Hunt was the principal merchant of Trenton and an ardent supporter of the American cause. He was a member of the New Jersey Committee of Correspondence and a lieutenant colonel in the Hunterdon County militia. On Christmas evening, 1776, Hunt entertained at his home, among other guests, Hessian Colonel Johann Rall, who became so engrossed in card playing and general revelry that he paid no attention to a Loyalist informant who tried to warn him of Washington’s planned crossing of the Delaware River. Hunt’s sociability threw him under patriot suspicion, from which he was exonerated, and the Papers note that “Rall enjoyed, somewhat to excess, his Christmas revels the night before Washington’s surprise attack in 1776, and Hunt’s ‘hospitality’ doubtless contributed to the success of the Americans.” Rall was killed during the Battle of Trenton. REFERENCES Papers of Benjamin Franklin, ed. Labaree, 11:3–6; J. A. Leo Lemay, in Benjamin Franklin: In Search of a Better World, pp. 34–36 PROVENANCE Theodore Sheldon, Chicago (credited in Papers)

View 1 of Lot 91: Benjamin Franklin | An appointment for a Deputy Postmaster 

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