CHARLES DICKENS / JOHN LEECH - A CHRISTMAS CAROL - 1843

An exceptionally rare and fine first state/first edition of A Christmas Carol, by Charles Dickens. Published by Chapman and Hall, London, 1844. 144p.p. Four hand-coloured illustrations by John Leech, plus black and white line-drawings within the text. Halftitle present. Collated complete.

Bound by Zaehnsdorf of London, in a contemporaneous, exquisite and extraordinarily fine full polished green calf binding, with ornate tooling in gilt to the spine, and boards. All page edges gilt. Ornate hand-marbled endpapers. Silk page-marker.

This wonderful volume boasts ALL of Smith’s textual points, including the vital FIRST STATE ‘Stave I’, to page 1. Subsequent copies had the altered Stave One to page 1.

Tipped-in to the rear of the book, is the original cloth cover, which was highly fashionable at the time this binding was created.

It is entirely without restoration, and the condition, inside and out, is superb.

Regarded as Dicken's most widely read novel, and considered to be "the greatest Christmas book ever written in any language" (Eckel p. 116), 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 hand-colour in the title-page and etchings.

This is a must-have for the collector, and indeed, the very finest example of this rare volume we have handled. It comes VERY highly recommended indeed.