DICKENS, Charles.

Inquire · Offered by Peter Harrington

A Christmas Carol; The Chimes; The Cricket on the Hearth; The Battle of Life; The Haunted Man. First editions. This copy of A Christmas Carol is a rare recorded variant, its title page and half title in their earliest forms, printed in red and green and dated 1844. These leaves were later reprinted with blue replacing the green and the date changed to 1843. Although both forms were published, green-title copies were traditionally referred to as the "trial issue".In this copy, the first page of text reads "Stave One", whereas "Stave I" is often cited as a point of priority. Smith records two other copies which share the unusual combination of both the earliest title page and "Stave One", reflecting the notoriously complex publication history of the book. Bibliographers have yet to reach a consensus on priority. All the textual points are consistent with those of the earliest printing.Following the instant success of A Christmas Carol, Dickens produced four further small festive books, one for each successive season, skipping Christmas 1847 to complete Dombey and Son. The Chimes has the second state vignette title page. The Cricket on the Hearth has the advertisement leaf in the second state. The Battle of Life has the engraved title page in the second state.

Found via Rare Books Intel, a search across rare-book dealers, auction houses and marketplaces worldwide.