A Christmas Carol, London: Chapman & Hall, 1843. FIRST EDITION, FIRST ISSUE.
Certainly one of the most desirable and collectible titles in all of literature, here is a FINE copy of the first edition - first issue - of Charles Dickens' immortal A Christmas Carol. Offered just in time for Christmas...
First edition first issue with "Stave I" as the first chapter heading (see image) and entirely uncorrected text as per Smith.
This copy has been rebound in a fine 3/4-leather binding of toffee-colored leather over marbled boards. The binding is in FINE condition with absolutely no weakening - let alone cracking, splitting, etc. - of the hinges, no loose pages etc. Indeed, this copy is in entirely readable condition. Despite being rebound, the half-title is present; not surprisingly, the advertisement leaf at the rear was not retained.
Internally this copy is in, well, astonishing condition. The four hand-colored plates are essentially completely devoid of foxing, spotting, and soiling, and there is only the barest of off-setting of the engravings onto the opposing pages of text - MUCH less than usual. First editions, let alone first editions first issues, of this title are exceedingly scarce in this condition.
There are absolutely no bookplates, inscriptions, signatures, or signs of any markings whatsoever.
Overall an exceptionally lovely copy of Dickens’ timeless classic, A Christmas Carol, in first edition first issue, internally and externally in fine condition.
I've seen three first edition copies of A Christmas Carol sell here on ebay over the past year. Only two were of the first issue and each of these sold for over $5000. Neither of these copies was in a condition even remotely comparable to this one.
Sorry about the image of the last hand-colored plate being so fuzzy. If you e-mail me I can send you a better one. It, like the others, is very fresh and clean.
Please
feel free to contact me if you have any questions or require any
additional information concerning collation, condition, etc. and/or
for additional images.
I
have a relatively large number of Dickens first editions available for
sale, including a considerable number of Christmas books, both in sets
of all five and as individual titles. If there area any Dickens titles in particular that you are looking for, please feel free to contact me.
Please take a moment to “View seller’s other items” to check out some of my other Dickens first editions I’m currently selling!
Payment: I
prefer payment via money order, cashier’s check, or personal check
(item won’t ship until check has cleared); it is also possible to
arrange for bank transfer into my account. For this auction I would prefer not to accept Paypal and will offer a 1% discount on the final value if payment is made by any means other than Paypal.
Please note: If the item is to be shipped to a California address, I must charge California state sales tax.
Shipping: Domestic shipping will be via USPS priority mail at $10.00. (Unless it is absolutely demanded by the buyer I would prefer not to send this via media mail.) Liberal
use is made of bubblewrap and other packing materials during packing,
and your book will be shipped in a box; unlike all-too-many ebay
sellers, I do not believe antiquarian books should ever be shipped in “padded” envelopes. As this is a valuable book, insurance is HIGHLY recommended and will be charged at cost (about $45-50). If the buyer elects not to purchase insurance, I am, of course, unable to accept any liability for lost or damaged books. Potential
bidders from overseas are invited to contact me for shipping costs -
probably about $25-35, depending on class of airmail. (It may be
indicated below that insurance is "Not offered" for domestic shipping,
but that is because - in all eBay's wisdom - they insist on inclusion
of a fixed price; however, insurance will be charged at cost so, depending what the final value is, the cost will differ.)
Returns: If
the book is found to be not as described, it may be returned within 7
days of receipt; please contact me immediately upon receipt if there is
a problem. If the book is to be returned it must be returned
in identical condition as to what it was in when received, and it must
be sent back via a fully insured express (e.g. USPS priority mail)
method at the buyer's cost. Shipping fees and any fees associated with
the payment method used are, of course, not subject to refund.
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