Antique facsimile editions of all five of Dickens’ Christmas books can be had for around $250 for the set. If the price point is too steep, don’t despair. Asking prices for a first edition of A Christmas Carol can range from $12,000 to $35,000, depending on condition.

Reputable rare book dealers can assist with these, but be prepared to dig deep for a true first edition. In fact, A Christmas Carol became so popular that four other Dickens Christmas books followed: The Chimes: A Goblin Story of Some Bells that Rang an Old Year Out and a New Year In (1845), The Cricket on the Hearth (1846), The Battle For Life: A Love Story (1846), and The Haunted Man and The Ghost’s Bargain (1848).įirst edition, first printing points for A Christmas Carol are numerous. Its initial print run of more than 6,000 copies sold out in just a week, and Dickens’ reputation was revived.

When A Christmas Carol appeared on December 19, 1843, it cost a whopping 5 shillings-about $33 in today’s money. Dickens even insisted on the red cloth book covers with embossed gilt lettering on the front cover and spine. He also managed every detail of its publication from John Leach’s memorable color woodcuts-the only color plates Dickens ever used in his novels-to the blue and red title page, which was originally printed in green and red. Nevertheless, with Dickens fronting the publishing costs, Chapman & Hall took a chance on A Christmas Carol.Ĭharles Dickens wrote his Christmas story in just six weeks. Dickens was already a business liability and few people celebrated Christmas in 1843.

Dickens approached his London publishers, Chapman & Hall, with a proposal for a small Christmas book that could be given as a gift for the upcoming holiday season. Now married and with four children, Dickens suddenly found himself unpopular and in debt. In 1888 a trade edition was reportedly issued where fewer than ten copies of the first printing are. His sixth novel, Martin Chuzzlewit (1843-1844), was not well received. The young author of The Posthumous Papers of The Pickwick Club (1837) and Oliver Twist (1838) had achieved rapid success in the publishing world, but just as quickly his reputation began to wane. Charles Dickens was in financial trouble when he published A Christmas Carol in December 1843.

First edition of the christmas carol