DICKENS, Charles. The Christmas Books: A Christmas Carol; The Chimes; The Battle of Life; Cricket on the Hearth; The Haunted Man and The Ghost's Bargain. (5 VOLUMES - ALL FIRST EDITIONS - 1843-48)
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- SKU:
- 1975
AUTHOR: DICKENS, Charles.
TITLE: The Christmas Books: A Christmas Carol; The Chimes; The Battle of Life; Cricket on the Hearth; The Haunted Man and The Ghost's Bargain.
PUBLISHER: London: Chapman and Hall 1843-48.
DESCRIPTION: FIRST EDITION FIRST ISSUE OF A CHRISTMAS CAROL. 5 vols., 6-11/16" x 4-5/16", "Christmas Carol" reading "Stave I", first ed first issue of "The Chimes", first ed of "The Cricket", first ed second issue of "The Battle Of Life", first ed of "The Haunted Man", uniformly bound in full teal morocco, ribbed gilt decorated spines, covers triple ruled in gilt, gilt dentelles, all edges gilt, original cloth covers and spines bound in the rear of each volume, by Riviere & Son, housed in a blue cloth open ended slipcase.
CONDITION: Internally clean and bright, expert hinge repairs to "A Christmas Carol" and "The Battle Of Life".
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION: 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 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.
