Though the matching bindings were much later ones commissioned by London dealer Sotherans, a set of Charles Dickens’ five famous Christmas Books offered on August 28 by Potter & Potter (20% buyer’s premium) of Chicago were all firsts of 1843-48, and in some instances first issue or first state copies.
One of the books in this set sold for $24,000 (£17,440) was the first and most famous of them, the celebration of seasonal spirit that is A Christmas Carol.
In all cases the original covers had been retained within the crushed red morocco gilt bindings, each of which is decorated with a coloured morocco inlay of a character from that book. The complete set also incudes The Chimes, The Cricket on the Hearth, The Battle of Life and The Haunted Man and the Ghost’s Bargain.