Home

My “Carol” Mission

As an avid bibliophile and researcher of published editions of “A Christmas Carol” for over 45 years, I have had the opportunity to examine, purchase and catalog hundreds of different editions of Dickens most famous Christmas work. Via this website, I will endeavor to provide general information, articles and feedback (as requested) regarding published editions of “A Christmas Carol” for the benefit of like-minded book collectors and others that may be interested in this subject. I have completed and posted my first article titled Facsimile Editions of “A Christmas Carol” Published 1914 – 2019 which is listed under Article No. 1 on this website.

My “Carol” History (The Short Version)

My introduction to this wonderful story began in 1961. During the holidays, my father read to me and my two sisters the large, colorful 1959 Ideals Publishing Company version (see below) of “A Christmas Carol”, and the tale of Ebeneezer Scrooge, Jacob Marley, tiny Tim, the Ghosts of Christmas past, present, and future, et. al. became my favorite! The following year in December 1962, my passion for this story was further confirmed when I saw the first television broadcast of the animated musical version of “Mr. Magoo’s Christmas Carol” that aired on NBC. Fast-forward several years later – as a young adult in the mid-1970’s, my grandparents gave me their tiny edition of “A Christmas Carol” circa 1920 (published by Thomas Y. Crowell Co., see below) they had purchased when they were first married. As I looked through this ornately decorated book I had been given, I wondered just how many printed versions of “A Christmas Carol” had been published since the book first appeared in 1843 . . . and suddenly I was HOOKED! I vowed right then that I would collect as many different editions of “A Christmas Carol” as possible!

My “Carol” Passion (The Making of “Carol Man”)

The first edition of this beloved novella was published on December 19, 1843 by Chapman and Hall in London, England. Since then, “A Christmas Carol” has never been out of print, and many new and reprinted editions continue to be published each year.

Beginning with the single antique book edition of the story I received from my grandparents, I began building my “Carol” collection by searching local used and antiquarian bookshops in my area. As I traveled for business and while on vacations both in the USA and abroad, I began to seek out book dealers that specialized in Dickens, and was able to purchase numerous different editions for my collection. In the early 1990’s, as the 150^th anniversary date of the first 1843 edition of the “Carol” approached, I had an idea to create a simple 150^th anniversary edition limited to 1,000 copies of the book to sell as a fundraiser for my Church. I decided to use my first American edition published in early 1844 by Harper & Brothers, New York for the text of the edition, while adding the front cover title and decorative wreath design along with a few illustrations from the first British edition (see below). During the remainder of the 1990’s, I found that finding editions of the “Carol” in book stores that I did not already own slowed substantially; however, with the inception of eBay and other on-line auction sites beginning in the late 1990’s, I’ve been able to add many additional books to my collection, which at last count was well over 300 different editions.

Thank you for your interest – The “Carol Man”