A Charles Dickens first edition is one of three things: the monthly parts in printed paper wrappers, a volume a reader had bound up from those parts, or the cloth volume the publisher issued when the serial ended. All three hold sheets from the first printing, the trade values them in that order, and "is this a first?" is really two questions: which form is it, and how early are the sheets inside? This guide answers both, book by book, with what copies have sold for.
We track the first editions on the book pages for The Pickwick Papers, Oliver Twist, A Christmas Carol, David Copperfield, Bleak House, A Tale of Two Cities, Great Expectations and Our Mutual Friend, with the rest on the Charles Dickens author page.
The three forms
Parts. From Pickwick in 1836 to Edwin Drood in 1870, most of the novels came out in twenty monthly numbers, the last a double number, so twenty parts in nineteen. Each was stitched into a pictorial paper wrapper with the plates loose at the front and 32 pages of advertisements around the text, with continuous page numbering so the parts could be bound (the Smith College David Copperfield and the Victorian Web both describe the pattern). The parts are the earliest state of the text; a complete set in clean wrappers with every advertisement present is a "prime" set. The reference is Hatton and Cleaver's 1933 bibliography, which the houses cite part by part.
Bound from the parts. Most readers had their parts bound when the serial ended, and the binder threw away the wrappers and advertisements. The result has first-printing sheets but no publisher's binding, and it is by far the commonest form on the market. Bonhams sold one in November 2025 with first-issue text in sixteen of the twenty parts for £832.
Publisher's cloth. The publisher also issued the remaining sheets, or a fresh impression, as a cloth volume, often with the plates re-etched to add the imprint. Walter E. Smith's Charles Dickens in the Original Cloth (1982 and 1983) is the reference for this form, the "Smith I:3" of the catalogues. A cloth copy is a true first edition, but its sheets may be the last off the press, which is why the points below matter.
A few titles broke the pattern. Oliver Twist ran in Bentley's Miscellany and was published in three volumes by Richard Bentley in 1838 before the serial finished. A Tale of Two Cities and Great Expectations ran weekly in All the Year Round; the first was also issued in eight monthly parts, the second was never issued in parts at all. The Christmas books were small cloth volumes from the start.
The key books
| Title | Serial | First book edition | What to check |
|---|---|---|---|
| The Pickwick Papers | 20 parts in 19, April 1836 to November 1837 | Chapman and Hall, 1837, one volume | Buss plates, "S. Veller" p. 342, "this friends" p. 400, title dated 1837 |
| Oliver Twist | Bentley's Miscellany, 1837 to 1839 | Richard Bentley, 1838, three volumes | "Boz" on the title pages, the Fireside plate in volume III |
| A Christmas Carol | Not serialised | Chapman and Hall, 19 December 1843 | Red and blue title dated 1843, "Stave I", blue half-title, endpapers |
| David Copperfield | 20 parts in 19, May 1849 to November 1850 | Bradbury and Evans, 1850 | Dated engraved title, errata leaf, "screamed" p. 132 line 20 |
| Bleak House | 20 parts in 19, March 1852 to September 1853 | Bradbury and Evans, 1853 | "elgble" p. 19, "chair" p. 209, "counsinship" p. 275 |
| A Tale of Two Cities | Weekly in All the Year Round, April to November 1859; 8 monthly parts, June to December | Chapman and Hall, 1859 | Page 213 numbered 113 |
| Great Expectations | Weekly in All the Year Round, 1 December 1860 to 3 August 1861 | Chapman and Hall, 1861, three volumes | No edition statement, catalogue dated May 1861, volume III p. 103 and p. 193 |
| Our Mutual Friend | 20 parts in 19, May 1864 to November 1865 | Chapman and Hall, 1865, two volumes | Green wrappers, 40 plates by Marcus Stone, the Advertiser in each part |
The Pickwick Papers, 1836 to 1837
Robert Seymour, whose sporting plates the book was written around, illustrated the first two numbers and killed himself; Robert William Buss drew two plates for the third, which Dickens disliked and had replaced; Hablot Browne, "Phiz", drew the rest. The two Buss plates are the first thing a buyer looks for, because later issues dropped them. Bauman Rare Books places them at pages 68 and 74; other listings say 69 and 74, a difference in how the facing page is counted.
Smith lists seven textual points for the earliest sheets, and dealers count how many a copy has. The two most quoted are "S. Veller" on page 342, line 5, and "this friends" for "his friends" on page 400, line 21; Bauman adds "hodling" on page 260, an imperfect "F" in the running head on page 432, and the marginal note on page 9 that later issues removed. Bauman alone reports Hatton and Cleaver's further test, a leaf without the signature "E" at the foot of page 25. The engraved title is a plate point: dealers call the signboard reading "Veller" the first state, but one ABAA listing notes that "Weller" turns up in copies whose other plates are all first issue, so the signboard does not settle it alone.
Sets in parts are graded part by part. The near-prime set from the W.H. Collis collection, assembled in the 1930s, sold at Bonhams on 1 December 2021 for £50,250 including premium against an estimate of £15,000 to £20,000; the same sale's mixed-issue set, first issue only in the later parts, was estimated at £4,000 to £6,000.
Oliver Twist, 1838
Bentley issued the three volumes with "Boz" on the title pages and, at the end of volume III, a plate of Oliver at Rose Maylie's knee by the fire. Dickens objected to both; the plate was replaced by Cruikshank's church interior and the title pages reset with his name. Christie's places the Fireside plate at page 312 and Bauman at page 313, both citing Smith, and Bauman reports from Smith that the changes were made between 9 and 16 November 1838. A first issue has "Boz" and the Fireside plate; a copy with Dickens's name and the church plate is a later issue of the same year. The copy Dickens inscribed to William Harrison Ainsworth made $229,000 at Christie's New York on 2 April 2008, then the record for any Dickens book.
A Christmas Carol, 1843
Chapman and Hall published the Carol on 19 December 1843 at five shillings, in red-brown ribbed cloth with gilt edges, four hand-coloured etchings by John Leech and four woodcuts. The first 6,000 copies sold out by Christmas Eve according to Wikipedia and the Library of Congress; Sotheby's says they sold on the first day.
The points every source agrees on are the title page printed in red and blue and dated 1843, the heading "Stave I" on page 1 (reset as "Stave One" later), a half-title printed in blue, and the uncorrected text. The argument is the endpapers. Eckel, as quoted by Sotheby's, makes green the first issue and yellow the second, with every other point the same, and calls yellow the scarcer. The Library of Congress says Dickens planned a green title page and green endpapers, that the publisher changed both before publication, and that the presentation copies he gave out on 17 December 1843 have yellow endpapers. Bonhams, cataloguing the Collis copy in 2021, says the sheets were issued in varying combinations with no clear priority, and an ABAA listing says both colours occur in the earliest binding. Our reading: a red and blue title with "Stave I" is a first edition whichever endpapers it has, green is what most buyers pay a premium for, and a dealer who calls either colour "the" first issue is choosing a side.
William B. Todd's binding study (The Book Collector, 1961) adds a measurement: on the earliest cloth the gap between the blind border and the gilt wreath on the front cover is at least 14 mm and the "D" of "Dickens" in the wreath is unbroken; Bonhams describes a 12 to 13 mm gap as Todd's second binding. The houses also name states differently (Forum called a green-endpaper copy "first issue, second state"; Christie's notes that Smith counts the red and blue title as a second state, after a green and red trial title), so read the description, not the label.
Great Expectations, 1861
The rarest Dickens first, because it skipped the parts. It ran in All the Year Round from 1 December 1860 to 3 August 1861, then Chapman and Hall issued it in three volumes in violet wavy-grain cloth for the library trade. Sotheby's, citing Patten, gives 1,000 copies for the first issue and 750 for the second, most bought by Mudie's, and Bonhams, citing Smith, dates the first impression to 6 July 1861 with four further "editions", in fact issues of the same printing, on 5 August, 17 August, 21 September and 30 October. Wikipedia gives the book edition as October 1861, which matches only the last of those; we follow the houses.
Because the issues share one impression, the first is identified by the absence of an edition statement on the title pages, a publisher's catalogue dated May 1861 at the end of volume III, and the type flaws analysed in the 1993 Clarendon edition (Appendix D), which every house now cites. Two are quoted most: the "3" present in the page number 103 and the "i" present in "inflexible" on page 193 of volume III, both lost as the type wore, so a copy that has them was printed early. Later issues carry their own misprints, such as "raving" for "starving" on volume III page 37, listed by Sotheby's in a fourth impression in December 2025.
The others in brief
David Copperfield (Bradbury and Evans, 1850) is first issue with the date on the engraved title, the six-line errata leaf and "screamed" uncorrected to "screwed" on page 132, line 20, a point corrected early. Bleak House (1853) has three misprints: "elgble" on page 19, line 6, "chair" for "hair" on page 209 and "counsinship" on page 275. A Tale of Two Cities (1859), Browne's last Dickens, is first issue with page 213 misnumbered 113; the signature "b" on the list of plates is also cited, but one dealer, citing Kremers, says its absence proves nothing. Our Mutual Friend (1865) came in green wrappers with the "Our Mutual Friend Advertiser" in each part and 40 plates by Marcus Stone.
The Christmas books
Five small cloth volumes: A Christmas Carol (1843) and The Chimes (dated 1845, published December 1844) from Chapman and Hall, then The Cricket on the Hearth (1845), The Battle of Life (1846) and The Haunted Man (1848) from Bradbury and Evans. The four later books have their own states of title page and advertisement leaf, which Shapero's listings describe but no second source we found sets out, so ask for the Smith collation. Uniform sets of all five sell as a unit: Freeman's reported $10,240 for a set on 8 May 2025 and Hindman $10,160 on 14 November 2024.
Reprints and American editions that look like firsts
- Later impressions in the first-edition cloth. Pickwick was reissued with later dates and re-etched plates carrying the Chapman and Hall imprint; a title dated 1837 is required, and the plates and text points tell early from late. One Bonhams description, citing Smith, calls the 1862 one-volume Great Expectations the real second edition.
- American editions. Carey, Lea and Blanchard of Philadelphia reprinted Pickwick in five small volumes from 1836, without the plates, as the Smith College copy shows. Carey and Hart's Philadelphia Christmas Carol of 1844 is usually given priority over Harper's New York pamphlet of the same year, though one auction catalogue argues the cheaper Harper could have been first. Reprints, and unpaid ones: no international copyright existed until 1891.
- Facsimiles. The 1843 Carol has been reproduced many times with the red and blue title; modern paper and a modern imprint give them away.
Our guide to points of issue explains the vocabulary; our Jane Austen guide covers the generation before, when novels were sold in boards.
Traps
Parts bound up later, and sets made up. A volume bound from the parts is a first edition, but a "first issue" claim needs collating part by part against Hatton and Cleaver: Bonhams' catalogue of the Collis collection records sets made up from two or more broken sets in the 1930s, and washed plates or wrappers bound in at the back are signs of later work.
"First edition" cloth that is a later issue. The cloth is original, but the sheets may be the last printed: the five 1861 issues of Great Expectations share one cloth, and Bonhams counts fourteen editions of the Carol to 1860 with the text barely changed. Ask which issue, not just which edition.
Supplied plates. The Buss plates, the Fireside plate and the Carol's coloured plates are all worth more than the book around them, so they get moved between copies; a plate on different paper, or trimmed smaller than the text, is a question to ask.
Premium and hammer. Trade reports quote hammer prices; house websites quote the price with premium. The Drizen Great Expectations is £140,000 in one and £175,000 in the other. Compare like with like.
What they have sold for
| Copy | Sale | Price |
|---|---|---|
| A Christmas Carol, pre-publication presentation copy | Christie's New York, 4 December 2009 | $290,500 |
| Oliver Twist, 1838, inscribed to Ainsworth | Christie's New York, 2 April 2008 | $229,000 |
| Great Expectations, first impression, original cloth (Drizen) | Sotheby's London, 24 September 2019 | £140,000 hammer, £175,000 with premium |
| David Copperfield, presentation copy (Drizen) | Sotheby's London, 24 September 2019 | £110,000 hammer, £137,500 with premium |
| Pickwick Papers, 1837, presentation copy to Dr Elliotson (Drizen) | Sotheby's London, 24 September 2019 | £80,000 (Antiques Trade Gazette) |
| Pickwick Papers, 20 parts in 19, near-prime set (Collis) | Bonhams Knightsbridge, 1 December 2021 | £50,250 |
| Great Expectations, first impression, rebound by Bayntun | Forum Auctions, 30 March 2023 | £13,000 hammer |
| A Christmas Carol, first issue, yellow endpapers (Collis) | Bonhams Knightsbridge, 1 December 2021 | £8,287 |
| A Christmas Carol, first issue, second state, worn | Tennants, March 2021 | £4,200 hammer |
| A Christmas Carol, green endpapers, spine defective | Forum Auctions, 1 December 2022 | £3,500 hammer |
| Pickwick Papers, bound from the parts, 16 of 20 first issue | Bonhams online, November 2025 | £832 |
Prices include premium unless marked hammer; they are reported results, not a valuation of your copy. Lower down, a fifth issue of Great Expectations in cloth made £5,632 at Bonhams in March 2025, and Antiques Trade Gazette reported a rebound copy at £5,000 and a David Copperfield in book form at £1,400 at Cuttlestones in May 2016. The spread is the lesson: the same text sells for £832 or £50,250 depending on form, completeness and condition. Grade the book and the plates as they are, do not have anything rebound or cleaned, and for parts or a presentation copy go to a specialist house; our guide to where to sell rare books lists them.
Frequently asked questions
What counts as a first edition of a Dickens novel?
For most of the novels, the monthly parts in printed paper wrappers, because that is how the text first reached readers. The publisher then issued the same sheets as a cloth-bound volume when the run ended, and many readers had their own parts bound. All three are first editions in the sense that the sheets are the first printing, but the trade prices them in that order: parts, then original cloth, then parts bound up later.
How do I know if my A Christmas Carol is a first edition?
Check four things: the title page printed in red and blue and dated 1843, the heading "Stave I" on the first page of text (later printings read "Stave One"), a blue half-title, and four hand-coloured plates by John Leech. Endpapers are green or yellow, and houses disagree about which came first. Any title page dated 1844, or reading "Stave One", is a later edition.
Why is Great Expectations the rarest Dickens first edition?
It was not issued in monthly parts. It ran weekly in Dickens's magazine All the Year Round and then came out in three volumes from Chapman and Hall in 1861, a format aimed at the circulating libraries. Sotheby's, citing Patten, puts the first issue at 1,000 copies and the second at 750, most of them bought by Mudie's library and read to pieces. The five 1861 issues share one printing, so dealers date a copy by its title page and its type flaws.
Is a Dickens first edition bound from the parts worth less than one in original cloth?
Usually, yes. A volume bound from the parts has lost its wrappers and advertisements, and the binding is the owner's, not the publisher's. Bonhams sold a Pickwick bound from the parts, with first-issue text in 16 of 20 parts, for £832 in November 2025, against £50,250 for a near-complete set in the original wrappers in December 2021. The sheets can be just as early; the form is what the price follows.
What are Charles Dickens first editions worth?
From a few hundred pounds to six figures. A rebound first of Bleak House or David Copperfield sells for hundreds; a first issue of A Christmas Carol in cloth made £8,287 at Bonhams in December 2021 and £3,500 hammer at Forum Auctions in December 2022; a first impression of Great Expectations made £13,000 hammer at Forum in March 2023 and £140,000 hammer at Sotheby's in September 2019. Presentation copies set the records: $290,500 for a Carol at Christie's New York in 2009.
Are American editions of Dickens first editions?
They are first American editions, and some were printed before the English book edition, but they are not the firsts collectors mean. Carey, Lea and Blanchard of Philadelphia reprinted Pickwick in five small volumes from 1836, and Carey and Hart published A Christmas Carol in Philadelphia in 1844 with Harper close behind in New York. None paid Dickens, which is why he campaigned for international copyright on his 1842 tour.
Where these facts come from
- The Posthumous Papers of the Pickwick Club, first edition in the 20 original parts, the W.H. Collis collection, Bonhams, 1 December 2021 (bonhams.com)
- The Posthumous Papers of the Pickwick Club, bound from the original parts, Bonhams, November 2025 (bonhams.com)
- Posthumous Papers of the Pickwick Club, bound from the parts, Bauman Rare Books (baumanrarebooks.com)
- The Pickwick Papers in parts, Eton College Library catalogue (catalogue.etoncollege.com)
- Dickens collection offered at Bonhams, Fine Books and Collections, November 2021 (finebooksmagazine.com)
- Oliver Twist, first issue in original cloth, Bauman Rare Books (baumanrarebooks.com)
- Oliver Twist, 1838, with the Fireside plate, Christie's online (onlineonly.christies.com.cn)
- First edition of Oliver Twist nets highest price for a Dickens work, Reuters, April 2008 (reuters.screenocean.com)
- A Christmas Carol, 1843, first issue, Bonhams, 1 December 2021 (bonhams.com)
- A Christmas Carol, 1843, Eckel's first issue, Sotheby's, 2026 (sothebys.com)
- A Christmas Carol, 1843, with the Todd binding points, Christie's (christies.com.cn)
- A Christmas Carol, first edition, first issue, second state, Forum Auctions, 1 December 2022 (forumauctions.co.uk)
- First edition Christmas Carol led Tennants auction, Fine Books and Collections, March 2021 (finebooksmagazine.com)
- Highlighting the holidays: a tale of two publishings, Library of Congress, December 2015 (blogs.loc.gov)
- A Christmas Carol, Wikipedia (en.wikipedia.org)
- Great Expectations, 1861, first edition, first impression, the Lawrence Drizen collection, Sotheby's, 24 September 2019 (sothebys.com)
- Great Expectations, first edition, fourth impression, Sotheby's, December 2025 (sothebys.com)
- Great Expectations, first edition, first impression, Forum Auctions, 30 March 2023 (forumauctions.co.uk)
- Great Expectations, fifth impression, Bonhams, March 2025 (bonhams.com)
- The most expensive Charles Dickens books sold in the last decade, Sotheby's (sothebys.com)
- Boz kicks off a splendid Dickens collection, Antiques Trade Gazette report on the Drizen sale, November 2019 (learnantiques.com.au)
- Dickens sells well at Cuttlestones specialist sale, Antiques Trade Gazette, May 2016 (cdn.antiquestradegazette.com)
- Personal History of David Copperfield, first issue, Bauman Rare Books (baumanrarebooks.com)
- The Personal History of David Copperfield, first issue, James Cummins Bookseller (jamescumminsbookseller.com)
- Bleak House, first UK edition 1853, John Atkinson Fine and Rare Books (johnatkinsonbooks.co.uk)
- A Tale of Two Cities, first edition, first issue, Bauman Rare Books (baumanrarebooks.com)
- David Copperfield in parts, Smith College Libraries Dickens exhibition (smith.edu)
- The first American Pickwick, Smith College Libraries Dickens exhibition (smith.edu)
- Dickens's monthly wrappers, The Victorian Web (victorianweb.org)
- Charles Dickens bibliography, Wikipedia (en.wikipedia.org)
- The Dickens reference shelf, an annotated list, IOBA Standard (ioba.org)
- Walter E. Smith, Charles Dickens in the Original Cloth, Heritage Book Shop, 1982 and 1983; Thomas Hatton and Arthur Cleaver, A Bibliography of the Periodical Works of Charles Dickens, 1933; John C. Eckel, The First Editions of the Writings of Charles Dickens, revised edition 1932 (the references the dealers and houses above cite)
Points of issue are listed only where at least two independent sources agree. Last reviewed 21 October 2026. Reviewed by Harriet Ellis; read how we check facts.
Last reviewed 21 October 2026.