Marleys ghost

“Marley’s Ghost,” original watercolor illustration by John Leech for Charles Dickens’s A Christmas Carol, first edition, 1843, The Pierpont Morgan Library, purchased by Pierpont Morgan; MA 97.

 

Last of spirits

“The Last of the Spirits,” original watercolor illustration by John Leech for Charles Dickens’s A Christmas Carol, first edition, 1843, The Pierpont Morgan Library, purchased by Pierpont Morgan; MA 97.

 

Chrisatmas present

“Third Visitor or the Ghost of Christmas Present,” detail, original watercolor illustration by John Leech for Charles Dickens’s A Christmas Carol, first edition, 1843, The Pierpont Morgan Library, purchased by Pierpont Morgan; MA 97.

 

 

Fezziwig

“Fezziwig’s Ball,” original watercolor illustration John Leech for Charles Dickens’s A Christmas Carol, first edition, 1843, The Pierpont Morgan Library, purchased by Pierpont Morgan; MA 97.

 

A Christmas Carol

Cover 12-14

 

By David S. Smith

NEW YORK CITY — Universally recognized, the fictional characters of Ebenezer Scrooge, Tiny Tim, Bob Cratchit, Jacob Marley and the Ghosts of Christmas Past, Future and Present seemingly became immortal figures overnight with Charles Dickens’s 1843 release of A Christmas Carol. Together, this crew of characters appears to annually come to life, embedded in the minds of all who have read, listened to, watched or merely heard their heartening stories. Aside from its religious aspects, the amazing tale, related more than 160 years ago, has played a major role in establishing modern day perceptions of Christmas and goodwill.

Quite a “Godly” accomplishment by any standard, even more so when it is taken into account that Dickens penned this classic in just six short weeks.

Dickens began what he initially termed his “Little Christmas Book” or “Little Carol” in October 1843, and in a literary flurry, finished it in proper time to be published and marketed prior to Christmas. Disagreements with publishers initially halted the release; however, a determined Dickens charged forth, financing the printing of the book himself.

Published as a novel in an extravagant manner with gilt-edged pages, a host of hand colored illustrations and the addition of a sumptuous binding, the book instantly became all the rage among a culture that was, during that period, rapidly distancing itself from the traditions of Christmas. Five days after the book’s release on December 17, the entire edition of 6,000 copies was sold out. In a move befitting his lead character’s ultimate realization, Dickens had priced the book at a mere five shillings, making his message affordable to all, to the rich and the poor, and to the young and old.

This idealistic combination of extravagance and affordability resulted financially in a profit of mere crumbs for the author, despite the brisk sales. The first and best of the Christmas books that Dickens would pen, A Christmas Carol has become not only his best-known book, but it is regarded by historians as the basis for many of the surviving traditions of the Christmas holidays.

When the manuscript was returned to Dickens after printing, the author arranged for it to be finely bound in red morocco leather and it was unselfishly presented to a friend. Some 50 years later, the original manuscript was purchased in the 1890s by American mogul and collector extraordinaire Pierpont Morgan, the benefactor of the Morgan Library and Museum.

In keeping with the generosity of both Dickens and Morgan, a celebration of the holiday season is taking place at the Morgan Library and Museum where the original manuscript for A Christmas Carol is on view the rotunda of the museum’s famed McKim building.

A unique holiday experience, the exhibition of the manuscript illuminates not only the mindset and determination of the author, his concise skills and literary competency, but also his abilities to convey his conceptual visual message of Christmas, somewhat haunting at times, to his revered illustrator John Leech.

According to curators at the Morgan, an in-depth viewing of the manuscript reveals the author’s methods of composition and construction. His “pace of writing and revision, apparently contiguous, is rapid and boldly confident. Revisions are inserted for vividness and immediacy of effect. Deleted text is struck out with a cursive and continuous looping movement of the pen, and replaced with more active verbs and fewer words to achieve greater concision. Dickens’s manuscript shows vividly his efforts to create the highest quality literary work in the shortest possible time.”

Interestingly, Dickens abandoned the use of chapters in A Christmas Carol, instead dividing the book into five “staves,” a tool used to separate musical scores. It was an inside joke from the author, keeping in tune with the musical allusion of the title.

Michael Patrick Hearn, author of The Annotated Christmas Carol, states in an interview on David Perdue’s Charles Dickens Page, “It is impossible to think of Christmas today without A Christmas Carol. It is as much a part of the season as mistletoe and plum pudding... Dickens in A Christmas Carol defined better than anyone before or since the secular meaning of Christmas… It is a beautifully constructed, compact parable as true today as it was in 1843.”

The exhibition is on view through January 6. While at the Morgan, other exhibitions currently on view include “Drawing Connections: Baselitz, Kelly, Rockburne and the Old Masters”; “Painted With Words: Vincent Van Gogh’s Letters to Emile Bernard”; American Treasures; “Masterworks from The Morgan, Near Eastern Seals”; and “Apocalypse Then: Medieval Illuminations from The Morgan.”

The Morgan Library & Museum is at 225 Madison Avenue at 36th Street. Museum hours are Tuesday–Thursday, 10:30 am to 5 pm; Friday, 10:30 am to 9 pm; Saturday, 10 am to 6 pm; Sunday, 11 am to 6 pm. Admission to the period rooms is without charge on Tuesday, 3 to 5 pm; Friday, 7 to 9 pm; Sunday, 4 to 6 pm.

The museum is closed Monday, Christmas Day, and New Year’s Day. The Morgan will close at 4 pm on Christmas Eve and New Year’s Eve. Admission to the McKim rotunda is without charge Tuesday, 3 to 5 pm; Friday, 7 to 9 pm; Sunday, 4 to 6 pm. For information, 212-685-0008 or www.themorgan.org.

Editor’s note: David Perdue’s Charles Dickens Page — www.charlesdickenspage.com — and Wikipedia — www.wikipedia.org — were among the sources for this article.