A Christmas Carol Expenses
Dickens' account with his printers for the first year after publication
Dec. 1843 - 1st Edition 6000 copies1
First Edition Expenses: | |||
---|---|---|---|
£ | s. | d. | |
Printing | 74 | 2 | 9 |
Paper | 89 | 2 | 0 |
Drawings and Engravings | 49 | 18 | 0 |
Two Steel Plates | 1 | 4 | 0 |
Printing Plates | 15 | 17 | 6 |
Paper for do. | 7 | 12 | 0 |
Colouring Plates | 120 | 0 | 02 |
Binding | 180 | 0 | 0 |
Incidents and Advertising | 168 | 7 | 8 |
Commission | 148 | 16 | 9 |
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Total | 855 | 0 | 8 |
January to April 1844 - 2nd to 7th Editions 7000 Copies.
Expenses for Editions 2-7: | |||
---|---|---|---|
£ | s. | d. | |
Printing | 58 | 18 | 0 |
Paper | 103 | 19 | 0 |
Printing Plates | 17 | 10 | 0 |
Paper | 8 | 17 | 4 |
Colouring Plates | 140 | 0 | 02 |
Binding | 199 | 18 | 2 |
Incidents and Advertising | 83 | 5 | 83 |
Commission | 107 | 18 | 10 |
------------------------------------------------------ | |||
Total | 720 | 7 | 0 |
May to December 1844 - Another 2000 printed making total of 15,000 copies printed and 14,930 sold
Dickens' First Year Profits: | |||
---|---|---|---|
£ | s. | d. | |
December 1843 | 186 | 16 | 7 |
January to April 1844 | 349 | 12 | 0 |
May to December 1844 | 189 | 11 | 5 |
------------------------------------------------------ | |||
First Year Profit | 726 | 0 | 04 |
Notes
1 - First edition of 6000 went on sale on Dec 19, 1843, Sold out by Christmas Day.
2 - Expenses were heavy. The color illustrations by John Leech were a large expense.
3 - The word is out and advertising costs are much less.
4 - Dickens' profits for the first year much less than expected.
Sources:
John Forster - The Life of Charles Dickens, 1872, v. 1, p. 344
Robert L. Patten - Charles Dickens and His Publishers, 1978