A Christmas Carol > A Christmas Carol Expenses

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