6j Charles Dickens. London: George G Harrap & Co., ca. 1910.

Notes

Christmas at Dingley Dell is one of Charles Dickens’s early Christmas-themed works, first published in 1836 as part of his collection Sketches by Boz. The story is a humorous and sentimental tale of family, love, and social interaction during the festive season, set in the fictional village of Dingley Dell. Dickens uses his characteristic wit and keen observation of human behavior to celebrate domestic warmth, community, and the joys and foibles of everyday life, laying the groundwork for the more elaborate Christmas books he would later write, such as A Christmas Carol.

Miniature books grew especially popular in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, when improvements in printing, paper quality, and typesetting made it possible to produce readable texts at very small sizes. Their appeal blended novelty, craftsmanship, and collectability: readers enjoyed the surprise of fully functional books small enough to fit in a pocket, while collectors prized the fine bindings, gilt lettering, and clever design challenges they represented. Miniature volumes were often given as gifts or souvenirs and frequently featured well-known classics, poetry, or religious texts, since familiar works lent themselves well to abbreviated or compact formats. 

Description

Miniature. Blue suede binding. Gilt lettering on spine. Fading to spine. Dog eared lower corners of first three pages. Fine condition.