Shelf Life: A Christmas Tree by Charles Dickens

For our latest Shelf Life, we are showing off this copy of Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Tree. This edition is one of only 1300 copies printed. The pages are carefully Illustrated by Ray Abruzzi with formatting and typography by Robert Donald. A Christmas Tree, the lesser known Christmas story from Dickens, is an elderly narrator’s memory of Christmas’ past, with different events inspired by traditional decorations on the Christmas tree.

The book is bound in an olive-green hard cover, with a simple white evergreen branch in the center and embossed gold type for the title. It is accompanied with a faded burgundy publishers box. Inside the book, illustrations are printed along the edge of each page, consisting of green and red evergreen branches with objects overlaid in gold. Every few pages, there is a tissue paper insert with more images printed in gold. The objects printed in gold are varying: instruments, clocks, animals, statues, vases, and many other things; all relating back to the stories and the decorations adorning the tree.

It’s an elegantly designed book that’s a visual treat during this holiday season.