Arthur Rackham: Mrs. Cratchit Brings in the Christmas Pudding

In half a minute Mrs. Cratchit entered—flushed, but smiling proudly—with the pudding, like a speckled cannon-ball, so hard and firm, blazing in half of half-a-quartern of ignited brandy, and bedight with Christmas holly stuck into the top.

—Charles Dickens

A Christmas Carol

An original book illustration by Arthur Rackham for the Charles Dickens classic A Christmas Carol is currently offered for sale. The drawing shows a proud Mrs. Cratchit bringing in the Christmas pudding. She leans forward slightly, toward the pudding. The image was reversed for its 1915 publication, so that the left-facing woman was reproduced as right-facing on the printed page.

Arthur Rackham
AbeBooks listing accessed December 15, 2022

https://www.abebooks.com/servlet/BookDetailsPL?bi=30203965680&searchurl=kn%3DChristmas%2Bcard%26sortby%3D1&cm_sp=snippet-_-srp2-_-title5

The cover of the American edition

https://www.pinterest.com/pin/465278205237171436/

With the Pudding

https://twonerdyhistorygirls.blogspot.com/2017/12/dickens-and-cratchit-familys-christmas.html

An earlier illustration of the scene by Frederick Simpson Coburn is from the 1900 edition published by G. P. Putnam's Sons:

https://archive.org/details/christmascarol00dick2/page/91/mode/1up?view=theater

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