Jane Austen | Pride and Prejudice, 1813, first edition, 3 volumes, contemporary half calf

Jane Austen

Pride and Prejudice: a novel in three volumes, by the author of "Sense and Sensibility." London: printed for T. Egerton, Military Library, Whitehall, 1813

FIRST EDITION, 3 volumes, 8vo (173 x 101 mm), paper watermarked "1808", near-contemporary half calf over paper-covered boards, spines gilt with urn tool and black morocco lettering pieces, housed in a modern folding box, lacking half-titles, some spotting, a few small marginal tears occasionally touching text, volume 2 with 4 leaves (pp. 113–116 and 101–104) transposed, ownership inscriptions slightly shaved (see catalogue note), joints and hinges expertly restored

"It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of a good fortune, must be in want of a wife..."

The first edition of the novel that introduced the world to Elizabeth Bennet and Fitzwilliam Darcy.

Austen particularly cherished her heroine, Elizabeth, writing the day after Pride and Prejudice was published, "I must confess that I think her [Elizabeth] as delightful a creature as ever appeared in print, & how I shall be able to tolerate those who do not like her at least, I do not know." Jane Austen began the novel in 1796 and the first version had the title "First Impressions". The manuscript was originally rejected by Thomas Cadell and it was consequently left unfinished until 1811–1812, when Austen took it up again following the success of Sense and Sensibility. It evolved into Pride and Prejudice, and was published by Thomas Egerton in January 1813 in a run of approximately 1,500 copies, priced at 18 shillings. At this time, Austen wrote excitedly to her sister: "I want to tell you that I have got my own darling Child from London... The Advertisement is in our paper to day for the first time..." It sold immensely well, and a second edition followed in the autumn of that year. However, because the publisher had bought the copyright, Austen made little money from its success. One of the most-loved narratives of all time, the novel of manners has inspired countless adaptations and has sold over 20 million copies.

The present copy is fascinating for its evidence of early female Scottish ownership, with each volume inscribed by "Christina Anderson, St. Germains", wife of the retired East India Company official David Anderson (1750–1828). David Anderson was a close friend and confidante of Warren Hastings, Governor of Bengal—a figure scandalously rumoured to have fathered an illegitimate child with Jane Austen's socialite aunt Philadelphia Austen Hancock. After a successful career in India, Anderson returned to Britain in 1785 as a man of considerable means. Following the typical trajectory of a "nabob" of the period, he used his colonial wealth to purchase a landed estate, St Germains House in Longniddry, East Lothian, and in 1788 he married Christina (née Findlay, d.1824), niece of the Governor of Gibraltar. Though in the present volumes, Christina's ownership inscriptions are slightly shaved, the bindings are evidently near-contemporary, suggesting that she inscribed them when the volumes were still in their contemporary wrappers and later had the set rebound.

PROVENANCE:

"Christina Anderson, St. Germains": early ownership inscription to titles; sale, Sotheby's New York, 22 June 1999, lot 321

LITERATURE:

Gilson A3; Keynes 3; Sadleir 62b; Tinker 204; Grolier English 138