Pride and Prejudice: Jane Austen’s rare book

by AndreChevalier on December 5, 2011 · Rare Book Education, Rare English Literature

Pride and Prejudice was Jane Austen’s second book, following her debut publication, Sense and Sensibility by “A Lady . Pride and Prejudice was published in January 1813 and it proved to be such a great success that a second edition was immediately published in November of the same year. According to Sir Geoffrey Keynes, 1500 copies of the first edition were printed.

This precious novel was originally titled First Impressions and was written by Austen during the period of late 1796 and August 1797. She made significant revisions to the manuscript between 1811 and 1812 and she later renamed the story to Pride and Prejudice before given to the Thomas Egerton for publication. It is possible that the novel’s original title was altered to avoid confusion with other works. In the years between the completion of First Impressions and its revision into Pride and Prejudice, two other works had been published under that name: a novel by Margaret Holford and a comedy by Horace Smith.  Austen’s unique story takes place around the turn of the 19th century and deals with “sufferings and oppositions” in English morality, education, children upbringing and many others.

Austen sold the copyright to Egerton for £110, not anticipating that it would become an instant hit.  Egerton published the novel in 3 volumes and the set was sold for the amount of 18 shillings. It was well received by the critics and due to the favorable reviews the first edition sold out immediately. The second edition, published during the same year was also a success and a third edition was published in 1817. The Book was translated in many languages, with the French language being the first. The first US edition was in 1832 and many others followed.

The book received a great deal of attention when a first edition rare copy owned by the legendary US dealer Dr. Rosenbach, was auctioned by Sotheby’s on October 28th 2010. Before the auction there was speculation that the book could fetch 100,000 sterling pounds. The final sale price was for £139,250 (220,210 USD). It should be noted that since 1975 this was the first auction of a copy that was still in its original boards.

Evaluated against our rare book attributes described in Rare Books: what makes them rare, the Sotheby’s auctioned copy, satisfies the requirements of the attributes of importance, scarcity, imprint, age, condition, author, subject, association and physical properties (ISIACASAPP). Missing from what amounts to a rarer book is a dedication or a signature by the author.  A very rare book nevertheless, especially when compared to what is currently available for sale. For example, a similar copy in excellent condition minus the book’s original boards is currently for sale asking $85,000. This indicates the type of effect a physical property limitation can have on price. An even less desirable copy due to sub-standard condition is on sale for $62,000. Dropping even lower, a copy consisting of 2 first edition volumes  while the third volume is a second edition, an imprint limitation, brings the price down to $42,000. Full sets of second and third editions in excellent condition, are available for as low as $20,000 or less.

Pride and Prejudice is considered as one of the most important English novels of all time.  Its successful path has taken many forms. It has undergone many adaptations and has been staged on numerous theatres throughout the world. It has been transferred to TV as a miniseries and the big screen as a movie. It has sold more than 20 million copies worldwide. What does all this success imply to a rare book collector? For an answer to this question please tune in to a future post analyzing investment opportunities with focus on Jane Austen’s rare books.

 

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Article by Andre Chevalier. You can connect with Andre Chevalier on Andre+

{ 6 comments… read them below or add one }

David janusheske February 6, 2021 at 8:22 pm

I have a 1902 presentation copy of pride and prejudice. Is it worth anything. In good condition.

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davidjanusheske January 18, 2022 at 11:04 pm

What is 1902 presention copy of pride and prejudice worth. I have one

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Tonilyn Apple August 30, 2020 at 2:12 pm

Hi
I have a Pride and Prejudice red back, I would like to send pictures. Plain hard back its printed upside down. They are no date on this book.
This book has been in my home from early 1940’s its in great condition.
Would like to know if its worth anything
Thanks

Reply

Deborah Cole January 31, 2019 at 6:47 am

Hi,
I have a hard back copy (reddish) of the Collins Illustrated pocket classic of Pride and Prejudice. The back few pages advertised prices at 2 shillings, or 4, found in Australia. How much might this be worth today?

Reply

Brad February 3, 2020 at 4:27 am

Unfortunately, your book is not worth anything. Collins editions are very common.

Reply

Denise December 26, 2018 at 4:25 am

Can you please help me. I found my dads copy of Pride and Prejudice (Gunn and Company) edited by Frank Sicha, John Adams High School, Cleveland, Ohio, copyright 1930, after he passed. I cannot find value anywhere and have searched with no success. Is this something that I should get appraised? Any value or am I just wasting time???? I do have images if you need to see them.

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