1837 Northanger Abbey & Persuasion by Jane Austen / Richard Bentley, London / Scarce Early Edition / Only the 2nd UK Publication of Her Work
1837 Northanger Abbey & Persuasion by Jane Austen / Richard Bentley, London / Scarce Early Edition / Only the 2nd UK Publication of Her Work
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I'm so excited by this find. It is the earliest copy of Jane Austen's novels I have had so far to date and is an incredibly scarce edition.
Northanger Abbey and Persuasion by Jane Austen, published in 1837 by Richard Bentley, London. Bound together in ONE volume.
Some publication details first.
Jane Austen died in 1817 and Northanger Abbey and Persuasion were published posthumously in 1818. After that year there was no English re-issue of her novels until 1832 when Richard Bentley included them in his Standard Novels series. He published Northanger Abbey and Persuasion together in one volume in 1833, and this copy is the first reprint of that edition from 1837. To put this in some context this was the year in which Queen Victoria first came to the throne as a young girl. This copy has the same engraved frontispiece and title page by Greatbatch and Pickering as the 1833 edition, with 1837 being noted on the half-title pages of each novel.
Condition notes in detail for the collector.
This copy is even more remarkable in that most of these 1837 editions were published for private collectors and not the circulating libraries that the earliest editions of Jane Austen's novels had been. This copy however, has a book plate of Thorp's subscription library on the front paste down. It would be fascinating to find out more about this.
The contents are in good condition. There is fairly heavy foxing to the frontispiece and title page, otherwise pages are clean with just the odd spot, nicked edge and folded corner. There is a black coal mark in the margin of pages 204-5 where presumably somebody was reading in front of the fire. The top edge is tinted brown. There is some very, very faint ornate pencil marks which have been almost completely erased on the front page one of Northanger Abbey. These could easily be erased but I have left them as they are possibly a name and might be of interest to the collector/researcher.
I believe this to be an early re-binding, possibly of the Thorp library's. With leather spine and corner pieces and marbled sides. The binding has wear as would be expected and the spine has some fragile areas on the surface leather, but the binding remains good and strong. This would be an excellent re-binding project if a new binding was preferred. I personally like the history and age to this one.
There is a good deal of rubbing to the edges, leather corner pieces and also some rubbing to the surface of the marbled sides.
Most of the wear to note with this copy is to the spine. It has five raised bands with gilt ruling and a dark red Moroccan leather title plate. With some splits along the joints at the top and bottom, with this being most noticeable at the fifth compartment down from the top, one up from the bottom where the leather now slightly gapes. With some small chips out of the leather at the head of the spine and scuffing to the black leather along the length. The title plate has a good deal of rubbing and some areas of loss to the titles. As mentioned, this is to the surface of the spine leather and the binding remains firm and strong.
More photos can be provided on request. I can also send my research notes along with the book. Please request if you would like these.
An opportunity to own one of the earliest editions of Northanger Abbey and Persuasion to be published. Your antique copy will be wrapped with great care and sent well packaged with full tracking and insurance.
H 18 cm x W 11 cm, 440 pages, 0.37 kg. I dispatch worldwide daily from the UK. With the exception of a small number of countries. Free Shipping worldwide on this title.
Northanger Abbey and Persuasion by Jane Austen, published in 1837 by Richard Bentley, London. Bound together in ONE volume.
Some publication details first.
Jane Austen died in 1817 and Northanger Abbey and Persuasion were published posthumously in 1818. After that year there was no English re-issue of her novels until 1832 when Richard Bentley included them in his Standard Novels series. He published Northanger Abbey and Persuasion together in one volume in 1833, and this copy is the first reprint of that edition from 1837. To put this in some context this was the year in which Queen Victoria first came to the throne as a young girl. This copy has the same engraved frontispiece and title page by Greatbatch and Pickering as the 1833 edition, with 1837 being noted on the half-title pages of each novel.
Condition notes in detail for the collector.
This copy is even more remarkable in that most of these 1837 editions were published for private collectors and not the circulating libraries that the earliest editions of Jane Austen's novels had been. This copy however, has a book plate of Thorp's subscription library on the front paste down. It would be fascinating to find out more about this.
The contents are in good condition. There is fairly heavy foxing to the frontispiece and title page, otherwise pages are clean with just the odd spot, nicked edge and folded corner. There is a black coal mark in the margin of pages 204-5 where presumably somebody was reading in front of the fire. The top edge is tinted brown. There is some very, very faint ornate pencil marks which have been almost completely erased on the front page one of Northanger Abbey. These could easily be erased but I have left them as they are possibly a name and might be of interest to the collector/researcher.
I believe this to be an early re-binding, possibly of the Thorp library's. With leather spine and corner pieces and marbled sides. The binding has wear as would be expected and the spine has some fragile areas on the surface leather, but the binding remains good and strong. This would be an excellent re-binding project if a new binding was preferred. I personally like the history and age to this one.
There is a good deal of rubbing to the edges, leather corner pieces and also some rubbing to the surface of the marbled sides.
Most of the wear to note with this copy is to the spine. It has five raised bands with gilt ruling and a dark red Moroccan leather title plate. With some splits along the joints at the top and bottom, with this being most noticeable at the fifth compartment down from the top, one up from the bottom where the leather now slightly gapes. With some small chips out of the leather at the head of the spine and scuffing to the black leather along the length. The title plate has a good deal of rubbing and some areas of loss to the titles. As mentioned, this is to the surface of the spine leather and the binding remains firm and strong.
More photos can be provided on request. I can also send my research notes along with the book. Please request if you would like these.
An opportunity to own one of the earliest editions of Northanger Abbey and Persuasion to be published. Your antique copy will be wrapped with great care and sent well packaged with full tracking and insurance.
H 18 cm x W 11 cm, 440 pages, 0.37 kg. I dispatch worldwide daily from the UK. With the exception of a small number of countries. Free Shipping worldwide on this title.
