Jane Austen

First US edition of Austen's first novel — in a stunning fine art binding by the acclaimed Argentinian design bookbinder Sol Rébora.

• Sold as a set of 2 volumes.
• Jane Austen (English).
• Philadelphia: Carey & Lea, 1833.
• 12mo.
• 199, [1]; 189, [1] pages.
• Modern full grey-pink design binding by Sol Rébora in Can Can structure with one layer of cotton cloth and two layers of Japanese paper, each element hand-painted with acrylics and textured with a patterned design impressed with deep-relief hot-stamping from silk; spines and boards stamped in dark grey, cotton and abaca handmade paper grey-pink endpapers.

Austen's first novel uses the love stories of two sisters to explore the complexities and contradictions in the gendered expectations of the Regency era: a woman will be praised for her capacity to feel emotion (her sensibility), but not too much; a woman will be praised for her independent and responsible nature (her sense), but not too much. First published in late 1811 in three volumes, this is the first edition to appear in the United States, published in two volumes by Carey & Lea in an edition of only 1250 copies.

Sol Rébora is an internationally recognized design bookbinder based in Buenos Aires. Her works embody a minimalistic elegance that is nevertheless subtly complex, as in the carefully structured multiple layers used here. They are not only visually stunning, but supremely tactile. From Rèbora's artist statement: "The cloth texture is achieved using silk with a patterned design that evokes the aesthetic of the time period in which the original edition was produced, creating a visual connection with antique paper. This design also appeals to the collective memory of how custom bindings from the early 19th century might have appeared, complete with deep-relief hot-stamping impressions." A magnificent, unique copy of an Austen first.