Shelf Life: Books, Manuscripts and Works on Paper from the Library of Stanley J. Seeger and Christopher Cone

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

View 1 of Lot 5: Jane Austen | Pride and Prejudice, 1813, first edition, 3 volumes, contemporary half calf

jane austen | pride and prejudice, 1813, first edition, 3 volumes, contemporary half calf

Highlights from Books, Manuscripts & Music, from Medieval to Modern

[Jane Austen] Mansfield Park: A Novel. London: printed for T. Egerton, 1814 FIRST EDITION, 3 volumes, 12mo (173 x 102 mm), half-titles in each volume, publisher's advertisement leaf at end of third volume (advertising second editions of Sense and Sensibility and Pride and Prejudice), contemporary green quarter morocco, first volume with 1 inch marginal tear to page 161 and 3/4 inch marginal tear (neither affecting text), second volume lacking terminal blank, occasional stray spotting, extremities rubbed UNRESTORED COPY OF AUSTEN'S THIRD NOVEL, FRESH TO THE MARKET AND WITH EARLY SCOTTISH PROVENANCE. Mansfield Park sold out within the year of publication, with John Murray later "express[ing] astonishment that so small an edition of such a work should have been sent into the world" (Gilson, p. 49). Sense and Sensibility (1811) and Pride and Prejudice (1813) had both been drafted in Austen's twenties and later revised for publication; Mansfield Park, by contrast, was the first of her novels to be fully composed at Chawton Cottage, during what was arguably her most productive period. Kathryn Sutherland has noted that "for some months in 1811 she had three novels on the go" (Sutherland 124). Though it sold quickly, the novel attracted no reviews until 1821 and remained critically under-examined until Robert Chapman's landmark 1923 scholarly edition, which appended Elizabeth Inchbald's Lovers' Vows, thus underscoring its intertextual importance. Without question, Mansfield Park represents a deliberate departure from the "light & bright & sparkling" tone Austen herself associated with Pride and Prejudice. In the morally serious figure of Fanny Price, who resists both patriarchal pressure and family coercion, Austen broadened the scope of female agency in fiction. The novel also gestures beyond the drawing room to the wider world: Sir Thomas Bertram's Antigua estate, Mrs. Norris's allusions to its profits, and the Portsmouth setting all anchor the narrative in the realities of Britain's imperial economy and the Napoleonic Wars. Far from narrow in scope, Mansfield Park engages with both domestic morality and global commerce, and stands today as one of Austen's most ambitious and socially incisive works. As with the Duke of Argyll's copy (sold Sotheby's New York, 15 October 2025, lot 6), the present copy has early Scottish provenance—hailing from the seat of Lord Methven in Perth and Kinross. PROVENANCE: Smythe family of Methven Castle, Perth and Kinross: early-nineteenth-century bookplates, ink inscriptions to titles/endleaves, and pencil shelfmarks; by descent until present owner LITERATURE: Garside and Schowerling 1814:11; Gilson A6; Keynes 6; Sadleir 62c; Kathryn Sutherland, Jane Austen's Textual Lives: from Aeschylus to Bollywood (Oxford: Oxford university Press, 2005)

View 1 of Lot 49: [Jane Austen] | Mansfield Park, 1814, first edition, 3 volumes, the Methven Castle copy

[jane austen] | mansfield park, 1814, first edition, 3 volumes, the methven castle copy

Finely bound set of the novels, works and letters of Jane Austen.<ul><li>Sold as a set of 12.</li><li>Jane Austen (English).</li><li>Edinburgh: John Grant, 1911-12.</li><li>Engraved frontis portrait plate in volume one.</li><li>The Winchester Edition.</li><li>Bound by Atkinson in full tan morocco, gilt lettered red and green morocco spine labels, top edges gilt with marbled pastedowns and endpapers.</li></ul>

The Novels of Jane Austen

<a href="https://www.sothebys.com/en/buy/luxury/books-&amp;-manuscripts/book/first-edition?locale=en" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">First US edition</a> of Northanger Abbey by <a href="https://www.sothebys.com/en/search?query=Jane+Austen&amp;pfilters.dateRange=upcoming" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Jane Austen</a>, in a <a href="https://www.sothebys.com/en/buy/luxury/books-&amp;-manuscripts/book?locale=en&amp;Book%20Subject=Fine%2520bindings" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">fine art binding</a> by the acclaimed Argentinian design bookbinder Sol Rébora.<ul><li>Sold as a set of 2 volumes.</li><li>Jane Austen (English).</li><li>Philadelphia:&nbsp;Carey &amp; Lea,&nbsp;1833.</li><li>12mo.</li><li>195, [1]; 196 pages.</li><li>Cotton and abaca handmade paper grey-pink endpapers.&nbsp;</li><li>Modern full grey-lavender 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.</li></ul> Often misread as critical of the gothic novels that were popular at the period of its first composition, Northanger Abbey is a more complex exploration of the genre that is especially notable for its passages in defense of the novel form – written, uncharacteristically, in first person directly from the narrator. First published in late 1817 in three volumes, this is the first edition to appear in the United States, published in two volumes by Carey &amp; Lea in an edition of only 1250 copies; it includes the famous "Biographical Notice of the Author" that first revealed Austen's name to the public as the author (as her books were all published anonymously in her lifetime). 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."

Northanger Abbey First American Edition

<a href="https://www.sothebys.com/en/buy/luxury/books-&amp;-manuscripts/book/first-edition?locale=en" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">First Illustrated edition</a> of Mansfield Park by <a href="https://www.sothebys.com/en/search?query=Jane+Austen&amp;pfilters.dateRange=upcoming" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Jane Austen</a>.<ul><li>Jane Austen (English).</li><li>London:&nbsp;Richard Bentley,&nbsp;1833.</li><li>Octavo.</li><li>[4], 424, [4] pages.</li><li>Illustrated with frontispiece scene of Mary Crawford and Fanny Price, publisher's ads at rear.</li><li>Original plum cloth, black gilt-stamped spine labels, with series printed title, engraved title, and individual printed title.</li></ul> First illustrated edition, and first single-volume edition, of Austen's third published novel — in the exceptionally scarce first issue cloth binding. Mansfield Park centers on the comedic neighborhood drama caused by the amateur theater production: Morally upright Fanny gets pulled into a neighbor's scheming via an adaptation of Elizabeth Inchbald's well-known play, Lovers' Vows. Among Austen's works, Mansfield Park especially demonstrates how careful contrasts of characters and plot twists can bring out subtle ironies. In 1832, publisher Richard Bentley acquired the rights to all of Austen's novels and set about a project that would define the Victorian reception of her work. First published in 1814 in three volumes, this first Bentley printing of Mansfield Park was the third edition overall, and issued as part of Bentley's Standard Novels — "one of the longest lasting and most influential series in the Victorian period" (Troy J. Bassett). The series republished books that had been first printed in the standard triple-decker (i.e. three volume) format into a new, single-volume format. Bentley's editions were also the first of Austen's novels to be illustrated in Britain, thus exerting an immense influence on the visual iconography of the classic romances. Copies of the Bentley edition are extremely rare in the original cloth binding as here and thus highly desirable.

Mansfield Park | First Illustrated Edition

First US edition of <a href="https://www.sothebys.com/en/search?query=jane+austen&amp;pfilters.dateRange=upcoming" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Austen</a>'s first novel — in a stunning <a href="https://www.sothebys.com/en/buy/luxury/books-&amp;-manuscripts/book?locale=en&amp;Book%20Subject=Fine%2520bindings" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">fine art binding</a> by the acclaimed Argentinian design bookbinder Sol Rébora.<ul><li>Sold as a set of 2 volumes.</li><li>Jane Austen (English).</li><li>Philadelphia:&nbsp;Carey &amp; Lea,&nbsp;1833.</li><li>12mo.</li><li>199, [1]; 189, [1] pages.</li><li>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.</li></ul> 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 &amp; 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.

Sense And Sensibility | First American Edition

The <a href="https://www.sothebys.com/en/buy/luxury/books-&amp;-manuscripts/book/first-edition?locale=en" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">first US edition</a>, first printing of Pride and Prejudice by <a href="https://www.sothebys.com/en/search?query=jane+austen&amp;pfilters.dateRange=upcoming" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Jane Austen</a>.<ul><li>Sold as a set of 2 volumes.</li><li>Jane Austen (English).</li><li>Philadelphia:&nbsp;Carey &amp; Lea,&nbsp;1832.</li><li>12mo.</li><li>199, [1]; 209, [1] pages</li><li>Publisher's catalogue bound at front of Volume I.</li><li>Modern full peach 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 peach endpapers.</li></ul> First US edition in a stunning fine art binding by the acclaimed Argentinian design bookbinder Sol Rébora. Austen's most beloved novel is simultaneously a unique production of profound artistic confidence and an entertaining popular love story: it builds on a long-established tradition of English courtship novels in conversation with many women authors before her like Frances Burney (from whose book Cecelia Austen may have borrowed the very phrase "pride and prejudice"). Austen admitted in a letter that she thought her book's heroine, Elizabeth Bennett, "as delightful a creature as ever appeared in print" (29 January 1813) – and generations of readers have agreed with her. First published in 1813 in three volumes, this is the first edition to appear in the United States, published in two volumes by Carey &amp; Lea in an edition of only 750 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.

Pride And Prejudice | First American Edition

A <a href="https://www.sothebys.com/en/buy/luxury/books-&amp;-manuscripts/book/first-edition?locale=en" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">first edition</a> of Mansfield Park by <a href="https://www.sothebys.com/en/search?query=Jane+Austen&amp;pfilters.dateRange=upcoming" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Jane Austen</a>, in a silk-impressed <a href="https://www.sothebys.com/en/buy/luxury/books-&amp;-manuscripts/book?locale=en&amp;Book%20Subject=Fine%2520bindings" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">fine binding</a>.<ul><li>Sold as a set of 2 volumes.</li><li>Jane Austen (English).</li><li>Philadelphia:&nbsp;Carey &amp; Lea,&nbsp;1832. </li><li>12mo.</li><li>4, 200; 204 pages.&nbsp;</li><li>Publisher's catalogue bound at front of volume I. </li><li>Cotton and abaca handmade paper peach endpapers.</li><li>Modern full 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. </li></ul> First US edition of Austen's third published novel — in a stunning fine art binding by the acclaimed Argentinian design bookbinder Sol Rébora. "I was quiet but I was not blind." Among Austen's works, Mansfield Park especially demonstrates how careful contrasts of characters and plot twists can bring out subtle ironies. First published in 1814 in three volumes, this is the first edition to appear in the United States, published in two volumes by Carey &amp; 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."

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