J O N K E R S R A R E B O O K S
Three pages of adverts to the rear of vol III, sixteen page catalogue of adverts dat - ed October 1849 at the end of vol I. A fine set, exceptionally bright and crisp, with a touch of fading to the spine but much less so than usual and the covers still retaining much of the original puce hue. Internally very fresh, superficial splitting to the rear hinges of vol I and III and early owner - ship name to title pages. An exceptional set of a book seldom seen in unrepaired cloth. $35,000
Charlotte Bronte’s second novel. It is one of the foremost examples of the Victorian Social Nov - el, which uses fiction to highlight the impact of social issues, in this case industrialisation and the state of the country’s working class rural and urban poor. The novel is set in Yorkshire against the historical backdrop of the economic depression of the Napo- leonic Wars and the Luddite Riots. The period in which Bronte wrote Shirley was a tragic one for her family, as it saw the deaths of her two literary sisters, Emily and Anne and her brother Bramwell. She wrote to her publisher in August, “Whatever now becomes of the work, the occupation of writing it has been a boon to me. It took me out of a dark and desolate reality into an unreal but happier region”. The two principal characters, Shirley Keeldar and Caroline Helstone are loosely based on a homage to Emily and Anne. Smith 5 IN ORIGINAL CLOTH
become one of the most prominent literary works to come from the nine- teenth century. The first draft of the novel was written under the working title of ‘First Impressions’ in 1796. In 1797 Jane Austen’s father wrote to the publisher Cadell to ask if he would publish the novel. The offer was rejected by return of post. In 1800 The Minerva Press published a novel by Margaret Holford entitled First Impressions, which probably led to Austen chang- ing the title of the work. In the following years, Pride and Prejudice was heavily rewritten and the copyright eventually sold to Egerton in 1812. There is no record of the number of copies of the first edition, but Keynes suggests 1500 as the probable print run. The book sold briskly and was reprinted within the year and then again in 1817. These however, were the only three editions by Austen’s origi - nal publisher and the copyright was subsequently sold by Egerton’s ex- ecuters to Richard Bentley in 1832. Like all Regency editions of Austen’s work, copies retaining the half-titles are rare.
[BRONTE, Charlotte] BELL, Currer VILLETTE Smith, Elder, 1853 [46053] First edition. Three volumes. Original publisher’s brown bevelled cloth titled in gilt to the spines and with blind border and decoration to the boards. A very good set with discreet superficial repairs to spine ends and joints. A little
Gilson A5
IN EXCEPTIONAL CONDITION [BRONTE, Charlotte] BELL, Currer SHIRLEY A Tale. Smith, El- der, 1849 [46412] First edition. Three volumes. Original publisher’s plum-brown, horizontally ribbed cloth with gilt titles to spine and decora- tive border stamped in blind to the covers. Page 304 in vol II is missnumbered 403, though to be an early state of the text.
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