Hugh Thomson ~ “Reading Jane’s Letters”

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Book Illustration, Hugh Thomson, Jane Austen, Pride and Prejudice

A Jane Austen Day!

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Jane Austen, Jane Austen in Vermont, JASNA, Persuasions On-Line

Visit my Jane Austen in Vermont blog for a post on Austen’ s birthday, today, December 16, 1775.

See also the latest Persuasions On-Line, Vol. 31, No 1, released today on the JASNA.org website.

Vermont Book Festivals

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Authors, Book Festivals, Books, Brattleboro Book Festival, Burlington Book Festival, Jane Austen, JASNA-Vermont, Marsha Huff, Vermeer, Vermont

Vermont is hosting two Book Festivals in the next week – please visit each Festival site for details on authors speaking and other book-related events:

Burlington Book Festival

The 2010 Burlington Book Festival will take place in a variety of downtown Burlington venues throughout the weekend of September 24 through 26. The Queen City’s 6th annual celebration of the written word will offer readings, signings, panels, workshops, demos, musical performances, family activities and special events featuring literary luminaries from around the world-and just around the corner. All events will be free of charge and open to the public.

Bygone Books is one of the sponsors this year for the Jane Austen Society’s Vermont Region – JASNA-Vermont :  We will be hosting the President of JASNA, Marsha Huff who will be speaking on “Viewing Austen Through Vermeer’s Camera Obscura” – Sunday, September 26, 2-4 pm at Champlain College’s Hauke Center.  For more details, visit the Jane Austen in Vermont blog.

 

Brattleboro Literary Festival

 

The 9th annual Brattleboro Literary Festival will take place September 30 – October 3, 2010. The Festival is a four-day celebration of those who read books, those who write books, and of the books themselves. Located in downtown Brattleboro, Vermont, the Festival includes readings, panel discussions, and special events, featuring emerging and established authors. All events are free and open to the public.

Conserving Jane Austen

Tags

Bodleian Library Centre for the Study of the Book, Book Conservation, Jane Austen, Juvenilia, Volume the First

Here is a link to the Bodleian Library’s Centre for the Study of the Book project of conserving  Jane Austen’s Volume the First, her Juvenilia compilation that includes Henry & Eliza, The Adventures of Mr Harley, and The beautifull Cassandra. “Austen wrote in a ready-made bound blank-book and completed the transcript when she was seventeen. The manuscript was bought for the Bodleian Library through the Friends of the Bodleian in 1933 and was first published in an edition by R. W. Chapman (Oxford, 1933).”  [from the Bodleian website]

see the Bodleian Library Centre for the Study of the Book for more information and photographs.

[Volume the First, before conservation, from Bodleian website]

Jane Austen on the Block

Tags

Antiquarian Books, Auctions, Emma, Jane Austen, Mansfield Park, Rare Books

Two Austen items on the auction block in early December:

Sotheby’s Fine Books and Manuscripts
Sale N08602

11 Dec 09, New York
Exhibition Opens 5 Dec 09

DATE & TIME:  Session 1: Fri, 11 Dec 09, 10:00 AM
                               Session 2: Fri, 11 Dec 09, 2:00 PM

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 LOT 75 : AUSTEN, JANE 

10,000—15,000 USD 

Mansfield Park. London: Printed for T. Egerton, 1814.  1^st edition.

3 volumes, 12mo (6⅞ x 10 in.; 750 x 553 mm). Half-titles, paper watermarked 1812; (1): tear to lower right corner of C1, loss of lower right corner of G7; (2): top of title-page cropped, closed tears on H6–7 touching 2 lines of text, loss to lower right margin of O3, lacks terminal blank O4; (3) loss to right margin of B5, loss of right upper corners of I7–8 costing one letter on I8v, lacks advertisement leaf R4 at end. Contemporary half polished calf over marbled boards, ruled in gilt, smooth spines gilt, endpapers and edges plain; joints cracked or starting, head of spines of vols. 1–2 chipped, waist and foot of spine of vol. 3 chipped. Red morocco backed folding case.    

LITERATURE AND REFERENCES:  Gilson A6; Keynes Austen 6; Sadleir 62C

LOT 76 : AUSTEN, JANE 

15,000—20,000 USD 

Emma: A Novel. By the Author of “Pride and Prejudice.” London: Printed for John Murray, 1816.  1^st edition. 

3 volumes, 12mo (6¾ x 4 in.; 172 x 102 mm). Lacks half-titles, light toning; (1): preliminaries and quires N and P foxed, staining in quire G, loss to right margin on H11, short marginal tears on H12 and K1; (2) foxing more pronounced throughout, some staining in quire E, quires M and O browned; (3) neat repairs to long tears on H4 and H6 affecting several lines of text, quire O browned and stained. Contemporary half navy polished calf, ruled in gilt, spines gilt in 6 compartments (2 reserved for red morocco lettering and numbering pieces), endpapers and edges plain; upper hinge of vol. 2 strengthened. Quarter black morocco folding case.    

PROVENANCE:  Cecilia Hawken (ownership inscription on title-pages) — Percival and Elisabeth Merritt (bookplate) 

LITERATURE AND REFERENCES:  Gilson A8; Keynes Austen 8; Sadleir 62d

Jane Austen at the Morgan

Tags

Fine Books & Collections, Jane Austen, Morgan Library & Museum

The Fine Books & Collections October 2009 issue has an article on Jane Austen to announce the upcoming exhibit at the Morgan Library & Museum which will run from November 6, 2009 – March 14, 2010. 

See the full article here and see the Morgan information here [there will be a gallery talk on November 20th at 7 p.m.]  See also my post on this exhibition on my Jane Austen in Vermont blog.

Anonymous 19th-c miniature of Jane Austen - Morgan Library

Jane Austen’s “Emma” on the Auction Block

Tags

Bonham's Auctions, Book Auctions, Emma, Jane Austen, Swann Galleries

There are TWO copies of Jane Austen’s Emma to appear at auction in the next several weeks:

At Swann Galleries [NY] ~ 10/01/09:

19th & 20th Century Literature – Sale 2188, Lot 5 

AUSTEN, JANE. Emma. 3 volumes. 12mo, contemporary 1/4 brown calf over marbled boards, gilt lettering, bands, and volume numbers on spines, rubbing with loss at edges and tips (which are bumped), more so on volume 3; Volume 1 with creased and loose front endpaper, B3 with 1/4-inch hole affecting text, clean tears at B5 and C2, ink stain on G10, various short clean lower marginal tears throughout, several repaired; Volume 2, marginal repair to leaves M6 and 7, O9 stained, Q4 with 2-inch tear, Q5-8 with repairs to lower margins; Volume 3, chip to lower corner of G11 (affects text), page 215 wrongly numbered as 515 (noted in Gilson), marginal repair to O1; all volumes lack half-titles and contain 19th century booksellers ticket of M. Stapley, Tunbridge Wells, scattered light foxing, soiling. London: John Murray, 1816

Estimate $5,000-7,000

first english edition. Austen had a falling out with her first publisher Egerton over publication of Mansfield Park and transferred to John Murray, who published the second edition of that title and the first edition of Emma on the same terms: each was published at the author’s expense, with profits to the author after payment of a 10% commission to the publisher. In keeping with Murray’s stated views on edition sizes, 2000 copies were printed. Emma is also the only one of Jane Austen’s novels to bear a dedication (to the Prince Regent). –Gilson A8.

 

 

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and another at Bonhams [Los Angeles]~ 10/19/09

 Fine Books and Manuscripts – Sale 17520,  Lot 100

Lot Number:	100
Author:	[AUSTEN, JANE. 1775-1817.]
Title:	Emma: a Novel.
Year Published:	1816
Place Printed:	London
Printed By:	John Murray
Description:	Emma: a Novel. London: John Murray, 1816. 3 volumes. [4], 322; [2], 351, [1]; [2], 363, [1] ad pp. 12mo (170 x 100 mm). Modern red calf gilt by Frost, a.e.g., slipcase. Lacking half-titles, occasional light spotting or soiling, a couple of gatherings foxed, paper flaw affecting four words.
Lot Note:	First edition of Austen’s fourth novel, which was dedicated to the Prince Regent on his librarian’s suggestion. See illustration.
References:	Gilson A8.
Provenance:	Mary Elphinstone (period ownership inscription on titles).
Estimated Price:	USD 8,000.00 – 10,000.00

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[all information from the auction catalogues]

Summer Reading Lists

Tags

Booklists, Bookshop Blog, Jane Austen, Nora O'Neill, Pride & Prejudice, Summer Reading Lists

We all love booklists – over at The Bookshop Blog, Nora O’Neill has posted a summer reading list, a compilation from various high schools in Connecticut.  I post here just the books listed – see the full post for her commentary on each title. [I was especially pleased to see my two favorite books on the list :  The Grapes of Wrath and Pride and Prejudice!] – there is hope in the land!

1. John Steinbeck: The Grapes of Wrath  [“This is by far the runaway winner for reading assignments.  Big surprise with it being about the Great Depression. East of Eden and Of Mice and Men also made it onto the list this year.  Several years ago, the only Steinbeck to make it onto the lists was Travels With Charlie”]
2. Ellison: Invisible Man
3. Mark Haddon: The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Nighttime
4. John Irving: A Prayer for Owen Meany 
5. Jane Austen: Pride and Prejudice  [“Jane Austen seems to be a hot topic of late, spawning various modern… variations.  The most bizarre of these is Pride and Prejudice and Zombies, which I did actually see on one reading list.”] 
6. Friedman: The World is Flat
7. Alvarez: In the Time of the Butterflies
8. Larson: The Devil in the White City
9. Martel: The Life of Pi
10. Sinclair: The Jungle
11. Picoult: My Sister’s Keeper
12. Thomas Hardy: Jude the Obscure
13. Albom: Tuesdays with Morie
14. Gaines: A Lesson Before Dying
15. Bill Bryson: A Walk in the Woods
16. Baker: Growing Up
17. Hosseini:  Kite Runner
18. Angelou: “I Know why the Caged Bird sings”
19. Wilder:  Our Town
20. Rand:  Anthem, The Fountainhead, & Atlas Shrugged
21. Golding:  Lord of the Flies
22. Orwell:  1984
23. Adams:   Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy
24. Brown:  Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee
25. Guterson:  Snow Falling on Cedars
26. Hugo: Hunchback of Notre Dame
27. Junger: The Perfect Storm
28. McCourt: Angela’s Ashes
29. McEwan: Atonement
30. Morrison: The Bluest Eye
31. Remarque: All Quiet on the Western Front
32. Stoker:  Dracula
33. Walker: The Color Purple
34. Plath: The Bell Jar
35. Courtenay: The Power of One

Huntington Library Exhibit on Samuel Johnson

Tags

Huntington Library, Jane Austen, Samuel Johnson

Samuel Johnson (1709-1784)—one of the greatest moralists, poets, biographers, critics, essayists, and correspondents of all time—so dominated literary and intellectual life in the last half of the 18th century that the era is frequently referred to as the “Age of Johnson.”  As a conversationalist and writer he was so insightful and adept in the use of language that only Shakespeare and the Bible are quoted more often.

Samuel Johnson: Literary Giant of the 18th Century, a new exhibition opening May 23 and continuing through Sept.  21 in the West Hall of the Library, tells the story of Johnson’s life and achievements through a display of rare books, manuscripts, and portraits drawn from The Huntington’s holdings and from the Loren and Frances Rothschild Collection.  The exhibition is curated by noted Johnson scholar O. M. “Skip” Brack, professor emeritus of English at Arizona State University.

[from the Huntingon Library Website - see for more information on the exhibit]

 

[title page of Johnson's Dictionary from the Vassar Library website]

Further Reading:

• The Samuel Johnson Sound Bite page
• Samuel Johnson Page by Jack Lynch [updated to 2005] – see also Lynch’s introductory Guide to Samuel Johnson
• Johnson E-Texts online [by Jack Lynch at 18th-century e-texts]
• E-text of Dr. Johnson and Fanny Burney 
• Boswell’s Life of Johnson at Google Books
• Article at the Pasadena Star-News.com
• Review of the two new biographies of Johnson by Peter Martin and Jeffrey Meyers at the NYTimes.com
• And, because I must, one article on Jane Austen and her “Dear Dr. Johnson” at Persuasions, No. 11, 1989, by Gloria Gross

 

Johnson Portrait by Reynolds

Austen on the Block ~ Bloomsbury Auctions

Tags

18th and 19th century Literature, Antiquarian Books, Bloomsbury Auctions, Jane Austen, Rare Books, Women Writers

[I am repeating this from my Jane Austen in Vermont blog]

Bloomsbury Auctions-New York  announces the exhibition and auction of

 

The Paula Peyraud Collection, Samuel Johnson

and

 Women Writers in Georgian Society

Wednesday, 6 May, 2009 • 10:00 am

 

Bloomsbury Auctions, the world’s leading auction house for rare books and works on paper, announces The Paula Peyraud Collection, Samuel Johnson and Women Writers in Georgian Society with over 480 lots of books, manuscripts and paintings tells the fascinating story of English society in the middle and late Georgian periods. This extraordinary sale focuses on the artistic and literary women who came to the fore in the period 1750-1840.

 

 

 

 A highlight in the sale are the following five titles from Jane Austen: 

• Emma-1816- 3 volumes: $8,000-12,000
• Mansfield Park-1814- 3 volumes: $7,000-10,000
• Northanger Abbey-1818- 3 volumes: $5,000-8,000
• Pride and Prejudice-1813- 3 volumes Carysfort copy: $20,000-30,000
• Sense and Sensibility-1811- 3 volumes: $25,000-35,000 

 

There are a total of 483 lots for sale, to comprise books, autograph letters, engravings and watercolors of the era:  Johnson and Boswell, and Walpole, etc., and many women writers are represented:  Frances Burney, Maria Edgewoth, Hannah More, Hester Thrale Piozzi, Charlotte Lennox, Charlotte Smith, Charlotte Bronte, Ann Radcliffe, Marguerite Blessington, to name a few.

 

 

And see this watercolor of Elizabeth Bridges, Austen’s sister-in-law:

Bloomsbury Auction – May 6, 2009 Lot No.127

 

127. [AUSTEN, Jane (1775-1817)] – Thomas Hazlehurst (1740 – 1821). Portrait miniature of Elizabeth Bridges Knight wearing a white dress with a blue ribbon tied under corsage. Watercolor on ivory, oval.
2 1/2 x 2 inches (6.5 x 5 cm).
Initialed “T.H.” (lower right).
A fine portrait miniature of Jane Austen’s sister in law, Elizabeth Bridges (1773-1808) who married Edward Austen, the brother of Jane Austen. Edward took the name of his second cousin Mr. Knight on inheriting in 1812 his estates in Kent at Godmersham Park. They had 11 children.
This lot sold with an uncolored print of Godmersham Park by Watts.
Literature: Country Life. 27 July 1987, ill. p.111.  Est. $2000 – 3000.

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Viewing hours for the Paula Peyraud Collection are:  

• Friday May 1- By appointment
• Saturday May 2- 10-5 p.m.
• Monday May 4- 10-7 p.m.
• Tuesday May 5- 10-5 p.m.

Bloomsbury Auctions is the world’s leading auction house for rare books and works on paper and is headquartered in London with salerooms in New York and Rome.

 

 For further information call Bloomsbury:  212-719-1000 or email at newyork@bloomsburyauctions.com

 

You can view the full catalogue at the Bloomsbury website.