More on the auction of Anne Sharp’s copy of Emma
Cinthia reminded us about the upcoming auction of the inscribed first edition of Emma that belonged to Anne Sharp in the comments of the mourning locket update a few posts down. The auction will take place at Bonhams on June 24.
Jane Austen was allocated twelve presentation copies by the publisher John Murray. Of these, nine were sent to family members (including Jane herself), one to the librarian of the Prince Regent (to whom the work was dedicated), and one to Countess Morley, these last under obligation from the publisher. The present copy is the only one given to a personal friend, testament to the strength of Jane’s feelings for Anne.
Bonhams expects the book to go for £50-70,000. We’ll keep an eye on these proceedings as well. (But if Sion or Cinthia win the lottery in the next three weeks, bidders beware.)
June 5th, 2008 at 2:56 pm
Readers of blogs would be satisfied with a photo of the book but unfortunately there is none available yet?
June 5th, 2008 at 5:09 pm
Just a photo of the inscription, so far–and it’s probably not written by Jane Austen (doesn’t really look like her handwriting, which is far neater).
June 10th, 2008 at 4:16 pm
It states in the article that the inscription is provided by the publisher. Seems reasonable to me.