Sense and Sensibility - photo 1
Sense and Sensibility - photo 2

Sense and Sensibility

Lot 94
16.10.2025 10:00UTC +01:00
Classic
Starting price
$ 80 000
AuctioneerCHRISTIE'S
Event locationUnited Kingdom, London
Buyer Premiumsee on Website%
Archive
The auction is completed. No bids can be placed anymore.
Archive
ID 1472017
Lot 94 | Sense and Sensibility
Estimate value
$ 80 000 – 120 000
[AUSTEN, Jane (1775-1817).] Sense and Sensibility. London: for the author by C. Roworth and published by T. Egerton, 1811.

"The family of Dashwood had been long settled in Sussex..."

First edition of Jane Austen’s first published novel, the distinguished Stanley-Bishop-Benz copy, in contemporary calf and marbled boards. Originally titled "Elinor and Marianne," Austen's story of the Dashwood sisters and their financial and romantic travails following the death of their father was written in the late 1790s. Austen had struggled to publish her earlier work but eventually found success with the help of her brother's Oxford connection to Thomas Egerton. Her wit and humor charmed readers; from the sharply drawn Fanny, who proclaims, much to the detriment of the Dashwood women, "that if you observe, people always live for ever when there is any annuity to be paid them," to the painfully and perpetually agonized Marianne, "who would have thought herself very inexcusable had she been able to sleep at all the first night after parting from Willoughby. She would have been ashamed to look her family in the face the next morning, had she not risen from her bed in more need of repose than when she lay down in it..." Printed in an edition of “only 1000 copies or even less,” it sold out in less than two years. The author would write delightedly to her brother Francis (3 July 1813): “You will be glad to hear that every copy of Sense and Sensibility is sold and that it has brought me £140 beside the copyright, if that should ever be of any value.”

This copy was first in the collection of Sir John Thomas Stanley, 1st Baron Stanley of Alderley, who was a friend of Austen's brother Edward. It is recorded that they spent time together as young English Grand Tourists in Neuchâtel, Switzerland in August of 1786 (see Deirdre Le Faye's Chronology of Jane Austen and her Family). Stanley's wife was Maria Josepha Stanley (née Holroyd), a letter-writer and liberal advocate, described as "worldly and endlessly inquisitive" and "gifted with wit" (ODNB)—perhaps she was a reader of this Austen, as well. Gilson A1.

Three volumes, 12mo (169 x 110mm). With half-titles and terminal blanks. (Some minor spotting.) Contemporary half calf over marbled boards (rebacked with original spines laid down, hinges tender with some splitting along joints in vols 1 &3, first gatherings of vol. 1 slightly sprung). Custom chemises and morocco pull-off box. Provenance: Sir John Thomas Stanley, 7th Baronet and 1st Baron Stanley, Alderley Park,1766-1850 (armorial bookplate) – Cortlandt F. Bishop, 1870-1935 (bookplate; his sale, Anderson Galleries, 5 April 1938, lot 159) – Doris L. Benz, 1907-1984 (bookplate; her sale, Christie's New York, 16 November 1984, lot 25).
Artist:Jane Austen (1775 - 1817)
Place of origin:England
Auction house category:Printed books
Address of auction CHRISTIE'S
8 King Street, St. James's
SW1Y 6QT London
United Kingdom
Preview
02.10.2025 – 16.10.2025
Phone +44 (0)20 7839 9060
Email
4FQ.AYGKAGLUQ@FO3G@
Buyer Premium see on Website
Conditions of purchaseConditions of purchase

More from Creator

The Novels
The Novels
$100
[AUSTEN, Jane (1775-1817)]
[AUSTEN, Jane (1775-1817)]
£4 000
[AUSTEN, Jane (1775-1817).]
[AUSTEN, Jane (1775-1817).]
£40 000
[AUSTEN, Jane (1775-1817)]
[AUSTEN, Jane (1775-1817)]
£7 000
[AUSTEN, Jane (1775-1817)]
[AUSTEN, Jane (1775-1817)]
£15 000
[AUSTEN, Jane (1775-1817)]
[AUSTEN, Jane (1775-1817)]
£10 000
[AUSTEN, Jane (1775-1817)]
[AUSTEN, Jane (1775-1817)]
£3 500
[AUSTEN, Jane (1775-1817)]
[AUSTEN, Jane (1775-1817)]
£6 000

Related terms

Frequently asked questions

First of all, you should register to be able to purchase at auction. After confirming your email address, enter your personal information in your user profile, such as your first name, last name, and mail address. Choose a lot from the upcoming auction and the maximum amount you want to place on it. After confirmation of your choice, we will send your application by e-mail to the appropriate auction house. If the auction house accepts a request, it will participate in the auction. You can view the current status of a bid at any time in your personal account in the "Bids" section.
Auctions are performed by auction houses and each of the auction houses describes their terms of auction. You can see the texts in the section "Auction information".
The results of the auction are published within a few days after the end of the auction. In the top menu of the site, find the tab "Auctions". Click on it and you will be on the auction catalog page, where you can easily find the category "Results". After opening it, select the desired auction from the list, enter and view the current status of the interested lot.
The information about the auction winners is confidential. The auction winner will receive a direct notification from the auction house responsible with instructions for further action: an invoice for payment and the manner in which the goods will be received.
Each of the auction houses has its own payment policy for the won lots. All auction houses accept bank transfers, most of them accept credit card payments. In the near future you will find detailed information for each case in the section "Auction information" on the page of the auction catalog and the lot.
Shipment of the won lot depends on its size. Small items can be delivered by post. Larger lots are sent by courier. Employees of the auction houses will offer you a wide range to choose from.
No. The archive serves as a reference for the study of auction prices, photographs and descriptions of works of art.
×
Save this search query and get timely email alerts! It is simple and very effective.
лавандовый
Create a Search Subscription