What Actually Makes a Pride And Prejudice Early Edition Worth Hunting For
Pride And Prejudice Early Edition collectors tend to make the same mistakes over and over. They get excited about a battered copy they found at a goodwill or an estate sale without checking the publication details first. I learned this the hard way when I spent three hundred dollars on what I thought was a first edition, only to realize it was an 1833 three-volume set from another publisher entirely. The title page looked close enough that I only noticed the discrepancy after I'd already paid. The actual first edition came out in January 1813, published by Thomas Egerton at the Royal Mews in Whitehall, London. It appeared in three volumes bound cloth, priced at one pound one shilling. Jane Austen was still writing under her initials at that point — she did not reveal her name on the title page until later. Only about five thousand copies were printed in that initial run, and roughly two hundred and ten copies survive today. That scarcity is what drives prices into the tens of thousands for decent copies.
Identifying The Real First Edition vs. Later States
Here is where it gets complicated, and where most people get burned. The first edition actually had three state variations within its first printing. The British Library copy shows one state, the Bodleian has another, and a few others show slight differences. The main thing to look for is the pagination and the errata list. Volume 1 and Volume 2 have specific pagination that differs from later printings. Volume 3 is where the biggest differences show up between states. The key identifiers are: Volume 1: Check pages 92 and 93. The text should read "Miss Bingley" not "Miss de Bourgh" in certain passages. The pagination runs to 324 pages in the first state.
Volume 2: This one is trickier. The second volume has an errata slip that is present in some copies and absent in others. If the errata is there, it is usually tucked into the binding. Some copies have the errata pasted on the inside cover instead. Volume 3: The third volume pagination is the giveaway. First state goes to 306 pages. Later reprints may go to 308 or slightly different counts depending on the printing house. I ran into a specific problem with a copy I bought that had all the right volume counts but showed a watermark on the paper that dated to 1815 at the earliest. The paper itself was clearly later stock, meaning someone had rebound the original text blocks into a false first-edition binding. The workaround was relatively simple once I knew what to do. I took a sample of the paper to a conservation lab and had it tested for rag content versus wood pulp. Early nineteenth-century paper uses linen rags and does not contain the wood pulp that became common after about 1850. That test confirmed it was a later binding immediately.
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Understanding The Second Edition And Why It Matters
The second edition appeared in 1817, published by John Murray. This is actually the edition most people mean when they talk about reading Pride and Prejudice today. Austen was alive for this one and she made changes. She added the famous dedication to the Prince Regent, and she revised several passages throughout the text. The 1817 Murray edition is significant because it represents Austen's own revisions, not just a reprint. A common mistake people make is assuming the 1813 Egerton edition is automatically the only valuable one. The 1817 Murray first edition in three volumes can also command high prices, sometimes comparable to the first edition depending on condition. I have seen clean 1817 copies sell for over fifteen thousand pounds at auction. The difference is that the 1817 edition is more commonly available, so you are less likely to get scammed on it. There is also the issue of the 1832 reprints by Colburn and Bentley, which were the first cheap reprints. These are sometimes found wrapped in period bindings and sold as first editions by dishonest dealers. The tell is usually the publisher's address on the title page. Any copy that says "London: Printed for Henry Colburn and Richard Bentley, New Burlington Street" is definitively not a first edition. These 1832 copies are still collectible but they sell for a fraction of the real thing.
Where To Find And Verify Early Editions
legitimate sources for first editions are auction houses like Sotheby's, Christie's, and Bonhams. They have dedicated manuscripts and rare books departments. You can also check with specialized dealers who are members of the ABAA or the ILAB. Avoid eBay unless you know exactly what you are looking for and are prepared to authenticate independently. I have seen too many first editions listed there that are later rebindings with tipped-in title pages or photocopied facsimile title pages glued onto original text. If you want to verify a copy you already own, the best resource is the Oxford University Press scholarly edition, which includes a detailed bibliographical note on the various states of the first edition. There is also the Austen Society's bibliography, which catalogues known copies in libraries worldwide. The British Library and the Morgan Library both have digitized their copies online, so you can compare page by page without traveling. The market for Pride And Prejudice early editions has been relatively stable but not booming. Prices have held steady over the last decade because there is a finite number of copies and a finite number of collectors willing to pay for them. The real danger is not missing out on a deal but buying a fake at full price. Authentication takes time and often requires expert eyes. If you are serious about collecting, consider starting with a 1817 Murray edition and working your way up. The knowledge you gain from handling those copies will serve you well if you ever encounter a first edition claim.
