AUSTEN, Jane.

Inquire · Offered by Peter Harrington

Pride and Prejudice. First fully illustrated edition, known as the "peacock edition" for its exquisite cover design, the cloth and gilt here in radiant condition.This celebrated example of late-Victorian pictorial cloth is also the first edition to have illustrations accompanying the text. The 1813 first edition was unillustrated, and Bentley's 1833 edition and subsequent printings had only a frontispiece. The illustrator, Hugh Thomson (1860-1920), "was in constant demand, particularly for the classics with their opportunities for historical subject treatment" (Peppin & Micklethwait, p. 299). His "light touch and feeling for period manners provide a charming and accessible gloss to the author's work" (ODNB).The trade edition was issued in two formats. This copy is in the slightly smaller case with all the edges gilt, rather than the larger case with just the top edge gilt.

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