Although the two did not have a close personal relationship, the existence of such a copy underlines Austen’s great admiration for Edgeworth’s work. This copy has long been recognized as the only known copy of Emma in original limp wrappers. The volume can be traced back to the author herself, passed by descent through the Edgeworth family until it ended up in the hands of the Edgeworth and Austen scholar, Marilyn Butler, until it was acquired by a private collector.
This surviving pair of volumes (volumes I and III) are signed by Edgeworth on the title page of volume I and feature annotations and markings by later generations of the Edgeworth-Butler family. Edgeworth acknowledged the gift in a letter to her aunt Mrs. Ruxton: “The authoress of Pride & Prejudice has been so good as to send me a new novel just published, Emma.” Edgeworth had a lukewarm response to Emma (“there was no story in it…”).
Also going under the hammer will be a little-known handwritten poem by Austen lampooning the medical practices of the period (estimate: $100,000–$150,000), likely written in 1811 around the time Sense and Sensibility was first published.
Lines on Maria Beckford is a short, playful poem handwritten and signed by Austen around the time Sense and Sensibility was published. In February 1811, Austen accompanied her neighbor and acquaintance Maria Beckford who was suffering from a headache to see Dr. Newnham. An apothecary in Alton, he treated her with calomel, a mercury-based remedy now recognized as highly toxic. Austen later commemorated the visit in this playful poem, an example of the private verses she wrote to amuse friends and family. Of the 18 poems known to be by Austen, only six autograph manuscripts remain in private hands.
These lots will be accompanied by all six first editions of Austen’s novels each in a contemporary binding with a combined estimate of $960,000 to $1.3m.
The works will be sold as part of By A Lady, Sotheby’s October 15 auction dedicated to the women who, alongside Austen, shaped literary and artistic culture across the decades.
“This extraordinary group of works reveals Austen in all her facets," said Dr. Kalika Sands, Sotheby’s Head of Books and Manuscripts, Americas, "from the wit and sly humor in her private poetry to the intimate glimpses of daily life captured in her letters. Among these treasures, the Edgeworth copy of Emma shines as a rare testament to the historical and literary connections between two great novelists. Together these items constitute the most significant group of Austen material ever to appear at auction.”
