A lot of money indeed

A few news sites and blogs are still commenting on the fact that a first edition of Wuthering Heights sold yesterday at an auction for £114,000. Out of all these, we have selected The Telegraph and Argus, which includes the reactions of the staff at the Parsonage.

A rare first edition of Emily Bronte's Wuthering Heights has been sold for what is believed to be a record price.
The 1847 copy of one of the most famous novels in the world fetched £114,000 at an auction in London yesterday, more than double the estimated £50,000 expected by auctioneers Bonhams.
Charlotte Wood, of Bonhams, said: "We are thrilled. It was bought by a dealer for a UK collector, so it will stay in the country.
"The bidding was very lively and there were a number of people involved, including a few telephone bidders.
"But it eventually went to the person in the room. It was very exciting."
The book was sold by 23-year-old student Anne Hall from North London to pay for her three-year art course.
The book was given to her by her grandfather when she was a child. The classic love story of Heathcliff and Kathy had been in her family for four generations.
When he learned of the price paid, Bronte Parsonage Museum manager Alan Bentley was astonished.
"Good grief, that's a lot of money!" he said. "That will fund her education very nicely. Prices are often determined by who is in the room at the time, but this is more than double the estimate.
"It is likely to push up other Bronte prices when they are being valued and it may mean more editions appear when people know how much they can get for them."
Wuthering Heights has a particular attraction for rare book buyers because so few first editions were printed - just 250 - and many went into libraries and became well worn.
As a result, very few exist, but Mr Bentley is unaware of such a high price being paid for a copy before.
Haworth's Bronte Parsonage Museum, the international shrine to the literary family where they lived, has one edition, but the original binding was removed and a new one fitted by the previous owner.
Emily Bronte's novel, published as a three-volume set, came out less than two years before she died in 1848, aged just 30. It was rushed out by the publisher, without corrections, to cash in on the success of Jane Eyre, written by Emily's sister, Charlotte.
Emily had to contribute to the cost of the publication, but never received any royalties before she died and it was left to Charlotte to retrieve some earnings from the book.
Two other Bronte items were also sold at the same auction.
A portrait in oils by Branwell Bronte of family friend Maria Taylor, of Manor House, Stanbury, went under the hammer for £6,600. It was painted by Branwell when he had a studio for a short while in Fountain Street, Bradford, in 1839.
Also bought for £5,280 was a letter written by Charlotte to Maria Taylor, telling her she could not visit her because she would be away from home. She was holidaying in Scarborough in 1839. (Clive White)

These two last items were gladly bought by the Brontë Society. They'll be going back home.

Categories: Brontëana, In the News, Wuthering Heights