First editions of Jane Eyre, Villette and The Professor Under the Hammer

A new auction at Christie's with some first editions of Brontë novels:

Christie’s is pleased to announce The Exceptional Literature Collection of Theodore B. Baum, to be sold in two parts, live and online, this September. Mr. Baum’s library of literary first editions is among the finest ever assembled, built over the course of decades as he worked closely with top dealers and auction houses to locate the best copies of the most beloved books. The collection is particularly strong in works by English and American authors—from Edmund Spencer and John Milton in the 16th & 17th centuries through Jonathan Swift, Jane Austen, Charlotte Brontë, and Charles Dickens in the 18th & 19th centuries, all the way to Kurt Vonnegut, Toni Morrison, and much more in the 20th century. The collection will be previewed at Christie’s New York galleries from 9-13 September.

The Exceptional Literature Collection of Theodore B. Baum, Part One will take place at Christie’s New York as a live sale on 14 September. Beginning with European Literature to 1900, highlights include a wealth of Jane Austen, including the Kern copy of Mansfield Park in original boards from a lending library; Charlotte Brontë’s Jane Eyre from the library of Katharine de Berkeley Parsons; the publisher’s copy of Charles Dickens’s Great Expectations; the Second and Fourth Folios of William Shakespeare; Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein in original boards; and the Berland copy of Jonathan Swift’s Gulliver’s Travels. The sale selection of American literature to 1900, includes Edgar Allan Poe’s The Raven in original wrappers and the first edition of Walt Whitman’s Leaves of Grass.

Lot 11
[BRONTË, Charlotte (1816-1855).] Jane Eyre. An Autobiography. Edited by Currer Bell. London: Smith Elder, 1847.
Estimate; USD 70,000 - USD 100,000

First edition of Charlotte Brontë's revolutionary novel, unsophisticated, in original cloth. Abounding with social criticism and gothic elements, Jane Eyre changed the course of the English novel, and particularly the female heroine. After numerous publishers initially rejected her first novel The Professor, Brontë intensely focused her attention on a new work, rapidly finishing certain sections, while others took weeks or even months to complete, as reported by Elizabeth Gaskell. When she delivered the fair copy of the manuscript to the publisher on 19 August 1847, it was received enthusiastically by their reader W. Smith Williams and by the head of the firm, George Smith. It was printed on 19 October; the second edition, dedicated to William Makepeace Thackeray, was published in January 1848. It was very well received by both critics and the public, and by 1850 four editions had been printed.

Into the 20th century, the influence and status of Jane Eyre continued to grow. Virginia Woolf, writing in The Common Reader, speaks of the novel’s continuing relevance: “As we open Jane Eyre once more we cannot stifle the suspicion that we shall find her world of imagination as antiquated, mid-Victorian, and out of date as the parsonage on the moor, a place only to be visited by the curious, only preserved by the pious. So we open Jane Eyre; and in two pages every doubt is swept clean from our minds.” This copy has the 32-page publisher's catalogue dated October 1847 preceded by inset fly-title dated June 1847 and followed by inset leaf advertising The Calcutta Review. Ashley I:72; Grolier English 83; Sadleir 346; Smith 2; Wolff 826.

Three volumes, octavo (195 x 128 mm). Half-titles. 32-page publisher's catalogue dated October 1847 preceded by inset fly-title dated June 1847 and followed by inset leaf advertising. (Light foxing/spotting.) Original gray-purple fine-ribbed cloth, covers blocked in blind, spines gilt-lettered, binders' ticket of Westleys & Clark at rear inside cover of vols. I and II (hinges tender, some cracking to text block, vol 1 a little loose, mild fading to cloth, corners just showing); custom quarter morocco case (worn). Provenance: Signature of Holden on front endpaper of vol. I – Signature of J.K. Blackwell on title-page of vol. III – Katharine de B. Parsons (morocco bookplate to chemises, her sale, Sotheby’s, New York, 6 October 1976, lot 22) – Jane Engelhard (her sale, Christie’s New York, 27 October 1995, lot 6).

Lot 12

[BRONTË, Charlotte (1816-1855).] Villette. By Currer Bell, author of "Jane Eyre," "Shirley," etc. London: Smith, Elder and Co., 1853.
Estimate: USD 8,000 - USD 12,000

First edition of the author’s last novel to be published during her lifetime. A beautiful copy. George Eliot praised Villette as “a still more wonderful book than Jane Eyre. There is something almost preternatural in its power", while Virginia Woolf called it Brontë’s “finest novel.” Parrish 95; Sadleir 349; Smith 6.

Three volumes, octavo. 12 pp. ads dated January 1853 at rear of vol. 1 (vol. 1 with erasure to title, vol. 3 with a little soiling to rear endpapers). Original cloth (hinges repaired, some very minor rubbing to cloth, vol. 3 with a little wear to front joint and two small ink stains to cover); custom box.

Provenance: Tom Brooke (inscription to title page of vol. 3).

Lot 13

[BRONTË, Charlotte (1816-1855).] The Professor, a Tale. By Currer Bell. London: Smith, Elder & Co., 1857.

Estimate: USD 3,000 - USD 5,000

First edition of Charlotte Brontë’s first novel, which remained unpublished until after her death. The Professor was drawn from Brontë's experiences in Brussels as a pupil and teacher at a school for girls. The manuscript was submitted for publication in 1847, at the same time that Emily and Anne found publishers for Agnes Grey and Wuthering Heights. This edition was supplied with a preface by the author’s husband. Sadleir 347; Smith pp. 162-166.

Two volumes, octavo. Half titles. With publisher's ribbon markers intact and 2pp. of ads at rear of vol. 1 and 16 pp. ads dated June 1857 at rear of vol. 2 (rear hinge of vol. 1 cracked). Original cloth (spines a little faded); custom box. Provenance: Alexander Elder (bookplate) – Edmund William Gosse, 1849-1928, poet (bookplate) – Natalie Knowlton Insley Blair, 1887-1951 (Blairhame bookplate; her sale, Sotheby's New York, 3 December 2004, lot 113).