London: Printed for the Author, by C. Roworth and Published by T. Egerton, 1811. First edition. First edition of the author's debut novel, scarce in the original boards, with the contemporary ownership signatures of Frances, Lady Shelley. Begun in the mid-1790s, Sense and Sensibility, like Pride and Prejudice, went through two versions before publication, but the fact that it was published first was more or less accidental. First Impressions (the first version of Pride and Prejudice) had been summarily rejected, and Northanger Abbey, probably the first to be started of the three, had been sold to the publishers Richard Crosby & Son, but they failed to publish it. Keynes suggests the size of the edition may have been as small as 750 copies. Writing to her sister, Cassandra, on 25 April 1811, Austen noted "I am never too busy to think of S & S. I can no more forget it, than a mother can forget her sucking child; & I am much obliged to you for your enquiries" (Le Faye, p.182) Provenance: this copy has the ownership signatures on the front boards of Frances, Lady Shelley (neé Winckley) (1787-1873), a dedicated diarist (her lifelong Diary was published in 1912-13) and a rumoured lover of the Duke of Wellington. Frances was the wife of the cricketer and politician Sir John Shelley, 6th Baronet (1772-1852), of Maresfield Park, Sussex; this copy has his armorial bookplates. The Shelleys were also distant relations of Percy Bysshe Shelley, sharing the common ancestor John Shelley of Michelgrove (d. 1526). This copy later passed into the collection of the composer Jerome Kern, with his leather library label in chemise of the first volume; it sold in his sale at Anderson Galleries (9-10 January 1929, lot 19, $3,600). It was subsequently owned by Mrs R. Hartz (in c.1982, as recorded by Gilson), selling in her sale at Sotheby's New York (12 December 2001, lot 107, $70,000), and later appeared in the distinguished Library of an English Bibliophile (Part 1) sale at Sotheby's London (28 October 2010, lot 1). Gilson A1; Keynes 1; Sadleir 62a. Deirdre Le Faye, Jane Austen's Letters, 1997. Three vols, duodecimo. Untrimmed in original publisher's boards, skilfully rebacked preserving most of the original spines and the original pink paper labels. Housed in a brown quarter morocco slipcase and folding cloth chemises. Slight wear to boards, front joint of vol. II just starting at head, occasional spotting and foxing within, some slight marginal stains on D10-D11 in vol. I, minor discolouration and staining of a few gatherings in vols II and III, short tears to B11 and H5 in vol. II (affecting three lines and two lines respectively), tiny paper flaw on I2 in vol. II. A very good copy.

Begun in the mid-1790s, "Sense and Sensibility," like "Pride and Prejudice," went through two versions before publication, but the fact that it was published as the first of Jane Austen's novels was more or less accidental. The first version of "Pride and Prejudice" (then titled "First Impressions") had been summarily rejected and the first version of "Northanger Abbey" (originally titled "Susan") had been sold to a publisher, but remained unpublished. Keynes suggests that the first printing of “Sense and Sensibility” was between 750 and 1000 copies. (Item #6850)