Book Collecting

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Collecting Jane Austen: Macdonald Illustrated Classics, illus by Philip Gough

So I am back from an RV trek up north – finally able to get to Vermont and visit with family and friends – almost SEVEN weeks with no stable or reliable internet connection on any given day – and I actually survived the deprivation. Thankfully Trooper was not writing his usual journal of this trip [ https://trooperslog.wordpress.com/  ] so did not need to be uploading all his commentary and pictures every day.

But now back home with access to my shelves and resuming posts on “Collecting Jane Austen” with a short post on one of my favorite sets of Jane Austen’s novels: The Macdonald Illustrated Classics (London, 1948-61), with illustrations by Philip Gough and introductions by various scholars for four of the six volumes.

I have written about this set before, and so direct you to that blog that focused mostly on Gough’s illustrations for Mansfield Park: https://janeausteninvermont.blog/2014/12/30/jane-austens-mansfield-park-in-pictures-the-illustrations-of-philip-gough/

I’ll repeat here the description of the set:

When Macdonald & Co. (London) published its first volume of Jane Austen’s work in 1948, Emma was the chosen work, with Philip Gough as illustrator. It was the 4thvolume in the Macdonald Illustrated Classics series. It is a small book, under 8 inches, bound in red leatherette, with a frontispiece and seven other full-page plates of watercolor drawings by Gough. There is no introduction. Macdonald published its next Jane Austen novel in this series in 1951 – Pride and Prejudice, with illustrations again by Gough and again no introduction.  If you are lucky enough to have all the six volumes published by Macdonald, you will see that they appear to be a set, all with the same binding and all illustrated by Gough – but they were published over a period of years from 1948 to 1961 as follows – with the No. in the Macdonald series in ():

  • 1948 – Emma (No. 4)
  • 1951 – Pride & Prejudice (No. 23)
  • 1957 – Mansfield Park (No. 34); introduction by Q. D. Leavis
  • 1958 – Sense & Sensibility (No. 37), with Lady Susan and The Watsons; intro by Q. D. Leavis
  • 1961 – Northanger Abbey (No. 40); intro by Malcolm Elwin
  • 1961 – Perusasion (No. 41); intro by Malcolm Elwin

Not sure why Leavis did not do the other introductions – her essays on Jane Austen are magnificent, and a definite must-have for your Austen library. Her Mansfield Park introduction, after stating that MP is “now recognized as the most interesting and important of the Austen novels,” gives us a brief summary of Austen’s life and times, then writes of her theories that Lady Susan is the matrix of Mansfield Park, that Austen was “soaked in Shakespeare,” that the Sotherton sequence  is one of the “most remarkable in any English novel” where all the action is symbolic and how its pattern of events is “exactly and awfully repeated” in the final outcome of the book, and finally how Mansfield Park is really a tragedy “in spite of the appearance of a happy ending.”

All of the novels were published with a stiff clear mylar wrapper with the title and “Illustrated by Philip Gough” in mustard yellow, and “By Jane Austen” in blue, with nothing on the spine but the gilt titles on the red backstrip showing through. These wrappers are nearly impossible to find. I only have the one for my Emma volume.

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There is little known about Philip Gough and I cannot find much researching the internet other than he was born in 1908, illustrated a number of children’s books (Alice in Wonderland, Hans Christian Andersen’s Fairy Tales are two examples); this Jane Austen series from Macdonald; and a goodly number of dust jackets for Georgette Heyer’s Regency novels (see below). There is a list of 14 books on Goodreads illustrated by him but this list is not complete – Jane Austen is not listed!)
[ https://www.goodreads.com/author/list/1981672.Philip_Gough ]

It is worth noting that in the introduction to the 1961 Persuasion by Malcolm Elwin (and also quoted by David Gilson in his entry E327 on this edition in his A Bibliography of Jane Austen), Elwin states that the drawings of Hugh Thomson are said to be “too Victorian in their sentimentality to suit the spirit and period of the novels” – and that “Mr. Gough has shown himself a student of the Regency period, and many sound critics have judged him to have succeeded in conveying the subtlety of Jane Austen’s satiric humour.” Gilson also notes a TLS review of this edition (10 November 1961, 810), quoting that “Philip Gough’s illustrations have their own brand of sentimentality, this time of the pretty-pretty sub-Rex Whistler variety.”

[example of a Rex Whistler drawing]

[Source: http://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2013/aug/25/rex-whistler-british-artist-exhibition ]

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Illustrating Jane Austen:

Each of the novels begins with a chapter I heading drawing in black and white as well as a drawing on the title page. Emma as the first published of the novels is an exception – there are chapter heading illustrations for each of the odd-numbered chapters; all the other novels have only the one heading chapter I as well as the title page. Each novel has 7 watercolors (Sense and Sensibility only has five; there is one watercolor each for Lady Susan and The Watsons and each begins with a black and white drawing.) I find these watercolor illustrations a little too precious – there is a tendency toward “Pretty in Pink”– as you will see in these examples from each novel in the order of publication below. There is also some rather odd scenes of what Gough chose to illustrate and they are often placed so far from the actual text being quoted that they serve more as a distraction rather than illuminating the story. But these are quibbles – I love this set and am privileged to have it on my shelf – it is almost impossible to find as a full set, and each volume can be quite expensive when located (Emma is the most elusive) – my advice is to buy them when you see them and grin and bear it.

So now for a few examples of Gough’s illustrations from each of the novels:

Emma (1948): Gough definitely equated the Regency period and Jane Austen with the feminine Pink – and in Emma there is a good deal of it!

You can see all the Emma illustrations here, including two of the many chapter headings: https://www.fulltable.com/vts/aoi/g/emma/a.htm

Title page and frontis – notice the Cupid!
“A sweet view…” with what appears to be a Mormon tabernacle standing in for Donwell Abbey

Pride and Prejudice (1951): I have always looked rather wide-eyed at the abundance of Pink in Gough’s Pride and Prejudice – especially in this portrait of Mr. Darcy at the pianoforte…!

And we must include Gough’s simpering Mr. Collins:

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Mansfield Park (1957): here is one example, but as noted above you can see all seven illustrations here: https://janeausteninvermont.blog/2014/12/30/jane-austens-mansfield-park-in-pictures-the-illustrations-of-philip-gough/

Sense and Sensibility (1958):

And of course it is indeed not Willoughby, but Edward…

Northanger Abbey (1961):

Persuasion: (1961)

Chapter heading from Ch. I of Persuasion: you would think this should be Kellynch Hall at the start of the novel – but this is certainly not grand enough for Sir Walter! We find on page 42 that it is Uppercross Cottage and here we see it in full color:

We shall end with Captain Wentworth, because, why not – we see him neither in a navy uniform (this is for another post – how many illustrators portray the good Captain in uniform??), nor is he in Pink, but an odd color nonetheless!

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Gough cover illustrations for Georgette Heyer – some examples (I LOVE these!):

Do you have a favorite Gough illustration??

©2021 Jane Austen in Vermont

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Collecting Jane Austen: Regency London

Jane Austen and London is a subject that should have its own shelf(ves). This is one of those down the rabbit hole in collecting that will either find you on a completely different path of book buying or become for you “the road not taken.” There will be many such roads if you embark on the adventure of collecting Jane Austen – as you all likely know, it is an endless morass…

Long before I began to collect Jane Austen, I started a collection of books on London – I love London for many reasons – my parents were born in England so I became an anglophile from an early age; I studied in London for a college semester (political science – don’t ask!); and during that semester met my husband, so it serves as a Romantic haven for me. I started collecting any books I could find on London – a heady task (almost as impossible as Jane Austen) – then narrowed it to children’s books about or set in London (many more than you would think) – then when Austen hit my radar I began to focus just on Regency-era London (a bit more manageable but larger than my pocket book or shelf space nonetheless). So I now have rather a mish-mash of various titles, some very collectible and some just commonplace treatises great for reference and beautiful pictures. When I began doing talks on Jane Austen and London, I found a real use for the books I had as well as an excuse to acquire more….and so you see my mighty fall into the Rabbit Hole of collecting….

Today I will just share three titles of the many, for no particular reason other than to show the diversity of what’s out there – I append at the end the very select bibliography handout for the talk I give, though is now a bit outdated and does not contain all the books I have – if you have any favorite books on London, please share the titles in the comments.

1. Regency London, by Stella Margetson. New York: Praeger, 1971 [London: Cassell, 1971].

Margetson wrote a few novels but also a number of books of English social history especially of the late 18th and the 19th-century. This book on Regency London is a short introductory text that covers the basics, with black and white contemporary illustrations throughout:

  1. Carlton House
  2. The Mercantile City
  3. Westminster and Government
  4. The Regent and the Architect
  5. High Society
  6. Entertainment
  7. The Artists and the Writers
  8. The Populace
  9. Some Visitors to London [Jane gets a few pages on her stays in London]
  10. An Expanding City

 FYI: Cassell / Praeger did a series of five books on London:

  • Roman London, by Ralph Merrifield
  • Medieval London, by Timothy Baker           
  • Elizabethan London, by Martin Holmes       
  • Regency London, by Stella Margetson
  • Victorian London, by Priscilla Metcalf

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2. The A to Z of Regency London, Introduction by Paul Laxton; index compiled by Joseph Wisdom. Lympne Castle, Kent: Harry Margary, in association with Guildhall Library, London, 1985.

This historical atlas is based on Richard Horwood’s survey of London in 1792-9 and updated by William Faden in 1813 – it shows the streets, lanes, courts, yards, and alleys, but also every individual building with its street number – the 40 sheets of the original Horwood have been photographically reduced, and the index for this edition expands the original by threefold.

The Horwood map is available online in various formats [a terrific one is here: https://www.romanticlondon.org/explore-horwoods-plan/#16/51.5112/-0.0747], but this is a treasure to have close at hand. One can easily trace Austen’s meanderings described in her letters, and follow the many characters in Sense and Sensibility – where they live, visit, and shop – her one novel where London is central to the plot (though it is also where the dilemma of Harriet gets sorted!)

For those of you who love maps, there are others to choose from in this series: The A to Z of Elizabethan London, Restoration London, Georgian London, Victorian London, and Edwardian London (there is also one for Georgian Dublin)

Horwood Map, p 13: Covent Garden

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3. One Day in Regency England, by Alastair Scott. Brighton: Robert Tyndall, 1974.

This is a children’s book, and about all of England not just London – but it is a delightful introduction to the period and filled with color and black and white contemporary illustrations; the cover is designed by Gordon King.

The book presents the day of July 20, 1813 in the lives of several characters, starting in the home of Charles Henry Longhurst – we meet him and his family and their friends and his servants, the children in school, life in the country vs. the day in the City – all presented as what goes on in these individual lives in the Morning, Afternoon and Evening. It is skillfully and entertainingly done and in 48 pages takes us in to traveling carriages, cookery in the kitchen, a dinner party and then off to Vauxhall Gardens, all the while getting a glimpse of those doing all the work behind the scenes! It is quite an exhausting day!

As you can see in the bottom paragraph in the above page image, Scott writes that Longhurst’s daughter Amelia is quite taken with Jane Austen and reading Pride and Prejudice – when suddenly her attention is drawn to the arrival of a small chimney-sweep – and thus we are privy to that bit of history, of poor, young, soot-covered boys and the realities and dangers of that job.

[This Day Book Series also includes a number of other “One Day” adventures in a variety of time periods in England and elsewhere: Shakespeare’s England, Roman Britain, Victorian, Medieval, WWI, WWII, etc.]

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As noted, this bibliography is very select but gives you an idea of the variety of works on London and specifically London during Jane Austen’s time – again, it is a bit outdated….

 ‘Jane Austen’s London in Fact and Fiction’: Select Bibliography

The A – Z of Regency London; introduction by Paul Laxton. London: Harry Margary / Guildhall Library, 1985.

Ackermann, R. The Microcosm of London, or London in Miniature. Rpt. ed. London: Methuen, 1904.

Ackroyd, Peter. London: The Biography.  London:  Chatto & Windus, 2000.

Allen, Louise. Walks Through Regency London.  UK: Shire, 2013. [2nd revised ed. 2014]

Borer, Mary Cathcart. An Illustrated Guide to London 1800.  New York:  St. Martin’s, 1988.

Byrne, Paula. Jane Austen and the Theatre.  London: Hambledon, 2002.

Cunningham, Peter. Handbook of London: Past and Present. New ed. London: Murray, 1850.

Easton, Celia. “Austen’s Urban Redemption: Rejecting Richardson’s View of the City.” Persuasions 26 (2004): 121-35.

Edwards, Anne-Marie. In the Steps of Jane Austen. 3rd ed. Newbury, UK: Countryside, 1996.

Elmes, James. A Topographical Dictionary of London and Its Environs. London: Whitaker, 1831. Google Book.

George, Dorothy.  London Life in the XVIIIth Century. London: Kegan, Paul, 1925.

Hibbert, Christopher.  London: The Biography of a City. London: Longmans, 1969.

Hill, Douglas. A Hundred Years of Georgian London from the Accession of George I to the Heyday of the Regency.  London:  MacDonald, 1970.

Hughson, David. Walks Through London. London: Sherwood, Neely and Jones, 1817.

Kaplan, Laurie. “Emma and ‘the children in Brunswick Square.’” Perusasions 31 (2009): 236-47.

Knight, Charles, ed. London. London: Charles Knight, 1841. Ebook, Tufts Digital Library < http://hdl.handle.net/10427/53832  >

Leigh, Samuel. Leigh’s New Picture of London. New ed. London: Leigh, 1827.

Margetson, Stella. Regency London.  New York: Praeger, 1971.

Picard, Liza. Dr. Johnson’s London. London: Weidenfeld, 2000.

_____. Victorian London. London: Weidenfeld, 2005.

Porter, Roy. London: A Social History.  Cambridge: Harvard UP, 1995.

Richardson, John. Covent Garden Past. London:  Historical, 1995.

_____. London and Its People: A Social History from Medieval Times to the Present Day.  London: Barrie & Jenkins, 1995.

Quin, Vera. Jane Austen Visits London. Cappella Archive, 2008.

Saunders, Ann. The Art and Architecture of London: An Illustrated Guide. 2nd ed. Oxford: Phaidon, 1988.

Stabler, Jane. “Cities.” Jane Austen in Context. Ed. Janet Todd. Cambridge: Cambridge UP, 2005. 204-14.

Summerson, John. Georgian London. New ed. New Haven: Yale UP, 2003.

Tannahill, Reay. Regency England.  London: Folio Society, 1964.

Vickery, Amanda. Behind Closed Doors: At Home in Georgian England.  New Haven: Yale UP, 2009.

Watson, Winifred. Jane Austen in London.  Chawton: JAS, 1960.

Whitfield, Peter. London: A Life in Maps.  London: British Library, 2006.

Worsley, Giles. Architectural Drawings of the Regency Period, 1790-1837. London: Andre Deutsch, 1991.

Select Online Sources:

[some are no longer available; there have been many more sources added to the internet since I first compiled this]

Austenonly [Julie Wakefield]: http://austenonly.com/ ; http://ajaneaustengazetteer.com/

Bolles Collection:  History of London.  Tufts Digital Library:  http://dl.tufts.edu/

British History Online: Survey of London:  http://www.british-history.ac.uk/place.aspx?region=1

British Library:  http://www.bl.uk/

Collage, City of London:  http://collage.cityoflondon.gov.uk/collage/app

Geograph Great Britain and Ireland. http://www.geograph.org.uk/

Georgian Index:  http://www.georgianindex.net/

Georgian London:  http://www.georgianlondon.com/

Jane Austen’s London blog (Louise Allen): http://janeaustenslondon.com/

Jane Austen’s World: http://janeaustensworld.wordpress.com/

JASA – Jane Austen Society of Australia.  “Jane Austen in London” Conference. March 2001.  http://www.jasa.net.au/london/index.htm [no longer available]

Lewis Walpole Library:  http://www.library.yale.edu/walpole/

London Ancestor: http://www.londonancestor.com/

London Calling [Tony Grant]: http://general-southerner.blogspot.com/

London Lives 1690-1800: http://www.londonlives.org/

London Museum: http://www.museumoflondon.org.uk/English/

London’s Past Online:  http://www.history.ac.uk/projects/londons-past-online

Mapco:  http://mapco.net/london.htm

Mollands:  http://www.mollands.net/

Nancy Regency Researcher:  http://www.susannaives.com/nancyregencyresearcher/ [no longer available]

Old London Maps: http://www.oldlondonmaps.com/

One London One blog: http://onelondonone.blogspot.com/

Pascal Bonenfant: http://www.pascalbonenfant.com/

Regency Encyclopedia:  http://www.reg-ency.com/

The Republic of Pemberley:  http://www.pemberley.com/

Romantic London: https://www.romanticlondon.org/ [an amazing new site!]

[Compiled by Deborah Barnum. 3-24-11 (partially updated 3/2016)]

©2021, Jane Austen in Vermont
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Collecting Jane Austen: R. W. Chapman’s 1923 Oxford edition of the Novels

1923 large paper ed. with the 1932 Letters – 7 vols – with frontispiece to ‘Emma’: Ball Dress from Ackermann’s Repository, October 1816 [Louella Kerr Books]

I mentioned in the first post on collecting Jane Austen, that the Oxford edition of the novels edited by R. W. Chapman is essential, so now a little history.

Here is how David Gilson annotated this edition in his Bibliography under the year1923:

E150. The Novels of Jane Austen: the text based on collation of the early editions by R. W. Chapman. With notes, indexes and illustrations from contemporary sources. 5 volumes. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1923. 1000 sets …

And then goes on for 5 pages [p. 296-300].

Gilson notes an undated memorandum in the files of the Clarendon Press: “The publishers are bitterly opposed to any imaginative illustrations, and would cheerfully have no illustrations at all.  But they would be in favor of a few objective illustrations.”

“They” were perhaps responding to Henry James who had famously complained that the public’s enthusiasm for Jane Austen was being aided and abetted “by a body of publishers, editors and illustrators who find their dear, our dear, everybody’s dear, Jane, so infinitely to their material purpose, so amenable to pretty reproduction in every variety of what is called tasteful, … and what proves to be saleable form.”

Chapman did choose “objective” illustrations – from contemporary sources that Jane Austen would have been familiar with: the landscape, art, architecture, fashion, carriages, etc. of the time period. The lists of appendices (essays on the times, Austen’s language, chronologies and Index of Characters, etc.) and the illustrations found in all 5 volumes are repeated in each volume.

Here is the list of all the illustrations:

Only 1000 sets were printed, 950 for sale – the value of this 1st edition set is about $1,500 and is described as the “Large Paper Edition” by booksellers. The set pictured above included the 1934 2-volumes Letters and sold for $5,500 a few years ago [not to me unfortunately!]

Some of the contemporary illustrations that Chapman chose we are all now quite familiar with – here are just 3 examples:

In P&P: frontispiece for Wilson’s Analysis of Country Dancing, 1811 / In P: Pulteney St, Natte’s Bath, 1806
From P: A Landaulet by Mr. Birch. Ackermann’s Repository, March 1818

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There are various re-printings of this Oxford set and buyer beware as to what you are getting – here’s a quick analysis:

The set was reissued in 1926 and though called a “Second edition,” it was really just a reprint on cheaper paper and less elaborate illustrations. A note to this edition and some additional notes by Chapman are included.

1926 – 2nd edition covers and title page [Charles Bossom , Abebooks]

In 1933, the 5 volumes were re-printed again as a “Third edition” but the text was printed from the same plates, so not officially a 3rd ed at all.

After various re-printings [see Gilson’s notes on these], the Oxford set was issued in 1965-66, now called the official 3rd edition – same text but with alterations to notes etc. by Mary Lascelles based on Chapman’s notes.  Chapman had issued the Minor Works volume in 1954, and the set has been the 6 volumes ever since.

1950s printing with volume 6, the Minor Works [1st published in 1954]
Oxford ed, 1988 printing – $175. [but you can find it for less]

Just to give you an idea of the confusing publishing history and the possible printings out there, here is the copyright notice in one of my sets, the 1988 printing you see above:

This Chapman set was the first to offer complete scholarly notes and textual analysis for an English author and has been the source for citation ever since. The Cambridge Edition of the Works of Jane Austen, with Janet Todd as General Editor and each of the novels edited by a different Austen scholar, began publishing in 2005 [it is now complete in 8 volumes with Juvenilia and Later Manuscripts included.] This has begun to supersede the Oxford set for citation purposes. You really need them both, as daunting as that might be! More on this Cambridge set in another post.

Frontis to ‘Lovers’ Vows’ in the Oxford ‘Mansfield Park’

What is your favorite set of the Novels??

©2021, Jane Austen in Vermont

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Collecting Jane Austen: Book Collecting 101

Gentle Readers: In an effort to offer weekly posts on collecting Jane Austen, I shall start with the basics of book collecting – this a general summary of things to consider with a few examples specific to Jane Austen and Pride and Prejudice in particular. This will be followed by weekly posts on randomly chosen books in the various categories I list here that I think are essential to a Jane Austen collection.

Let’s start in the pages of Pride and Prejudice in the library at Netherfield where we find Elizabeth, Miss Bingley, Mr. Bingley, and Mr. Darcy:

   [Elizabeth] walked towards a table where a few books were lying. He [Bingley] immediately offered to fetch her others; all that his library afforded.

   “And I wish my collection were larger for your benefit and my own credit; but I am an idle fellow, and though I have not many, I have more than I ever look into.”

   Elizabeth assured him that she could suit herself perfectly with those in the room.

   “I am astonished,” said Miss Bingley, “that my father should have left so small a collection of books. What a delightful library you have at Pemberley, Mr. Darcy!”

   “It ought to be good,” he replied; “it has been the work of many generations.”

   “And then you have added so much to it yourself, you are always buying books.” [my emphasis]

   “I cannot comprehend the neglect of a family library in such days as these.”

Chatsworth Library [British Magazine]

And so, here we have the permission of Mr. Darcy himself to buy as many books as we would like!

II. The Collecting of Books:

Terry Belanger, a veteran book collector and rare book librarian once famously said “you are a collector if you have more than one copy of a single title” –

So, I ask you, how many of you have more than one copy of any of Jane Austen’s novels? And how many of you already realize that to collect all copies of books by and about Jane Austen is surely an impossible task? Even focusing on one title, say Pride and Prejudice, we would find it an impossible undertaking!

So where to start?

1. The first rule of book collecting is Collect what you Love – so I can assume that any of you reading this all love Jane Austen, and so that will be our focus… and not only the books but also the myriad objects and ephemera.  You can collect anything – my son collects Sneakers, only Nike Jordans, which leads to books about sneakers, etc…!

An amusing tale about collecting one title: In a used bookshop in England a few years ago I hit the mother-load of A Child’s Garden of Verses – a title I collect –

 I brought five different editions to the register, manned by a young man obviously neither the owner nor all that well-versed in the vagaries of collecting – he hesitated for a moment, looked thoughtful, and finally blurted out “Do you know that all these books are the same?” [epilogue: I bought them all…]

2.  Try to find the 1st edition (and by “first edition” I mean “first printing”), and how do we do that?

  1st edition Pride and Prejudice [National Library of Scotland]

For most of us, Jane Austen first editions are beyond our pocketbooks – but you will need to know the basics of book collecting to understand why some books are harder to find, and why, when you find them, they can often be expensive.

It is here you will need to decide if you want the first edition in pristine condition or if you only need a reading copy, or not even a first edition at all – this is a question to ask at every purchase.

The most difficult aspect of book collecting is how to identify a first edition – every publisher did it differently and often changed their indicators over time. There are many guides to help with this.

This Pocket Guide to the Identification of First Editions by Bill McBride is the best starting point for a general understanding of the practices of various publishers. You can also find this information online at Quill & Brush Books: https://www.qbbooks.com/first_ed_pub.php

Then you will need more specific detail on the author/subject you are collecting, and thankfully for us Jane Austen enthusiasts, David Gilson, and Keynes and Chapman before him, have largely done this work for us…

The David Gilson A Bibliography of Jane Austen will be your Bible to collecting Austen, a must-have book – I have already posted about this here: https://janeausteninvermont.blog/2021/02/26/collecting-jane-austen-gilsons-bibliography/

3. The Anatomy of a Book:

If you want to understand book terminology, you must have John Carter’s ABC for Book Collectors – the 8th edition by John Carter and Nicolas Barker.  Oak Knoll Press / British Library, 2004. 

It is now available online at ILAB: https://ilab.org/sites/default/files/2018-01/ABC-BOOK-FOR-COLLECTORS_0.PDF

Another easily accessible glossary is on Abebooks: https://www.abebooks.com/books/rarebooks/collecting-guide/understanding-rare-books/glossary.shtml

Most commonly used terms:

  • 1st edition
  • Issue
  • Points
  • Boards
  • Spine head, spine tail
  • Backstrip
  • Text block
  • Hinge
  • Joint
  • Endpapers
  • Half-title page
  • Title page
  • Copyright page
  • Frontispiece
  • Publisher’s cloth
  • Catchword: “heard” at the bottom of the page is the catchword = the first word on the next page

-Vignette
-Foxing:

Example of foxing: Dent 1908 reprint, illus. HM Brock

4. Determining value: supply and demand – Desirability+Scarcity=Value

  • Is the book still in print?
  • How many copies were printed?
  • Is this the author’s first book? – Sense and Sensibility is the most valuable
  • How did the book first appear? – binding, dust jacket? [value greatly reduced if lacking jacket: 75% – fiction, 20% – non-fiction]. Eg. S&S first published in boards is more valuable than the finest leather binding
  • 1st ed. S&S in original boards;
  • 1st ed, S&S leather bound

S&S 1st ed in boards and leather bound]: estimated value:  $200,000 / $50,000.

  • Illustrations present? are they all there?
  • Condition, Condition, Condition! – most important factor! [see more below]
  • Where do you find values? There are many guides to consult:
  1. Allen and Patricia Ahearn. Collected Books: A Guide to Identification and Values. 4th ed. (2011); see also their author guides – one on JA from 2007
  2. American Book Prices Current: auction sales, so actual value
  3. Bookseller catalogues: what titles are selling for
  4. Author and subject bibliographies
  5. Internet: bookselling sites: be wary – prices all over the place

5. CONDITION is the most important issue: prices will vary depending upon condition – even if you have the 1st edition – if it is in deplorable condition that will affect the value.

Booksellers grade a book’s condition using the terms below, from “As New” down to “Poor”: for instance VG [for the book ] / VG [for the jacket] – anything less than a VG is really not collectible:

VERY FINE/NEW [VF / NEW]: As new, unread.

FINE: Close to new, showing slight signs of age but without any defects.

VERY GOOD [VG]: A used book that shows some sign of wear but still has no defects.

GOOD [G]: A book that shows normal wear and aging, still complete and with no major defects.

FAIR: A worn and used copy, probably with cover tears and other defects.

POOR: a mess really, but might have some redeeming qualities

READING COPY: any book less than VG

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An interesting tale to demonstrate this: The rare bookseller Stuart Bennett [no relation to our esteemed Bennet family!] writes in his book Trade Bookbinding in the British Isles 1660-1800.

Alas! pre-Austen, but we find her in a NOTE: [an aside – always check indexes for Jane Austen – you will be pleasantly surprised to see how often she turns up and in the most amazing places!]

Bennett writes in a footnote on the issue of publishing in boards vs. the wealthy having their favorite books bound in leather:

What is certain is that wrappered and boarded popular literature was not part of the visual landscape of country house libraries.  In my experience these books, when kept, found their way into cupboards underneath the display bookcases, or into passages or rooms used by servants. In my days at Christie’s I once spent hours in the pantry cupboards of a Scottish country house, searching through stacks of these wrappered and boarded books among which I found, virtually as new, Volume III of the first edition of Sense and Sensibility. When I found the other two volumes I remarked to the aristocratic owners that this was one of the most valuable books in the house, as exceptional survival in original condition, and doubtless so because one of their ancestors had bought Jane Austen’s first novel, read it, and hadn’t cared enough to send it to for rebinding, and never bought another. My ebullience was arrested by an icy stare from the Countess, who replied, “I am sure, Mr. Bennett, that our ancestors would never have felt that way about Jane Austen.” [3]

Stuart tells me: this S&S set the then-record auction price in 1977 or 1978 (he was the auctioneer!), and turned up about twenty or maybe 25 years later offered by a London bookseller for, as he recalls, $200,000.  Then it disappeared again. 

Question:  Should you buy a less collectible book because you cannot afford the higher price? – do you just want a reading copy or need to fill a gap in your collection? – you can decide this on a case-by-case basis – what becomes available and when and how much you can spend…

6. Where to find Books:

“Beauty in Search of Knowledge” – Thomas Rowlandson

– Local bookstores: sadly less of them, but still the best resource of Jane Austen books – a bookseller who will know your likes, will buy with you in mind, someone to trust…
– Specific booksellers: those who specialize in Jane Austen and other women writers – shops, catalogues – you can find at book-fairs, being on their catalogue mailing list, and on the internet. For eg. Jane Austen Books https://www.janeaustenbooks.net/
– Auctions / auction catalogues
– The Internet: major used bookselling sites: you need to be an informed consumer!

The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly of the Internet: I could write a very lengthy post just on this – so I will only emphasize the biggest positive – you have at your fingertips a Global marketplace – no longer dependent on a brick & mortar shop around the corner [sad as this is to me!]

Biggest negative: be in be-wary mode – who are you buying from? – how to decide which is the best copy with so many price and condition discrepancies? – my best advice? – choose a bookseller who knows what they are about: valid and complete descriptions and a price that seems reasonable in light of other copies on offer.

A word about EBAY: a Gigantic auction house always open! – an amazing resource but also the biggest potential for getting a bad deal – you need to be an informed consumer!

Best use of the internet: Want Lists – most book sites do this and auction houses offer “alerts” – you will be notified when an item becomes available…

7. Caring for your collection: lots of information here to consider…just not today.

II. What to Collect:

Now comes the hard part – with so much out there on Jane Austen, where do you even begin? The need to focus on one particular aspect [say just collecting copies of Pride and Prejudice], or by zeroing in on a certain illustrator you like [the Brock brothers], or only books with fine decorative bindings [so many] – this list covers the gamut of possibilities – you just need to choose what you are most interested in. You must however start with a core collection:

A.  A Jane Austen Core Collection

Oxford edition of The Novels of Jane Austen, ed. R. W. Chapman, 3rd ed.

1. The Works:  the Oxford edition, ed. by Chapman (1923); the Cambridge edition, general editor Janet Todd, with each volume edited by a a different scholar; a set of reading copies of each novel – ones you can markup, underline, and make notes

2.  The Letters – all editions [Brabourne, Chapman, Le Faye, Modert]

3.  R. W. Chapman’s books on Jane Austen

4.  Biography: the Memoir and everything since!

5.  A Chronology of Jane Austen, Deirdre Le Faye (Cambridge, 2006)

6.  The Bibliographies: Keynes, Chapman, Gilson, Barry Roth’s 3 volumes, and those continued annually in Persuasions; the Cambridge Bibliographies, etc…

7. Brian Southam. The Critical Heritage. Vol I. 1811-1870. Routledge, 1979; The Critical Heritage, Vol. II. 1870-1940. Routledge, 1987. – now available as digital reprints, 2009

8. Critical works: starting off point to further study – where to start?? The bibliographies; “Companions” – “Handbooks” – “Casebooks”

9. The World of Jane Austen: [endless material!]

  • The Arts: Music, Art, Architecture; Interior Design and Decorative Arts; Landscape
  • Georgian and Regency History: Political, Economic, Social, Religious
  • Social life and customs: Etiquette; Gender / Class issues; Dancing; Costume and Fashion
  • Domestic Arts: Cookery, Needlework, Women’s work, Family life, Home-life, Servants
  • Medical History
  • Military History: the Royal Navy, the Militia, The French Revolution, the American Revolution, Napoleonic Wars, War of 1812
  • Geographical History and Maps
  • Travel and Transportation: Carriages, Roads, Guidebooks, etc…
  • Literary Theory, History of the Novel, Narrative Theory, Language

B. Collecting a specific Jane Austen novel: as an example Pride & Prejudice

P&P, Gresham, 1900, illus. by Chris Hammond, Talwin Morris binding
  • 1st editions
  • American editions
  • Specific Publishers: Bentley, Macmillan, Dent, Oxford, Folio Society, LLC, Penguin, etc.
  • Translated editions
  • Illustrators: also single illustrations
  • Decorative bindings / cover art – to include paperbacks
  • Critical editions: with scholarly editing and introductions
  • Books where P&P shows up
  • Association copies: e.g. Sarah Harriet Burney’s copy
  • Books that influenced Austen: e.g. Frances Burney’s Cecilia
  • Adaptations: Editions for young readers; Dramatizations; Films, Audiobooks
  • Sequels! – endless potential!
  • History / Social Life and Customs of the times, specific to P&P – fill your bookshelves!
  • Ephemera and Physical Objects – P&P merchandise in popular culture, many to do with Colin Firth…(!)
Royal Mail, Jane Austen Stamps 1975, by Barbara Brown

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Ok, now you know everything to know about Book Collecting – you can begin this lifelong fun-filled endeavor! Join me next week for the first of many [I hope] Jane Austen-related titles you must have on your shelves…all with Mr. Darcy’s approval. Any questions or suggestions, please comment.

©2021, Jane Austen in Vermont
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My Jane Austen Book Stash ~ From the 2016 JASNA AGM on Emma

jasnabannerThere has been a good deal to write about this year’s terrific JASNA AGM in Washington DC on Emma – but while it always takes me a good while to re-emerge into the 21st century after these events, little time has been accorded me to actually write anything about it. But I did want to give you a quick summary of the books and other “stuff” I bought this year – less than usual because I bought a DRESS and a SPENCER, which did my pocketbook some serious damage…(see the image below*).

But to the matter at hand, here are the books, etc. – most would make fine holiday gifts for your favorite Austen follower, or for your own stocking for that matter… except this first one which would not in any way fit:

  1. cover-mp-harvardJane Austen. Mansfield Park: An Annotated Edition. Edited by Deidre Shauna Lynch. Harvard UP, 2016.

Very excited to have this, completing my collection of these beautiful Harvard editions. The book was released during the AGM and thankfully Jane Austen Books had copies. I have only skimmed through it, but it promises to live up to the other Harvard editions with an insightful introduction and notes by Lynch, and color illustrations throughout that give you the sense of time, place, and history that surround the adventures of Fanny Price. A must have and a perfect holiday gift for your Austen friends (and at $35, this is the best book deal out there, bar none…)

2. Alden O’Brien, et al. ‘An Agreeable Tyrant’: Fashion after the Revolution. Exhibition Catalogue. Washington DC: DAR Museum, 2016.

The catalogue that goes along with the fabulous exhibition at the DAR Museum that many of us at the AGM werecover-agreeabletyrant-dar privileged to see. Ms. O’Brien spoke at the AGM to take us through the history behind and the creation of this fashion exhibit – complete with characters from Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice found in the “Pemberley Room” – it runs from October 7, 2016 – April 29, 2017 and is described on the website as: “…displaying men’s and women’s clothing from 1780 to 1825 in a dozen period rooms throughout the museum. It considers how Americans fashioned a new identity through costume; on the one hand, Americans sought to be free from Europe, yet they still relied heavily on European manufacturing and materials.”

The catalogue is quite lovely, showing full page color illustrations of fashions of the time as well as photographs of costumes in the DAR Museum collection. A must-have for every good Janeite with any fashion sense and perhaps in need of a new dress idea…it also contains various patterns in the back. You can purchase the book through the Museum’s website here. And my friend Kelly has written about the exhibit on her blog Two Teens in the Time of Austen.

Here are a few of my shots of the exhibit:

Mr Darcy
A Man’s Banyan
Pemberley Ladies

3. Chawton House Library – their new brochure and guide, text by Helen Cole, et al. CHL, 2016.cover-chl-db2

This is Lovely! It tells the history of the Chawton Great House, Jane Austen’s connection with it, the development of it as a learning centre for the study of early women’s writing from 1600 to 1830. There is much detail with fine illustrations of the house itself: the Library; the various rooms and staircases; exhibition and conference information; the furnishings, art and portraits; the gardens and grounds; and a bit of the history of women writers and their place in our literary heritage. For $12 you get to armchair-tour the house at leisure, and then you will add this to your next-trip-to-England itinerary, as well as a commitment to become a valued Friend of the Library (also a nice gift in a friend’s name).

[Note that the CHL online shop is currently experiencing the dreaded tech difficulties – if you would like a copy, please contact me and I will get one to you.]

chl-mary-robinson-by-hoppner

Portrait of Mary Robinson, by John Hoppner c1782 (at CHL)

Also from the Chawton House Library – their table at the AGM was jam-packed with goodies – I bought their collection of 8 botanical cards from Elizabeth Blackwell’s A Curious Herbal (frameable!) – you can also “Adopt” this book as a way to support the Library!

blackwellcards-chl

Also couldn’t resist this book-fan “The Rules for Love,” by book artist Angela Thames from Aphra Behn’s 1686 La Montre –  (you can read about Ms. Thames as artist-in-residence at CHL here).

thames-ruleslove-ai

[Image from: a-n The Artists Information ]

cover-heyer-jasa-db4. Susannah Fullerton, Amanda Jones, and Joanna Penglase, ed. Georgette Heyer: Complete to a Shade: A Celebration. JASA, 2016.

Exactly what the title tells us and another must-have – a collection of essays from various JASA folk who have long-been or are new to the joys of reading Georgette Heyer, based on their conference on Heyer in August 2016. Complete with lovely contemporary illustrations, this was just off the press in time for the AGM – $12 (I think) – you can contact JASA for information on how to purchase.

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Alas! I was very disappointed not to find a single book on London that I didn’t already have at either of the book stalls – but did find a few oldies worth perusing:

  1. Lt. Col. W. P. Drury. A Regency Rascal. London: Collins, 1971.

The tale of Jack Peregrine, a regency rascal to say the least, who arranges a marriage of convenience for himself to helpcover-regencyrascal-db him through a financial crisis, and then finds himself the heir to an estate in Barbados – all based on the true story of Sam Lord and his Castle (most recently a hotel in Barbados*) – who cannot resist a story of such a man (Heyer couldn’t)! First published in 1937 by Hutchinson, it gives a glimpse of Regency-era life in both London and the Colonies. Will see if it lives up to the hype… [*The property was run as an exquisite hotel for many years but unfortunately it was destroyed by fire in 2010 – it is currently being reconstructed and will open in 2018 as a Wyndham Grand Resort. The 450-room resort will feature 3 restaurants, meeting facilities and a luxury spa] – sign me up!

samlordscastle-barbados

Sam Lord’s Castle, Barbados, pre-fire

  1. J. Fairfax Blakeborough, ed. Legends of Highwaymen and Others. New York: Frederick Stokes, 1924.

Just because I am a sucker for carriages and highwaymen tales!

legends-page13-db

(now, doesn’t that peak your interest just a little?)

  1. Hazel Mews. Frail Vessels: Woman’s Role in Women’s Novels from Fanny Burney to George Eliot. U of London: Athlone Press, 1969.cover-frailvessels-dbWhy not? – adds to my collection on women writers – but it also had an inscription that I first thought read “Catherine Morland” and that cracked me up – heavy reading for Catherine! (it reads on close analysis “Catherine R. Harland”).

cover-ss-trollope-ab

8. Joanna Trollope. Sense and Sensibility. New York: HarperCollins, 2013.

Only because I haven’t read this first of the Austen Project retellings and my Vermont Jane Austen book group has scheduled an S&S re-read this year and thought we would try this to compare…(though I know we will likely be gravely disappointed…)

 

9.  Jack and Holman Wang. Jane Austen’s Emma [Cozy Classics]. Chronicle Books, 2013.

This to add to my other board books, and a generous gift from the author. He attended my talk on “Illustrating Emma” and I could not have been more embarrassed to have not included this cover in my talk! (caveat: I did not include any of the covers of the many recent renditions due to lack of time – I have added them to the talk for those times where I can speak longer than the time-constrained AGM) – so with hearty apologies to Mr. Wang – this is of course a simply delightful addition to anyone’s Austen collection!

cover-emma-cozyclassics

 

  1. cover-ladycyclingErskine, Miss F. J. Lady Cycling: What to Wear and How to Ride. The British Library, 2014. Originally published by Walter Scott in 1897.

I have a friend who recently gave a talk on women and bicycles and my daughter is an avid cyclist – I bought this at The Folger Library shop (there seeing the simply amazing Will & Jane exhibit) as a gift but am now loth to give it away! Women and bicycles have an interesting joint history – here is a worthy account of the whole phenomenon here: http://www.annielondonderry.com/womenWheels.html

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So, as usual, I have my reading cut out for me – I would love to hear what YOU bought at the AGM this year…

*and here is my new costume – I am with my Good Buddy Marcia, who is wearing a Regency dress for the FIRST TIME!! (we bought our fabulous fashions at Matti’s Millinery & Costumes (visit their site here and have fun shopping!)

agm-marcia-deb-db

C2016 Jane Austen in Vermont
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My Jane Austen Book Stash from the 2014 JASNA AGM in Montreal!

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The JASNA AGM in Montreal was quite wonderful – five days immersed in Mansfield Park! – Fanny Price and Jane Austen were celebrated in style and received their just due in attention and adoration… The Montreal-Quebec Region outdid themselves in making us all comfortable [much more than “tolerable”!], entertained, and enlightened! I haven’t had a chance to post anything but start here with my annual compilation of book purchases at the Emporium [Jane Austen Books, Traveller’s Tales from Picton Ontario, and The Word Bookstore in Montreal] – successful as always with finding several goodies at the book stalls! – in no particular order…

1. Mudrick, Marvin. Jane Austen: Irony as Defense and Discovery. Berkeley: U of California P, 1968. [originally published in 1952 by Princeton UP].

One of the classic works of Austen literary criticism – I’ve always borrowed this from the library – now happy to have my own copy. Mudrick was one of the earliest to appraise the ironic aspects of Jane Austen – “her ironic detachment that enabled her to expose and dissect, in novels that are masterpieces of comic wit and brilliant satire, the follies and delusions of eighteenth-century English society.” In his preface, Mudrick writes “this book began as an essay to document my conviction that Emma is a novel admired, even consecrated, for qualities which it in fact subverts or ignores.” – and he goes on from there to apply his theory to all the novels, juvenilia and minor works. A must have for your Austen collection…

MrsBeetonNeedlework 2. Mrs. Beeton’s Book of Needlework, Consisting of Descriptions and Instructions, Illustrated by 600 Engravings. London: Bounty Books, 2007.

A facsimile of the original 1870 edition by Ward, Lock and Tyler. Just because I didn’t have this, and do quite adore anything my dear Mrs. Beeton [despite being in the wrong period].

  1. 3.  Fleishman, Avrom. A Reading of Mansfield Park: An Essay in Critical Synthesis. Minneapolis: U of Minnesota P, 1967.

One of the few critical works just on an Austen novel, and in this year of celebrating MP, I wanted to add this to my collection… I have not read it other than in excerpts in other essays.

4.  Favret, Mary A. Romantic Correspondence: Women, Politics and the Fiction of Letters. Cambridge: Cambridge UP, 1993.

Has a chapter “Jane Austen and the Look of Letters” which examines the letters in Austen’s fiction as well as her real-life correspondence. A must-have…

5. Lamb, Charles. The Book of the Ranks and Dignities of British Society. London Jonathan Cape, 1924.

Marquis-Lamb

A reprint of Lamb’s 1805 edition published by William Henry for Tabart & Co. Includes 8 coloured plates and 16 in monochrome [the original edition has 24 in color]. I couldn’t resist, as you can see from this plate of “A Marquis.” The original seems to range upwards from $350.

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6.  Tristram, W. Outram. Coaching Days and Coaching Ways. Illus. Hugh Thomson and Herbert Railton. London: Macmillan, 1894.

Tristram-Coaching-Cummins

A 3rd printing of the 2nd edition [first edition published in 1888] – another must-have for anyone with an interest in travel and the carriages of Austen’s period – with the added plus of Thomson’s and Railton’s 214 illustrations. [You also must try to say the author’s name 10 times very fast …]

7.  Waldram, Richard. Overton in Regency Times. Illus. Rosemary Trollope. Overton, Hampshire: Parsonage Farmhouse, 2008.

OvertonRegency

From an exhibition during the Overton Regency Sheep Fair, 2008. With many illustrations of ephemera from the time. Overton was near Steventon and Basingstoke; Austen would have walked there and mentions it in her letters.

8.  The Knight Family Cookbook; Preface by Richard Knight. Introd. Gillian Dow. Chawton House Press, 2013. KnightFamilyCkBk-CHL

A Facsimile edition of the handwritten cookbook of the Knight Family, never published but dated circa 1793. Who can resist this family treasure so you too can make some of the recipes that were in use at Chawton House and Godmersham Park during Jane Austen’s time:

  • To Make Plumb Porridge (p. 70)
  • To Make Cracknails (p. 51)
  • To Make Hedge-Hog-Cream (p. 35)
  • To Make Tansy without Frying (p. 28)
  • To dress a Codds-Head (p. 111)
  • To Pickle Pigeons (p. 193)

There is even a handwritten index, but alas! I find nothing to help make Mr. Woodhouse’s famous gruel – just as well I think!

This book was published by subscription; i.e. if you had made a donation to Chawton House Library as a subscriber (just as Jane Austen subscribed to Frances Burney’s Cecilia), your name will be listed on the “subscriber” page. More information on this at the CHL website. Their next book is The Duties of a Lady’s Maid; with directions for conduct, and numerous receipts for the toilette (1825). Make a donation if you can and see your name in print!

9.  Simo, Melanie Louise. Loudon and the Landscape: From County Seat to Metropolis, 1783-1843. New Haven: Yale UP, 1988. LoudonLandscape

John Claudius Loudon (1783-1843) was the designer of England’s first public park and inventor of the means to construct curvilinear glasshouses, and the first landscape gardener to address the problems of the modern city. A must-have study to have on your shelves next to your Humphry Repton, Capability Brown, and others. Illustrated with maps, photographs, and drawings.

10.  Prochaska, Alice and Frank Prochaska, eds. Margaretta Acworth’s Georgian Cookery Book. London: Pavilion / Michael Joseph, 1987.AcworthCkBk

The cookery book of a London housewife of the Georgian period, of which 90 recipes are transcribed and “updated” with modern ingredients and modern cooking practices by the Prochaskas. Lovely black and white and full-page color illustrations. The introduction offers biographical background on Acworth.

11.  Lucas, E. V. Mr. Punch’s County Songs. Illus. Ernest H. Shepard. London: Methuen, 1928.

A delightful book of poems by Lucas on each county in England with each on the recto, verso is blank. Shepard’s [of Winnie-the-Pooh fame] drawings get you into the spirit of each place, and the poems tell of history and story.

Lucas-Hampshire

 Here is the page on Austen’s own Hampshire

But I bought this solely for its page on London:

Though a Wren built St. Paul’s, sacerdotal and grey,

That fame is a stronghold of pigeons today:

They bill there and coo there and bring up their brood,

And swarm on the pavement at lunchtime for food. 

…. Etc.

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12.  Archbold, Rick. Last Dinner on the Titanic. Recipes by Dana McCauley. Introd. Walter Lord. New York: Hyperion, 1997.Archbold-TitanicDinner

Wonderful illustrations of the Titanic interior and the various recipes from the last meal. Why you ask? Well, I have been obsessed with the Titanic since I was a little girl. Both my parents emigrated from England as children, but my father was 11 years old in 1912, when his entire family boarded a ship to take them to America only a few months after the Titanic had taken its maiden and tragic voyage. I always thought that if my father had been on the Titanic I would not exist – I also have marveled at how brave they all were to do this crossing… so hence I have collected various Titanic things for years. I do not have this book and especially like it because it is signed by the author…

 13.  The Infant’s Grammar, or a Picnic Party of the Parts of Speech. London: Scholar Press, 1977. Reprint of the original 1824 edition by Harris and Son.

This picture says it all:

InfantsGrammar

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14. Rocque’s Map of Georgian London, 1746. Colchester, Essex, UK: Old House, 2013.

Nothing to say except that this is fabulous: here is the description from their website: http://www.shirebooks.co.uk/old_house_books/

RocqueMap1746

First published in 1746, it extends from Marylebone to Bow and from Vauxhall to Knightsbridge and Hyde Park. Reproduced here in four detailed sheets, it gives a fascinating glimpse of Georgian London in the early industrial age and is a perfect research tool for the historian and genealogist. As well as over 5,500 street and place names, the survey also includes: Markets, churches, barracks, parks, bridges, hospitals, workhouses, schools, prisons, asylums, theatres, inns and much more.

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15.  Crow, Donna Fletcher. A Jane Austen Encounter (#3 The Elizabeth and Richard Mysteries). Boise: StoneHouse Ink, 2013.Crow-JAEncounter

I haven’t read the previous two mysteries (about Dorothy L. Sayers and Shakespeare), but this one is about the married professors Elizabeth and Richard on a vacation trekking through Jane Austen country – they encounter murder and mayhem and a missing letter about The Watsons. Can’t wait to read this one…

16.  Jones, Will. How to Read Houses: A Crash Course in Domestic Architecture. New York: Rizzoli, 2014.

I picked this up at the Musee des Beaux-Arts Montreal shop – a compact little guide to architecture with photographs and drawings and enlightening text to answer all your questions about the differences between Queen Ann and Georgian and Federal and all the various decorations…

Jones-Houses

17.  First Day of Issue – Royal Mint coin commemorating Charles and Diana’s wedding with stamps; and another First Day of Issue from the Falkland Islands with new stamps:

RoyalMint-FDOI

–

Stamps-FDOI-Falklands

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So, all in all, a goodly haul – this time I didn’t have to worry about luggage weight, only crossing through immigration from Canada into Vermont. They only seem to ask about alcohol, cigarettes and fruit! so Jane Austen passed through with nary a glitch… now to find room on the bookshelves and the added dilemma of time for reading…

What did you buy at the AGM??

c2014 Jane Austen in Vermont