Pride and Prejudice. The Celebrated ‘Peacock Edition’ (1894)
Author: Jane Austen
Book ID: 70272
Price: €5,950.00
Pride and Prejudice. Illustrated by Hugh Thomson. With a Preface by George Saintsbury. London: George Allen, 1894. First Edition, First Issue. Octavo. pp. xxvii, [i], 476. Elegantly bound in the publisher’s original sage-green cloth, ornately decorated in gilt to the spine and upper board with a magnificent Art Nouveau peacock motif. All edges gilt.
A spectacular copyof one of the most celebrated works of Victorian book design. The sumptuous gilt peacock binding remains exceptionally bright and vivid, with virtually no rubbing or dulling to the gold. The boards are clean and the hinges are solid, presenting with minimal shelf-wear. Housed in a custom-made solander box for preservation.
The first illustrated edition of Jane Austen’s most beloved novel, published in October 1894 and instantly recognisable for its dazzling cover. It features 160 line drawings by the renowned Irish illustrator Hugh Thomson (1860-1920). Born in Coleraine, near Derry, Thomson was already gaining notice, but the immense success of this “Peacock Edition” cemented his reputation as a pre-eminent book illustrator of the era. His delicate, pen-and-ink work—charmingly capturing the manners and costumes of the Regency period—would go on to define the visual aesthetic of Austen’s work for generations and lead to celebrated commissions illustrating the novels of Charles Dickens, J.M. Barrie, and many others.
After the original 1813 first edition, this “Peacock Edition” stands as the most desirable and visually striking edition of Pride and Prejudiceever published.
