Pride and Prejudice. Illustrated by Hugh Thomson. With a Preface by George Saintsbury. London: George Allen, 1895. First Edition, Second Issue. Pp xxvii, 476, all edges in gilt. Publisher’s green cloth boards with spectacular gilt peacock design to upper board and spine. School Prize bookplate to front pastedown, & gilt embossed name to lower cover. Scattered foxing to contents pages as usual, but overall a very good copy.  Housed in custom-made solander box.

The first illustrated edition of Jane Austen’s classic romantic novel in the spectacular peacock binding was published in October 1894. This second issue was published in March 1895.

Hugh Thompson was an Irish Illustrator born at Coleraine near Derry. He created 160 line drawings to produce this the first and still finest illustrated edition of Austen’s second novel. The George Allen editions, published between 1894 and 1906 are the most desirable copies of ‘Pride and Prejudice’ published other than the original edition of 1813.

The success of Allen’s ” Peacock Edition ” launched Thompson’s career as a first class and prominent illustrator who is best known for his pen-and-ink illustrations of works by authors Charles Dickens and J. M. Barrie among others.