Sense and Sensibility. With an Introduction by Joseph Jacobs and Illustrations by Chris Hammond. London: George Allen, 1899. First Edition Thus. Publisher’s green cloth with elaborate gilt stamping on the front board and spine, top edge in gilt. A bright and attractive copy of the first edition to feature the delicate and highly sought-after illustrations of Chris Hammond.

This edition holds a special place in the bibliography of Jane Austen, marking a significant moment in the visual interpretation of her work. The illustrator, Christine Mary Demain Hammond (known as Chris Hammond), was a pioneering figure: the first woman to fully illustrate Austen’s novels. Her sensitive pen-and-ink drawings grace this volume, as well as contemporaneous Allen editions of Pride and Prejudice and Emma. Hammond’s promising career was tragically cut short when she died, sadly early, at the age of just thirty in 1900, lending a particular poignancy and desirability to her illustrated works.

When Sense and Sensibility was first published in 1811 it quickly became a popular novel, helping establish Jane Austen’s career. Through the contrasting personalities and romantic struggles of the Dashwood sisters—Elinor and Marianne—Austen challenges rigid expectations of femininity. Neither sister succeeds in finding love and happiness by being purely rational (Elinor) or purely emotional (Marianne). Instead, they must each find a balance between sense and sensibility, breaking free from limiting stereotypes about women. Only by embracing this middle ground do they grow as individuals and achieve fulfilling relationships.