Important Notice

More Images

Jane Austen, Pride and Prejudice, London: George Allen, Reprint edition; "March, 1895" indication on copyright.

476 pages including frontispiece, title, illustrations, head- and tail-pieces, initials and decorations by Hugh Thomson; original green cloth, spine and front cover elaborately gilt-blocked with peacock design, new endpapers, all gilt edges. Inked ownership inscription to half-title.
7.25 x 5 x 1.25 in (18.5 x 12.8 x 3.3 cm)

This Peacock Edition has become a classic of book design.

The George Allen published 1894 thru 1906 editions are the most desirable copies of Pride and Prejudice published other than the original 1813 three volume first edition by Egerton.

Austen's well-known masterwork. Pride and Prejudice chronicles the famous love story of Elizabeth Bennett and the seemingly distant Mr. Darcy. Austen completed an early draught of the work, titled "First Impressions," when she was just 21 years old. When it was first published, the novel earned widespread acclaim, with one well-known critic stating that he "would rather have written Pride and Prejudice, or Tom Jones, than any of the Waverley Novels."

Hugh Thomson, a relatively unknown artist, was born in Coleraine, near Derry. He set about making 160 line drawings for the first, and still best, illustrated edition. Thompson's career as a first class and notable artist began with the success of George Allen's " PEACOCK EDITION ". He is best recognized for his pen-and-ink drawings of works by writers Charles Dickens and J M Barrie. Thomson illustrated 65 books in all and provided numerous pictures to journals and other media. Thomson would visit the British Museum and the Victoria and Albert Museum to study a new illustration. He would frequently take meticulous notes on costumes, furnishings, antique prints, and architectural data. His sketchbooks, which include pages devoted to the shifting trends of women and gentlemen's clothes, demonstrate his attention to detail.

NON-EXPORTABLE