The Goucher College Library,The Philadelphia Emma

I received a nice email. I really am happy to been asked and off course I will publish it on my weblog.

 

""As a fan of Jane Austen and her work, we at the Goucher College Library thought you would be interested in our current project: to digitize the rarest book in our Jane Austen Collection –the 1816, American edition of Emma. We are funding our project exclusively through crowdfunding, and we were hoping you could help us spread the word about this exciting project on your blog “Jane Austen”.

 

Below are the official press release and the project website. If you are able to help us spread the word, we would be extremely appreciative.

 

Official college press release:

http://blogs.goucher.edu/intheloop/7183/bringing-jane-austens-emma-to-everyone/ 

 

Our “Emma in America” Website:

www.goucher.edu/emmainamerica ""

 

From the website:

 

A campaign to build a dynamic digital archive that will provide open-access to Jane Austen’s rare 1816 Philadelphia Emma. Along with the digital edition of Emma, the online archive will support contextual materials and text analysis tools to create an interactive experience centered on this exceptional edition from the Goucher College Library’s world class Jane Austen Collection.

The 1816 American edition of Emma

 was the first novel of Austen’s to be printed in America,

and the only one to appear in an American edition

 during her lifetime (1775-1817). 

The Philadelphia publisher Mathew Carey, a frequent reprinter of British titles, brought out Emma in two volumes: a more economical format than the three-volume first English edition, which John Murray had released in December 1815 (dated 1816 on the title page). Carey’s edition was printed for him by the firm Justice & Cox of Trenton, New Jersey; neither the print run nor the exact month of publication is known. Why Carey chose to reprint Emma is uncertain. The eminent Austen bibliographer David Gilson has speculated that an influential review of Emma by Walter Scott that appeared in the March 1816 Quarterly Review influenced Carey’s decision. In the absence of international copyright law, there was no need for Austen to be aware of this American edition, and no evidence remains to suggest that she was. The Philadelphia Emma was only belatedly recognized by bibliographers, in part because of the extreme rarity of surviving copies. Geoffrey Keynes’ 1929 Bibliography of Jane Austen lists the 1832-33 publication of all six novels by Carey & Lea of Philadelphia as the first American editions of Austen. David Gilson’s Bibliography of Jane Austen (1982; rev. 1997) does include the Philadelphia Emma, with descriptions of the three copies—one of them Goucher’s—known to him at the time. Three more have since been verified. Even today, the Philadelphia Emma is often unknown to those who are familiar with Austen’s works.

Read also: janeausteninvermont/your-jane-austen-library-gilsons-bibliography-a-review/
Photo from: razoo/story/Goucherlibraryemma
More photo's: theparisreview/emma-cover-to-cover

Chawtin Cottage in Winter

 campaign

Georgian Christmas event held at Chawton House Library

 

This short film showcasing the Georgian Christmas event held at Chawton House Library (http://www.chawtonhouse.org/) on Saturday 13th December, 2014. This stunning country house was decorated to depict Christmas in the long 18th Century. Food historian, Dr Annie Gray (http://www.anniegray.co.uk/), gave a talk about Georgian Christmas foods and also provided examples of cakes and biscuits from the 'Knight Family Cookbook' (Late 18thC). https://comestepbackintime.wordpress....

Living in Chawton Cottage

Living in Chawton Cottage

 

JEAN K. BOWDEN

Jane Austen’s House, Chawton, Hampshire, UK

 

Even on a cold, wet, dark day in the depths of winter, the house feels warm and happy, and in summer sunshine, well, it’s really delightful. The sun streams into the dining parlour in the mornings, and I love to think of Mrs. Austen sitting in the window enjoying the sunshine, and watching the world go by.  The village was quite busy in those days, being on the main road to Winchester, and there was quite a lot of horse-drawn traffic.  I can also see, in my mind’s eye, Jane and her brother Henry standing at that same window, seeing their nephew Charles Knight “passing through Chawton about nine this morning … we had a glimpse of his handsome face looking all health and good humour.”  Charles was in a stage coach on his way to a new term at Winchester College.

When Mrs. Austen accepted her son Edward’s offer of Chawton Cottage as a home for herself and her two daughters, he improved it quite a lot for them.  He added on some more bedrooms over the kitchen quarters at the back, and he blocked up the window in the drawing room because he felt they lacked privacy, and he opened up an elegant window looking out on to the garden – hence Mrs. Austen’s having to run into the dining parlour whenever she heard a commotion in the village! 

 

The House is L-shaped, and I live in the wing at the back.  My downstairs sitting room was once the Austen’s kitchen.

 

We have just completed a five-year programme of renovation.  Every year since I moved in, as soon as the busy summer season ended the builders moved in for the winter!  There are, of course, fewer visitors to be disturbed by their activities.  All the rooms have been redecorated – after stripping off layer upon layer of wallpaper, the walls have been made good and re-papered, so that when they next need doing there will be only one layer of paper to get off.  The house has been re-wired, special low-wattage lights have been installed, and the windows now have ultra-violet filter film on them, to prevent fading.  Some of the old floors have had to be replaced – the cottage just wasn’t built for 30,000 pairs of feet tramping round every year. jasna

austenonly./a-christmas-visit-to-jane-austens-house-part-1/
austenonly/a-christmas-visit-to-jane-austens-house-part-2-upstairs/
austenonly/a-christmas-visit-to-jane-austens-house-part-3/
susanbranch/jane-austen-house-chawton