LITERATURE 12 “Relatively Few Copies Of The 1832-33 Philadelphia Editions Are Known To Survive”: First American Edition Of Austen’s First Novel First American edition—an edition of only 1250 copies—of Jane Austen’s first novel, on “the twin themes of prudence and benevolence, reason and passion, head and heart, or sense and sensibility.” Sense and Sensibility “does brightly respond to an interesting religious and ethical debate over the philosophy of sentiment… [The popular view held that morality] depends on the ‘heart’ and not on the ‘head… Rational moralists opposed the tendency, and a debate was in full swing by the 1790s when novel after novel took up the twin themes of prudence and benevolence, reason and passion, head and heart, or sense and sensibility” (Honan, Jane Austen, 275-77). Only Emma (1816) was published in the United States in Austen’s lifetime, an extremely rare edition that she makes no reference to in her letters. “It may be, therefore, that the availability of London editions in North America satisfied early local demand for Austen’s novels, but... no other American edition is known before the issue of all six titles, each in two volumes, by Carey & Lea of Philadelphia in 1832-33... Relatively few copies of the 1832-33 Philadelphia editions are known to survive” (Gilson, 97-98). Some light foxing to text; title page of Volume I toned. Beautifully bound. 09AUSTEN, Jane. Sense and Sensibility. Philadelphia, 1833. Two volumes bound in one. 12mo, period-style full red morocco gilt. $18,000
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