Jane Austen books sell for £181,000 at auction in Gloucestershire

A total of more than £181,000 has been paid for five first-edition Jane Austen books at auction.

At Dominic Winter Auctions in Cirencester, the books were put up for auction, with Pride and Prejudice selling for the highest price ($92,000).

The daughter of a UK-based private collector who purchased them for roughly £5,000 in the 1970s and 1980s auctioned them off.

Chris Albury, the auctioneer, expressed his “absolute satisfaction” with the outcome.

One of perhaps 1,500 copies of Pride and Prejudice that were printed in 1813 is the copy in question.

The rarest of the five novels on sale was Sense and Sensibility, which was first published anonymously in 1811 and only 1,000 copies were made.

Emma, a book published in 1816, received the second-highest successful bid of £62,000, coming in at number three. Northanger Abbey and Persuasion went for £6,400, while Mansfield Park sold for £8,400.

No internet bids were successful, according to Mr. Albury, who claimed that the books were sold to four different attendees or phone bidders. These books will likely stay in people’s memories for a very long time because it might be some time before we see them in good condition again.

“Everyone who observed and took part agreed that these were all strong prices,” he continued.

According to Mr. Albury, the seller opted to sell the books at auction to “let others enjoy them and use the money for future initiatives and goals.” She was a huge Jane Austen fan, but these were the only rare books she ever purchased. He continued, “The family would bring them out occasionally, treat them with care, and then put them back in the bookcase.”