The 1894 edition of Pride and Prejudice is rightly praised for its illustrations by Hugh Thomson, described as ‘Fey, anachronistic, and self-consciously escapist’ by Simon Cooke, but it is the iconic binding design by the same artist which really draws the eye. The stunning peacock stamped in gilt on the upper board reflects both the themes of wealth and display with which the novel is preoccupied, but it also suggests themes of courtship and the excesses of vanity which underlie the novel; ‘Thomson’s design is extravagant, excessive, self-indulgent, and, in a calculated sense of the term, pointless beyond its ornamentalism: the very qualities that characterize the lives of Austen’s personae and are summed up in his luxurious image.’ This edition is also important for including in its introduction by George Saintsbury the first use of the term ‘Janeite’ to describe devotees of Austen’s work.
A remarkably bright copy, with only a little bumping at the edges, and expert and sympathetic cloth repair to top and tail of spine and lower right corner of the front cover. Internally very bright and clean, with only a little browning to a few pages.
