Sense and Sensibility – Jane Austen – 1833 | Early Bentley Edition

Jane Austen’s Sense and Sensibility appeared in this early 1833 printing from Richard Bentley, issued just three years after Bentley acquired the rights to Austen’s novels. This compact duodecimo volume features Austen’s full text and includes an engraved frontispiece along with a vignette title page. Bentley editions from this period are infrequently encountered. The design aligns with Bentley’s house style of the early 1830s, which favored literary reissues in collectible formats. The text remains unaltered from earlier sources, preserving the structure known to early readers. This copy is bound in leather over the spine with marbled paper boards, both original.

Bibliographic Details

• Title: Sense and Sensibility, A Novel
• Author(s): Jane Austen
• Publisher: London: Richard Bentley
• Edition: Early Bentley Edition, 1833
• Format: Duodecimo (12mo), single volume
• Binding: Leather spine, marbled boards
• Size:  6.75 in x 4.25 in (17 cm x 11 cm)
• Collation: xv, [1], 331, [1] pp
• Illustrations: Engraved frontispiece and vignette title page
• Contents Include:
  • Full text of the novel
  • Engraved frontispiece and title vignette

Condition:

Good. The leather spine is worn, wanting the bottom quarter of the spine and small section at the headband. Rubbing to all corners, and shallow cracks near the hinges. Marbled boards show moderate surface wear and edge scuffing. The binding remains secure. Pages display age-toning primarily to preliminary leaves, with no loss of text. All components present and securely attached.

Why Collect This?

• 1833 printing by Richard Bentley
• Includes engraved title and frontispiece
• Published during the earliest phase of Bentley’s Austen reprints
• A must-have for collectors of early Austen editions

Item Number: #28841