The State Library of Victoria (SLV) has placed a 210-year-old first edition of Jane Austen's Emma on public display, as part of its World of the Book exhibition. The three leather-bound volumes, published in 1816, were acquired in 2025 through the library's Women Writers Fund, which raised $100,000 to purchase the rare set from antiquarian booksellers Maggs Bros at Melbourne's Rare Book Fair.
Provenance and Significance
Philanthropist Helen Sykes, a founding donor of the fund, expressed excitement about the acquisition: 'As soon as it came up, we were so excited, because its provenance is so extraordinary.' The copy once belonged to Austen's great-nephew, Edward Knatchbull-Hugessen. The volumes retain their original tree-calf leather binding, with the title discreetly on the spine and the author's name absent, as Austen published anonymously during her lifetime.
Dr Anna Welch, principal collection curator of historical books at SLV, noted that Austen's identity was only revealed posthumously in the preface to Northanger Abbey and Persuasion. 'That's when Austen's name appears in print as the author for the first time,' Welch said.
Conservation and Access
Each volume is housed in a custom-made box by the library's conservation team and stored in a high-security, climate-controlled area when not on display. The small format volumes, about 15cm tall, require careful handling. Visitors may request access to read rare books in special rooms, guided by staff on handling techniques—without gloves, as clean, dry hands offer better dexterity.
Women Writers Fund Impact
Established in 2021, the Women Writers Fund has raised $750,000 and secured 250 books for the library. Sykes explained the fund aims to redress the gender imbalance in the library's rare books collection, which historically prioritized male authors like Chaucer and Shakespeare. 'An author like Austen was really not on the radar of the library at that time,' Welch said. The fund has acquired works by trailblazing women, including a first edition of Virginia Woolf's A Room of One's Own for about £8,000 (A$15,414) five years ago.
Exhibition Highlights
The World of the Book exhibition also features 126 books from the fund, such as a 'Peacock edition' of Austen's Pride and Prejudice with black-and-white illustrations and a 1897 travelling library set with full-colour illustrations. Australian female writers are well represented, and future acquisitions target first editions of Brontë novels. 'Any sibling will do,' Sykes said.
Other Australian institutions hold first editions of Emma: the State Library of South Australia (donated in 2008) and the State Library of New South Wales (acquired in 2017). Welch emphasized the importance of first editions: 'It matters because it's the first expression of that work of literature... There is an aura about a first edition.'
The exhibition reopens at the State Library of Victoria on 4 July.
