First Edition of Jane Austen’s “Emma” Sells For $489,747 March 31, 2010

A first edition of Jane Austen’s classic novel Emma has fetched £325,000 ($489,747) in a private transaction between Jonkers Rare Books of Henley-on-Thames, U.K., and a British collector. Why the high price? It is the most spectacular presentation copy of the book known to exist. There are presentation copies (a copy of a book given to someone by the author or publisher) and then there are presentation copies. This copy is a double-whammy jaw-dropper: a…