Click here to enter my other blog: Jane Austen's World.

Saturday, January 9

Facts About Jane Austen's Letters


Trivia found in this link from Following the Trail of Jane Austen's Letters:

Who cut the signature or parts of Jane Austen's letters and sent them to Austen admirers? (Answer: Francis Austen, Jane's brother, among other relatives.)

Who sold Jane Austen's letters and for how much? (Answer: This depends. In May of 2005, a fragment of a letter advertised by Bauman's Rare Books for $7500, sold. To whom and for how much? Bauman's would not disclose. However, one representative of the company explained that, unlike an auction house, Bauman's generally sells such an item for very close to the asking price.)

Where might an Austen admirer travel to find the largest group of original Austen letters in the world today--more than five times the number gathered in any other single place? (Answer: With fifty-one, the J. Pierpont Morgan LibraryPierpont Morgan Library, originally the private library of J. Pierpont Morgan, in 1924 made a public institution by his son J. P. Morgan.)

What do Sandy Lerner, Jerome Kern, Amy Lowell, J. P. Morgan and William Randolph William Randolph Hearst all have in common? (Answer: They all once owned one or more of Jane Austen's letters.)

Where did the National Library of Scotland get the money to pay for the Jane Austen letters, which the library recently acquired? (Answer: As part of a 17.7 million [pounds sterling] lottery grant.)

4 comments:

Nigel said...

Owning a Jane Austen letter would be quite a treasure!

But they are better kept in a library so everyone can enjoy them.

Still it would make an excellent Valentine's gift for one's sweetheart.........

Nonna said...

I agree Nigel...quite a treasure but better to be shared and enjoyed...nice Valentine's Day gift too !

JaneGS said...

What an interesting post--glad the letters are being acquired by museum's where we all can enjoy/study them.

Adriana Sales Zardini said...

I agree with you guys! Tresures must be kept in a Museum!