The Emma in question ...

The online edition of The Henley Standard, “Delivering the news from Henley-on-Thames and South Oxfordshire for over 100 years,” reports that a Henley bookseller, Jonkers Rare Books, of Hart Street, has sold the only known presentation copy of Jane Austen’s novel Emma for £325,000, or approximately $494,216.68.

A Kindle edition is available from Amazon for .95 cents. That is .04 cents off the list price of .99 cents.

Again, according to the Henley Standard, the 1816 copy of Emma ”was presented by Austen to her friend Anne Sharp, the model for Mrs. Weston in the novel, and has a handwritten inscription inside,” thus ideally fulfilling the requirements of the true “presentation copy” as delineated in John Carter’s ABC for Book Collectors.

The term “presentation copy,” Carter, writes …

… may always be taken to mean that the book was the gift of the author. But only a book spontaneously presented properly qualifies for the description; one merely signed in response to an owner’s request is called an inscribed copy. It is useful to consider the various ways in which such gifts have been bestowed; for any one of them would be considered by a cataloguer to justify the description presentation copy, yet they arouse widely differing degrees of enthusiasm in the discriminating collector. The pre-eminent quality in any presentation copy will always be that of its association — the interest or importance of the recipient, his connexion with the author or other such special recommendation. This will override most of the niceties distinguishable in the method of presentation; but, assuming the interest of association to be constant, these may be roughly graded as follows: (1) With a signed presentation inscription in the author’s hand to a named recipient; dated before, on or near publication. (2) Ditto; but undated or dated considerably later than publication. (3) With the recipient’s name, but having from the author or with the author’s compliments instead of signature. (4) Without autograph inscription, but showing evidence of having been sent by the author or on his instructions by the publisher. In 18th or early 19th century books the latter’s clerk would write or stamp in some such phrase as those italicised in (3) above; in more modern books a printed or typed slip would be loosely inserted. (5) With a note in the hand of the recipient stating that the book was the gift of the author. (6) With a later note making a similar statement at second-hand, from family tradition or the like. There are further subdivisions; and preference between (4) and (5) will be a matter of taste.

Bookshop director Christiaan Jonkers said: “The important thing is the signature of Jane Austen to her best friend. That’s what moves it from being a £20,000 book to a £300,000 book.” (You can see that signature here.) “The fact that it is the only presentation copy is also really something.”