Collections and Recollections November Meeting

Edith Lank Shows her collection to Juliette Wells (Celia Easton)

“Mr. Knightley had done all in his power for Mr. Woodhouse's entertainment. Books of engravings, drawers of medals, cameos, corals, shells, and every other family collection within his cabinets, had been prepared for his old friend, to while away the morning; and the kindness had perfectly answered. Mr. Woodhouse had been exceedingly well amused. “   Emma, chapter 42

We love to collect. Coins, butterflies, seashells, campaign buttons, stamps,

Jane Austen stamps issued by the Royal Mail to commemorate the 200th anniversary of Jane Austen’s birth 
(https://postalheritage.wordpress.com/2013/02/21/jane-austen-on-stamps/)

you name it, somebody collects it. Of course, some prefer to simply collect cash.

Bank of England introduces Jane Austen on the ten pound note

(http://www.bankofengland.co.uk/banknotes/Pages/characters/austen.aspx)

Of course, fans of Jane Austen are fascinated collections of Jane Austen memorabilia. Some collections are very scholarly and rich, like the Bodleian Library, Oxford, or the Morgan Library in New York.

Letter to Cassandra 1808 from Godmersham

(http://www.themorgan.org/collection/literary-and-historical-manuscripts/282280)

Draft manuscript of The Watsons purchased by the Bodleian Library for over £1,000,000

(https://www.bodleian.ox.ac.uk/news/2011/2011-jul-14)

For those who really want to study Jane Austen’s work up close, there is even a digital collection of all the available Jane Austen manuscripts.

Close up of a scan of the manuscript for Sanditon

(http://www.janeausten.ac.uk/index.html)

Manuscripts are very rare and priceless artifacts that properly belong in museums, but you don’t need to go to Oxford or New York to find Jane Austen memorabilia. Jane Austen fans like to collect lots of things, from old editions to greeting cards. Such collections can help us feel closer to the author who produced the six greatest novels in the English language (OK, just an opinion) and to her fans around the world.

Our own Edith Lank has an extensive collection of materials related to Jane Austen and you will have the opportunity to view some of that collection at our next JASNA Central and Western NY meeting.

Edith is planning to move parts of her collection to new homes, but before doing so she will bring many items to our next meeting so they can be viewed together one more time. The picture at the top of this article shows Edith showing her collection to Julliete Wells, whose Emma was just published by Penguin Books (I got a signed copy at AGM). Now you too can have a close up view. Please join us for our next meeting. Here are the details:

Event: JASNA CWNY Meeting

When: Saturday, November 21, 2015 at 1 pm

Where: Barnes and Noble, Community Room, Pittsford NY

Hope to see you there.