Since it was first published in 1813, Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen has charmed generation after generation.  The exhibition Pride and Prejudice:  a 200 Year Affair celebrates one of the most popular and beloved novels of our time. A colorful visual history reflects how Pride and Prejudice has been published, adapted, translated, and loved over the last 200 years. It features the first edition published on January 28, 1813 as well as, rare and illustrated editions, and collectibles. Goucher College has the largest collection on Jane Austen and her times in North America.

The Goucher College Special Collections and Archives is home to our Jane Austen collection, but also collections spanning the early printing age to the Modern era. Our closed stacks house rows of first edition books, rare publications, and historical ephemera.  We are open to the public Monday-Friday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. While we generally accommodate the needs of our student body and faculty in their research, we also have visitors from around the world for academic research as well as recreational visits.

Our main research room, where we aid students, faculty, and visitors. Open 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Monday-Friday.

Our Archives Workroom is used to restore and protect the collections within our closed stacks. Both staff and students workers are often found here.

The Special Collections and Archives is run by Tara Olivero, Curator to the Special Collections and Archives, and Melissa Straw, Joseph Ruzicka and Marie Ruzicka Feldmann Director of Conservation & Preservation. We also employ many Goucher students who contribute to the creation and curation of exhibits. Additionally we sponsor scholarships and fellowships for students and faculty members (and visiting professors) for research on our collections.

Alongside research, we also sponsor fellowships and scholarships for research on our collections. Pictured are two previous Peirce Center Fellows.

LOCATION: Goucher College is located north of Baltimore, Maryland.  Our address is 1021 Dulaney Valley Road, Baltimore, Md, 21201.  Follow this link for directions. Our campus map is available for viewing on the Goucher website via this link.

HOURS:  The exhibit may be viewed Monday-Sunday 9 a.m.-9 p.m.  Starting May 17th the library will be open from Monday-Friday 9 a.m. – 5 p.m. Weekend hours will vary, for specific viewing availability on the weekends after May 17th, please call us.  Bookmarks and programs will be provided.  Monday through Friday 10 a.m-4 p.m., the special collections staff will be available to answer questions concerning the exhibit and Goucher’s Jane Austen Collection.

CONTACT:  Please contact Tara Olivero, Curator of Special Collections and Archives, with any further questions at janeaustenexhibit@goucher.edu or 410-337-6347.

Pride and Prejudice 200^th Anniversary Cake -   [open only to the Goucher College community]

• Enjoy cake and various crafts, puzzles, and temporary tattoos.

Thursday, February 7, 8-10 p.m.  

Pride and Prejudice (2005) Film Showing  - [open only to the Goucher College community]*

• The students voted the 2005 Pride and Prejudice film as their favorite version. Popcorn and other snacks provided.

*This event is free and open to the Goucher College Community. While reservations are not required they are preferred, and can be made at  www.goucher.edu/tickets. For questions about the ticketing process, please contact the Events Office at boxoffice@goucher.edu or 410-337-6333.

Wednesday, February 20, 6-8 p.m.

Pride and Prejudice:  A 200-Year Affair Exhibit Opening Reception - [open to the public, reservations may be made for this event by contacting Randi Kennedy at 410-337-6362 or emailing Randalynn.kennedy@goucher.edu]

• Come celebrate the 200^th anniversary of the publishing of Pride and Prejudice—see our exhibit, enjoy light fare, wine, and a champagne toast. 

Thursday, March 7, 7-9 p.m. 

Pride and Prejudice Regency Dance and Activities -  [open to the public, no reservation necessary]*

• Join the Library in celebrating the 200^th Anniversary of Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice with dancing and games!  See an interactive demonstration of Regency Period dance performed by Chorégraphie Antique.  Learn the language of the fan and how to dance better than Mr. Darcy!   The evening will also feature period games and activities and light refreshments.

*This event is free and open to the public, but all attendees must reserve tickets at www.goucher.edu/tickets. For questions about the ticketing process, please contact the Events Office at boxoffice@goucher.edu or 410-337-6333.

Saturday, April 27, 1:30-3:30 p.m.

Talk and Tea Reception: “Reading Jane Austen from Afar”   -  [a Goucher alumnae/i event only]

Taking reservations after March 1, contact Sarah Stockbridge at 410-337-6180

• Two hundred years later and thousands of miles away, how and why do we American readers continue to feel close to Jane Austen’s world?  Professor Juliette Wells’ talk will center on the incomparable Austen collection donated to Goucher by Alberta Hirshheimer Burke ’28.  Tea to follow, where copies of Professor Wells’ book Everybody’s Jane: Austen in the Popular Imagination will be available for purchase and signing, proceeds to benefit Special Collections at Goucher College.

Titles in the Austen Collection are searchable through the online catalog, which continues to be updated as additional material is processed. The Austen collection has been widely used by both the Goucher community and visiting scholars. For more information about the collection, please contact the Assistant to the Special Collections and Archives, Christie Kliewer at janeaustenexhibit@goucher.edu or 410-375-6075.

Additionally, we house a selection of images on an online gallery which can be visited through this link.

A Pride and Prejudice cover by B. Gordon Smith.

“Darcy and Elizabeth” by Linda Bedroll, one of the many “sequels” written about the characters of Pride and Prejudice.

An illustrated version of Pride and Prejudice, printed in 1962 and illustrated by Bernarda Bryson.

An illustration by John Proctor in an 1887 edition of Pride and Prejudice.

A John Dicks version of Pride and Prejudice printed in 1887.

A 1947 cover of a French translation of Pride and Prejudice.

A Hebrew translation from 1984.

A 1967 edition in Russian.

On of our more uncommon translations, a 1953 editions translated into Serbian.

The couple settled in Baltimore where Henry Burke had already established himself as a lawyer and accountant. Although Alberta Burke had always been interested in Jane Austen, the couple did not become serious collectors until 1935 when they took their first trip to England.

Alberta and Henry aboard the Queen Elizabeth. Both were influential in Baltimore and eventually bequest their collection to Goucher College.

Quickly becoming adept at the book trade, Mrs. Burke began following the market on Jane Austen materials. Over time she built a distinguished private collection of Austen books and manuscripts. In addition to Austen books and manuscripts, the Burkes also collected extensively in the areas of the late 18th and early 19th centuries, including costume, furnishings, architecture, and landscape gardening. Titles range from the first American edition of Emma published in 1816 to volumes on landscape design by Humphry Repton, a contemporary of Jane Austen. Alberta Burke also meticulously scoured newspapers, literary magazines, and other print materials for anything referencing or related to Austen. The result is ten scrapbooks of clippings and correspondence about various Austen topics, including the Helen Jerome film version of Pride and Prejudice with Lawrence Olivier and Greer Garson and the musical First Impressions. In the 1940s, the Burkes began collecting translations of Austen novels.

One of the 10 scrapbooks Alberta meticulously compiled on Jane Austen’s legacy.

Upon Alberta Burke’s death in 1975, and in accordance with her will, her collection was divided between Goucher College and the Pierpont Morgan Library in New York. Goucher College received more than a thousand early editions and books as well as personal correspondence, while the Morgan Library was given Austen’s letters and manuscripts.

The Alberta H. and Henry G. Burke Papers and Jane Austen Research Collection (1811-1996) consists of the Burkes’ personal correspondence and other materials on the Burkes and their collection; Alberta Burke’s scrapbooks; an extensive collection of journal, magazine, and newspaper articles on Jane Austen; and memorabilia collected by the Burkes over their lifetimes. The Burke’s book collection documenting Jane Austen, Jane Austen’s times, including art and architecture, as well as an extensive collection of books on costume, has been described separately in the library’s online catalog.

A rare edition of Northanger Abbey.

The collection is arranged into five series. The first contains biographical material and personal papers and consists of articles on the Burkes and their collection along with personal correspondence relating to their collecting and interest in Jane Austen. The second series contains ten scrapbooks in which Alberta Burke pasted memorabilia, correspondence, press clippings, and other material related to her interest in Jane Austen and her times. These scrapbooks include handwritten annotations by Mrs. Burke. Series III contains personal photographs, family records, audiotapes and slides of the Burke’s extensive world travels. The fourth contains research materials and is further arranged into eleven subseries. The final series contains Jane Austen memorabilia, which includes stamps, playing cards, drawings, handkerchiefs and many other materials.