Books and Manuscripts

[Literature] Bronte, E(mily). J.
Two Proof Copies of the First Appearance of “The Outcast Mother” from The Cornhill Magazine
(London, ca. 1860). Two sheets, 8 1/8 x 5 1/8 in. (206 x 130 mm) and 8 3/4 x 5 1/2 in. (222 x 140 mm). Two printed proof copies of Emily Bronte's poem "The Outcast Mother", from The Cornhill Magazine. One sheet with printed title at top. Creasing and scattered light wear to each sheet. In quarter tan morocco over green cloth fall-down-back box and chemise.

Group of two rare printed proof copies of Emily Bronte's poem "The Outcast Mother", for publication in The Cornhill Magazine. First composed by Bronte in Haworth on July 12, 1839 under the title "A Farewell to Alexandria," magazine editor William Makepeace Thackeray obtained a transcript of the poem around 1860 from Arthur Bell Nicholls, husband of Charlotte Bronte and at the time owner of the Bronte sister's manuscripts. The original manuscript poem is found in Emily Bronte's Gondal Manuscript (No. 22), now held in the British Museum. The poem was first published posthumously (Emily died in 1848) in the May, 1860 (Vol. I, p. 616) issue of the magazine.