The Library originals
Wuthering Heights was originally published in 1847 in two volumes, as part of a three-volume set with Anne Brontë’s Agnes Grey making up the third volume. Due to general wear and tear, the first edition copies in the Library collections were rebound together into one large volume during conservation work, at which time the original covers were lost.
The copy of Poems by Currer, Ellis and Acton Bell is a particularly special treasure from the Library collections. First published in 1846, this copy belonged to Emily herself. She wrote her name on the title page and annotated her poems with the date they were composed in her notebooks. This copy was rebound by a subsequent owner at the London bookbinders, Riviere & Sons. The book block was retrimmed, clipping Emily’s name and the edges of a few of the dates.
Choosing the bindings
Few copies of the first edition of Wuthering Heights survive in their original bindings and those we know about had very simple covers. Novels of the period often had a half-binding in leather, to strengthen the spine and the corners, with paper covers that were either plain or marbled. For this more luxurious finish, we decided to use marbled papers and substituted leather for cloth, which is more sustainable, for the half-binding. Gold lettering on the spine completed the finish.
While we didn’t have original bindings to match for the volumes of the novel, we wanted to replicate the historical design and finish of Emily’s copy of Poems as closely as possible. The book had been rebound in green Morocco leather. An intricate gold-tooled pattern now adorned the spine with delicate details on the front and back. The pages had been given gilt edges. Again, we substituted leather for cloth, and replicated the pattern in gold foil. The page edges were sprayed gold to give a very handsome finish. We matched the exact lettering on the spine, which additionally bears the date of 1864 – a historical peculiarity which we have faithfully reproduced.
Creating the pages
The copies in the Library are restricted items and have to be very carefully photographed in a special cradle. Each element of this cradle and the camera apparatus is adjustable to ensure there is as little interference to the collection item as possible. It takes at least an hour to set up. Any straps, plates or protective papers that come into contact with the collection item are either created or approved by the Conservation team.
Each page is isolated and placed on a white plate made of honeycomb plastic. A protective sheet of tissue paper is placed between the two. A vacuum draws air through the plate to pull the page gently down and keep it as flat as possible. A laser beam is fired across the page so that finite adjustments can be made to the cradle in order to take the perfect photograph without any distortion and ensure consistency across the photography of the whole book.
Printing the pages
After weeks of painstaking photography, the images were assembled to create the pages of the volumes and colour checked against the originals. As paper ages, it acquires spots and blotches, as well as uneven discolouration. By printing in colour we can capture the unique character of copies that are almost 200 years old. This effect was heightened by printing on paper with a slight texture as well as choosing a deckle-edge finish, which means that the pages are trimmed by tearing rather than slicing to give a roughened outer edge.
Handwritten poems
As part of our facsimile edition, we included a couple of loose sheets reproduced from Emily’s two personal notebooks. These came to the Library as part of the Honresfield Collection together with Emily’s copy of Poems. They are intriguing in that they show handwritten versions of her compositions that later appeared in the published Poems. Emily’s handwriting was incredibly small and neat, so it is useful to compare these handwritten versions with the printed copy.
The presentation box
All of these different elements needed to be housed in a bespoke presentation box. As the Poems book was much smaller in size to the volumes of Wuthering Heights, a separate recess had to be created to hold it in place. A deep purple cloth with copper foil were chosen to evoke the essence of moorland and the wording was carefully chosen to describe the contents of the box.
The completed facsimile was published on September 17th.
Own a piece of history by purchasing our first edition facsimile for yourself. Experience Wuthering Heights as the first ever readers would have done and step into the wild, windswept world…