Jane Eyre cover
First edition Hardback

Jane Eyre (1847)

Charlotte Brontë · Smith, Elder, London

Publisher Smith, Elder Year 1847

Identification points are listed only where two independent sources agree. Last reviewed 19 Oct 2026.

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Quick answer

Who published the Jane Eyre first edition?
Smith, Elder, London, in 1847, in hardback.
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How to identify this edition

Three octavo volumes published in October 1847 as Jane Eyre. An Autobiography, "edited by Currer Bell". The first edition sold out within about three months and was soon reprinted. Copies in original cloth are in ribbed cloth; auction houses have described the colour as grey-purple and as dark greyish reddish brown, so colour alone does not settle a copy. Copies may contain a 32-page publisher's catalogue dated June 1847 or October 1847, with a leaf advertising The Calcutta Review; both forms occur in copies sold as firsts, so neither marks an issue. Many copies have been rebound in leather; check all three volumes are first edition.

Title page of Jane Eyre, Smith, Elder, 1847

The title page

This is the title page of a first edition copy. Compare yours: the imprint at the foot, the publisher, place and date, should match exactly. A later printing or edition usually changes the date or adds a line.

Title page of the first edition (1847), volume 1. Scan: Brandeis University Libraries, via the Internet Archive. Public domain.

Title page of Jane Eyre, Smith, Elder, 1847

The title page

This is the title page of a first edition copy. Compare yours: the imprint at the foot, the publisher, place and date, should match exactly. A later printing or edition usually changes the date or adds a line.

Title page of the first edition (1847). Scan: Internet Archive, via the Internet Archive. Public domain.

Printings and states

First impression

1847

At a glance

Not yet researched

We have not yet confirmed the issue points that tell this first impression from later ones. Until we do, compare your copy's title page and copyright page with the publisher, place and year above: any later printing or edition statement means it is not this one.

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Questions collectors ask

Frequently asked questions

Who published the Jane Eyre first edition?

Smith, Elder, London, in 1847, in hardback.

Sources

Where these facts come from

Points of issue are listed only where at least two independent sources agree. Last reviewed 19 October 2026.

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