The manuscript of Jane Austen’s unfinished novel, The Watsons which we discussed a while ago here ,was sold by Sotheby’s in London this morning for the amazing sum of £850,000
The original sale estimate was between £200,000 to £300,000. The final sale price certainly exceeded that estimate, and with the buyers premium to pay, exceeded £900,000, the final price to pay being £993,250. 
As I predicted, the buyer was an institution and not a private individual. The burning question of the hour is, which institution? Anyone like to hazard a guess?
Here are three pages from the manuscript taken from the Sotheby’s Lot Description. You can find all the details of the manuscript in Sothebys E-Catalogue here
The evidence would confirm that Jane’s fame and appeal is certainly not on the wane…
12 comments
July 14, 2011 at 12:30 pm
Austen on the Block! ~ The Watsons Sells! « Jane Austen in Vermont
[...] sold for over £850,000 this morning in London! – read Julie’s post here: http://austenonly.com/2011/07/14/the-watsons-sells-at-sothebys-in-london/ - stay tuned for the announcement of who bought it – apparently an institution – I [...]
July 14, 2011 at 12:53 pm
Janeite Deb
Thanks for this Julie! – I would guess that the Pierpont Morgan was the lucky high bidder – they have the first pages of the manuscript – but I would like to see the Chawton House Library have it – not likely the funds – what do you think?
July 14, 2011 at 3:33 pm
Cathy Allen
I second what Deb said (even though I didn’t know about the Pierpont Morgan owning the first part
) — it would be nice for Chawton House Library to have it. It’s poignant to think, though, that Miss Austen never had the benefit of such riches during her lifetime… Thanks, Julie.
July 14, 2011 at 3:59 pm
Cathy Allen
Someday I’ll remember to check your links, Julie, before I post a comment. (or not…
) I just re-read your previous posting about The Watsons manuscript sale, and saw there about the Morgan’s ownership of the other part. Sorry about that!
July 15, 2011 at 7:21 pm
jfwakefield
LOL that’s ok Cathy! It’s easy to miss links, I’ve done so many times myself!
July 15, 2011 at 7:19 pm
jfwakefield
From their Tweets it was clear Chawtom Library were not interested. I’d have loved the Jane Austen Memorial Fund to have been able to purchase it, but still, I’m glad it’s remaining in England.
July 15, 2011 at 7:17 pm
jfwakefield
My pleasure, Deb! The mystery is now solved. I’m so pleased the manuscript is staying here, and frankly not surprised at the price. Exciting times!
July 14, 2011 at 2:08 pm
The Watson – manuscritos vendidos | Jane Austen em Português
[...] “The Watsons sells at Sotheby’s in London” | Austenonly [...]
July 14, 2011 at 5:51 pm
mtl
BBC Four is reporting that the Bodleian Library purchased the Watsons manuscript
July 15, 2011 at 7:21 pm
jfwakefield
I heard that too….off to find some concrete reports!
July 14, 2011 at 10:08 pm
Karen Field
Jane’s fame is definitely NOT on the wane! I’d like to have seen it go to the Chawton Library but I think the Bodleian is a good home for it, too. I’m glad it’ll be on English soil, as much as I would have liked to have the opportunity to see it here in the US. Jane was an English girl and it is right that her manuscript is there. Thanks for the update on it!
July 15, 2011 at 7:26 pm
jfwakefield
My pleasure Karen. And you can still see the pages online at the Jane Austen Fiction Manuscripts site