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Secondary sourceArtifact

Silhouette Presumed to Be Jane Austen

Mrs. Collins (attributed)

A cut-paper silhouette thought to show Jane Austen, found pasted inside a copy of her novel Mansfield Park.

A silhouette presumed to depict Austen herself, one of very few surviving images possibly showing her face.

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Black silhouette profile of a woman facing right, with hair pulled up in a bun at the back of the head, a high neckline, and a white background.
Attributed to Mrs. Collins, Silhouette presumed to be Jane Austen. National Portrait Gallery, London.

About this source

What it is

This is a black cut-paper silhouette portrait, attributed to a silhouette-maker known as Mrs Collins. It is held by the National Portrait Gallery, London, and is only presumed to show Jane Austen; it was found pasted into a copy of her novel Mansfield Park.

Why it matters

Because so few confirmed images of Austen survive, this silhouette is one of the few objects that might show her actual appearance. Its uncertain identification is itself a useful lesson in how historians must weigh evidence rather than accept every claimed portrait.

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  • Why might this silhouette only be

This artifact is part of the curated material that grounds the AI version of Jane Austen on Humy.ai — when students ask about related events, the AI can quote it and cite it.

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Scan of the title page of the first edition, volume one, of Pride and Prejudice: A Novel, in three volumes, by the author of Sense and Sensibility. London, printed for T. Egerton, Military Library, Whitehall, 1813.Book

Primary source

Pride and Prejudice

Jane Austen · 1813

A printed portrait illustration of a woman, used as a frontispiece in a book of Jane Austen's novels.Painting

Secondary source

Portrait of Jane Austen, Winchester Edition

1898

Title page of the first edition of Emma, Vol. I. Text reads: EMMA: A NOVEL. IN THREE VOLUMES. BY THE AUTHOR OF PRIDE AND PREJUDICE, &c. &c. VOL. I. LONDON: PRINTED FOR JOHN MURRAY, 1816. Cream-colored paper with black serif type.Book

Primary source

Emma

Jane Austen · 1815

Title page of the 1818 first edition of Northanger Abbey and Persuasion, printed in London by John Murray, Albemarle-Street. Text reads: Northanger Abbey: and Persuasion. By the author of Pride and Prejudice, Mansfield-Park, &c. With a biographical notice of the author. In four volumes. Vol. I.Book

Primary source

Persuasion

Jane Austen · 1817 (title page dated 1818)

Title page of the first edition of Sense and Sensibility, a novel in three volumes, by a Lady, Vol. I, London, printed for the author and published by T. Egerton, Whitehall, 1811.Book

Primary source

Sense and Sensibility

Jane Austen · 1811

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