A rare first edition copy of Jane Eyre fetched around £21,000 ($42,000 dollars) at auction in New York yesterday.

The classic written by Haworth's Charlotte Bronte was sold to a bidder in the saleroom at Sotheby's during a sale of signed books and manuscripts.

The book, in three volumes wrapped in green cloth, is inscribed with the name Olive Nixon (1850) and was described as "a fine and unusual set in remarkable condition".

It had been expected to raise between $35 and $50,000.

A spokesman at Sotheby's said: "It was in the middle of our estimates and went to a private bidder who has not yet disclosed any further details."

Ann Dinsdale, librarian at the Bronte Parsonage Museum in Haworth said they had not made a bid as they already had a first edition, as they have of all the Bronte sisters' work.

"American collectors always tend to spend more," she said. "But it is very rare for books like this to come on sale. It does not happen very often.

She said first editions of Wuthering Heights - which had a much smaller print run - usually fetched even higher prices.

She said she expected the Jane Eyre books would end up in a private or university collection.

"They would be readable but you would have to treat the books with care," she said. "You could just not go thumbing through them.

"We always have one first edition on display. For conservation reasons they cannot be left out for long periods."

The book formed part of the estate of the late Paul Peralta-Ramos, heir to an American oil fortune. A similar copy sold in London in December 2000 raised £30,000.

The edition was among 450 lots in a sale of fine arts and manuscripts at Sotheby's.

Also on sale was a second edition compilation of William Shakespeare's Comedies, Histories and Tragedies, dating back to the 17th Century.