Description
Limited edition of The Divine Comedy of Dante Alighieri, as translated by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow with Flaxman’s Drawings, published in 1906. This is the complete six volume set.
Octavo, [six volumes]. Finely bound in three-quarter green morocco, marbled paper-covered boards with thin gilt trim. Five raised bands, title in gilt on spine with decorative gilt compartments. Top edge gilt, with marbled endpapers. Previous ownership bookplate affixed to front endpaper of each volume. Solid text blocks, sunned along edges and spines. This is the large paper edition, so stated on limitation page. One of 650 copies, this set numbered 218. Complete with 41 full-page illustrations, including a frontispiece in each volume. Each frontispiece is paired with a full-color copy bound at front. All plates are protected with tissue guards.
Henry Wadsworth Longfellow’s translation of The Divine Comedy first began in 1864, when he enlisted the help of his friends to meet every Wednesday for review. A three volume translation was published in 1867, but Longfellow continued to revise the English in following years. This set includes illustrations by John Flaxman, whose primary artistic medium was sculpting.
