The Divina Commedia,: consisting of the Inferno-Purgatorio-and Paradiso. Translated into English verse, with preliminary essay, notes, and illustrations, by the Rev. Henry Boyd. In three volumes.
by DANTE ALIGHIERI
- Used
- first
- Condition
- See description
- Seller
-
London, United Kingdom
Payment Methods Accepted
About This Item
London: Printed by A. Strahan, for T. Cadell Jun. and W. Davies,, 1802. Dante's English reputation restored First complete edition in English of the Divine Comedy and the first publication in English of the Purgatorio and the Paradiso; the Inferno here in its fourth appearance in English, following the first edition of 1782 and the Dublin and London editions by Boyd in 1785. This complete edition helped "re-establish an audience for Dante, whose reputation had suffered a decline in the previous century" (ODNB). The translator, the Church of Ireland clergyman Henry Boyd (1748/9-1832), stamped his own character on this text with a lengthy introductory preface and an historical essay, the latter in addition to his translation of Leonardo Bruni's Life of Dante. Boyd celebrates Dante as an original genius whose reputation had been unjustly diminished by unimaginative laws of criticism dominated by the French propensity to "cast a damp upon original invention". Interestingly, Boyd attempts to associate the resurgence of Dante with the contemporary rise of radical thought and politics "in this age of enlightened reason and adventurous discovery" (vol. I, p. 1). Three volumes, octavo (229 x 142 mm). Contemporary half calf, smooth spines lettered and tooled in gilt, marbled sides. Vol. I with stipple-engraved frontispiece portrait, engraved by R. H. Cromek after T. Stothard. Bound without half-titles. Very light shadow of bookplates to front pastedowns, early signature "Beck" to front free endpaper of vol. I. Joints and extremities neatly restored, 55 mm closed tear to fore edge of B1 into text without loss, light spotting. A very good copy. Fiske Catalogue of the Dante Collection vol. I, p. 43; Lowndes, vol. I., p. 589.
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Details
- Bookseller
- Peter Harrington (GB)
- Bookseller's Inventory #
- 167883
- Title
- The Divina Commedia,
- Author
- DANTE ALIGHIERI
- Book Condition
- Used
- Place of Publication
- London: Printed by A. Strahan, for T. Cadell Jun. and W. Davies,
- Date Published
- 1802
- Note
- May be a multi-volume set and require additional postage.
Terms of Sale
Peter Harrington
All major credit cards are accepted. Both UK pounds and US dollars (exchange rate to be agreed) accepted. Books may be returned within 14 days of receipt for any reason, please notify first of returned goods.
About the Seller
Peter Harrington
Biblio member since 2006
London
About Peter Harrington
Since its establishment, Peter Harrington has specialised in sourcing, selling and buying the finest quality original first editions, signed, rare and antiquarian books, fine bindings and library sets. Peter Harrington first began selling rare books from the Chelsea Antiques Market on London's King's Road. For the past twenty years the business has been run by Pom Harrington, Peter's son.
Glossary
Some terminology that may be used in this description includes:
- Octavo
- Another of the terms referring to page or book size, octavo refers to a standard printer's sheet folded four times, producing...
- Gilt
- The decorative application of gold or gold coloring to a portion of a book on the spine, edges of the text block, or an inlay in...
- Fore Edge
- The portion of a book that is opposite the spine. That part of a book which faces the wall when shelved in a traditional...
- First Edition
- In book collecting, the first edition is the earliest published form of a book. A book may have more than one first edition in...
- Calf
- Calf or calf hide is a common form of leather binding. Calf binding is naturally a light brown but there are ways to treat the...