THE DIVINE COMEDY; Translated into English Verse by Melville Best Anderson; with Notes and Elucidations by the Translator, An Introduction by Arthur Livingston, and Thirty-Two Illustrations by William Blake / The 100 Greatest Books Ever Written / Collector's Edition / Bound in Genuine Leather

Norwalk, Connecticut: The Easton Press, 1979. First Edition Thus reprinting in fine leather format Melville Anderson's revised Engllish translation, and Livingston's introduction with Blake illustrations for The Heritage Press [1944 & 1972]. Full Leather with 22kt gold-stamping. Near Fine. William Blake. Quarto (10 1/2" x 6 7/8"), full maroon leather with 22kt gold lettering on spine with elaborate embellishments and four raised hubs; Introduction by Arthur Livingston; frontispiece portrait sketch of Dante by Harry Bennett plus 32 sepia plates by William Blake; Notes & Elucidations by Anderson; white ribbon page-marker; all edges gilt [a.e.g.]; off-white watered silk endpapers; xxi, [xxii: blank] + 491, [492] pages on special woven stock. Weight: 3 Lbs. A wonderfully illustrated and richly created leather edition of the immortal series of poems by Dante: The Inferno, Purgatorio, & Paradiso--translated into English by Melville Anderson.<br /> <br /> Dante, (c1265- c1321) was an Italian poet and moral philosopher best known for the epic poem The Divine Comedy, which was published in three books representing the three tiers of the Catholic spiritualized Christian afterlife: Hell, Purgatory, and Heaven.<br /> <br /> The illustrator, William Blake (1757 - 1827), was an English poet, painter, printmaker, and visionary. Blake is now considered a seminal figure in the history of the poetry and visual arts of the Romantic Age.<br /> <br /> NEAR FINE CONDITION! Tight, bright, clean copy with immaculate plates. Slight wear to two gilt decorations on front cover, else Fine. No marks by previous owners.