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The Divine Comedy : The Vision of Hell, Purgatory, and Paradise
by Alighieri, Dante
- Used
- Hardcover
- first
- Condition
- Fine with no dust jacket
- Seller
-
Williamsville, New York, United States
Payment Methods Accepted
About This Item
New York: Washington Square Press. Fine with no dust jacket. 1966. First Edition Thus. Hardcover. Volume I has an imperfection to the rear pastedown at the head corner and this has impressed the lightest crease at the same corner of a few leaves. Minor marks to the slipcase.; The Divine Comedy is Dante Alighieri's medieval vision of the afterlife, rendered in verse, eleven syllables per line. Three spiritual guides take the protagonist through the three realms of the afterlife: Hell, Purgatory, and Paradise. This journey incorporates the author's 14th Century Catholic concepts of the soul, sin, and divine judgement that leads to punishment or reward, damnation or salvation. Considered by many to be the pre-eminent work of Italian literature, essentially a Christian epic poem, and written in the Tuscan language, it helped elevate Tuscan to be the standard Italian language. Translated into English blank verse by Louis Biancolli using the Moore-Toynbee text of an early Oxford University Press edition. The Italian verse is printed on the verso of leaves, with the English blank verse on the recto. The surreal, monochrome illustrations are by Harry Bennett (1919-2012). Each volume has ten plates, with one repeated on the cover. Bennett was initially a commercial artist, then making a natural transition into a prolific illustrator of slightly-lurid, yet sophisticated crime and mystery book covers. He had another style; stark, surreal, and in a high-contrast monochrome palette. This style serves these books well, with the three volumes having covers evocative of Hell, Purgatory, and Paradise. Printed in three volumes. Pagination: each page number spans two pages. Volume I: Hell - Inferno; with Acknowledgement, Notes, 142 pp. Volume II: Purgatory - Purgatorio; with Notes, 140 pp. Volume III: Paradise - Paradiso; with Notes, Translator's Note, About the Translator, About the Illustrator, 136 pp. Set in Palatino, the book's design is by Andor Braun. All volumes have the previous owner bookplate on the front free endpaper. This heavy set will require an additional shipping charge. All volumes are in clean, as-new, and Fine condition, housed in a slipcase that's about Near Fine.; Monochrome; Large 8vo 9" - 10" tall .
Synopsis
Dante Alighieri was born in 1265. Considered Italy's greatest poet, this scion of a Florentine family mastered in the art of lyric poetry at an early age. His first major work is La Vita Nuova (1292) which is a tribute to Beatrice Portinari, the great love of his life. Married to Gemma Donatic, Dante's political activism resulted in his being exiled from Florence to eventually settle in Ravenna. It is believed that The Divine Comedy —comprised of three canticles, The Inferno, The Purgatorio , and The Paradiso —was written between 1308 and 1320. Dante Alighieri died in 1321.
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Details
- Bookseller
- 20 Ants Fine Books, IOBA
(US)
- Bookseller's Inventory #
- 1061
- Title
- The Divine Comedy : The Vision of Hell, Purgatory, and Paradise
- Author
- Alighieri, Dante
- Illustrator
- Harry Bennett
- Format/Binding
- Hardcover
- Book Condition
- Used - Fine with no dust jacket
- Edition
- First Edition Thus
- Publisher
- Washington Square Press
- Place of Publication
- New York
- Date Published
- 1966
- Weight
- 0.00 lbs
- Keywords
- European Poetry, Afterlife, Christianity
- Bookseller catalogs
- Literature;
- Note
- May be a multi-volume set and require additional postage.
Terms of Sale
20 Ants Fine Books, IOBA
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We will refund the item's price and shipping fees both ways if an item was misdescribed . For other returns we will refund the item's price, only. Any returned item must be the specific item originally shipped to you, in the same condition as originally shipped, insured for the full original value, and securely packed to ensure damage-free delivery to us.
All items subject to prior sale. We prefer to conduct all transactions through Biblio's system. Biblio may charge sales tax that is applicable to your state or locale. Shipping by USPS is preferred and shipping by FedEx and UPS is available. Heavier items may incur an additional shipping charge. Items valued at $100 and above are shipped Signature Required.
International shipping is available to most countries and the buyer is responsible for all duties, tariffs, taxes, or fees charged by the receiving country or shipping carrier. When practical, we ship USPS to international customers so that they do not incur the brokerage fees of other carriers. We state the correct type and value of the item(s) for customs purposes.
We will refund the item's price and shipping fees both ways if an item was misdescribed . For other returns we will refund the item's price, only. Any returned item must be the specific item originally shipped to you, in the same condition as originally shipped, insured for the full original value, and securely packed to ensure damage-free delivery to us.
About the Seller
20 Ants Fine Books, IOBA
Biblio member since 2020
Williamsville, New York
About 20 Ants Fine Books, IOBA
20 Ants Fine Books offers fine press, small press, limited editions, literature, and eclectic categories that strike our fancy. Serving readers, collectors, and institutions since 1998.
Glossary
Some terminology that may be used in this description includes:
- Bookplate
- Highly sought after by some collectors, a book plate is an inscribed or decorative device that identifies the owner, or former...
- Recto
- The page on the right side of a book, with the term Verso used to describe the page on the left side.
- Jacket
- Sometimes used as another term for dust jacket, a protective and often decorative wrapper, usually made of paper which wraps...
- 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...
- Fine
- A book in fine condition exhibits no flaws. A fine condition book closely approaches As New condition, but may lack the...
- Leaves
- Very generally, "leaves" refers to the pages of a book, as in the common phrase, "loose-leaf pages." A leaf is a single sheet...
- Verso
- The page bound on the left side of a book, opposite to the recto page.
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