Click for full-size.
Sonnets from the Portuguese (The Riccardi Press Booklets Series)
by Browning, Elizabeth Barrett
- Used
- good
- Hardcover
- first
- Condition
- Good/No Jacket
- Seller
-
Seattle, Washington, United States
Payment Methods Accepted
About This Item
[The Medici Society / Philip Lee Warner], 1914. First Edition. Hardcover. Good/No Jacket. 8vo - over 7¾" - 9¾" Wear to spine (chiefly to midsection; tears & fraying); slight wear to extremities (chiefly to edges); slight rubbing and browning to covers (cloth/boards; chiefly to edges); slight bumping to corners; previous owner's ink inscription on front free endpaper, and various ink and pencil text annotations; slight internal browning to edges. 27, [4] pages. First issue of the famed sonnet sequence in this format; notable for the decorative material (particularly that of the first sonnet, page [5]). One of 1000 numbered trade copies on handmade Riccardi paper (of a total edition of 1012; this is number 209); printed by Charles T. Jacobi, and published for the Medici Society by Philip Lee Warner. Bound in tan cloth over light gray boards, gilt-stamped spine and upper cover, plain endpapers, foredges and lower edges untrimmed. Still a fairly tight copy internally.b/w Decorations (including Page [5] & colophon).
Synopsis
Elizabeth Barrett Browning's Sonnets to the Portuguese are widely considered among the greatest cycle of sonnets in the English language. This collection of love poems was written between 1845-46 to fellow poet and her soon-to-be husband, Robert Browning . Originally, Browning had no intention of publishing the poetry owing to its deeply personal subject matter, but her husband convinced her to publish them in the 1850 edition of her Poems . Originally, however, she was reportedly to have called the collection Sonnets from the Bosnian but was convinced to change the title to Sonnets from the Portuguese , also on her husband's suggestion. The Sonnets (as they are often called) are interesting as far as their collectibility is concerned. They were not originally published as a standalone work, but in Barrett's first compilation of poetry, Poems . First published in 1844, it did not contain the Sonnets initially. This distinction was to belong in fact to the second edition of 1850, published in 2 octavo volumes by Chapman and Hall in dark blue gilt cloth, making the second edition of Poems more valuable and collectible than the first edition. This is, of course, a rarity in the world of book collecting. The first state contains the address for the publisher on the title page as 186, Strand, rather than 193, Piccaddilly. The second edition of Poems (containing Sonnets from the Portuguese) is rather uncommon, but will typically fetch $5,000 or more, depending on condition.
Reviews
(Log in or Create an Account first!)
Details
- Bookseller
- Arundel Books of Seattle
(US)
- Bookseller's Inventory #
- L061664
- Title
- Sonnets from the Portuguese (The Riccardi Press Booklets Series)
- Author
- Browning, Elizabeth Barrett
- Format/Binding
- Hardcover
- Book Condition
- Used - Good
- Jacket Condition
- No Jacket
- Quantity Available
- 1
- Edition
- First Edition
- Publisher
- [The Medici Society / Philip Lee Warner]
- Date Published
- 1914
- Keywords
- Browning, Elizabeth Barrett English Literature 19th Century English Poetry Romance Love Sonnet Sequence Riccardi Press Limited Medici Society Warner, Philip Lee QX91, , , , , ,
Terms of Sale
Arundel Books of Seattle
7-day return only if not as described (you must notify us immediately on upon receipt of any problem). We pack carefully.
About the Seller
Arundel Books of Seattle
Biblio member since 2005
Seattle, Washington
About Arundel Books of Seattle
Arundel Books stunning new store is located in Seattle's historic Pioneer Square, and has an eclectic stock that will satisfy both the avid reader and discriminating collector.
Glossary
Some terminology that may be used in this description includes:
- Tight
- Used to mean that the binding of a book has not been overly loosened by frequent use.
- Jacket
- Sometimes used as another term for dust jacket, a protective and often decorative wrapper, usually made of paper which wraps...
- Cloth
- "Cloth-bound" generally refers to a hardcover book with cloth covering the outside of the book covers. The cloth is stretched...
- Rubbing
- Abrasion or wear to the surface. Usually used in reference to a book's boards or dust-jacket.
- 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...
- Spine
- The outer portion of a book which covers the actual binding. The spine usually faces outward when a book is placed on a shelf....
- Edges
- The collective of the top, fore and bottom edges of the text block of the book, being that part of the edges of the pages of a...
Frequently asked questions
This Book’s Categories
What did people buy in 2020?
Plague journals, escapist literature, political history: explore our year in review, where we share rare book trends and a gallery of some of the most beautiful and interesting books sold in 2020.
Collecting P. T. Barnum
P. T. Barnum was not only one of the founders of modern day circus performance, he was also the author of the second most printed book of the 19th century. Learn about collecting P. T. Barnum books and ephemera here.
