Paradise Lost, Vol. 1 & 2: With Notes and A Life of Milton By Robert Vaughan, D.D.

London, Paris, New York, Melbourne: Cassell And Company, Limited, 1905. First Edition. Hardcover. Good+. Gustave Dore. None. None 2 volumes. With Critical and Explanatory Notes, Life of Dante, and Chronology. With extraordinary Full Page Gustave Dore engravings on plates including an impressive portrait of Dante. Folio, finely bound in Full handsome red/Maroon morocco covered boards, the spines with band; Cover and Spine Gilt lettering, gilt page edges on three sides. A fine and very attractive set of this great work. The pages are still mostly clean and fresh but there is some poking on some pages. Tight bindings with minor cracking on the spine folds. Gilt patterns on the leather wrapped to the inside, beautiful green endpapers. A reinforcement strip has been underplayed the end papers to strengthen spines. Professionally done. Also include 1972 sales slip from Book dealer. Dore’s huge and spectacular illustrations bring Dante s visions to life in a style and manner to satisfy artistic appetites both subtle and grotesque. A truly grand example of the art of metal plate engraving. The sheer mass of the text blocks in these magnificent folios has left many copies broken or salvaged for the Engravings. This set is unusually sturdy and tight and mostly clean as well. ""Dante’s theme, the greatest yet attempted in poetry, was to explain and justify the Christian cosmos through the allegory of a pilgrimage. To him comes Virgil, the symbol of philosophy, to guide him through the two lower realms of the next world, which are divided according to the classifications of the Ethics of Aristotle. Hell is seen as an inverted cone with its point where lies Lucifer fixed in ice at the centre of the world, and the pilgrimage from it is a climb to the foot of and then up the Purgatorial Mountain. Along the way Dante passes Popes, Kings and Emperors, poets, warriors and citizens of Florence, expiating the sins of their life on earth. On the summit is the Earthly Paradise where Beatrice meets them and Virgil departs. Dante is now led through the various spheres of heaven, and the poem ends with a vision of the Deity. The audacity of his theme, the success of its treatment, the beauty and majesty of his verse, have ensured that his poem never lost its reputation. The picture of divine justice is entirely unclouded by Dante s own political prejudices, and his language never falls short of what he describes."" 10.5 13.25 x 1 inches volumes. Oversized or heavy volume, additional shipping charges will apply. Please ask for additional photos prior to purchasing. We are happy to send additional photos. 1LR