Descripción
A Desirable and Magnificent Large-Paper copy of the First Edition of Dryden s Virgil, printed at London in 1697 and adorned with 101 full page plates. The definitive English Virgil, one of the greatest works of poetry in English, and one of the most beautiful productions of a literary work in English.The Works of Virgil: containing his Pastorals, Georgics, and Aeneis. Translated into English verse; by Mr. Dryden. Adorn d with a hundred sculptures. / London: / Printed for Jacob Tonson, at the Judges-Head in Fleetstreet, near the Inner-Temple-Gate, MDCXCVII [1697]. The volume is complete in all respects and comprises 640 numbered pages, plus the title, preliminaries and plates; it collates [ ]2, A2, *4, **4, ***2, ****2, *****2, +2, ++2 x1, B-G4, [P]4, [PP]2, H-T4, U2; (a)-(f)4, Aa-Zz4, Aaa-Zzz4, Aaaa-Ffff4, Gggg2, Hhhh-Iiii4, Kkkk2. The volume may be referenced as Wing V616A, MacDonald 33A, and by ESTC 006128533. The volume is, in itself, one of the most impressive productions of an English poetical work ever published. It contains 101 stunning full-page plates, including the engraved title, most of which were updated from the Ogilby edition of 1654 (humorously, the updating included making the depictions of Aeneas look less like Charles II and more like William III). The plates are after designs by Hollar, Van der Gucht, Cleyn and Lombart. Dryden s Virgil, is all that one could hope for in an English edition of the greatest Roman poet: it combines the finest suite of illustrations to accompany a post-Renaissance Virgil, with the finest translation of Virgil in English (an extraordinary improvement over Ogilby s pedestrian rhymes). The volume is in excellent condition internally, with clean pages, clear print and wide margins throughout. The plates are remarkably fresh, strong and early impressions in nearly all cases. All fine examples. An occasional page or plate is browned; this is owing to the paper used by the printer and is a difficulty in almost all copies of the first edition. The volume was completely rebound probably mid 20th Century, in half calf over marbled boards, which are somewhat scuffed, but generally the binding remains in very good shape with no split hinges or other major problems. The volume measures 45 cm by 29 cm by 8.4 cm; each leaf measures 442 mm by 277 mm. Please see our website for a slideshow with 251 images of this volume including all the plates. N° de ref. del artículo ABE-1610903945335
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