Dante's Inferno; Dante's Purgatory & Paradise [2 Vols.]

by Dante Alighieri

translated by Henry Francis Cary

illustrated by Gustave Doré 

New Edition, two volumes.  New York:  Cassell Publishing Company, ca. 1890  

Hardback is overall in VERY GOOD- condition.

• Brown covers with text and illustration stamped in gilt and black.   
• Boards show some wear, smudges, bumps, scuffing, edgewear.  Corners are bumped, frayed, with exposed board.  See photos.
• Spine has black text and decoration, effaced, with chipped, frayed ends.  See photos.
• Binding is tender, with stitches visible at some openings.  
• Pastedowns and feps have some light foxing in Vol. 1, a gift inscription in both volumes.  
• Frontispieces are present.
• Illustrations, full page plates from wood engravings, have marginal age-toning.   
• Interior is age-toned, more at margins, exhibits some scattered foxing, a couple small closed tears. 
• Inside pages are free of writing and intentional marks.
• PS2026.0225

162 + 304 pages. 9 1/2 x 11 5/8 inches

New Edition.  Two volumes containing all three parts of the Divine Comedy.  Publisher's brown cloth, with illustration and titles stamped in black and gilt inks.  Loss to gilt, and some fading to illustration.  Some separation at front cover, Volume 1; binding is intact but tender.  Interiors are unmarked, generally tanned with shading to margins.  Generously illustrated throughout with wood engravings designed by Gustave Doré.  A solid copy, condition overall Very Good-, of this important edition of Dante's Divine Comedy.  Scarce in commerce.

This important translation into English free verse was the work of Henry Francis Cary (1772-1844).  Cary first published the Inferno in 1805, then the entire work in 1814.  Initially a publishing failure, Cary's translation slowly garnered praise and general acknowledgement of its merit.  His translation of Dante gradually took its place among standard works, passing through four editions in his lifetime, and becoming the way many English readers first read Dante. 

Cary's translation maintained its primacy after his death in 1844, and later in the century, the French artist Gustave Doré (1832-1888) designed wood engravings for the Divine Comedy.  These images, the illustrations for the present work, achieved great international success.   

New Edition stated on the title page  Place of publication is given as New York.  No publication date given.

Please see photos. More photos available upon request.

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