La Divina Commedia or The Divine Vision of Dante Aligheri in Italian and English. The Italian text edited by Mario Casella of the University of Florence with the English version of H. F. Cary and forty two illustrations after the drawings by Sandro Botticelli.
[London] : The Nonesuch Press. 1928. Limited Edition No. 1111 of 1475 cop.ies
Folio, [vi], 324, [4] pp, 42 plates, mostly double-page, publisher’s bright orange vellum, double fillet borders and central plaque, titled direct to the spine all in gilt, top edge rough-gilt but rather dusty, others uncut and unopened, spine faded as usual, otherwise a fine presentable copy.
One of the more impressive productions of the Nonesuch Press, with the illustrations of Sandro Botticelli which first appeared as copper engravings in the famous “Landino Dante” published in Florence in 1481. a Nonesuch prospectus for 1927 states “The binding is carried out in whole vellum, stained to a brilliant orange, with heavy millboards and appropriate gilding. Here again the collection of raw material has been a formidable task; for the edition requires the unblemished skins of many hundreds of young calves.” Published at five and a half guineas, the book was over-subscribed to a greater extent than any other Nonesuch publication.
[Dreyfus 50]
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