Books

London; Chapman & Hall, 1850., 1850. Hard Cover. Second Edition revised and enlarged, being the First Edition (second state, as usual, with 193 Piccadilly to publishers' imprint) of "Sonnets from the Portuguese". Foolscap octavo, pp. [3], vi-xii, 362; [4], vi-viii, 480, bound without half-titles. Near contemporary binding in black quarter roan with 4 raised bands, gilt titles & decoration to spine and light brown pebbled cloth covered boards; marbled endpapers and all edges gilt. Leather rubbed to edges; cover cloth very slightly rippled. A little light foxing, mainly to prelims; tidy gift inscriptions to first blanks Vol I only dated 1880 and to both volumes dated 1949. 2 small archival tape repairs with associated creasing to p. 343/4. A very good set. The first printing of "Sonnets From the Portuguese" the 44 celebrated love poems which Browning (1806-61) wrote for her husband Robert, composed in 1845-6. After the first edition of "Poems" was published in 1844, Robert…

A collection of 44 love sonnets, 'Sonnets from the Portuguese' is one of Browning's most famous works and was composed during her courtship with Robert Browning.