Books

London: Septimus Prowett, 1827. 1/4 leather. Very Good. John Martin. The very important 1827 London edition, marking the original appearance of illustrator John Martin's breathtaking mezzotint engravings. Complete in 2 quarto volumes, constituting 12 books all told. Bound in a contemporary-to-the-period (if not the publisher's original) dark-brown 1/4 leather over light-brown marbled boards. Bright git-titling to the spines (with just a bit of rubbing), gilt-bordering at the front and rear panels (showing a bit of offsetting), all edges gilt. Very light scuffing along the spines, light wear at the spine ends. Internally very sharp, with mild, intermittent foxing to a number of the pages but, thankfully, all of Martin's plates very clean, if not bordering on pristine. Professionally, subtly reinforced at the inner hinges, making for a strong. very sturdy binding. The remarkable illustrations by John Martin (1789-1854), the renowned English painter and engraver, beautifully complement…

Paradise Lost is an epic poem in blank verse by the 17th-century English poet John Milton. The first version, published in 1667, consisted of ten books with over ten thousand lines of verse.