Books

London: Smith, Elder and Co, 1872. Second edition. 4 vols. Small 8vo. Full olive morocco gilt, a.e.g., by Bedford. Front joint of vol. I repaired, else fine. In custom cloth slipcase. Bookplate of William Harris Arnold. Second edition. 4 vols. Small 8vo. Inscribed by Browning to Ernest Benzon on the first flyleaf, “Ernst Benzon Esq, from his very affectionately Robert Browning." German-born Ernst Benzon, a partner in the steel manufacture Vickers Sons & Company, was a patron or friend of Browning and others, including Thackeray, Wilkie Collins, Felix Mendelssohn and George Eliot. Browning stayed with the Benzons in Little Milton, their Scottish estate in the hills above Loch Tummel, and it is there in 1869 that he wrote the long poem Prince Hohenstiel-Schwangau. The present volumes were likely presented by Browning in appreciation. Mrs. Benzon later gave Browning a gift of £1,860 worth of railway stock. Barnes RB 19; Sterling 89; Tinker 425; Wise, Browning pp. 27-28; Ashley I,…

'The Ring and the Book' is an epic poem by Robert Browning, published in 1868. It is a narrative poem, containing twelve books.