Books

2 cols. Printed in red and black. Large initials designed by Graily Hewitt and printed in red and blue. (5) leaves, 406, (1) pp., (3) leaves. Folio. Orig. half calf over wooden boards and 7 raised bands with gilt lettered spine, signed by W. H. Smith (outer joints rubbed, spine with spots). One of 180 copies on Batchelor hand-made paper besides 12 on vellum. Set in Subiaco type. Ashendene Bibliography XXXII. Heraldic ex-libris on first paste-down. Fine copy.

The Faerie Queene is a celebrated epic poem by Edmund Spenser, first published in 1590. The poem is an allegory praising Queen Elizabeth I and reflecting the values and ideologies of Elizabethan England. It is one of the longest poems in the English language and is renowned for its richly imaginative narrative and moral allegory.