Antique Christian Book PURGATORY & PARADISE Dante Alighieri GUSTAVE DORE' 1890s

Description: Welcome toMAD MONK BOOKS BOOK TITLEPURGATORY AND PARADISETranslated by the Rev. Henry Francis Cary, M.A.from the original of Dante Alighieri AUTHORDante Alighieri ILLUSTRATED BYM. Gustave Dore' PUBLISHERCassell & Company, Limited DATEnot statedCirca 1890s SIZEExtremely Large13.25" tall, 10.5" deep, 1.5" thick. PAGES337 SPECIAL ATTRIBUTESIncludes 60 full page, outstanding, wood engraved illustrationsby world famous M. Gustave Dore' EXTERIOR CONDITIONThis absolutely spectacular fine binding is beautifully bound in original chocolate brown colored cloth. The binding has triple gold gilt lining at the top and bottom edges of the spine. The title of the book PURGATORY & PARADISE along with ILLUSTRATED BY GUSTAVE DORE' and the publisher CASSELL & COMPANY, LIMITED all appear in gold gilt on the spine of the book. The front cover has stunning gold gilt images of two large standing angels, three flying angels, and the image of Jesus Christ's face all in gold gilt. The words PURGATORY & PARADISE also appear in massive 2" capital letters on the front cover of the book. The name of the world famous illustrator GUSTAVE DORE' also appears in large gold gilt letters at the bottom of the front cover. In addition, there are black blind stamped images throughout the front cover depicting a backdrop including mountains, clouds, trees, plants, leaves, lightning, etc. There is NO gold gilt loss, wear, or fading throughout the entire binding. All of the gold gilt on the spine and front cover remains extremely bright and vibrant (like new), with the title of the book and all other imagery clearly visible (in gold) on the spine and front cover. The rear cover has an extremely large flower-like blind stamped design in the center of the cover with blind stamped lines or framing along the perimeter edges of the rear cover. The binding shows VERY LITTLE rubbing, bumping and scuffing for a book of this age (over 150 years old). The top and bottom edges of the spine show a couple very tiny (1/16") hairline cracks with a very tiny bit (BB size) of cloth loss along the bottom edge, hardly noticeable. There is one minor scratch to the cloth near the center outer edge of the rear cover. The cloth has a small one inch closed crack near the top and bottom of the front exterior hinge (actually the edge of the spine)--not effecting the functionality of the front hinge. Both the front and rear exterior hinges are strong and function like new with no dryness, cracking, splitting or separation from top to bottom. The four corners of the book show little to no bumping or crushing and remain sharp and square. The cloth at the four corners shows almost no wear with perhaps two very tiny points of cloth loss (less than the size of a BB), hardly noticeable. There is a small wear spot (slight discolor) to the lower outside corner of the rear cover. Other than these very minor items just described, there are no other scratches, splits, tears, dents, dimples, scuff marks or abrasions throughout the exterior covers of this book. The spine and covers are NOT sunned or faded. The page edges are bright gold gilt with NO dust dulling along the top edge. The book stands straight and very tall on its own and is NOT cocked. At rest, the book does NOT pop open, but closes tight, like new. This spectacular book is an outstanding example of 19th century book binding at its best! This beautiful copy of a true Christion Classic work, illustrated by the world famous Gustave Dore' would make a fine addition to the book shelves of any library. A very unique and striking binding indeed! A picture is worth a thousand words--see attached photos for more detail. INTERIOR CONDITIONThe front and rear endpapers are a very very light green floral pattern. The paste down portion of the front and rear endpapers are both holding firmly to the boards, like new. The front and rear inside (paper) hinges have NO cracking, something rarely seen in books of this age, size and weight. Both the front and rear interior hinges are strong and holding firm, like new. The front and rear first flyleaf pages both have a crease from top to bottom, but no rips or tears. The front first flyleaf page has a small white spot where a price tag was removed (?). The side edge of the title page has a chip the size of a pee. The illustration page (opposite page 58) has a one inch tear at the top (see attached photo). There are NO missing or loose pages throughout this book. There are NO loose signatures throughout this book. The pages throughout the book are thick, crisp, clean and only very slightly age toned with NO foxing (I believe you will find the pages whiter and cleaner than the photos show). The text block remains tight. The page corners remain sharp and square with not a single folded page! (other than the two flyleaf pages described above). There are NO signatures, bookplates, pencil or ink throughout the pages of the book. The book has NO smoke, mildew or other unusual odors. I am almost certain this book has never been read from cover to cover. A picture is worth a thousand words--see attached photos for more detail. PS: The fact that there is NO foxing throughout this book indicates that the highest quality paper was used in its construction. Weight is also a good indication of a books quality. This book weighs in at over 6 pounds! Another testimony to the quality of materials used in this book's construction. WHO IS DANTE ALIGHIERI (THE AUTHOR OF THIS BOOK) Dante Alighieri (May 1265 – September 14, 1321), widely known as Dante, was an Italian poet, writer, and philosopher. His Divine Comedy, originally called Comedìa (modern Italian: Commedia) and later christened Divina by Giovanni Boccaccio, is widely considered one of the most important poems of the Middle Ages and the greatest literary work in the Italian language. Dante is known for establishing the use of the vernacular in literature at a time when most poetry was written in Latin, which was accessible only to educated readers. His De vulgari eloquentia (On Eloquence in the Vernacular) was one of the first scholarly defenses of the vernacular. His use of the Florentine dialect for works such as The New Life (1295) and Divine Comedy helped establish the modern-day standardized Italian language. By writing his poem in the Italian vernacular rather than in Latin, Dante influenced the course of literary development, making Italian the literary language in western Europe for several centuries. His work set a precedent that important Italian writers such as Petrarch and Boccaccio would later follow. Dante was instrumental in establishing the literature of Italy, and is considered to be among the country's national poets and the Western world's greatest literary icons. His depictions of Hell, Purgatory, and Heaven provided inspiration for the larger body of Western art and literature. He influenced English writers such as Geoffrey Chaucer, John Milton, and Alfred Tennyson, among many others. In addition, the first use of the interlocking three-line rhyme scheme, or the terza rima, is attributed to him. He is described as the "father" of the Italian language, and in Italy he is often referred to as il Sommo Poeta ("the Supreme Poet"). Dante, Petrarch, and Boccaccio are also called the tre corone ("three crowns") of Italian literature. WHO IS GUSTAVE DORE' (THE ILLUSTRATOR OF THIS BOOK) Paul Gustave Louis Christophe Doré (6 January 1832 – 23 January 1883) was a French printmaker, illustrator, painter, comics artist, caricaturist, and sculptor. He is best known for his prolific output of wood engravings illustrating classic literature, especially those for the Vulgate Bible and Dante's Divine Comedy. These achieved great international success, and he became renowned for printmaking, although his role was normally as the designer only; at the height of his career some 40 block-cutters were employed to cut his drawings onto the wooden printing blocks, usually also signing the image. He created over 10,000 illustrations, the most important of which were copied using an electrotype process using cylinder presses, allowing very large print runs to be published simultaneously in many countries. SHIPPINGTHE MAD MONK ships all books via USPS MEDIA MAIL unless otherwise stated. THE MAD MONK recognizes that vintage antique books are fragile. Therefore, his books are packaged with the utmost care to insure a safe journey to their new home. Regular sized and larger books are securely packaged and shipped in a protective box. Smaller and/or miniature books may be mailed in a padded envelope with other protective measures taken. THE MAD MONK'S PROMISETHE MAD MONK is an honest and fastidious friar. He attempts to point out all of the qualities as well as the flaws and imperfections in his books with the use of words and photos. He tries to do everything he can to avoid costly returns and unhappy customers. So, please read book descriptions and evaluate all book photos carefully before making a purchase. In addition, feel free to reach out to THE MAD MONK if you have any questions or concerns about a particular book. Sorry, monk (in photo) not included. RETURNSTHE MAD MONK is only human and may on occasion overlook something. Therefore, THE MAD MONK guarantees all books are as described or they may be returned within 30 days of receipt for a full refund. Buyer is responsible for paying return shipping. Save MAD MONK BOOKS as a FAVORITEStarting in 2024 watch for hundreds of new listings, as this fastidious friar finds time to list them. Happy book hunting! God's Blessings!

Price: 575 USD

Location: Trabuco Canyon, California

End Time: 2025-01-19T02:19:30.000Z

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