This is the First American Edition of Dante’s L’Inferno - the Inferno - published in Boston by DeVreis, Ibarra and Co. in 1867 and illustrated by Gustave Dore.
Size: 11 1/2 x 9 in.
The book is in Italian and has a gilt decorated spine and front cover, the cover reads “L’Inferno di Dante Alighieri, Illustrato Per Gustavo Dore”, which means “The Inferno of Dante Alighieri, illustrated by Gustave Dore”, and it says “Prima Edizione Americana” on the front cover, which means First American Edition.
It has chocolate-covered endpapers, a frontis portrait of Dante with a protective tissue guard, then the title page in red and black letters, the DeVries imprint and Boston: De Vries, Ibarra, E Compagnia, Libraj-Editori 1867” at the bottom of the title page, the next page says the book was printed in Cambridge - “Dalla Stamperia Di Gio. Wilson E Figlio” means “at the printing press of George Wilson and Figlio” - followed by a page dedicated to Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, the translator of the first American edition of the Divine Comedy, a three-page list of Illustrations - “Indice Delle Illustrazioni”, with 75 Illustrations by Dore altogether (v - vii), 180 pages of text and an illustration opposite the final page of text, the book has bevelled edges and the top edge is gilt. Dante finished the work around 1314, and it was first printed in 1472.
Dante Alighieri (1265 - 1321) was born in Florence, Italy, to a family of moderate wealth that was clearly involved in the complex political scene in Florence. Dante’s personal life and writings were greatly influenced by the politics of thirteenth-century Florence. The struggle for power in Florence was a reflection of a crisis that affected all of Italy and most of Europe - the struggle between church and state over who had the power in Florence and Italy.
By Dante’s time, the Guelphs were in power in Florence. But they were divided into two factions: the Whites, who supported the independence of Florence from strict papal control, and the Blacks, who were willing to work with the Pope in order to restore their power. Dante sided with the Whites, and under the direction of Pope Boniface VIII, the Blacks gained control of Florence in 1301. Dante was exiled for life because he was a visible and influential leader of the Whites. All of Dante’s work on The Divine Comedy, which consisted of three books - The Inferno, Purgatory, and Paradise - was done after his exile, and his Inferno, widely hailed as one of the great classics of Western literature, details Dante's journey through Hell. It consists of 34 cantos (sections) with nine concentric circles, each representing different sins and their corresponding punishments. Dante gets lost in a dark wood and is guided by the Roman poet, Virgil. Together, they descend through the circles of Hell, witnessing the torments of the damned and learning about the consequences of sin.
Gustave Dore (1832 - 1883) was a French printmaker, illustrator, painter, caricaturist, and sculptor, best known for his prolific output of wood-engravings illustrating classic literature, especially those for the Vulgate Bible and Dante’s Inferno.
The book measures 11 1/2 x 9 inches wide, with a tight binding and clean pages and text. The gilt on the front cover and spine are bright, there is wear at the heel and crown of the spine and at the tips, most of the tissue guards are present, but not all, and they are generally very clean.
A limited first edition set of all three works of the Divine Comedy from 2005 goes for $15,000, a first complete London edition from 1802 goes for $9500 on the rare book website we use, a French edition of the Inferno from 1861 goes for $8800, and we are starting the bidding at $80 for this copy of The Inferno illustrated by Gustave Dore.
#6264
