This book is titled "The Pilgrim's Progress" and was written by John Bunyan, illustrated by Frank Pape, published in London by J. M. Dent and in New York by E. P. Dutton, and bound by Rivière, one of the finest binders in England in the 1800's. ("Bound by Riviere & Son" means the book was bound after 1880, and the firm was eventually bought out by George Bayntun, who was also a great bookbinder of the 1900's.) The Pilgrim's Progress from This World, to That Which Is to Come is a Christian allegory written in 1678 by John Bunyan and is regarded as one of the most significant works of theological fiction in English literature. It has been translated into more than 200 languages and never been out of print. John Bunyan (1628 - 1688) was an English writer and Puritan preacher best remembered as the author of The Pilgrim's Progress. In addition to this book, he wrote nearly sixty titles, many of them expanded sermons. He became interested in religion after his marriage and later became a preacher, After the restoration of the monarchy in 1660, when the freedom of nonconformists was curtailed, Bunyan was arrested and spent the next twelve years in prison because he refused to give up preaching. By 1692, four years after his death, it was estimated that 100,000 copies had been printed in England, as well as editions in France, Holland, New England and Wales. By 1938, 250 years after Bunyan's death, more than 1,300 editions of the book had been printed. Frank C. Pape (1878 - 1972) was an English artist and book illustrator who was known for illustrating children's books from around 1908, including "The Toils and Travels of Odysseus (1908), a translation of The Odyssey by C.A. Pease, and Bunyan's The Pilgrim's Progress (1910). The book has five raised bands, six gilt-ruled compartments with red labels, gilt lettering, and elaborate gilt tooling on the spine, the front covers are polished calf with double gilt-fillet borders, the blue marbled endpapers have wide gilt dentelles, the first blank endpaper is stamped "Bound by Riviere & Son" at the top and "Made in England" at the bottom, the colored frontis by Pape is followed by a tissue guard and the title page, the edition page comes after that and says the book was reprinted in 1930, then one page of Contents, a List of illustrations, the Author's Apology for His book, which John Bunyan wrote way back when, a total of 315 pages in the book, and all the edges are gilt. The book is 8vo. and measures 7 3/4 x 5 3/4 in. wide and is in great condition. The binding is tight and the pages, text, and illustrations are very clean, and you'd be hard pressed to find anything wrong with the book. Riviere did a great job putting the book together. #74 #1694