The Divina Commedia of Dante Alighieri: Consisting of the Inferno, Purgatorio and Paradiso (The Divine Comedy).

DANTE ALIGHIERI,.

Item Number: 22060

London: Printed by A. Strahan for T. Cadell Jun. and W. Davies, 1802.

First edition in English of Dante’s masterpiece. Octavo, three volumes. Bound in full calf, raised bands, gilt titles and tooling to the spine, gilt tooling to the front and rear panels. In near fine condition with only light browning to the text. Translated into English with preliminary essays, notes, and illustrations by the Rev. Henry Boyd. Engraved frontispiece portrait of Dante, engraved by R.H. Cromek.

Written in rhymed 6-line stanzas, this is the rare Henry Boyd 1st translation into English of the Divine Comedy, Italian La Divina Commedia, original name Commedia, a long narrative poem written c. 1308–21 by Dante. It is usually held to be one of the world’s great works of literature. Divided into three major sections—Inferno, Purgatorio, and Paradiso—the narrative traces the journey of Dante from darkness and error to the revelation of the divine light, culminating in the Beatific Vision of God.