The Iliad of Homer. 6 Vols.
London: Printed by W. Bowyer, for Bernard Lintott between the Temple-Gates, 1715-1720. First edition, first issue. Hardcover. Large Quarto. Original vellum with decorative gilt-tooled framing on covers, gilt lettering on brown calf labels of spines, plus gilt tooling and ruling; raised bands. Gilt edges. Marbled endpapers. Frontispiece engraving of bust of Homer. Title page printed in red and black with black double-framing. Historiated initials, head- and endpieces. [2] Frontispiece, [4] A-G, 317 [double page engraved maps]; [3], folding plate engraving "Siege of Troy," 321-657 [1]; [3] [L111 2] 662-948; [3] [B2} 958-1295; [3] [B2] 1304-1630 [Shield of Achilles engraving]; [3] [B2] 1630-1882 [34]pp. Half title present in volume one. Vols. II through VI publisher Lintott is spelled with one T.
Alexander Pope (1688-1744) was an 18th-century English poet, best known for his satirical verse and for his translation of Homer. Famous for his use of the heroic couplet, he is the third-most frequently quoted writer in The Oxford Dictionary of Quotations, after Shakespeare and Tennyson. Pope had been fascinated by Homer since childhood. In 1713, he announced his plans to publish a translation of the Iliad. The work would be available by subscription, with one volume appearing every year over the course of six years. Pope secured a revolutionary deal with the publisher Bernard Lintott, which brought him two hundred guineas (£210) a volume, equivalent to some £27,300 ($44,315) in 2014, a vast sum at the time. His translation of the Iliad appeared between 1715 and 1720. It was acclaimed by Samuel Johnson as "a performance which no age or nation could hope to equal" (although the classical scholar Richard Bentley wrote: "It is a pretty poem, Mr. Pope, but you must not call it Homer.")
Vellum bindings rubbed with front board of volume one cracked but holding at outer hinge, back board of this volume with some staining. Very good condition. Item #55796
Price: $2,500.00