Beschreibung:

Title: The Iliads of Homer. Prince of Poets. Never before in any languag truely translated [& The Odysses] Author: Homer Place: London Publisher: Nathaniell Butter Date: [1611-1613?] Description: 2 volumes in one. *2-6, A-2F6 2G8 (lacking *1 blank, with 2G8 blank); A3-6, B-Q6, R8, S-2H6, 2I1-7 (lacking A1 & A2, title and blank[?] and 2I8 blank). [21], [1 blank], 341, [9], [2 blank]; [8], 376 [i.e. 374], [2] pp. Engraved title-page to the “Iliads” by William Hole Translated from the Greek by George Chapman (small folio) 10½x7, modern reversed calf in antique style. First Chapman Editions. Perhaps the greatest translation of the Elizabethan era, made still more famous by John Keats’s sonnet a couple of centuries later: “…Oft of one wide expanse had I been told / That deep-brow’d Homer ruled as his demesne; / Yet did I never breathe its pure serene / Till I heard Chapman speak out loud and bold…” This copy of the Iliad does not have the additional dedicatory sonnets to Viscounts Cranbourne and Rochester. The ownership signature of Eliza Walrond, dated 1675, appears on the engraved title. Lot Amendments Condition: Engraved title slightly short with expertly repaired tear and lower corner, inconspicuous old ink mark; B1 of Iliad (first text leaf) with closed marginal tear; few leaves with pale dampstaining, infrequent toning and a few spots; Odyssey lacking 2 preliminary leaves, S2 of Odyssey reinserted, with some edge wear, repaired hole with a couple of letters replaced; still, overall near fine. Item number: 157760