La Divina Commedia. Lo Inferno; Lo Purgatorio; Lo Paradiso.

by ASHENDENE PRESS. DANTE. HEWITT, Graily.

$47,296 · Offered by Biblio

Chelsea: Ashendene Press, 1902-1905. 3 volumes. Lo Inferno is one of 135 copies; the other volumes each one of 150 copies. Woodcuts throughout adapted by Catterson Smith, Charles Keates and W.H. Hooper from an early Venetian edition of Dante. Numerous initials and paragraphs drawn by Graily Hewitt in gold, red, blue and green. Printed in red and black in the new Subaico type on special handmade paper from Batchelor. 8vo., all in the original full white vellum bindings with green silk ties. Generally a very fresh and crisp set with a slight pinkish tinge to the bottom edges of Lo Paradiso and some spotting to the edges.||Lo Inferno was the first book to be printed in Hornby's newly commissioned Subiaco type, designed by the great Emery Walker with Sydney Cockerell having examined numerous incunabula in the British Museum with Hornby's help. The type they used to model it on was the first type of Sweynheym & Pannartz with which they had printed three books between 1465 and 1497 at Subaico before they went to Rome. Interestingly Morris had once experimented with this type but had never taken it as far as having punches cut from his designs. E.P. Prince cut these ones for Hornby and the Press's dominant typeface was born. On receipt of his new type, Hornby was determined to tackle more serious projects. In 1902 he wrote: "I therefore bought a larger Press and embarked upon the printing of La Commedia di Dante in three small octavo volumes". This reflected his passion for the Ital

• Publisher: Ashendene Press
• Year: 1902
• Binding: hardcover

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