FOLIAGE; OR POEMS ORIGINAL AND TRANSLATED

London: Printed for C. and J. Ollier, 1818. FIRST EDITION. 177 x 111 mm. (7 x 4 1/4"). 39, [1], cxxxv, [1], 111, [1] pp.
EXQUISITE DARK GREEN CRUSHED MOROCCO BY ZAEHNSDORF (stamp-signed in gilt on front turn-in, gilt exhibition stamp on rear pastedown) with an all-over design of inlaid red morocco floral sprigs, semé in alternating rows of large and small blooms, the spine with a compartment containing gilt lettering, turn-ins framed by gilt vine, leather hinges, olive green watered silk endleaves, top edge gilt, other edges untrimmed. In a (slightly faded and marked) contemporary (if not original) tan morocco pull-off case lined in suede ◆The faintest hint of yellowing at page edges, but AN ESPECIALLY FINE COPY, clean and fresh internally, IN A PERFECT BINDING.

This collection of Hunt's original poems (grouped under the title "Greenwood") and his translations from classical works (entitled "Evergreen") comprise the "Foliage" within this beautiful floral binding. A noted critic, Leigh Hunt (1784-1859) was a prolific writer blessed with talent, although not genius. He had a good eye for that quality in others, however, and was an early and influential champion of the Romantic poets. Among the poems here is one celebrating the brilliance of Keats, envisioning a laurel on that young poet's brow. There are also verses addressed to his friends Byron, Shelley, and Thomas Moore. A great admirer of Greek poetry, Hunt translates here from Homer, Theocritus, Bion & Moschus, and Anacreon, with Catullus included as "one of the very few Romans that appear [to him] to have had an original talent for poetry." Our binding is a very fine example of the work of the Zaehnsdorf firm, long a top-ranked English bindery. Born in Pest, Hungary, Joseph Zaehnsdorf (1816-86) served his apprenticeship in Stuttgart, worked at several European locations as a journeyman, and then settled in London, where he was hired first by Westley and then by Mackenzie before opening his own workshop in 1842. His son and namesake took over the business at age 33, when the senior Joseph died, and the firm flourished under the son's leadership, becoming a leading West End bindery. Over the years, Zaehnsdorf employed a considerable number of distinguished binders, including the Frenchman Louis Genth (who was chief finisher from 1859-84), and trained a number of others, including Roger de Coverly and Sarah Prideaux. It is generally understood that the Zaehnsdorf firm reserved the use of its oval stamp showing a binder at work for their finest bindings, including those entered in exhibitions..