Paradise Lost, a Poem in XII Books

Hammersmith, London: The Doves Press, 1902. First Edition Thus. Near Fine. First edition thus. 387 pp. Bound in publisher's vellum with spine lettered in gilt. Near Fine with abrasions along front and rear joints, light bumping to bottom corner at rear board and bookseller's ticket at rear pastedown. Housed in a custom cloth folding case. An exquisitely austere Doves Press production of Milton's epic poem. Books printed by Cobden-Sanderson and Emery Walker at the Doves Press are characterized by a stark simplicity, “dependent for their beauty almost entirely upon the clarity of the type, the excellence of the layout, and the perfection of the presswork” (truncated) (Cave, 147). 'The elements of this masterpiece (Paradise Lost) are utterly simple and purely typographic, but the first glimpse of it as the page is turned is breathtaking.' The Private Presses Franklin, 107p. (Inventory #: 140947744)