[MILTON'S PARADISE LOST AND PARADISE REGAINED].
Marks, Skt. Peterburg, 1895
Beautiful production of the Russian translation of this famous epic poem illustrated with 50 plates by Gustave Doré. Rare in such fresh unrestored condition.
Gustave Doré's romantic style of illustration, supremely imaginative and richly detailed, was ideally suited to literary subjects. His wood-engraved illustrations for John Milton's Paradise Lost, recounting mankind's fall from the grace of God through the work of Satan, were among his finest and most dramatic works. Here they accompany a Russian translation by A. Shulgovskaya with the original text in English printed in the footnotes.
It took two years for the Saint Petersburg leading publisher Marks to prepare the Milton's masterpiece for publication, and the first edition finally came out in 1878. Marks was hoping that "the Russian public will receive the book with at least a fraction of that love and affection that I have invested in it. Starting work on this edition I don't count on its global success; and I know that I won't be even able to cover my costs for another several years. But it only proves that there are still idealists in this world, who are ready to work without hope for receiving any benefits in near future".
It seems that Marks's romantic doubts were unsubstantiated, as in 1895 he published this amended and significantly expanded second edition. Its large format, thick expensive paper and luxurious illustrated binding make it one of the most beautiful publications that came out in Russia at the turn of the XIX century.
Large 4to (41.6 x 32 cm), XVIII, 332, [4] pp., parallel text in Russian and English, with 50 plates by Gustave Doré for Paradise Lost. Original publisher's cream cloth richly decorated in colours and gold on upper cover, calf spine embossed and gilt, green silk page-marker with a small metal embossed tag in the shape of a book, small area of loss to plate 49.
Gustave Doré's romantic style of illustration, supremely imaginative and richly detailed, was ideally suited to literary subjects. His wood-engraved illustrations for John Milton's Paradise Lost, recounting mankind's fall from the grace of God through the work of Satan, were among his finest and most dramatic works. Here they accompany a Russian translation by A. Shulgovskaya with the original text in English printed in the footnotes.
It took two years for the Saint Petersburg leading publisher Marks to prepare the Milton's masterpiece for publication, and the first edition finally came out in 1878. Marks was hoping that "the Russian public will receive the book with at least a fraction of that love and affection that I have invested in it. Starting work on this edition I don't count on its global success; and I know that I won't be even able to cover my costs for another several years. But it only proves that there are still idealists in this world, who are ready to work without hope for receiving any benefits in near future".
It seems that Marks's romantic doubts were unsubstantiated, as in 1895 he published this amended and significantly expanded second edition. Its large format, thick expensive paper and luxurious illustrated binding make it one of the most beautiful publications that came out in Russia at the turn of the XIX century.
Large 4to (41.6 x 32 cm), XVIII, 332, [4] pp., parallel text in Russian and English, with 50 plates by Gustave Doré for Paradise Lost. Original publisher's cream cloth richly decorated in colours and gold on upper cover, calf spine embossed and gilt, green silk page-marker with a small metal embossed tag in the shape of a book, small area of loss to plate 49.
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