11 10DANTE. (BOYD, Henry, translator). The Divina Commedia… Consisting of the Inferno— Purgatorio—and Paradiso. London, 1802. Three volumes. Octavo, contemporary three-quarter calf gilt. $17,500 First edition of the first complete English translation of Dante’s Divine Comedy, significant for “assisting to reestablish an audience for Dante, whose reputation had suffered a decline in the previous century” (ODNB), with frontispiece portrait of Dante by Thomas Stothard. This set marks the first English translation of the whole Divina Commedia of Dante, with Boyd’s attempt to capture Dante’s terza rima, which in English is extremely difficult to sustain. In 1785, Boyd had published his translation of the Inferno alone, “the first of its kind” (DNB); here it is accompanied by the first appearances of the Purgatorio and Paradiso in English. The edition also includes preliminary essays and notes to each of the three books. Bound without half titles. Lowndes, 589. First volume with early inked owner name. Faint traces of bookplate removal. Contents overall clean with occasional light spotting; one leaf in volume I with closed tear touching text without loss. Expert restoration to joints and extremities, slight rubbing to marbled boards. A handsome set. “The First Of Its Kind”: Rare First Complete Divine Comedy In English, 1802
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