"CERTAINLY THE NOBLEST VERSION OF POETRY WHICH THE WORLD HAS EVER SEEN" (SAMUEL JOHNSON): THE NONESUCH PRESS EDITION OF POPE’S HOMER, 1931, HANDSOMELY BOUND

HOMER. The Iliad and the Odyssey. London: Nonesuch Press, 1931. Two volumes. Royal octavo, publisher's full tan morocco, raised bands, marbled endpapers, top edges gilt, uncut. $3500.

Limited private-press editions of the Iliad (number 458 of 1450 copies) and the Odyssey (number 581 of 1300 copies) of Pope’s esteemed translations, finely printed for the Nonesuch Press with facing English and Greek texts, beautifully illustrated and handsomely bound.

From their first publication in 1715 (the Iliad) and 1725 (the Odyssey), Alexander Pope's translations of Homer met with scholarly and public acclaim. Pope's "'Homer' was long regarded as a masterpiece, and for a century was the source from which clever schoolboys like Byron learnt that Homer was not a mere instrument of torture invented by their masters. No translation of profane literature has ever occupied such a position" (DNB). The handsome Nonesuch Press edition of Pope's Homer reflects the press' consistently high standards. "Though an extraordinary amount of care was lavished on the physical production of Nonesuch editions, no less attention was paid to the editing of the texts… It is evident that the producers had as much pleasure in their work as the readers were later to receive" (Cave, 190-91). Illustrated with decorative headpieces. Text in Greek and English on facing pages. Without original slipcases. Ransom, Nonesuch 72; 78. Bookplates. Bookseller's ticket.

Expert inner paper hinge repairs to Odyssey. Beautifully printed and bound.