“HE MADE THE FATHER OF ALL POETRY LIVE…”: RARE FIRST EDITIONS OF POPE’S FAMOUS TRANSLATIONS OF HOMER’S ILIAD AND ODYSSEY, 1715-26, HANDSOMELY BOUND, THE LOVEDAY-BERLAND SET

HOMER. Iliad of Homer. WITH: The Odyssey of Homer. London: for Bernard Lintot, 1715-26. Together, eleven volumes. Small folio (7-1/2 by 12 inches), contemporary full paneled calf rebacked with original spines laid down, raised bands, red morocco spine labels. $35,000.

First folio editions of Pope’s famous illustrated translations—issued almost immediately after the quarto first editions—esteemed by Samuel Johnson as “certainly the noblest version of poetry which the world has ever seen,” with frontispiece bust portrait of Homer by Vertue, in handsome contemporary calf, boasting exceptional provenance from the outstanding Loveday library and the celebrated collection of Abel E. Berland.

Encouraged by Swift, Addison and Steele, among others, Pope began translating Homer in 1713. The arduous undertaking would prove to be the most laborious literary enterprise of his life, but one to which he was well-suited. "Idolatry of classical models was an essential part of the religion of men of letters of the day… But a Homer in modern English was still wanting. Pope's rising fame and his familiarity with the literary and social leaders made him the man for the opportunity… The '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). Samuel Johnson, in his Life of Pope, calls it "certainly the noblest version of poetry which the world has ever seen; and its publication must therefore be considered as one of the great events in the annals of learning;" likewise, De Quincey regarded it as "unquestionably the greatest literary labor" (Allibone, 1632-34). Certainly, Pope's long-lasting literary fame rests to a large degree on the great success and extensive influence of these translations. "Pope's success with Homer… was great. He made the father of all poetry live for those of his day who were not scholars, and though he wrote for his day, his translation still remains about the most lively and readable of poetic translations" (Baugh et al., 925). The six volumes of the Iliad were issued between 1715-20. "Contemporaneously with the quarto [for subscribers] [Lintot] issued the work in two forms, a Large Paper folio and a Small (or 'ordinary') folio" (Griffith 39). These volumes belong to the ordinary folio issue. The five volumes of the Odyssey were published between 1725-26, in quarto and large-paper folio. These volumes belong to the folio issue and have been nicely trimmed to match the Iliad's ordinary folio in size (as Berland's note to the front free endpaper of its first volume indicates). With fine copper-engraved frontispiece bust of Homer by George Vertue in Iliad (not found in many copies); the frontispiece bust in this copy of Odyssey supplied from the quarto issue. Also with double-page map, three plates (including the Shield of Achilles in Iliad, Volume V, often missing) and numerous historiated initials and elaborate head- and tail-pieces in the Odyssey. With all half-titles (Iliad,Volume I and Odyssey, all volumes) and privilege leaves. Volume IV of Iliad with variant title page, not recorded by Griffith, dated 1717 (as opposed to 1718). Griffith 42, 50, 78, 96, 115, 119, 152, 156, 160, 167, 171. Rothschild 1573, 1590. Brueggemann, 25-26. Moss I:521, 525-6. Lowndes, 1100. Bookplates of Abel E. Berland, leading Chicago real estate executive and internationally recognized collector of rare books and manuscripts. Old shelf numbers, annotations and marginalia, especially to endpapers. Later pencil annotations (very likely Berland's own) to the front free endpaper of Iliad, Volume I yield further information about the provenance of the set. It was "almost certainly" bound for the Bicton Library of Lord Rolle, and resided in the renowned Loveday library from circa 1739 to 1953. Initially assembled by British philologist and antiquarian John Loveday and his son, it was "strengthened in the classics by the inheritance of the library of James Merrick, the poet and scholar… Books from the Loveday Library are recognizable at a glance by their distinctive shelf marks and annotations on the end leaves [as with these volumes]. Many are marked with the place and date of acquisition and the price paid. They are notable for their fine condition and handsome but simple bindings… [It was] not a library of special copies and fine bindings; it was a working library, not a connoisseur's cabinet… Copious notes are frequently found, and there is much evidence that John Loveday's reputation as an antiquary was well earned; he read his books" (Penn State University). Manuscript slips occasionally laid- or tipped-in (one with a small straight pin to rear free endpaper of Iliad, Volume IV).

Plates and text generally fresh and bright with just a few leaves mildly embrowned in the Iliad; minor rubbing to boards. A handsome set with outstanding provenance.