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E.C. RARE BOOKS
Booksellers of Antiquarian Books & Ephemera
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SPECIALIZING IN CHILDRENS ILLUSTRATED BOOKS, FINE BINDINGS, FORE - EDGE PAINTINGS, SETS, CLASSIC LITERATURE, VOYAGES & TRAVELS.
Composed as a pastoral elegy, specifically in the tradition of Milton’s beautiful Lycidas, it was first published in the spring of 1821, immediately after hearing of Keats’s death.
“Shelley’s use of the classical pastoral elegy form was natural enough. He had studied and translated many classical elegies himself; he had also read and admired Milton’s 17th century interpretation of the form in Lycidas. Most critics believe Shelley modeled Adonais upon Virgil’s tenth Eclogue, Bion’s elegy on the classical hero Adonis, and the anonymous elegy on Bion himself. It is a beautiful work and one of which Shelley was justly proud” (Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley).
Adonais was printed by the Chiswick Press for the Reed Pale Press, which was founded by Edmund D. Brooks and his son Edmund Brooks of Minneapolis.
The Chiswick Press had taken leadership during the 19th century revival of great printing and continued to “print high-class work until it ceased trading in 1962” (Glaister, 94). Adonais is set in the famous 18th century Caslon type, brought back into use by Chiswick as early as 1844. Lacking original slipcase. Ransom, 33. A splendid press book, in fine condition. Price (USD) $650.00
