FAERIE QUEEN DISPOSED INTO TWELVE BOOKES FASHIONING XII. MORALL VIRTUES.|THE

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original brown calf over vellum-covered boards, seven raised bands (including the head and tail of the spine), gilt in first and

1923 · Shelley House, Chelsea

by Spenser, Edmund

Shelley House, Chelsea: Ashendene Press, 1923. original brown calf over vellum-covered boards, seven raised bands (including the head and tail of the spine), gilt in first and last compartment, all edges uncut. Ashendene Press. folio. original brown calf over vellum-covered boards, seven raised bands (including the head and tail of the spine), gilt in first and last compartment, all edges uncut. (i), (ii), 406, (1) pages. Printed in an edition limited to 192 copies, of which this is one of 180 copies printed on Batchelor paper (Ashendene no.32; Ransom page (truncated) 206, No. 35; Tomkinson p.7 of Ashendene section). There were 12 copies printed on vellum. Spine lightly faded, very minor rubbing to hinges and the bottom raised band, very small abrasion to the bottom edge of the front vellum board, covers gently bowed, normal discoloration from the small leather turn-ins, else a pristine copy, and scarce in this condition.

Bound by the WH Smith bindery with their monogram in blind on the lower turn-in on the rear pastedown. Printed in double column in red, blue, and black in Subiaco type with large initials printed in red and blue, as well as Greek type. The initials and opening words were designed by Graily Hewitt and the occasional Greek typeface was designed by Selwyn Image for Macmillan. Colophon page with the printer's device printed in red. Printed text in Subiaco type in red and black throughout with marginal notes in red and occasional interpolations in blue, 4- , 5- and 7-line initials in red or blue throughout. Additionally, on the colophon page, the printer (Hornby) requested that all binders that seek to bind a copy of the book, to head the printer's request to trim off as little of the margins as possible as Hornby thought that they provided the appropriate amount of appeal.

Published by the Ashendene Press and printed by C.H. St. John Hornby and assisted by I. Jenkins (compositor), and G. Faulkner (pressman). Due to the substantial size of the text, the book required just under two years to complete. The text was edited by J.C. Smith for the Oxford University Press and is based upon two Quartos of 1590 and 1596, as well as the folio of 1609. Originally, the paper copies and vellum copies were available at 16 and 105 Guineas each, respectively.

First published in 1590, this epic poem by Edmund Spenser was considered most notable for its length as well as the invention of 'Spenserian Stanza'. The various Books follow the tales and adventures of several Arthurian Knights on their quests for glory, love, revenge, and honor. Spenser followed the first printing of Books I-III with IV-VI in subsequent printing in 1596. The poem was originally meant to be a twelve-part poem (hence the title), however work on book VII came to a halt and remained unfinished. The work is one of the longest Poems in the English language, and was praised by Elizabeth I.

Charles Harold St. John Hornby (1867-1946) was the owner and operator of the Ashendene Press from its founding in 1895 to 1935 (with a small hiatus during the first World War). The final book published by the press was the rare Ashendene Press Bibliography. The Ashendene Press is noted for its balanced use of typography with illustrations mixed in. (Inventory #: 141489)

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