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Help identifiying a book...

H

hou-tex

New Member
I was hoping someone here may be able to help me identify a book of my late fathers. I am not necessarily interested in it's monetary value (if it has any at all), just to know a little about it. It was stored in a peculiar place, which makes me beleive it was important to my father for some reason. I am just curious about it. It appears to be an old book (which I know is relative), but does not have any copyright dates on it. I know very little about books short of just reading them. Here's the information from the front page:
"The vision of purgatory & paradise"
by Dante Alighieri
translated by the rev. Henry Francis Cary (sp?), M.A., M. Gustave Dore
new edition
Cassel & comapny lim.
London, Paris, New York & Melborne
It is printed on a heavy bond paper with a lot of beautiful illustrations throughout. It has a gold embossed stamping "WBY" on the bottom right corner.

I know this may be nothing more than an average book that my dad may have just liked, but because of where it was, sparked my curiosity. If anyone could let me know anythign about it I would be greatly appreciative.
 
You may want to post your question at Biblio as well. Their forum has quite a bit of information regarding antiquarian and rare books.

The Prussian
 
The obvious answer here is that you probably have a translated version of the second two parts of The Divine Comedy. The first part, The Inferno, is the most recognized. The very begining of Purgatòri starts along these lines:
O'er better waves to speed her rapid course
The light bark of my genius lifts the sail,
Well pleas'd to leave so cruel sea behind;
And of that second region will I sing,
In which the human spirit from sinful blot
Is purg'd, and for ascent to Heaven prepares.
Click to expand...

That is just one translation, so it might not be exactly the same. If that is how the book starts (after a possible introduction) you can probably assume that is what you have. I don't know much about antique books, but it looks like you've got something nice there. I agree with your lack of interest in it's value. I would never sell a book like that. You are lucky to have it. By the way, The Divine Comedy is beautiful. I don't care for poetry, but I'll make an exception for this. You should read the book if that is what it is.
 
Not sure what you want to know. It's probably from around 1895. Dore was the illustrator. He was a popular book illustrator in the mid-late 19th Century. Cassel did not always observe copyright restrictions meticulously, so it could be a bootleg edition. It's worth 100 dollars or more.
 
Thank you for the replies. You answered a lot already. The book looks very old to me, but I also know that is relative. If it is possibly from the late 1800's that is very interesting. I am still curious about the gold embossed "WBY" stamping on the lower right corner of the front cover? Anybody have any idea what that could be? I wasn't sure if it was maybe from teh publisher, or something else. Although I would never sell it (due to sentimental value), I was somewhat curious the value of it. I hope to read it sometime. Thank you again for taking the time to post your thoughts.
 
No printing of that edition known today has WBY embossed on it. Those are probably the initials of a previous owner.
 
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