1861 Rare Book - The Poetical Works of Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, Illustrated

An elegant Victorian Longfellow, richly bound in red leather with gauffered gilt edges and illustrations by John Gilbert.

Author: Henry Wadsworth Longfellow.
Title: The Poetical Works of Henry Wadsworth Longfellow.
Publisher: London, Routledge, Warne, and Routledge; New York, 56 Walker Street, 1861.
Language: English.
Size: 6.5" x 4.5".
Pages: viii, 669 pages.
Binding: Near-fine full red leather binding, richly blind-tooled with Gothic-style panels to the boards, raised bands, gilt title to spine, marbled endpapers, and gauffered gilt edges. Light rubbing and minor age wear only, as shown. Protected in a removable mylar cover. 
Content: Very good content, clean and well preserved overall, with light age-toning and occasional minor foxing.
Illustrations: Complete with 8 full-page illustrations, including the engraved frontispiece portrait of Longfellow. Illustrations by John Gilbert.

Estimate: USD $275–$350.

The book: A beautiful mid-Victorian illustrated edition of Longfellow’s poems, presented here in a particularly attractive red leather binding. This “Complete Edition” includes many of Longfellow’s best-loved works, among them The Village Blacksmith, Evangeline, The Golden Legend, and The Song of Hiawatha. The volume combines the devotional charm of a gift book with the literary substance of one of the most widely read American poets of the nineteenth century.

The binding is a major part of the appeal of this copy. The deep red leather, raised spine bands, blind-stamped Gothic decoration, marbled endpapers, and gauffered gilt edges give the book a strong decorative presence while remaining compact and very readable.

The author: Henry Wadsworth Longfellow was one of the most celebrated American poets of the nineteenth century. His narrative poems, moral lyrics, and historical subjects made him a household name in both America and Britain, and his works were frequently issued in finely bound gift editions such as this one.

The illustrator: Sir John Gilbert was a prolific English artist and illustrator, especially admired for his work in illustrated books and periodicals. His engravings brought a dramatic, narrative quality to many nineteenth-century literary editions, and here they lend Longfellow’s poems a distinctly Victorian visual atmosphere.