Moineau

1926 · 620P48 — London: The Nonesuch Press 1926. Cloth. Very Good Indeed. 10.5" by 6.5". John Hall. A limited edition collection of poetry by the leading seventeenth century poet Abraham Cowley. A limited edition work published by Nonesuch Press this being copy 434 of 1050 printed on Dutch rag paper. Abraham Cowley was an English poet in the seventeenth century being one of the most popular and influential of his time. Cowley showed poetical promise from a very young age writing impressive poems as a child and publishing his first collection 'Poetical Blossoms' in 1633 when he was fifteen. He went into exile as a Royalist during the Civil War during which time he busied himself by writing a history of the Civil War. This collection includes 'The Mistress' 'Friendship in Absence' 'A Dream of Elysium' 'The Vain Love' 'The Rich Rival' 'My Fate' 'Impossibilities' 'Counsel' 'Sors Virgiliana' and many more. With a portrait of Abraham Cowley to the title page drawn and engraved by John Hall from a painting from the collection of Horace Walpole. The Nonesuch Press specialised in limited edition and private press. They were founded by Francis Meynell his second wife Vera Mendel and their friend David Garnett. Their aspiration was for their publications to be aligned with the same aesthetic standards as the private press movement. They were unusual as they used a small Albion press to design the books but had them printed by commercial printers. In doing so books with the quality of a fine-press were produced but available to a wider audience at lower prices. In the original cloth binding. Externally smart. Light marking to the boards with very light tidemarking to the head of the boards. Minor bumping to the head and tail of the spine and to the extremities. Light discolouration to the spine. Spine label is lightly chips and discoloured. Discolouration to the endpapers with light tidemarking to the top edge of the pastedowns and endpapers. Internally firmly bound. Pages are bright and clean. Very Good Indeed The Nonesuch Press hardcover