Milton's Paradise Lost - Illustrated by Gustave Dore (c.1884)

Milton's Paradise Lost - Illustrated by Gustave Dore, edited by Robert Vaughan, D.D.. c.1884 Cassell, Petter, Galpin & Co. hardcover. 329 pages, good condition – internal binding is solid, but both front and back cover are detached (repairable), mild foxing.

Deluxe publisher’s quarto edition of Milton’s Paradise Lost, printed by Cassell, Petter, Galpin & Co.. Includes Notes, and a Life of Milton by Robert Vaughan, D.D.. Gold gilt on cover and page ends, with silk patterned end leaves. Fifty gorgeous illustrations by Dore! A beautiful, heavy tome, approx.10.5”x13.5”x1.5”

Milton began Paradise Lost in 1658 prior to his imprisonment and completed it in 1663. Following a brief account of Man’s Fall, he takes up the story with Satan and his angels lying on Hell’s burning lake, and closes the poem with the angel Michael leading Adam and Eve out of Paradise. Whilst early editions did not sell quickly, the fourth edition published in 1688 by Tonson and Bently, established the poem’s reputation as one of the great works of English literature.

Gustave Doré (1832 – 1883) was a French printmaker, illustrator, painter, comics artist, caricaturist, and sculptor. He is best known for his prolific output of wood-engravings illustrating classic literature, especially those for the Vulgate Bible, Milton’s Paradise Lost, and Dante's Divine Comedy.