Homer | The Iliad [Odyssey] of Homer [translated by Pope], London, 1715-1726, 11 volumes, 18th century calf

From the Library of Clayre and Jay Michael Haft

Homer

Alexander Pope's translation of the Iliad and the Odyssey, in 11 volumes, comprising:

The Iliad of Homer. London: W. Bowyer for Bernard Lintott, 1715-1720, 6 volumes, title-pages in red and black, privilege leaves, engraved initials, head- and tailpieces, volume 1 with portrait frontispiece, 8pp. list of subscribers, 1 folding map (Graecia Homerica); volume 2 with folding map; volume 5 with Shield of Achilles plate, spotting

The Odyssey of Homer. London: for Bernard Lintott, 1725-1726, 5 volumes, title-pages in red and black, privilege leaves, engraved initials, head- and tailpieces, volume 1 with portrait frontispiece, 8pp. list of subscribers; final leaf of volume 5 with errata on recto and "names of subscribers omitted on printed list" on verso, some light spotting

together 11 volumes, 4to (270 x 212mm.), uniformly bound in contemporary calf, rebacked, extremities slightly rubbed

Pope's translation, one of the major literary events of the first half of the 18th century, was issued in three formats—quarto, folio, and "large folio." The traditional size for major works in England had long been folio, but Pope's preference was for a quarto format, perhaps following the fashion introduced into France in the mid-17th century, and it was these copies that were reserved for subscribers, embellished with engraved head-pieces, tailpieces, and vignettes not used in the folios. 

LITERATURE:

Griffith 39, 47, 75, 93, 112, 116, 152, 155, 159, 166, 170