The Paradise Lost of Milton. [Fore-edge Painting].

MILTON, John. Illustrated by John Martin.

Item Number: 138534

London: Septimus Prowett, 1827.

First edition of Prowett’s imperial octavo edition of Milton’s Paradise lost, complete with twenty-four of John Martin’s masterfully rendered romantic mezzotints; each volume decorated with a concealed fore-edge painting. Imperial octavo, two volumes bound in full straight grain morocco with gilt titles and tooling to the spine, gilt decorations to the front and rear panels, gilt turn-ins and inner dentelles, all edges gilt with a concealed fore-edge painting of Milton’s cottage in Chalfont St. Giles to Vol. I and a concealed fore-edge painting of  St. Giles Cripplegate, the church where Milton is buried to Vol. II. Illustrated with 24 mezzotints with drypoint by John Martin. “Begun by early 1824, this series of engravings was the result of a commission from a little known American publisher named Septimus Prowett. Prowett, who was based in London, approached Martin to produce 24 mezzotint illustrations to accompany an issue of Milton’s text which was to be produced in twelve parts. Prowett’s publication was to be released in four different forms: an Imperial Folio edition, measuring 15 1/4 x 21 3/4 in., and containing lettered proofs of the larger set of engravings; limited to fifty copies; an Imperial Quarto edition, measuring 10 7/8 x 15 1/4 in., with fully lettered prints from the larger set of plates; an Imperial Quarto edition, measuring 10 7/8 x 15 1/4 in., containing lettered proofs of the smaller set of engravings: limited to fifty copies; and an Imperial Octavo edition, measuring 7 5/8 x 10 7/8 in., containing fully lettered prints from the smaller set of plates. Besides these versions of the publication, sets of proofs from the larger plates were available, without text and from the smaller plates” (Campbell, John Martin: Visionary Printmaker, 38). In very good condition. Small bookplates and clippings related to Milton tipped in. An exceptional presentation of this rare work.

"To appreciate the impact which Martin's designs had upon his public, one must realize the extent to which these extraordinary visions represented an entirely new conception of approach to the art of illustration. Not only were they ‘original' in the truest sense of the word (designed directly on the plates without the aid of preparatory sketches), they were some of the earliest mezzotints to have been made using soft steel rather than copper, and they were the first illustrations of Milton's epic work to have been made in the mezzotint medium. The greatest significance of Martin's illustrations, however, was in their spectacular visionary content. Martin laid before his public the spectacular settings of the epic tale: the open voids of the Creation, the vast vaulted caverns of Hell vanishing into the utter blackness of Chaos, the daunting scale of the city of Pandemonium, and the sweeping beauty of Heaven itself. These images have no serious counterpart and are the very essence of the sublime in Romantic art. They are without doubt one of the most significant series of British book illustrations ever to have been produced" (Campbell, John Martin: Visionary Printmaker, 40).