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 (Description)  

Author: DANTE ALIGHIERI. Translated by Dante Gabriel Rossetti Illustrated by Evelyn Paul.
Title: La Vita Nuova. The NEW LIFE. Translated by Dante Gabriel Rossetti. Pictured by Evelyn Paul with Music by Alfred Mercer.
Publisher: London, George G. Harrap & Co., no date (1916). First illustrated edition by Evelyn Paul. Printed at the Cheylesmore Presse in Coventry by W. W. Gurhs Ltd.
Language: Text in English.
Size: 9.5" X 7.5".
Pages: 161 pages.
Binding: Attractive and very good original publisher full cloth binding with gilt decorations on front cover (hinges fine, overall slightly scuffed, soiled and worn - as shown) under a protective removable mylar cover. Upper edge gilt. A rare find in any condition.
Content: Very good content (bright, tight and clean, rare light foxing or staining - as shown).
Illustrations: Complete with the wonderful color plates (some mounted) and decorations on every page by Evelyn Paul. The Title page and some plates are highlighted in gold. Beautiful!

Estimate: (USD 400 - USD 600)

The book: Scarce and attractive English edition of THE NEW LIFE - LA VITA NUOVA, wonderfully illustrated by Evelyn Paul.

La Vita Nuova or Vita Nova (Latin title) is a text by Dante Alighieri published in 1294. It is an expression of the medieval genre of courtly love in a prosimetrum style, a combination of both prose and verse. Referred to by Dante as his libello, or "little book," La Vita Nuova is the first of two collections of verse written by Dante in his life. La Vita Nuova contains 42 brief chapters (31 for Guglielmo Gorni) with commentaries on 25 sonnets, one ballata, and four canzoni; one canzone is left unfinished, interrupted by the death of Beatrice Portinari, Dante's lifelong love.

The illustrator: Evelyn Maude Blanche Paul (1883 – 1963) was an artist best known for her book illustrations, including those replicating the style of medieval illuminations. Her work shows a variety of influences including Gothic, Art Nouveau and Arts and Crafts. Most significantly, the Pre-Raphaelite artist Dante Gabriel Rossetti has been identified as one of Paul's major influences.

The author: Durante degli Alighieri simply called Dante (c. 1265 – 1321), was a major Italian poet of the Late Middle Ages. His Divine Comedy, originally called Comedìa (modern Italian: Commedia) and later christened Divina by Boccaccio, is widely considered the greatest literary work composed in the Italian language and a masterpiece of world literature. It has been referred to as the greatest poem of the Middle Ages.