![]() ![]() Decoration consists of ruling, Greek palmettos, and more floral rinceaux bands. Binding of a rich russet/crimson straight-grained morocco, with bands of blindstamping and gilt-stamping decoration on the boards, and gilt decoration within and on the raised bands. The three volumes contain all the major poetry of Milton - "Paradise Lost", "Paradise Regained", "Samson Agonistes", "Comus", etc. The hand-coloring is of a very high caliber, and we think greatly enriches the mezzotints. As invited by Milton's epic, light contends with dark, and the illustrations serve up a phantasmagoria of imagery, with swirling shadows and specters. The men and even the women can have exaggerated bulging muscles, as found most famously in Michelangelo. These have an unmistakable affinity to the heroic style of Blake, his contemporary. ![]() All the plates other than the Milton portraits are the artwork of Westall. To our knowledge, this copy of the Boydell Milton is an uniquely hand-colored copy. Among them are three reproductions of Milton portraits, including Milton as an infant, as a boy, and the famous Romney painting of the blind Milton dictating to his daughters, this plate being the folding one. 32 hand-colored mezzotint plates within the 3 volumes, one plate folding. ![]()
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