Henry Wadsworth Longfellow - Hyperion: A Romance - 1857

Henry Wadsworth Longfellow – The Prose Works – richly illustrated Victorian edition – 1857
Beautiful and richly illustrated copy of The Prose Works of Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, published in London by David Bogue, Fleet Street, in 1857.
The year is given in Roman numerals on the richly illustrated title page: MDCCCLVII (1857).
Henry Wadsworth Longfellow (1807–1882) was one of the best-known American poets and writers of the 19th century. His work enjoyed great popularity in Victorian England as well.
Contents
This substantial collected edition brings three of Longfellow’s major prose works together in one volume:
Hyperion
Outre-Mer
Kavanagh
From the included contents pages it is evident, among other things, that Hyperion consists of four books. Outre-Mer contains Longfellow’s literary travel sketches about Europe, including sections on France, Spain and Italy.
Kavanagh, Longfellow’s 1849 novel, forms the final section of the volume.
The book ends on page 580, with clearly printed “THE END.”
Illustrations
One of the most attractive features of this edition is the especially rich illustration.
Throughout the book there are numerous detailed black-and-white wood engravings and vignettes, including both full-page illustrations and illustrations interspersed with the text.
Included are:
a very richly ornate illustrated title page;
a full-page decorative opening of Outre-Mer;
a richly illustrated opening of Kavanagh;
Mount Vernon;
European landscapes, cities and architecture;
rural scenes;
figurative and narrative scenes;
numerous smaller illustrations and decorative vignettes.
The illustrations are finely and very precisely executed and form a handsome example of mid-19th-century richly illustrated English book production.
Edition
The book is produced in a distinctive Victorian publisher’s cloth binding, originally in pink/lilac and cream tones.
The front cover is richly decorated with gilt floral and ornamental decorations, with a large central gilt motif. The spine is also extensively struck with gilt ornamentation.
A particularly beautiful detail is the fully gilt edges (all edges gilt), which remain clearly visible around the edges.
The combination of the decorative cloth binding, extensive gold decoration, gold edge and numerous illustrations gives the book the character of a luxurious Victorian gift or salon edition.
Bibliographic data
Author: Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
Title: The Prose Works of Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
Publisher: David Bogue, Fleet Street, London
Year: 1857 (MDCCCLVII)
Printer: Hugh Barclay, High Street, Winchester
Language: English
Extent: 580 numbered pages, in addition to title, contents and illustration pages
Binding: decorative cloth binding with gold print
Edges: gilt
Illustrations: numerous black-and-white wood engravings and vignettes
Condition
Well preserved as a richly issued book of nearly 170 years, but with noticeable age and usage marks.
The binding shows yellowing and fading of the original pink/lilac colour, as well as wear to edges, corners and spine. The gilded decorations are still clearly visible and give the binding much character.
The interior is generally neat and legible. There is scattered foxing, discoloration and age spots, locally a bit stronger. The illustrations remain mostly beautiful, sharp and high-contrast.
At the rear, the joint between the paste-down and inner hinge is damaged and partly loose/teared. The book should be opened cautiously there. The text block itself appears complete in the photos and ends correctly on page 580.
The numerous photographs provide an accurate picture of execution, illustrations and condition and form part of the description.
A particularly decorative copy for collectors of Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, 19th-century American literature, Victorian book bindings and illustrated books.