John Milton - Poetical Works - 1731

MILTON (John)
The Poetical Works of John Milton.

London, Printed in the year M.DCCC.XXXI [1731].

2 volumes in-12 in full calf of the period, spine with raised bands adorned with gilt compartments, title pieces in red morocco and lettering pieces (I and II).
Illustrated with a portrait of the author in the frontispiece engraved by G. Vander Gucht (or after Vertue/D. Coster according to the plate) with a Dryden epigraph, a title-page printed in red and black adorned with an engraved vignette (armillary sphere), as well as numerous superb engravings hors-texte in copperplate illustrating the various books of the poem (notably Paradise Lost).

Desirable edition of the poetic works of John Milton, enriched with the famous critical notes by Joseph Addison originally published in The Spectator, and provided with a new set of remarkable illustrations ("a new set of handsome cuts"). The first volume opens with a detailed biography of the author (The Life of Mr. John Milton).

Solid and homogeneous contemporary bindings showing wear to the headcaps, corners and joints. Overall fresh interior, fine set, complete with the illustrations and the original endpapers.