Click for full-size.
Sonnets From the Portuguese (The Pocket Classics)
by Elizabeth Barrett Browning
- Used
- Fine
- Hardcover
- Condition
- Fine/Near Fine
- Seller
-
WINFIELD, Kansas, United States
Item Price
A$53.83A$37.68
Payment Methods Accepted
About This Item
Philadelphia, PA: David McKay Company, 1930 David McKay Company, Washington Square, Philadelphia, PA. Circa 1930, Undated. Hardcover. The Pocket Classics Series by McKay. Book is tight, square, and unmarked. Book Condition: Fine. DJ: Near Fine; thin cellophane wrapper with only a small tear at the front lower tip. Slipcase; Very Good; tweed paper over boards with paste-on title; slight suntanning to spine; light wear to opening and bottom edges. Navy Blue cloth boards and spine with bright gilt lettering on the spine and front board. Green marbled endpapers; clean internals; internal hinges are sound. Non-paginated 16mo. Priced at 75 cents. They were published first in 1850 and are a collection of 44 love sonnets. She was initially hesitant to publish the poems, believing they were too personal but her husband, Robert Browning insisted they were the best sequence of English-language sonnets since Shakespeare's time and urged her to publish them. She decided to publish them as if they were translations of foreign sonnets from the Portuguese. The most famous poems from this collection are numbers 33 and 43. A clean near pristine copy.
Synopsis
Elizabeth Barrett Browning's Sonnets to the Portuguese are widely considered among the greatest cycle of sonnets in the English language. This collection of love poems was written between 1845-46 to fellow poet and her soon-to-be husband, Robert Browning . Originally, Browning had no intention of publishing the poetry owing to its deeply personal subject matter, but her husband convinced her to publish them in the 1850 edition of her Poems . Originally, however, she was reportedly to have called the collection Sonnets from the Bosnian but was convinced to change the title to Sonnets from the Portuguese , also on her husband's suggestion. The Sonnets (as they are often called) are interesting as far as their collectibility is concerned. They were not originally published as a standalone work, but in Barrett's first compilation of poetry, Poems . First published in 1844, it did not contain the Sonnets initially. This distinction was to belong in fact to the second edition of 1850, published in 2 octavo volumes by Chapman and Hall in dark blue gilt cloth, making the second edition of Poems more valuable and collectible than the first edition. This is, of course, a rarity in the world of book collecting. The first state contains the address for the publisher on the title page as 186, Strand, rather than 193, Piccaddilly. The second edition of Poems (containing Sonnets from the Portuguese) is rather uncommon, but will typically fetch $5,000 or more, depending on condition.
Reviews
(Log in or Create an Account first!)
Details
- Bookseller
- Walnut Valley Books/Books by White
(US)
- Bookseller's Inventory #
- 013320
- Title
- Sonnets From the Portuguese (The Pocket Classics)
- Author
- Elizabeth Barrett Browning
- Format/Binding
- Hardcover
- Book Condition
- Used - Fine
- Jacket Condition
- Near Fine
- Quantity Available
- 1
- Edition
- Special Edition
- Publisher
- David McKay Company
- Place of Publication
- Philadelphia, PA
- Date Published
- 1930
- Size
- 16mo - over 5¾ - 6¾
- Weight
- 0.00 lbs
- Keywords
- Elizabeth Barrett Browning, David McKay Publishing, sonnets, love sonnets, Robert Browning, English writer, Portuguese, poet, poetry, English poet
Terms of Sale
Walnut Valley Books/Books by White
30 day return guarantee, with full refund including original shipping costs for up to 30 days after delivery if an item arrives misdescribed or in the unfortunate event, damaged. All books are packed and wrapped with care to avoid shifting during shipment and edge/tip strikes during the mailing process.
About the Seller
Walnut Valley Books/Books by White
Biblio member since 2018
WINFIELD, Kansas
About Walnut Valley Books/Books by White
Walnut Valley Books is a small independent home-based business with the bulk of my holdings being of an American military nature covering everything from the Revolutionary War to the current wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. I also have holdings of books on the Middle East, the southwestern United States (New Mexico especially, Kansas related titles, Oklahoma related titles, and other regionally specialized books. All of my holdings are hand-selected to be good quality books of interest to the reader, historian, or the collector. In addition to the above, you will also find a wide range of other topics such as Medical, US History, autobiographical, biographical, sports, women's studies, and many other eclectic topics.
Glossary
Some terminology that may be used in this description includes:
- Fine
- A book in fine condition exhibits no flaws. A fine condition book closely approaches As New condition, but may lack the...
- Gilt
- The decorative application of gold or gold coloring to a portion of a book on the spine, edges of the text block, or an inlay in...
- Cloth
- "Cloth-bound" generally refers to a hardcover book with cloth covering the outside of the book covers. The cloth is stretched...
- Spine
- The outer portion of a book which covers the actual binding. The spine usually faces outward when a book is placed on a shelf....
- Tight
- Used to mean that the binding of a book has not been overly loosened by frequent use.
- Edges
- The collective of the top, fore and bottom edges of the text block of the book, being that part of the edges of the pages of a...
This Book’s Categories
Positive Representation Matters
Books transmit cultural values and can shape the views of society. Learn more about the history of American literature in Collecting Children’s Literature by Writers and Educators of the Harlem Renaissance.
The American Eclipse of 2017
The path of the total eclipse of August 2017 had our offices at 99% totality - we closed the office to go watch the spectacle, but first we put together this gallery inspired by eclipses to celebrate.
