Paradise Lost

$2,750.00
By Moons Rare Books

6b John Milton. Piccadilly: Basil Montague Pickering, 1873. Bound by Birdsall & Son.

With laid in letter dated 1913 stating that the book was bound by Lady Sarah Spencer, daughter of Frederick Spencer, 4th Earl Spencer, and a lady-in-waiting to Queen Victoria in 1882, great aunt of Princess Diana Spencer. 

Notes

Paradise Lost, originally published in ten books in 1667 and expanded into twelve books in 1674, stands as the supreme epic poem of the English language and a monumental pillar of Western literature. Written in magnificent, unrhymed blank verse, John Milton composed this theological masterpiece during a period of intense personal adversity, working entirely from memory after going completely blind and facing political ruin following the collapse of the English Commonwealth. The epic chronicles the cosmic rebellion and fall of Satan, the creation of the universe, and the subsequent temptation and expulsion of Adam and Eve from the Garden of Eden. Milton explicitly stated that his primary creative objective was to "assert Eternal Providence, / And justifie the wayes of God to men." By infusing classical epic structures with profound psychological depth, political allegory, and a uniquely complex, tragic portrayal of Satan, the poem left an unparalleled legacy that reshaped the trajectory of Western storytelling, serving as a vital creative catalyst for the Romantic movement and centuries of subsequent literary masters.
This specific volume holds an another layer of historical importance due to a highly prestigious provenance verified by a laid-in letter dated 1913. The documentation establishes that this copy was custom-bound by Lady Sarah Isabella Spencer (1838–1919), the accomplished daughter of Frederick Spencer, 4th Earl Spencer, and a formal lady-in-waiting to Queen Victoria starting in 1882. For serious collectors of bibliographical and aristocratic history, this binding carries profound cultural weight; Lady Sarah Spencer was the great-aunt of Diana, Princess of Wales, directly linking this book to the ancestral lineage of the British royal family. During the late 19th and early 20th centuries, high-end fine bookbinding emerged as a highly respected, artistically demanding craft practiced by elite aristocratic women who took pride in executing meticulous work such as this.
Description 
Sturdy vellum covered hardback boards with elaborate gilt designs all around. Gilt and red edges. Gilt turn ins. Letter laid in. Some minor foxing throughout. Wide margins. Excellent condition.
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