Dante, Alighieri Florentino.

Tutte le Opere de Dante Alighieri Fiorentino

Chelsea: The Ashendene Press, 1909. First edition. One of 105 copies on paper (there were also six on vellum). A Fine copy in the original W. H. Smith binding (stamped monogram on lower board) of white pigskin over oak boards, metal clasps with braided leather ties and intricate interlacing blindstamping. One small chip to the lower board (5 x 13 mm) and slight rubbing to the upper and lower raised bands, otherwise an exceptional copy, with the internal contents in pristine condition.

The Ashendene Press was founded by St. John Hornby in 1895. In his paper, read to the Double Crown Club in 1931, Hornby said of the Dante: "In this latter year [1906] I started upon what was for me 'opus magnum' and was in fact a considerable work for a single hand press and one pressman. It was Tutte le Opere di Dante. I believe that no edition of all the works of Dante in one volume existed except that printed in very small type by the Oxford University Press, the text of which was prepared by Dr. Edward Moore. I got permission to use this text in my edition. I decided upon a folio size with the pages printed in double-column as best befitting the majesty of Dante. The volume contains six woodcuts by Hooper, after drawings by Gere. The large initials printed in red are all from the design by Graily Hewitt. This book took me just three years to print. It was issued in 1909 and brought me a certain amount of fame. Looking back at it now, after twenty years, I still feel that it is a good bit of work and not unworthy of the 'Altissimo poeta'."

The Ashendene Dante stands proudly beside the magnificent Kelmscott Chaucer and the immaculate Doves Bible, three titles which rank among the finest examples of modern typography, hand-printed by the triumvirate of English master-craftsmen: Charles Harry St. John Hornby, William Morris and Thomas James Cobden-Sanderson, of the Ashendene, Kelmscott and Doves Presses respectively. Fine (Item #1826)