POEMS: The Siddal Edition
London: Ellis and Elvey, 1900. Hardcover. Sumptuously bound collection of verse by the leading light in the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood. An inspired but provocative nonconformist, it would be difficult to imagine later 19th century Victorian poetry and art without Rossetti’s influence. His writings can perhaps best be viewed as an unusually acute expression of Victorian social uncertainty and loss of faith. Rossetti’s poetry on the absence of love is as bleakly despairing as any of the century, and no poet of his period conveyed more profoundly certain central Victorian anxieties: metaphysical uncertainty, sexual anxiety, and fear of time. 12mo, four volumes with a frontispiece portrait in each. Full red morocco bindings (G.P. Putnam's Sons and The Knickerbocker Press), with decorative gilt stamping, five raised bands, ornamental dentelles, and a ribbon marker. Just a hint of foxing to the contents; else a lovely set. Housed in a custom felt lined slipcase. Item #76640
Price: $600.00