Aeneid — The Folio Society | Virgil | 1993 | First Edition | Translated by John Dryden | 72 Engravings by Wenceslaus Hollar | Fine in Slipcase

A fine first edition of the Folio Society's 1993 publication of Virgil's Aeneid — one of the supreme works of Western literature, presented here in a production of lasting distinction and beauty.

The Aeneid is the great foundation epic of Roman civilisation: twelve books of verse tracing the journey of Aeneas, survivor of the sack of Troy, across the Mediterranean world to the shores of Italy, where his descendants will found the city of Rome. Written between 29 and 19 BC, it is at once a celebration of Roman destiny and a profoundly human meditation on the costs of empire — on duty, loss, love, and the inexorable will of the gods. Of all the works of classical antiquity, none has exercised a greater influence on the literature, art, and thought of the Western world.

The translation is that of John Dryden, first published in 1697 — itself one of the masterpieces of English verse. Dryden brings to Virgil's Latin a grandeur, energy, and formal mastery wholly in keeping with the original, and his version has never been surpassed as an English rendering of the poem. The introduction is by Peter Levi, one of the most distinguished classical scholars and poets of the twentieth century.

The illustrations are among the most historically significant to have accompanied any English edition of Virgil. The 72 engravings were designed by Francis Cleyn and executed by Wenceslaus Hollar — the same plates that appeared in Dryden's own first edition of 1697 — giving this Folio Society production a direct and tangible connection to the poem's publishing history. They are reproduced here with exceptional fidelity, and their combination of Baroque energy and classical clarity perfectly complements the text. Map endpapers chart the voyages of Aeneas across the ancient Mediterranean world. 417 pp.

Bound in quarter black leather with large, bold gold lettering to the spine — striking and authoritative on the shelf — over sage-green cloth boards printed with a wraparound classical cavalry scene after the engravings of the period. Gold decorative chain border at the leather-cloth join. Housed in the original matching sage-green slipcase.

This copy is in fine, as-new condition throughout — the leather spine jet black and entirely unmarked, the gold lettering brilliant and razor-sharp, the cloth boards vivid and clean, the pages fresh and pristine throughout, the binding tight and square, the slipcase equally fine and unmarked. A first-class example, rarely encountered in this state.

An exceptional piece for collectors of classical literature, fine Folio Society productions of the 1990s, or the history of English translation — and one of the handsomest books in the Folio Society's classical series.