Dante, Translated by Ichabod Charles Wright. Vol 1: Inferno, Vol 2: Purgatory, Vol 3: Paradise. London: Longman, Orme, et. al., 1845.
AN INCREDIBLY RARE EARLY ENGLISH TRANSLATION OF DANTE ALIGHIERI'S DIVINE COMEDY. THE VERY SCARCE AND INFLUENTIAL FIRST COLLECTED ENGLISH TRANSLATION BY ICHABOD CHARLES WRIGHT.
WITH IMPORTANT & HISTORICALLY SIGNIFICANT PROVENANCE
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This remarkable edition of Dante's Divine Comedy was translated into English by Ichabod Charles Wright. This is the first collected edition of his influential translation and Wright's translation was the second to follow the rhymed six-line stanza format of the original after the first English translation of Dante in 1802 by Henry Boyd, being the third overall English translation of the full Divine Comedy and thus a remarkable early English edition of the famous Italian classic and one of the earliest attainable at an affordable price, as the 1802 Boyd edition sold for $7,575 at Bonhams in 2019.
Wright indulged in much scholarly study alongside his profession and in the 1830s developed a passion for Italian literature and a thirst for the language. He translated the works of Dante, notably Divina commedia in three instalments, Inferno, Purgatorio, and Paradiso, which earned him critical acclaim. These were published by Messrs. Longmans in 1833, 1836, and 1840 respectively and reprinted in a second edition in 1845. They were dedicated respectively to Lord Brougham, Archbishop Howley, and his father-in-law Lord Denman who also shared an interest in Italian literature.
While later translations have emerged, Wright's work served as an influential early example. Subsequent translators and scholars often referred to or built upon Wright's insights and interpretations in their own work, marking its influence on the broader field of Dante studies and subsequent translations into English. The 1845 Ichabod Charles Wright edition of Dante's Divine Comedy played a foundational role in bringing Dante's masterpiece to a wider English-speaking audience and establishing a standard for scholarly and poetic translations of the epic poem.
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Provenance:
Bookplate of Stratford Canning (1786-1880) to each front pastedown, he was a British diplomat and politician, long serving as ambassador to Istanbul, and cousin of the Prime Minister George Canning.
As ambassador to the Sublime Porte of the Ottoman Sultan, Stratford Canning played a major role in high level diplomacy, since Britain was the chief supporter, advocate and protector of the Ottoman Empire. Winston Churchill said he had "a wider knowledge of Turkey than any other Englishmen of his day," Alfred, Lord Tennyson, said he was "the voice of England in the East." The Turks called him "the Great Ambassador."
Stratford came in the midst of a crisis caused by the dispute between Napoleon III and Tsar Nicholas I over the protection of the holy places. This crisis ultimately led to the Crimean War. Stratford is accused of encouraging the Turks to reject the compromise agreement during the Menshikov mission. It appears that he was consistently urging the Turks to reject compromises arguing that any Russian treaty, or facsimile thereof, would be to subject the Ottoman Empire to protectorate status under Tsar Nicholas I.
This set was probably sold at Christie's with a Christie's sale bookmark contained in the first volume with the pen '121/37'. We couldn't find which sale this corresponds to, but it's likely before 1998.
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Size: 110 x 162 mm (approx., each)
Condition:
[xxxii, pp.1-306]; [xii, pp.1-319]; [xvi, pp.1-317, xxvii]
Collated as complete through each of the three volumes. The set shows very attractively on the shelf in uniform half vellum style bindings over marbled boards. Minor loss to the spines with a bit of rubbing and wear to the extremities but generally remain very good. Joints without fault with all boards securely attached. Shelf wear. Scuffing to boards with a bit of loss. Page edges very good. Bookplate to front pastedown of each volume. Very clean through each text block and generally without any noteworthy faults. A very good set of this very rare edition of Dante.
