The Fall of Jerusalem
John Murray, 1820. 2nd Edition. Full blue straight grain Morocco. THE FALL OF JERUSALEM: A DRAMATIC POEM. H.H. MILMAN. Published by John Murray, London.
1820. Fore-edge painting. New edition, published in the same year as the first printing.
Bound by: B. S. Scott Carlisle.
An attractive contemporary blue straight-grain morocco, gilt lines and blind tooling on the covers with gilt lines on the spine raised bands and small centre tool, all edges gilt. The binding is slightly sunned, otherwise in very good condition. Contemporary binding and marble ends with the book-binders ticket. Very minor foxing to no foxing on the most part, clean crisp text beautifully printed with wide margins. A very fine fore-edge painting of 'The Duke Buccleuch's Villa, Richmond'. Probably taken from this steel engraved print, entitled: 'Seat of Duke of the Buccleuch Richmond'. The River Thames, London, and now part of the Terrace & Buccleuch gardens. Drawn by Tombleson, engraved by S. Lacey, and published by Tombleson, London, circa 1840 for "Eighty Picturesque Views on the Thames and Medway". The painting appears to be from the nineteenth century- the hand that identifies the scene in manuscript at the front appears to be from ca. 1840. The volume contains a dramatic epic of the catastrophic destruction of the Second Jewish temple, taking as its theme the siege of rebellious Jerusalem, which fell to the Roman forces in the year 70AD. An ordained minister and Dean of St. Paul's, Milman (1791-1868) is best known for his scholarly achievements. He translated Sanskrit poetry, and wrote several important works of religious history, including a 'History of the Jews' and 'History of Christianity under the Empire', both of which approached their subject matter with historical precision and rational detachment, causing alarm among his fellow clergymen. By 1855, however, when Milman published his masterwork, 'The History of Latin Christianity down to the Death of Pope Nicholas V', the scholarly world had grown more sophisticated, and his book was received with acclaim. The lovely fore-edge painting on the present volume shows the main street of the village of Monk Soham in the early 19th century, appealing with its plain but substantial homes with smoke curling out of two of the chimneys. There is a good deal of detail, including a number of figures frequenting the street, and there can be no doubting the painter's general ability to create a realistic scene. The artist successfully uses an off-center vanishing point to draw in the viewer and create depth, and he is adept at suggesting a cloudy but bright sky. With a very careful brush, he has created convincing three-dimensional details on every structure, even those farthest from the viewer. The series of dwellings on either side of the street lead us toward the background, where we see the large Medieval west tower of Saint Peter's church, built in the thirteenth century. The town received its name from the foundation of a monastery there by Saint Felix in the seventh century. Very Good. Item #18
Price (USD): $920.00