8vo (7” x 8¾”). pp. 186. Signed binding design by Edward B. Edwards stamped in russet on vellum of a peacock standing on the top of a pedestal with a rippling pool of water behind and surrounded by laurel branches and berries. The design is repeated on the rear board.

Floriated and rubricated initial caps; patterned russet and white eps incorporating stylized lions, swans and dragons; engraved head and tail pieces. Printed on handmade Italian paper by the De Vinne Press.

Includes frontis. portrait of Dante and a fold-out reproduction of a map of Florence, Italy from 1490.

A biography of the Italian poet Dante Alighieri, best known for his epic poem The Divine Comedy, which is comprised of sections representing the three tiers of the Christian afterlife: purgatory, heaven, and hell. Boccaccio's Life of Dante, originally written in 1373, played an important role in both promoting the poetic importance of Dante and The Divine Comedy.

A near fine copy with faint scattered foxing on a few of the prelim leaves. Scarce.