Martin (John) The Paradise Lost of Milton, Imperial Folio Edition with set of 24 plates and text, one of 50 copies, [circa 1824-1827].

Martin (John) The Paradise Lost of Milton, 2 vol. in 1, first edition, first issue, half title and title for each vol., with the set of 24 plates and accompanying text, each plate lettered with caption "Proof", mezzotints with touches of drypoint, excellent impressions on cream laid paper, platemarks each c. 255 x 355 mm. (10 x 14 in), or the reverse, sheets c. 565 x 375 mm. (22 1/4 x 14 3/4), some loss, splits and handling creases to endpapers, otherwise with some marginal spotting and surface dirt, 'Eve at the Fountain' browned in blank margins, some others with minor scattered foxing, occasional damp-stains to edges, bound in contemporary half morocco by J. Wright, marbled boards, spine gilt, Imperial folio, published in parts by Septimus Prowett, [circa 1824-1827].

⁂ Rare Imperial Folio edition, the largest and most luxurious format of the publication, limited to only 50 copies. This copy is the only known example with the two volumes bound together as one. Nineteen copies of the Imperial Folio edition containing the large plates have now been located, including the present example. One of these copies is in the Royal Library at Windsor Castle.

When first released, these engravings were greeted with outstanding critical acclaim - the critic for The Literary Gazette proclaimed: "we know no artist, whose genius so perfectly fitted him being the illustrator of the mighty Milton; and in what we have seen of his conceptions he has more than realised the highest of our hopes. There is a wildness, a grandeur, and a mystery about his designs which are indescribably fine:- the painter is also a poet. ... we look upon these engravings to belong to the foremost order of true genius: beyond this there is no praise." [The Literary Gazette, April 2nd 1825].

'The illustrations that made Martin's name as an engraver". "They are without doubt one of the most significant series of British book illustrations ever to have been produced.' [Campbell, John Martin, Visionary Printmaker, p. 41]

Provenance: Michael J. Campbell (author of John Martin, Visionary Printmaker) [signature and stamp to inside upper cover]

Literature: Campbell & Wees, 1992, nos. 26-49