The Faerie Queene; The shepheards calendar: Together with other works of England’s arch-poët
Edmund Spenser, author
Humphrey Lownes for Mathew Lownes, printer
1617 CE, London, Kingdom of England (present-day United Kingdom)
Letterpress printing, woodblock printed ornamentations, contemporary leather binding
Once Upon a Time…
…in 1590 CE, Spenser penned an allegorical poem set in a mythical fairyland to showcase Elizabethan notions of virtue. One of the longest poems in the English language, it was written in praise of Queen Elizabeth I. Here we view the dedication page with woodblock ornamentation. This edition houses all six volumes of the story. Inside are the inscriptions of four men, indicating the book’s provenance. Throughout, we find their annotations, including illustrations of small hands, or manicules, that point out key passages.
Robin Morris
