Dante Gabriel Rossetti, cover for William Michael Rossetti, ‘The Comedy of Dante Allighieri – Hell’ (original) (raw)

Cloth binding for ‘The Comedy of Dante Allighieri’

Dante Gabriel Rossetti

1865

Cloth binding

6½ x 4 inches

The cosmological iconography projects Dante’s symbolism: unashamedly esoteric, it appeals only to those with some knowledge of the poet’s writings. The designer’s bold simplifications are markedly at odds with the over-elaboration of trade bindings of the 1860s.

[Click on image to enlarge it.]

Photograph and text by Simon Cooke

[You may use this image without prior permission for any scholarly or educational purpose as long as you (1) credit the photographer and (2) link to this URL in a web document or cite it in a print one.]