Paradise Lost. By John Milton. Illustrated by William Blake. Collector’s Edition. Easton Press. Norwalk, 1976.

John Milton was a preeminent English poet in the seventeenth century. During his lifetime, he was most famous as a civil servant. His Areopagitica, a political pamphlet, was a major text on issues of free speech and a free press. Yet today his most impactful writing is undoubtedly Paradise Lost, first published in 1667. It is an epic poem elaborating on the fall of man. Its depictions of Adam, Eve, Satan, and the Garden of Eden have reshaped our cultural imaginings of the Book of Genesis. It is considered one of the greatest epic poems of all time, comparable to Virgil’s Aeneid or Dante’s Inferno. This collector’s edition showcases some of William Blake’s iconic illustrations. For any collector of Milton, Blake, or English literature, it is an essential volume. 

This collector’s edition is in near-fine condition. In the original full leather, elaborately gilt stamped, near-fine with only rubbing to corners. Raised bands. Gilt spine label. Text block fine. Gilt edges. Silk moire endpapers and bookmark sewn in.

A near-fine collector’s copy of Paradise Lost.