Dante’s Divine Comedy – 1859 | Inferno & Purgatory 2vols | Wesley Thomas Translation

This 1859 edition of Three Visions of Dante, translated by Wesley Thomas, is a scarce Victorian-era English verse translation of Dante Alighieri’s Divine Comedy. Published under the extended title The Trilogy: or Dante’s Three Visions, this volume presents the full text of the Inferno and Purgatory in a separate volumes. John Wesley Thomas’s translation, relatively uncommon among mid-19th century editions, reflects a period when English readers sought accessible, single-volume formats of classical texts. The translation stands apart from the more frequently cited versions by Cary or Longfellow.

Bibliographic Details

• Title: The Trilogy: or Dante’s Three Visions. Inferno, or the Vision of Hell
• Author(s): Dante Alighieri
• Contributor(s): John Wesley Thomas (Translator)
• Publisher: London: Henry G. Bohn
• Edition: First Bohn edition, 1859
• Format: Octavo, single volume
• Binding: Leather
• Size:  8.25 in x 5.25 in (20.5 cm x 13.5 cm)
• Collation:
  • Inferno: l, [2], 356 pp
  • Purgatory: [xxx], 272 pp
• Illustrations: Illustrated color frontispiece
• Contents Include:
  • Inferno and Purgatory full English text
• Provenance:
  • tipped in handwritten ephemera
    • Both volumes include a presentation letter from the translator Wesley Thomas to the Reverent Dorton Bosworth in 1889. Letter in volume 1 tipped-in with stamped envelope.
  • Bookplate – Francis Augustus Brooks M.D.
    • Maryland physician. (1824–1902). Notably included in the 1896 work “Men of Progress: Biographical Sketches and Portraits of Leaders in Business and Professional Life in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts” from 1896.

Condition:

Bound in the original publisher’s leather. The spine retains clear gilt titling, with moderate wear along the edges. The binding is original, with various stains to boards and spine. Marbled page edges and lightly toned endpapers show expected age and foxing; text block remains strong. Internally complete. Illustrated color frontispiece is bright and intact in this issue.

Why Collect This?

• Scarce 1859 English verse translation of Dante’s Inferno and Purgatory
• Preserved in original leather
• Suitable for collectors of Victorian translations or early Dante in English

Item Number: #29643