The Eclogues [SIGNED BY DRAWER]

Maro, Publius Virgilius; C.S. Calverley (Translated by), Vertès (Drawings by). The Eclogues [SIGNED BY DRAWER]. New York: Limited Editions Club, 1960. Limited edition. 1/1500. Folio. (xxvii), 96pp, [1]. Tan buckram slipcase with black lettering on spine. Original illustrated tan cloth boards with faint light grey vertical stitching, gilt lettering on spine, green illustration on front cover. Illustrated frontispiece.

This limited edition, #87 of 1500 copies hand numbered and signed by drawer Vertès at colophon, contains beautifully printed color illustrations throughout. Vergil’s ten eclogues made their young author a renowned figure when they were first made public in approximately 39 b.c.e. Although these poems do not reach the heights of the Georgics (c. 37-29 b.c.e.) or the Aeneid (c. 29-19 b.c.e.), they are the work of a master, not the hesitant stumblings of an apprentice writer. Vergil made the pastoral form, first popularized by Theocritus, his own and paved the way for many English poets who imitated him, among them Edmund Spenser, Philip Sidney, John Milton, Percy Bysshe Shelley, and Matthew Arnold.

Slipcase with scratching, water stains and a paint stain. Interior with faint damp stains to gutters at interior font and back covers. Slipcase in good, binding and interior in near fine condition overall. good to near fine. Hardcover. (45207) $45