LOVELY EXTRA-ILLUSTRATED SET OF THE LETTERS OF JAMES RUSSELL LOWELL

LOWELL, James Russell. Letters of James Russell Lowell. Edited by Charles Eliot Norton. New York: Harper & Brothers, 1894. Two volumes extended to four. Octavo, contemporary three-quarter brown morocco gilt, raised bands, marbled boards and endpapers, top edges gilt. $600.

First American edition, extra-illustrated with over 40 plates.

This set comprises an extensive selection of the poet’s letters. Lowell regularly corresponded with a number of his famed contemporaries, including Longfellow, Emerson and Hawthorne, among others. Edited by renowned scholar, Charles Eliot Norton, who “is best known as professor of the history of fine art at Harvard (1873-98), although his broad range of scholarship, lofty and catholic taste, and great personal charm extended his influence far beyond the confines of the university” (Hart, 545). Norton and Lowell had collaborated as editors of The North American Review in 1864. Originally issued with only three plates, this set is extra-illustrated with over 40 additional plates (many portraits, including Franklin, John Quincy Adams, Longfellow, Browning, etc.). Preceded only by the London edition, published in the same year. Armorial bookplates.

A fine set, wonderfully illustrated.