1914 Leather Bound Book - La Vita Nuova Dante Alighieri

An absolute showpiece for your collection! The print quality and colour are almost as if it was printed yesterday. The condition of this copy is MUCH better than the handful of other copies I have seen available. English Language version.

La Vita Nuova by Dante Alighieri "The New Life" Antique 1914 Leather Bound. Raised color leather portrait of Dante in upper case. Art Nouveau leather binding. Mounted color plates and illustrations with gold through the text. Music by Alfred Mercer. Illustrations by Evelyn Paul. Translated to English from Italian. Very Good condition for its age. (see photos)

Vita Nuova (1292-94) is the first of Dante's major writings. It is a supreme work of love; thirty-one poems are linked by a lyrical prose narrative poem celebrating and debating the subject of love. In the opening chapter Dante sets himself the task of giving meaning to the poetry which he composed and the events that took place after his meeting with Beatrice and the 'Lord of Love'. The 'new life' which this meeting inspired is the subject of Dante's most profound creation, which has been read variously as biography, religious allegory, and a meditation on poetry itself.  

Book Dimensions. 24.5cm x 19cm x 2.5 cm

**In the 3rd photo, you can see a name or dedication "Lucie Thomas" (perhaps the owner or was maybe a gift to or from). I do not have a way to verify this completely… However, I believe the person mentioned is Lucie Thomas. This is based on the South of France location, publication date, etc.

Nationality: France
Biography:

Lucie Thomas, née Pouzy, is a librarian, translator and author.

She was librarian of the Finnish-Scandinavian section (in 1939) and curator of the Sainte-Geneviève Library. Wife of Georges Thomas, she translated from Finnish and also wrote in Swedish.

She was promoted to Knight of the Legion of Honor in 1956.

Source: data.bnf.fr