The Voices of the Year or The Poet s Kalendar. Containing the Choicest Pastorals in Our Language [POETRY] illustrated,literature,poetry

First and only edition of this Victorian anthology of pastoral verse, featuring English translations of classics by Hesiod, Theocritus, and Virgil, as well as original poems by Spenser, Milton, Cowper, Pope, Gray, Clare, and Thomson. Organized by month, the anthology opens in March, "where surly Winter passes off," each season illustrated by wood engravings of country scenes by John Andrew. The spectacular publisher s binding is signed "JL" by Victorian book designer John Leighton: "In 1865, he produced a sumptuous and complex design for The Voices of the Year published by Charles Griffin. . . . In a deft touch, the extensive strapwork on the covers ends in birds heads, with the beaks of the birds doubling back on themselves to grip the strapwork" (Edmund King, "The Book Cover Designs of John Leighton, F.S.A."). Provenance: Morris-Levin Collection of Publishers Bookbindings. OCLC locates eight holdings worldwide, only one in North America (Boston Atheneum). An exceptional copy. Single volume, measuring 9.5 x 6 inches: [10], 544. Original russet cloth elaborately decorated in gilt and black, beveled edges, deep green coated endpapers, all edges gilt. Title printed in red and black, text in two columns within double-ruled borders. Frontispiece, three tissue-guarded plates, and wood engravings throughout text. Ownership signature dated 1866 to verso of front free endpaper. Scattered foxing.