Designs by Mr R Bentley for six Poems by Mr Thomas Gray. WAS £20 NOW £10

WAS £20 NOW £10.

Sir John Soane purchased an early version of this wonderful book for his Library. Commissioned by Horace Walpole, (who wrote the 'Explanation of the Prints') this suite of illustrations for six of the greatest poems by Thomas Gray – including the Elegy in a Country Churchyard – is a landmark in the history of the illustrated book. It is also a stunningly beautiful work of art: in the words of Kenneth Clark, ‘they most graceful monument to Gothic Rococo’. This is the first time it has been reproduced in its original form. An essay by Loftus Jestin places the Designs in their artistic and literary context.

If you would like more information about Soane's original copy, click the link below to view its entry in the online catalogue of Sir John Soane's Library.

http://www.soane.org.uk/library/index.cfm?MAXROWS=10&WHAT_TO_SEARCH=general&SEARCH_FIELD=bentley&record_article_key=1683