Leather binding (Longfellow’s Works)
Case 6 Figure 4 and 5 (33b)
Figure 5a. Longfellow, Henry Wadsworth (1807-1882). The Poetical Works of Henry Wadsworth Longfellow. [Boston, Houghton-Osgood and Company, The Riverside Press, Cambridge, 1879]. Excerpt from The Golden Legend, VI. 'The School at Salerno.' artist: F. Dielman, and engraver: John Karst.
This is a two-volume set with beautifully engraved illustrations, that was issued in thirty parts for subscription, and page continuously. The cover is made of heavy tooled leather with gold embossing, gilded pages, and detail, and glossy marbled end papers in maroon, pink and blue. The multiple engravings are drawn and executed by a variety of artists and engravers.
The Golden Legend (1483) was a compilation of the Lives of the Saints with other ecclesiastical commentary, and was one of the most popular books published by William Caxton. Material was drawn from the Latin of Legenda Aurea by Jacobus de Voragine (1230-1298) which appeared in French and English versions. The poem by Wordsworth The Golden Legend (1872) is the second part of a trilogy called Christus: A Mystery. The primary theme is a variant on the Faust legend. It explores the attitudes of the Middle Ages towards Christian truth.
The illustration in the exhibition depicts a travelling Scholastic who is affixing his thesis to the gate of the college at the School of Salerno, which was a highly reputable medical school. The text consists of a monologue by the Scholastic, and is followed by a dialogue between two doctors and two scholars, and later, Lucifer joins in. The scholars discuss philosophy and criticism, arguing on the merits of studying literature or pursuing a career in medicine. A second illustration follows. This depicts a male cloaked figure reading the dissertation that the Scholastic has attached to the door.