"The Country of The Ring and the Book", by Sir Frederick Treves, with a frontispiece in color and 106 illustrations, plans and maps, published by Cassell, London, 1913. First Edition.

Hard boards, original publisher's cloth, gold lettering to the spine and front board [some wear and spine fading]; 6" x 9.1/4"; ex-libris of Bland Crowder and Paul Joseph Woolf inside cover, "London, July 1971" is pen-written on the front endpaper, brownish stained endpapers, color frontispiece, xvi + 303 pages on high quality laid paper + 100 plates on glossy paper throughout + two fold out maps, all listed plates are present, a little foxing plates and pages next to the plates, good+/ very good condition.

The book explores the Renaissance and Baroque Italy: cities, locations, places, streets, houses mentioned in "The Ring and the Book" by Robert Browning. The books by Browning (1868-1869) and Treves (1913) tell the story of a murder trial in Rome in 1698, whereby an impoverished nobleman, Count Guido Franceschini, is found guilty of the murders of his young wife Pompilia (Comparini) and her parents, having suspected his wife was having an affair with a young cleric, Giuseppe Caponsacchi. Having been found guilty despite his protests and sentenced to death, Guido then appeals -unsuccessfully- to Pope Innocent XII to overturn the conviction.

"The Country of.." examines historical Rome and contains 106 monochrome photographs, reproductions of engravings throughout and two fold out maps of Rome in 1676, Index of names, and Index of Places.

Provenance:

From the library of Ashby Bland Crowder, Richmond, Va. [1941-2019], Professor of English, American Literature, and the Humanities. He was a respected scholar on Victorian literature, published books on Browning, novelist William Humphrey, and poet Seamus Heaney. His edition of the poetry of John Crowe Ransom was published in 2019. He also contributed to many scholarly journals. His ex-libris is inside the front cover.

Paul Joseph Woolf [Buckinghamshire, England 1899-1985], Paul J. Woolf attended the University of California, Berkeley and the Clarence White School of Photography. By 1942 he was established as a professional photographer who specialized in design and nighttime photography. His ex-libris is inside front cover.

US: Priority (c 2-4 days) -------- $12.50
Canada: Priority (c 2-6 weeks) -- $32.50
World: Priority (c 2-7 weeks) --- $44.50