Bidspirit auction | Camões, Luiz de – OS

Camões, Luiz de – OS LUSIADAS. Porto. Emilio Biel. 1880. LVI (2) - 375 - XCII. 38 cm x 28,7 cm. E. - The critical-commemorative edition of the third centenary of the death of the great Vate, published in Porto by Emilio Biel and printed at the Typographia Giesecke & Devrient of Leipzig — widely regarded as the most beautiful edition of Os Lusíadas ever printed, and arguably one of the most magnificent Portuguese books of the nineteenth century. Conceived to mark three hundred years since the death of Camões, the edition was dedicated by its publisher to D. Pedro II, Emperor of Brazil, in homage of «the most profound respect» — an imperial presence that runs through the entire volume, from the dedication page written in elegant calligraphy to the engraved portrait of the sovereign, executed by Giesecke & Devrient from a photograph by Pillon. The choice was far from incidental: D. Pedro II was a celebrated patron of letters and the arts, deeply devoted to the Portuguese language and its greatest epic poet, and his association with the volume lent it a prestige that transcended borders. The text was prepared with a scholarly apparatus befitting its graphic splendour, with an introduction and revision based on the second edition of 1572 and the edition of 1834, revised by José Gomes Monteiro, with justificatory notes by Barreto Feio and Gomes Monteiro, an appendix of textual variants, and a closing essay by J. da Silva Mendes Leal. The hors-texte steel-engraved plates illustrate scenes from the poem with a narrative force that rivals the Camonian verse itself: the Adamastor rising above the prow of the Portuguese navigators is, in these pages, one of the most arresting images ever given to the national epic. Original publisher's binding in dark blue leather, with a gilt and blind-stamped caravel vignette to the front board and gilt tooling to the spine — a less common colour variant than the green more frequently encountered. The spine shows natural wear at the head, foot and corners, consistent with the size and age of the volume. Boards firm and solid. Interior in generally good condition, with light and uniform toning to the paper, entirely consistent with the quality of the stock and the antiquity of the copy. Complete suite of hors-texte plates present.