Written by
Tasso, Torquato, Italian, 1544 - 1595
Wiffen, Jeremiah Holmes, British, 1792 - 1836
Published by
Hurst & Company, American, founded 1883
Subject of
Rock Rest Tourist Home, American, 1948 - 1976
Owned by
Sinclair, Clayton, American
Sinclair, Hazel, American
Date
1871-1919
Medium
ink on paper (fiber product) with book cloth (textile material) , cardboard , leaf (metal) and thread
Dimensions
H x W x D: 7 9/16 × 5 3/8 × 1 5/16 in. (19.2 × 13.6 × 3.3 cm)
Description
A hardcover book titled, The Jerusalem Delivered of Torquato Tasso with the Life of the Author, by Torquato Tasso, translated by J.H. Wiffen, and published by Hurst & Company. It is a cloth bound hardcover book with a sewn binding and gilded page edges. The green front cover of the embossed volume features a large, gold leaf rectangular box at the top third of the cover. The shortened title of the book, [TASSO], is printed in green relief inside a gold leaf rectangle accented with illustrated leaves and curled stems. Around the center box is a band of squares with circles at the center, divided by two small rectangles. It is surrounded by a second band filled with black and studded with gold polka dots. The box is framed with a gold striped band decorated with small four-petaled rosettes. Floral sprays with five-petal flowers overlay the bands surrounding the title. In the bottom right quadrant is a gold leaf illustration of a cherub with a harp, inside a gold circular frame filled with black. Surrounding the title box and cherub illustration is an ornate, black, embossed frame embellished with rosettes and foliage. The spine of the book is heavily decorated with gold leaf floral designs and geometric patterns. The shortened title, [TASSO], and the publisher’s information [HURST AND CO.], are printed in green relief inside a solid gold band and banner at the top and bottom of the spine. The back cover of the book is plain. The interior of the book has black type on white pages. There is a thin, red decorative border around all of the pages. The pastedowns and free endpapers are deep mauve. The book features a biography of Tasso, a translation the Italian poet Torquato Tasso’s epic poem Gerusalemme Liberata (Jerusalem Delivered), and five printed, black-and-white illustrations of etchings, and graphic illustrations that includes two profile portraits. The book has 493 pages.
Place collected
Kittery, York County, Maine, United States, North and Central America
Place printed
New York City, New York, United States, North and Central America
Collection title
The Rock Rest Tourist Home Collection
Classification
Books and Published Materials
Type
hardcover books
Topic
Black Enterprise
Black interiors
Christianity
Literature
Poetry
Religion
Segregation
Travel
Credit Line
Collection of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture, Gift of Portsmouth Black Heritage Trail, Inc.
Object number
2011.12.52.6
Restrictions & Rights
No Known Copyright Restrictions
Proper usage is the responsibility of the user.
GUID
http://n2t.net/ark:/65665/fd510ed0357-0b5c-4464-9ef7-f4417ba83ff2

Cataloging is an ongoing process and we may update this record as we conduct additional research and review. If you have more information about this object, please contact us at NMAAHCDigiTeam@si.edu

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