BEN-HUR, A TALE OF CHRIST.

2 volumes. The Deluxe Issue Garfield Edition. Beautifully illustrated with drawings by William Martin Johnson on virtually every page and with ten photogravures, including a portrait as frontispiece. Also with a facsimile of a manuscript letter from President Garfield to Lew Wallace. 8vo, publisher's original tangerine cloth, the upper covers gilt lettered within an ornate gilt frame, the spines with large gilt device and gilt lettering, t.e.g. 438, [xii], 455-854 pp. A handsome and well preserved set, internally quite fine with fresh, clean pages, the binding solid and sturdy, the cloth slightly age mellowed at the spine panels and with a little wear at the tips.

Edizione: the beautifully illustrated garfield edition of this classic and timeless work. each page is filled with delicate (and archaeologically accurate) marginal decorations and drawings. there are also a number of full-page gravures which are presented to accompany the text and include tissue guards.<br> “lew wallace said that he wrote ben-hur as a way to sort out his own beliefs about god and christ. in doing so he inspired many readers by combining romanticism and spiritual piety common in sentimental novels of the 19th century with the action and adventure found in the more popular stories of the day. it prompted many clergy to reverse their church's long-held opposition to novels and actually encourage their congregations to read ben-hur, as a result helping it to become one of the best selling novels of its time.” oxford world classics.