Eugene Istomin spent his lifetime reading and collecting, amassing a collection which features notable titles of Classic Literature. Classic literature is a collective term for works of literature that transcend time and culture to have a universal appeal. Such novels, short stories and poetry remain relevant through time. They are recognized for their artistic merit, quality and often for their groundbreaking nature.
Search the catalog for the full Eugene Istomin Rare Books collection, below are a few notable classic literature titles.
John Dryden was a popular seventeenth century English poet and literary critic. His talents in Restoration England landed him the position of England's first Poet Laureate in 1668. In this first edition of John Dryden's collected fables, these translations are regarded as one of Dryden's greatest works. Included are translations of the First Book of Homer's 'Iliad', eight selections from Ovid's 'Metamorphoses', three of Chaucer's 'Canterbury Tales', three stories from Boccaccio and many more translations including original poems by Dryden himself. With this work Dryden aimed to increase the reputation of English literature, by adapting these classic works. All the translations to this work are in Dryden's heroic couplet.
Andrew Marvell was an English metaphysical poet, satirist and politician who sat in the House of Commons. During the Commonwealth period he was a colleague and friend of John Milton. This book contains many original letters, poems, and tracts, never before printed. This edition of his works is signed by English historian Edward Thompson.
Childe Harold's Pilgrimage is a long narrative poem in four parts written by Lord Byron. It describes the travels and reflections of a world-weary young man, who is disillusioned with a life of pleasure and revelry and looks for distraction in foreign lands. In a wider sense, it is an expression of the melancholy and disillusionment felt by a generation weary of the wars of the post-Revolutionary and Napoleonic eras. The title comes from the term childe, a medieval title for a young man who was a candidate for knighthood.
Thomas Gray was an English poet, letter-writer, classical scholar, and professor at Pembroke College, Cambridge. He is widely known for his Elegy Written in a Country Churchyard, published in 1751. Gray was a self-critical writer who published only 13 poems in his lifetime, despite being very popular.
