Book of the poets. Chaucer to Beattie. Modern poets

First edition of this famous anthology reflecting Romantic taste. Printed on tinted vellum illustrated with 90 steel-engraved vignettes as headpieces and tailpieces. 2 title-frontispieces on heavy vellum.
Publisher's binding in full pale green striped boards. Smooth spine composed of interlaced foliage forming cartouches for the titles. Gilt urn at center of boards, blind-stamped decoration framing the urn. Spines uniformly darkened. Minor traces of rubbing. Micro-cuts to joints at head. Copy with very fresh paper, entirely free of foxing except the two title-frontispieces. Some engravings with ink offset on facing page. In margins of some engravings the tissue guard has been removed leaving paper remnants.
Very handsome copy in its gilt boards. Rare in this condition.