The Odyssey — Pope Translation, Flaxman, Heritage 1942

📖 The Odyssey by Homer, translated by Alexander Pope (1942, The Heritage Press) — a two-volume Heritage Press edition pairing Pope’s celebrated verse translation with 32 neoclassical line engravings by John Flaxman. This copy is in VG- condition with clean text block, all plates present, and sound bindings.

QUICK FACTS

• Author: Homer (fl. 8th century BC)
• Translator: Alexander Pope (1688–1744)
• Illustrator: John Flaxman (1755–1826)
• Publisher: The Heritage Press, New York
• Year: 1942 (first printing of this Heritage Press edition)
• Format: Two-volume hardcover set, blue cloth, no dust jacket
• Pages: Two volumes | ISBN: None (pre-ISBN era)
• Condition: Very Good minus (VG-) — full report below

THE STORY

Homer’s Odyssey, composed around the 8th century BC, follows the Greek hero Odysseus on his ten-year journey home after the fall of Troy. It is one of the foundational works of Western literature, alongside the Iliad, and has been continuously read and adapted for nearly three millennia.

Alexander Pope first published his verse translation in five volumes between 1725 and 1726, following the success of his Iliad. Pope rendered Homer’s dactylic hexameter into heroic couplets — rhyming pairs of iambic pentameter — enlisting collaborators Elijah Fenton (four books) and William Broome (eight books), while Pope himself translated twelve books. The result became the standard English Homer for over a century.

THIS EDITION

The Heritage Press issued this edition in 1942, pairing Pope’s translation with Flaxman’s classical designs. Heritage Press, founded in 1935 by George Macy, was known for producing finely designed editions of classic literature with notable illustrators. The 1942 copyright is confirmed on the copyright page: “The special contents of this edition are copyright 1942 by The Heritage Press.” This is the first and only Heritage Press printing of this Pope/Flaxman combination.

The two-volume format follows the original five-volume structure of Pope’s 1725–26 publication, bound in blue cloth with a blind-stamped Greek key (meander) border on the front covers — a design choice reflecting the neoclassical aesthetic of the illustrations within.

ILLUSTRATIONS

The edition includes 32 plates engraved from the classical designs of John Flaxman (1755–1826), the English sculptor and draughtsman whose outline illustrations became iconic representations of Homer’s epics. Flaxman’s Odyssey drawings, executed “in the style of antient art,” were first published in the late 18th century and exerted enormous influence on the European neoclassical movement. Twenty-seven of Flaxman’s original Odyssey drawings are preserved in the collection of the Royal Academy of Arts in London.

The plates throughout this edition depict key scenes from the epic in Flaxman’s characteristic linear style — precise contour lines with hatching for depth, figures in flowing classical drapery, and compositions echoing ancient Greek vase painting and relief sculpture. Visible plates in this copy include scenes from Book V (Odysseus’s departure from Calypso), Book XVI (Athena’s visit to Telemachus), and Book XX, as well as Plate XXI and Plate XXVII (“Euryclea Discovers Ulysses”).

WHY IT MATTERS

• Pope’s Odyssey was the dominant English translation for over 100 years, shaping how generations of readers experienced Homer
• Flaxman’s illustrations are among the most recognized visual interpretations of classical mythology, with influence extending to Wedgwood ceramics, neoclassical architecture, and Romantic-era art
• Heritage Press editions from this era are valued for their production quality: sturdy bindings, generous page proportions, and well-chosen illustrators
• The Greek key blind-stamp on the covers is a period-appropriate neoclassical design detail that connects the binding to the aesthetic of the illustrations

FREQUENTLY ASKED

What edition is this? The Heritage Press edition of Homer’s Odyssey, translated by Alexander Pope and illustrated with 32 classical designs by John Flaxman, first printed in 1942. Two volumes, blue cloth binding.

What condition is it in? Very Good minus (VG-) — the blue cloth is tanned on the spines with some fraying at the spine ends of Volume 1, and Volume 1 has four pin-sized perforations through the front cover. The text block is clean and all plates are present. Full condition report below.

Is the dust jacket included? No. This set has no dust jacket, as issued by Heritage Press for this edition.

FOR COLLECTORS

The combination of Pope’s historically significant translation with Flaxman’s neoclassical illustrations makes this Heritage Press edition a distinctive entry in the long publishing history of Homer’s Odyssey. The two-volume format and blind-stamped Greek key binding reflect the care Heritage Press brought to its editions during the Macy era.

Condition Report

Overall Grade: Very Good- (VG-)

Cover & Spine: The blue cloth wraps are fairly well tanned on the spines, with volume 1’s spine head and tail frayed. Lettering on the spine is difficult to read. Volume 1 has a small loss in the cloth at the front board outer edge near the top corner. Volume 1 has 4 pin sized perforations through the front cover and into the block at about the midway mark. One perforates down to page 54, the others stop no further than page 16.

Dust Jacket: N/A (Not present).

Text Block & Pages: The paper is clean and off-white/cream; internal pages are in excellent condition, with all of the illustrated plates present. There is a Levinsons Bookstore of Sacramento decorative tag affixed to the back pastedown at the lower hinge edge on volume 1. Original owner’s name penned inside volume 1 front endpaper.

Binding: The binding remains square and tight; the text block is sound. The hinges on both volumes are sound.

See accompanying images for full condition details. Will ship promptly, carefully packaged.

HFB-SEO-v1: 2026-08-19

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