Fabulous, detailed steel engraving from the picture by Sir Edwin Landseer. The monster Comus and his crew, from a passage of the poem by John Milton:
The express resemblance of the gods, is changed
Into some brutish form of wolf or bear,
Or ounce or tiger, hog, or bearded goat,
All other parts remaining as they were.
A young lady, having heedlessly wandered into the domains of the sorcerer, falls into his hands, but cannot be induced by him to drink of
his baneful cup,
With many murmurs mixed, whose pleasing poison
The visage quite transforms of him that drinks,
And the inglorious likeness of a beast
Fixes instead, unmoulding reason's mintage
Charactered in the face.
While Comus is using all his powers of persuasion to entice her to taste, her two brothers, who have long been searching for her "rush in with swords drawn, wrest the glass out of his hand, and break it against the ground."
Printed on heavyweight ivory/cream stock. Reverse side is blank.
Title (printed below image): Rout of Comus and His Band
Publication: The Art Journal
Publication Year: 1865
Publisher: London: Virtue & Co., Ltd.
Approximate Page Size (in inches): 12.75 x 9
Approximate Image Size (in inches): 11 x 5.5
Condition: Excellent.
Library blind stamp* in margin goes partially into image area, but does not detract from the beauty of this print.
*blind stamp: A colorless impression that is embossed on paper.
