2-709-312 - The Print Collector/Heritage Images

'Then my guide, his palms expanding on the ground, thence filled with earth, rais'd them, and cast it in his ravenous maw', c1890. Dante and the Roman poet Virgil encounter Cerberus, the three-headed dog which prevents the dead from leaving the Underworld. Illustration from "The Vision of Hell" (Inferno), the first part of "The Divine Comedy" (La divina commedia) by Dante Alighieri. This long, narrative poem, written in Italian c1308-1321, tracing Dante's imaginary journey from Hell, through Purgatory and finally to Heaven and a beatific vision of God, has been published numerous times. This edition, published late 19th century, is illustrated by Gustave Dore. [Cassell Petter & Galpin, c1890]