The Faerie Queene is an English epic poem by Edmund Spenser. Books I–III were first published in 1590, then republished in 1596 together with books IV–VI. It is one of the longest poems in the English language and is also the work in which Spenser invented the verse form known as the Spenserian stanza. Reference: Wikipedia
Below are some examples and price guides of editions of The Faerie Queene including a copy for Lord Byron’s library and an edition from 1590.
The first collected edition of Spenser’s poetry, this copy from Lord Byron’s library, with his bookplate. Spenser described his epic romance as a poem “cloudily enwrapped in Allegorical devises.” It earned him a pension from Queen Elizabeth and fame as one of the greatest English poets of his age.
Sold for USD 17,640 at Christie’s in 2022
SPENSER, EDMUND. The Faerie Queene.
London: J. Brindley, 1751. Three volumes. Contemporary calf, gilt edges, neatly rebacked with gilt lettered spine labels and blindstamped decorations. 10 3/4 x 8 inches (27.25 x 20.25 cm); Volume I: [2], lxiii, [1], xxxvii, [3], 453 pp.; Volume II: [2], 450; Volume III: [2], 440; with 29 (of 32) engraved plates after W. Kent. Rubbing and wear to boards and edges, contents with occasional light toning and pale spots.
Sold for $535 (includes buyer’s premium) at Doyle in 2022
SPENSER (EDMUND)
Faerie Queene, 19 original parts bound in 6 vol., LIMITED TO 1000 COPIES, edited by Thomas J. Wise, plates, illustrations and decorations by Walter Crane, light spotting mostly on endpapers, publisher’s white cloth, gilt-blocked illustration on upper covers with lettering in red, gilt lettering on spines, original red pictorial wrappers bound in, t.e.g., others untrimmed, spines toned, covers soiled and bumped, 4to, George Allen, 1897-1896
Sold for £600 at Bonham’s in 2023
1715 Edmund Spenser Fairy Queen Illustrated John Hughes 5v English Literature
Sold for US$355 at Schilb Antiquarian Rare Books in 2022
Spenser, Edmund (1552?-1599) The Faerie Queene. Disposed into Twelve Bookes, Fashioning XII. Morall Vertues. [and] The Faerie Queene, S
Sold for US$30,000 at Swann Auction Galleries in 2022