The Unfortunate Lovers Or The History of Argulas and Parthenia.

A very scarce early work of prose based on episodes in Sir Philip Sidney's Arcadia. The piece is a prose reduction of Francis Quarles' poem Argalus and Parthenia which itself is based on Arcadia. Frontispiece plate entitled 'The Renowned Argalus and Parthenia' with three other woodcut illustrations. The work is split into four books telling the story of the love between Parthenia and Argalus. This love is threatened by the jealous Demagoras who disfigures Parthenia in the hope of destroying what he cannot have. In a calf binding. Externally, a trifle rubbed with bumping to corners. Some loss to head and tail of backstrip. Hinges starting but firm. Previous owners bookplate to front pastedown and ink inscriptions to front free end-paper. Internally, generally firmly bound though front free end-paper is detached. Text is close cropped. Some foxing throughout and worming to only a couple of pages. Good Only.