Alexander Pope
by an unknown artist, after Sir Godfrey Kneller
1735
Collection: Oxford University
This image appeared as the frontispiece to Edmund Curll's publication of Mr. Pope's Literary Correspondence for Thirty Years; from 1704 to 1734. Being, a Collection of Letters, Which Passed Between Him and Several Eminent Persons. Volume the First (1735). The image is based upon Kneller's painting of the poet in thoughtful repose, the large brow indicating his poetic genius. Here, the brow is lower, covered by a larger and higher turban. Pope's mouth is turned up so that he appears, rather than pensive or thoughtful, to be smirking. On the publication of this work, see Edmund Curll, Bookseller by Roger Baines and Pat Rogers (Oxford University Press, 2007), 246–52.
—by Allison Muri, February 2014
The image file displayed on this page is stored on the Grub Street Project server, as allowed by the Google Books documentation for public domain works: Google's usage guidelines state: "Google is proud to partner with libraries to digitize public domain materials and make them widely accessible. Public domain books belong to the public and we are merely their custodians." Google asks that users "Make non-commercial use of the files."