8vo. [6], 268pp, [4]. With a half-title and two terminal leaves of publisher's advertisements. Original publisher's red cloth, stamped in gilt and black. Lightly rubbed and marked, spine dulled. Scattered spotting.

A first edition of this volume of blank verse by Robert Browning (1812-1889). The title, ‘certain people of importance’, derives from a passage in Dante's Vita Nuova, and refers to several lesser-known historical figures studied by Browning in his youth.