Edward Benlowes, Theophila, or, Loves sacrifice (London, 1652).
The poet often lavished gifts of books on his protégés and on his old college. , which describes the soul's longing for and eventual union with God. Owing to the fact that he had a rolling press installed in his home, Benlowes could afford to produce sumptuous engravings to embellish it, although each individual copy often contains a varying number of engraved plates as Benlowes bound up each personally to present as gifts. The copy Benlowes gave St John's has seventeen engravings of a possible twenty-five, "among which is the best and rarest, namely, Theophila treading on a serpent". This is displayed here, along with a picture of a masked woman which accompanies the dedicatory verse to “Ladies”.
