Blake William.ABAA
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107296London: plates dated 1825 but published 1826. Folio 320 x 254 mm engraved title and 21 plates. Proofs on India paper mounted on handmade paper some leaves watermarked J. Whatman Turkey Mill 1825. Matted a brilliant set with the original printed label preserved. § First edition limited to 150 proof sets 65 sets were also printed on French paper and 100 sets on drawing paper with the word ‘proof’removed. This is the finest set of the proofs I have ever seen and far outshines the other two original printings and the later re-issue. The India paper set is the best printing of these famous plates which comprise Blake’s major single achievement as a printmaker after the illuminated books. Illustrations of the Book of Job was Blake’s last completed prophetic book: the text a series of biblical quotations is above and below each image. “It was produced while Blake was still working on Jerusalem his most obscure book; yet the illustrations are Blake’s most lucid; and they are the supreme example of his reading the Bible in its spiritual sense†S. Foster Damon A Blake Dictionary p. 217. “The modest size of the central panels does not prevent them from ranking with the supreme masterpieces of graphic art†Ray Illustrator and the Book in England #8. [plates dated] 1825 [but published 1826]. Folio unknown books
123190London: plates dated 1825 but published 1826. Folio 320 x 254 mm engraved title and 21 plates. Proofs on India paper mounted on handmade paper some leaves 2 5 6 11 14 17 18 watermarked J. Whatman Turkey Mill 1825. Gilt-ruled green morocco over thick boards fleurons at the outer corners double-rule inner frame enclosing a bloom roll gilt-ruled spine sewing bands with gilt red morocco onlays thick dark blue endleaves all edges gilt by Riviere: a brilliant set with no foxing at all interleaved with blanks at the time of binding with no offsetting. Lower cover of the binding at some time tied up with string with ensuing indentation. § First edition limited to 150 proof sets 65 sets were also printed on French paper and 100 sets on drawing paper with the word ‘proof’ removed. This is one of finest sets of the proofs I have ever seen and far outshines the other two original printings and the later re-issue. The India paper set is the best printing of these famous plates which comprise Blake’s major single achievement as a printmaker after the illuminated books. Illustrations of the Book of Job was Blake’s last completed prophetic book: the text a series of biblical quotations is above and below each image. “It was produced while Blake was still working on Jerusalem his most obscure book; yet the illustrations are Blake’s most lucid; and they are the supreme example of his reading the Bible in its spiritual sense†S. Foster Damon A Blake Dictionary p. 217. “The modest size of the central panels does not prevent them from ranking with the supreme masterpieces of graphic art†Ray Illustrator and the Book in England #8. Note: as always the first plate after the title-page is misdated 1828. [plates dated] 1825 [but published 1826]. Folio hardcover books
107152London: 1821. 2 vols. small 8vo xii -vii/viii 12 xxiv -i/iv 214; I 215-592 pp. With an engraved frontispiece to each volume and 230 illustrations including 17 woodcuts and 6 engraved plates by Blake and four other designs by Blake engraved by others. Original full rose sheep backstrips lettered in gilt slight wear to joints vol. 1 invisibly repaired by Phil Dusel. A very fine set internally perfect. Enclosed in a modern protective box. § Presentation copy inscribed by Thornton to his daughter. A very fine copy of a scarce work in any condition as it was issued for use in schools; the impressions of the woodcuts in this copy are the richest I have ever seen. Blake contributed 17 woodcuts to this volume as well as 10 other plates of which he engraved six which were not well received; nor were they well treated by the publisher who cut down the blocks and printed them poorly. Only a few proofs before they were trimmed are now extant. These blocks have remained amongst the most influential woodcuts in the history of British art and their influence can be seen from Calvert and Palmer all the way up to the present day. The blocks were saved by Linnell and were printed not long after Blake's death as separate impressions perhaps by Calvert and again in 1977 as a set by Iain Bain. Any impressions are now very hard to find. For a full discussion of this wonderful book see Essick's masterly monograph A Troubled Paradise. San Francisco: John Windle 1999. Bentley Blake Books 504. Bindman 602-18. Easson and Essick I X. 1821. 2 vols unknown books
107341Chichester. Printed by J. Seagrave and sold by him and P. Humphry et al. for W. Blake 1802. Frontispiece 250 x 174 sheet 175 x 160 platemark mm printed in black on wove paper. Recently cleaned trimmed close to the right plate mark but not touching it other margins wide. § Frontispiece to the first edition of the rarest letterpress publication containing engravings by Blake Hayley's Ballads 1802. The frontispiece Adam and the Beasts is one of Blake’s most alluring images. The illustrations were drawn engraved printed and published by Blake himself. The work was a financial disaster and unfortunately Blake had borne most of the publication costs. He was eventually reduced to reusing unsewn sheets of the 1802 Ballads for sketch paper. Geoffrey Keynes writing in 1921 states: “This edition of the ballads is now extremely rare.†Bentley Blake Books 466. Easson and Essick William Blake Book Illustrator vol. 1 VI. Bindman Complete Graphic Works of Blake 385-398. Essick “A Census of Complete Copies of Designs to a Series of Ballads 1802†Blake: An Illustrated Quarterly spring 2000. “This edition of the ballads is now extremely rare...†Bentley unknown books
1821VBF48<p><b>BLAKE</b> William</p><p><i><b>The Pastorals of Virgil</b></i> With a course of English Reading adapted for Schools . enabling youth to acquire the Latin Language in the shortest period of time. Edited by Robert John <b>Thornton</b>. </p><p>London: F C & J Rivington 1821. </p><p>Two volumes illustrated with engraved frontispieces 230 illustrations: of which William Blake has contributed 17 original woodblock designs for the First Eclogue six copperplates of Classical poets and philosophers all of which he also engraved and with four additional Blake designs engraved by other hands. These are WILLIAM BLAKE's only woodcut designs and have remained amongst the most influential woodcuts in the history of British art. Their influence can be seen in the prints of Edward Calvert and Samuel Palmer. The original blocks survive and are preserved in the British Library London last restruck in 1977 by Iain Bain.</p><p>8vo. xii -vii/viii 12 xxiv -i/iv 214 pp. i 215-592 pp. plates erratic preliminaries nonetheless complete as matching collations in both Keynes and Easson/Essick; matching contemporary sheep leather possibly as published.</p><p>Third edition first thus</p><p>Provenance: George R. Gardner pasted bookplate inside covers</p> F C & J Rivington hardcover books
182665634ìBlakeÃs Most Widely Known Achievementî BLAKE William. Illustrations of the Book of Job. Invented & engraved by William Blake 1825. London: Published by the Author and Mr. J. Linnell 1874. One of 100 sets printed on india paper. Folio sheets: 20 x 14 inches; 510 x 350 mm. engravings 8 1/4 x 6 1/2 inches; 209 x 158 mm. Line-engraved title and twenty-one line- and stipple-engraved plates by and after Blake. Also with an additional letterpress title-page not issued with the book. Printed from the original plates. Evidence of the word proof on the lower edge of engravings number 5 7 8 10 11 12 14 18 and 20. Bound in quarter reverse calf over black cloth. Spine lettered and ruled in gilt. With black and red morocco spine labels lettered in gilt. Marbled endpapers. Corners a bit bumped and cloth lightly scuffed. Sheets mounted on stubs. A bit of very light foxing to some of the sheets generally not affecting engravings mainly title-page sheet and sheet of plate 20. Plate 14 with the mounting sheet trimmed at top margin about 1.5 inches not affecting plate. A fine strikingly clean copy of ìBlakeÃs most widely known achievementî Keynes. The engravings were commissioned by John Linnell on March 25 1823. Despite the date 1825 on the engravings the plates were not actually issued until March 1826. The entire edition consisted of 315 sets: 150 ìProofî sets on India paper and sixty-five on French paper were printed in March 1826 at which time the word ìProofî was removed from the plates and 100 sets were printed on drawing paper see Bentley. BlakeÃs original copperplates remained in the possession of the Linnell family and as late as 1863 Linnell was offering for sale sets of the India-paper and French-paper issues. By 1874 these must have been sold as a further 100 sets of the engravings were printed at that time the present copy is from this set. No more pulls were taken between 1874 and 1919 when the copperplates were given by Herbert Linnell to the British Museum. Linnell's son wrote "My father considered the plates at the last 1874 were as good as they ever were for the work being cut by a graver and not etched it is durable- and is not worn by the printing as is the case with an etching." Bentley Books p. 523. Bentley 421A. Binyon 105-126. Russell 33. HBS 65634. $32500 William Blake hardcover books
182511080112mo. London: I. Poole 1825. 12mo frontispiece "A Tribute of Regard."; title-page "Remember Me" etc. with 1826 beneath "Christmas Present"; second engraved leaf recto "Calendar and Album 1826." verso January and February next three leaves with the rest of the Calendar; verso of third leaf "The Virgin Child and St. Johnâ€; 8 pp. of engraved music; contents and introduction i ii-xxiv; plate "Her screams aroused her servant"; 1 2-336. With the Blake plate at p. 32 and color plates at 42 73 88 89 93 148 149 275 b/w The Storm and 326 color. Publisher’s original printed yellow paper boards no backstrip occasional spotting but a good copy of this fragile booklet in its rarest format preserved in a cloth box. § Second issue of the book no variance in the plate the contents omits the blank leaves and the misnumbered leaves at the end. One of the rarest of all of the plates designed and engraved by Blake here in its rarest format. The plate titled ‘The Hiding of Moses’ was the last plate designed and engraved by Blake himself for a commercial publication; the original drawing ‘Moses placed in the Ark of Bulrushes’ which closely echoes a tempera now untraced that was executed some 25 years earlier is in the Huntington Library. BB #490B. Easson and Essick William Blake Book Illustrator XI recording the Rosenwald proof and 3 copies. Keynes Blake Studies XIX recording 7 variants but not mentioning the 1826 printing. Also see Bentley’s detailed essay and census of copies in “Remember Me! Customs and Costumes of Blake’s Gift Book†University of Toronto Quarterly 80.4 fall 2011: 880-92. I. Poole hardcover books
1881108279Impression measures 93. London: Colnaghi printing after 5 March 1881. Impression measures 93.9 x 30 cm. printed on laid India paper; recently cleaned. § Final state: it is worth noting that the only difference between the so-called fourth and fifth states is the absence of the scratched dry-point inscriptions clearly visible in a few prints and less and less visible until completely absent by the time Sessler was printing the plate. Instead of “states†the more accurate definitions might be very early to very late 4th state and in that scheme then this print would be well after the early impressions with some or most of the scratched inscriptions visible but before the Sessler printings of the 1940s none of which were on laid India. “‘Chaucers Canterbury Pilgrims’ was one of Blake’s major attempts at building a reputation as a painter-engraver and achieving the sort of critical and financial success that had escaped him for so many years.…†However Blake wasn’t to meet with the critical success he had hoped for and the competition created when Thomas Stothard executed a plate of the same subject caused him to become bitter. “Most contemporary connoisseurs probably found the print old-fashioned and ‘Gothic’ in the pejorative sense.… The record of prices brought by the print at auction indicates that it has attracted strong interest from collectors only in the last few years†Essick pp. 86-88. “It is only in the last two states of the plate that we find Blake’s mature artistry as an original printmaker bringing to his largest and most ambitious single print the same techniques distinguishing his Job and Dante engravings.†Essick Separate Plates of William Blake XVI and see William Blake Printmaker. Colnaghi printing unknown books
1827105078Printed in black ink on thick card. London: William Blake 1827. Printed in black ink on thick card. Very finely printed in good condition though trimmed very close to the image at the left and right edges once pasted down and thus with traces of mounting on the verso and pencil notes from an earlier collector c. 1950 image and plate mark exactly as per Essick 1DD. § Blake’s last engraving executed for one of his closest friends. The images invoke one of Blake’s greatest themes—the relationships between time and eternity. Although probably intended as a calling card two books have been located with this card pasted in both written by George Cumberland Jr. Thus it has on occasion been sold as a “bookplateâ€. Examples on card not in Cumberland's book are exceptionally rare and have been presumed to be of the earliest printing and possibly by Blake himself. All other impressions on laid paper most often are posthumous. Thirty-nine examples in all are known to Essick not including examples now untraced of which eight are on card of which one is described as printed in green ink. Essick The Separate Plates of William Blake XXI see entry 1DD for identical measurements but not this copy. Bindman Complete Graphic Works of Blake 654. William Blake unknown books
108730London: J Johnson 1806. 2 vols. 4to xviii 423 4 index and plate list; iv 419 6 index and plate list pp with 40 hand-coloured plates in both vol I and vol II as called for plus hand-coloured title page to vol I and coloured vignette to both volumes. 16 of the plates and the two title page vignettes are by Blake. Contemporary diamond calf with gilt rules and decoration including to spine with general light wear the front cover of vol I rehinged; internally good some offsetting and spotting to reverse of a few plates occasional mild foxing to margins but generally a good clean copy. § Second edition revised and enlarged very scarce colored. Stedman's account of the slave rebellion in Dutch Guiana 1772-1777 with 40 hand-colored plates 16 by William Blake. A best-seller in its day and translated many times Stedman's narrative was an important resource for the abolitionist movement across Europe even though Stedman himself was not straightforwardly anti-slavery. Stedman based the text on personal diaries he kept on his travels now held by the University of Minnesota albeit with his numerous accounts of sexual liaisons with free and enslaved women reduced and romaticised. Essick writes that "Stedman's narrative of the brutalities of slavery very probably influenced Blake's own anti-slavery position"; Blake's graphic illustrations of abused slaves infused with human dignity undoubtedly influenced the reading public and advanced the abolitionist's cause. Essick William Blake's Commercial Book Illustrations XXXIII. Bentley Blake Books 499. J unknown books
194135790London 1941. Engraving printed on Rives wove paper watermarked "France". A rich impression in excellent condition. Fifth state of five. Image size: 11 3/4 x 37 inches. Final state of the largest Blake engraving.<br/> <br/>"Every age is a Canterbury Pilgrimage" wrote William Blake 1757-1827 poet and probably the most imaginative and original artist in the history of British art. "We all pass on each sustaining one or other of these characters nor can a child be born who is not one or other of these characters of Chaucer." Working in an archaic style intended to evoke the engravings of Chaucer's time Blake presents us with the cast of Chaucer's Tales as they begin their pilgrimage. Since Blake understood his subject so well and wrote with such elegance we can do no better than to use as a guide his own description of the engraving: "The time chosen is the early morning before sunrise when the jolly company are leaving the Tabarde Inn. The Knight and Squire with the Squire's Yeoman lead the Procession; next follow the youthful Abbess her nun and three priests; her greyhounds attend her. Next follow the Friar and Monk and then the Tapiser the Pardoner and the Sompnour and Manciple. After this 'Our Host' who occupies the centre of the cavalcade and directs them to the Knight as the person who would be likely to commence their task of each telling a tale in their order. After the Host follows the Shipman the Haberdasher the Dyer the Franklin the Physician the Ploughman the Lawyer the Poor Parson the Merchant the Wife of Bath the Miller the Cook the Oxford Scholar Chaucer himself; and the Reev comes as Chaucer has described:- And ever he rode hindermost of the rout." The view is eastward from the Tabard in Southwark across the Bridge from London as Blake conceived it to have been in Chaucer's day. He based his costumes on ancient monuments and other records. "As a literary piece" it has been noted Blake's engraving "has hardly an equal in the whole field of art." The engraving was begun late in 1809 and issued by the artist in October the following year. In his Prospectus for the issue Blake declared that the English nation would 'flourish or decay' according to the recognition they gave him for his year's labor. The printing plate survived and passed after Blake's death through the estate of Blake's wife finding its way to the collection of John Giles. Sold at auction with Giles collection in 1881 the printing plate was purchased by Colnaghi who issued restrikes on laid India paper. By 1940 the plate was in the possession of a New York art dealer who sold it to the wife of noted collector A. Edward Newton for her to present to her husband as a fiftieth anniversary present. After Newton's death the plate was sold with his famed library at auction on 16 April 1941 for the princely sum of $2300 to Charles J. Rosenbloom via his agent at the Parke Bernet sale Philadelphia bookseller Charles Sessler. Before delivering the printing plate to Rosenbloom Sessler had a small number of prints pulled on French hand-made paper. Although Rosenbloom only authorized 35 prints Essick and Young identified at least ninety-one impressions. "Whereas most of the identifiable Colnaghi restrikes were flatly printed the Sessler prints were heavily inked and printed. The plate shows minimal wear and the Sessler prints are generally preferable to Colnaghi's earlier printings -- probably because of better cleaning of the copper and superior presswork" Essick and Young. Rosenbloom donated the plate to Yale University in 1973.<br/> <br/>Robert Essick and Michael Young "Blake's Canterbury Print: The Posthumous Pilgrimage of the Copperplate" in Blake: An Illustrated Quarterly Vol. 15 No. 2 Fall 1981 pp. 78-82; Essick Separate Plates of William Blake XVI. unknown books
106538London: W. Pickering Chancery Lane and W. Newbery 6 Chenies Street Bedford Square 1839. Small 8vo xxi 3 74 pp. Original pebbled plum cloth upper cover lettered in gilt partly worn away as often a very good copy in a variant original binding slightly worn around the edges upper hinge a touch weak internally bright and very attractive. Enclosed in a modern protective box. § First Typographical Issue the issue with the poem “The Little Vagabond†not present - this has long been held to be the first issue see Keynes although others have claimed that it was present but cancelled due to content and thus this is the second issue. Either case is plausible; copies of each issue turn up with about the same frequency which is to say rarely. The preface by J.J. Garth Wilkinson gives a mostly favorable account of Blake’s life in the context of his work and concludes stirringly: “If the volume gives one impulse to the New Spiritualism which is now dawning on the world;-if it leads one reader to think that all Reality for him in the long run lies out of the limits of space and time; and that spirits and not bodies and still less garments are men; if it gives one blow even the faintest to those term-shifting juggleries which usurp the name of “Philosophical Systems†and all the energies of all the forms of genuine Truth must be henceforth expended on these effects it will have done its work in its little day.†Keynes Blake 135 issue without “The Little Vagabond". Bentley Blake Books 171 this issue said by Bentley to have two leaves canceled by the editor out of prudishness. W. Pickering hardcover books
19871106893 huge black slipcases. Paris: Trianon Press for the Blake Trust 1987. 3 huge black slipcases with contents in various formats see below. In perfect condition as issued. § Edition limited to 365 copies in three different formats and a super de luxe edition limited to 22 sets of which this is #D. The super de luxe issue includes David Bindman ed. William Blake’s Illustrations of the Book of Job: The Engravings and Related Material with Essays Catalogue of States and Printings Commentary on the Plates and Documentary Record by David Bindman Barbara Bryant Robert Essick Geoffrey Keynes and Bo Lindberg. London: The William Blake Trust 1987. The work is housed in four cloth slipcases trimmed in morocco as follows:1. Text volume with the title page and colophon. Contents:Stephen Keynes “Acknowledgments.â€Charles Ryskamp “Foreword.â€David Bindman and John Commander “Preface.â€Geoffrey Keynes “The Development of the Job Designs.â€David Bindman “The Book of Job Designs from Butts Series to Final Engravings.â€Robert Essick “Blake’s Engravings to the Book of Job: An Essay on Their Graphic Form and Catalogue of States and Printings.â€Barbara Bryant “The Job Designs; a Documentary and Bibliographical Record.â€Quarter morocco and cover label. In the same slipcase: William Blake’s Illustrations of the Book of Job: The Plates with related designs and with an Introduction and Plate-by-Plate Commentary by Bo Lindberg. Loose in fascicles in a quarter morocco folder quarter morocco clamshell box with cover label.2. Colour Versions of William Blake’s Book of Job Designs from the Circle of John Linnell. With an essay by Bo Lindberg. Text volume quarter morocco with cover label. Quarter-morocco clamshell box with cover label with the following quarter-morocco folders with cover labels as quoted below contents loose:a. “The New Zealand setâ€b. “The Collins setâ€c. “The Fitzwilliam platesâ€3. “Additional Material 1.†Quarter-morocco clamshell box with cover label with the following quarter-morocco folders with cover labels as quoted below contents loose:a. “Pages from the ‘Riches’ sketchbook with colour washes not publishedâ€b. “William Blake Illustrations of the Book of Job Alternative printing of the engravings without plate markâ€c. “Facsimiles of subjects from the Butts version watercolours printed collotype by Emery Walker for the Pierpont Morgan Library edition 1935â€. Two mounted color reproductions.d. “Proofs guides and stencils for colour plates from Colour versions of Blake’s Book of Job designs Trianon Press Paris c. 1974â€4. “Additional Material 2.†Quarter-morocco clamshell box with cover label with the following quarter-morocco folders with cover labels as quoted below contents loose:a. “Label printed for original publication March 1826â€b. “Colour versions of William Blake’s Book of Job designs from the circle of John Linnell Collins & New Zealand sets & Fitzwilliam plates.†Housed in three paper folders. The same reproductions as those in box 2 above.Bentley BBS pages 198-99. Trianon Press for the Blake Trust hardcover books
20930<p><b>BLAKE EUBIE</b>. 1883-1983. American ragtime pianist and composer of "I'm Just Wild about Harry" "Love Will Find a Way" "Charleston Rag" "Memories of You" and other hits. AMusMsS. <i>"Eubie Blake"</i>. 8pp. Small folio roughly 9½" x 12½". N.p.; after 1959. An autograph piano vocal score in pencil of his most famous song "I'm Just Wild about Harry" with notable differences from the original 1921 sheet music version. Seven pages of music and lyrics on four sheets of "King Brand" lined music paper totaling 90 triple measures in E-flat Major set to ¾ time; each page bearing Blake's 1959 Local 802 union stamp. Blake has written on the cover in blue ink "<i>I think Harry would be better for Waltz if Key of C. Sorry about this number in Lead Pencle</i>sic." He has added his initials "<i>E.B.</i>" in red ink to each of these two lines. The first page of music is headed "'<i>I'm Just Wild about Harry' The New Arrangement for Miss Swann Words by Noble Sissle Music by Eubie Blake</i>."</p><p>Blake the son of former slaves who nurtured their child's musical talent began composing while playing in clubs bordellos medicine shows and on the vaudeville circuit where he met composer Noble Sissle and formed the Dixie Duo. Together they composed the groundbreaking musical revue <i>Shuffle Along</i> with playwrights Flournoy Miller and Aubrey Lyles whom they had met at an NAACP benefit. </p><p>After touring New Jersey and Pennsylvania <i>Shuffle Along </i>premiered on Broadway in 1921 and was an instant hit running for an unprecedented 504 performances and defying conventional wisdom that a show written by and starring African-Americans could be commercially successful. <i>Shuffle Along</i>launched the careers of Josephine Baker and Paul Robeson and was the first Broadway show to feature an all-black cast. Additionally its hit song "I'm Just Wild about Harry" broke the taboo against onstage romantic love between African-American characters.</p><p>One of only three songs written specifically for the show "I'm Just Wild about Harry" was originally composed by Blake as a Viennese waltz but "Lottie Gee the veteran performer who introduced it said for her to make it work it would have to be an up-temp one step. 'That cut me to the quick' Blake remembered. 'She was going to destroy my beautiful melody. I loved that waltz. Then Sissle went along with her… 'All right' I said 'we'll make it a one step'" <i>America's Songs: The Stories Behind the Songs of Broadway Hollywood and Tin Pan Alley</i> Furia and Lasser. Blake's handwritten notes on our manuscript's cover indicates that he still preferred a waltz tempo for his most famous song nearly 40 years after its debut. </p><p>The popularity of "I'm Just Wild about Harry" was revived in 1948 when President Harry S Truman used it during his reelection campaign. Detractors joked "I'm just mild about Harry." In recognition of its use Blake sent a manuscript excerpt of the song to Truman in 1967 erroneously reported on the internet as the original manuscript with a letter that stated "The interesting thing about 'Harry' was that it actually was written as an election song in the show whose plot was almost a parallel occurrence to the 1948 Presidential Campaign. The story was about the race for Mayor in a small Southern town. Our hero Harry Walton was the underdog in his race just as you were in the Election of 1948. Although we did not have a <u>Chicago Tribune</u>telling the people that his rival had been elected it first appeared that one of the candidates opposing Harry in our Race had won." </p><p>Among Blake's papers at the Maryland Historical Society are manuscripts of the song including one from 1959. However ours differs in both scoring and lyrics. Although Blake agreed to write out quotations from his best-known work this is the only full manuscript version of the song ever to be offered for sale. It belonged to Jazz musician Jim Hession Blake's friend and protégé. </p><p>Some scattered staining and wear with reinforced file holes in the left margin. In very good condition. One of America's most popular and enduring melodies with a long and fascinating history.</p> books
1797123299Large 4to. London: R. Noble 1797. Large 4to viii 1 95 2 pages; with 43 full-page engravings by Blake after his own designs surrounding the letterpress text. “Explanation†leaf bound in at the back. Half brown morocco backstrip gilt gilt top by Riviere; a very large copy measuring 16 1/2 x 13 inches thus preserving almost all the imprints. § First edition with Blake’s illustrations complete with the leaf of “Explanationsâ€. Essick and LaBelle explain in their commentary how Blake virtually in a frenzy completed 537 watercolor designs when he was commissioned by the publisher Edwards to illustrate Young’s masterpiece. Edwards issued only the first four “Nights†or sections and had Blake etch and engrave 43 plates to test the market. The response must have been poor since no further engravings were requested of Blake and Edwards ceased business shortly thereafter. Ironically today the poet Young once compared with Shakespeare and Milton is largely forgotten save for this edition. Colored copies are known in two palettes the earlier of which may have been colored under Blake’s direction. Bentley Blake Books 515. Easson and Essick William Blake Book Illustrator vol. 1 IV. Essick and LaBelle Night Thoughts Dover 1975. Bindman Complete Graphic Works of Blake 357-379. Ray The Illustrator and the Book in England 3. R. Noble unknown books
179737372London: R. Noble for Richard Edwards 1797. Large quarto. 16 5/8 x 12 3/4 inches. 4 engraved section titles and 39 pages with engraved border illustrations by William Blake with the letterpress Explanation of the Engravings leaf. Uncut on the fore-edge and lower edge. Minor offsetting as usual. Later half dark green morocco and green moire cloth boards by Riviere & Son spine with raised bands in seven compartments lettered in the second and fourth the others with a repeat decoration in gilt burgundy glazed endpapers top edge gilt.<br/> <br/>A spectacular work illustrated by Blake.<br/> <br/>"Of the merit of Mr. Blake . the editor conceives it to be unnecessary to speak. To the eyes of the discerning it need not be pointed out; and while the taste for the arts of design shall continue to exist the original conception and the bold and masterly execution of this artist cannot be unnoticed or unadmired" advertisement p.viii. Blake originally intended the present work to be the first installment of a much larger illustrated edition of Young's best selling poem. He chose 43 images to engrave from the 537 drawings in watercolour he had made around pages of the first edition of Young's poem inlaid in album sheets. Perhaps baffled by the novelty of Blake's interpretations the public remained unreceptive and the book remains what is essentially a remarkable fragment: a tantalising hint of what might have been. A large copy. Bentley notes that "the paper was only marginally larger than the copperplate and even in untrimmed copies . parts of the platemark may not appear." With the explanation leaf often wanting.<br/> <br/>Bentley Blake Books 515; Bindman Complete Graphic Works of Blake 337-379; Dover 1975; Easson and Essick William Blake Illustrator Vol. I IV; Essick and LaBelle Night Thoughts; Ray The Illustrator and the Book in England 3. R. Noble for Richard Edwards unknown books
18851228882 vols. Edmonton: William Muir 1885. 2 vols. 4to 34; 30 leaves hand-colored with the original blue-gray wrappers as issued enclosed in a modern quarter-blue morocco folding box lettered in gilt. § Limited to around 50 copies of each "Innocence" inscribed "No. 0 Pearson's copy" and "Experience" inscribed "for The Times". These are amongst the most alluring and successful of Muir’s facsimiles. Songs of Innocence was taken from the Pearson copy and he is recorded at the end as the Publisher in London in 1884 but his death caused Muir to take the project to Quaritch who distributed the whole series. Songs of Experience is taken from the Beckford copy. The general title to both works is found at the end of Experience. Bentley BB 249 a and 249 d. Loosely inserted in the box is a prospectus from John Pearson for a series of facsimiles after Blake and a 4-pp ALS from Muir to the editor of The Times. Last sold by Heritage Bookshop in 1998. William Muir unknown books
18851223852 vols. Edmonton: William Muir 1885. 2 vols. in one. 4to 34; 30 leaves hand-colored with the original blue-gray wrappers as issued; copies No. 24 Innocence and 11 Experience. Full dark red morocco gilt top gilt-lettered backstrip with gilt device at foot bookplates of Thomas William Waller and Willis Vickery. Very good with tissue guards as issued. § Limited to around 50 copies of each. These are amongst the most alluring and successful of Muir’s facsimiles. Songs of Innocence was taken from the Pearson copy and he is recorded at the end as the publisher in London in 1884 but his death caused Muir to take the project to Quaritch who distributed the whole series. Songs of Experience is taken from the Beckford copy. The general title to both works is found at the end of Experience. Bentley BB 249 a and 249 d. William Muir unknown books
1884303028Edmonton: John Pearson for Bernard Quaritch 1884. Each title one of 50 copies. With 8 26 11 and 21 plates in the four works 66 total. 1 vols. 4to. Contemporary full white vellum gilt spine and upper cover titled in gilt t.e.g. others untrimmed. Fine copy. Cloth slipcase. Each title one of 50 copies. With 8 26 11 and 21 plates in the four works 66 total. 1 vols. 4to. Four Muir Facsimiles in Special Binding. The Muir facsimiles were produced in editions of 50 copies; a few copies would have been bound up by Quaritch the distributor in white vellum as here. The wrappers are not preserved but the books are complete. Bentley 249 bce & g John Pearson for Bernard Quaritch unknown books
108280Sheet 10.2 x 12.8 cm. image and plate mark as per Essick 3.1 x 7.8 cm. and 3.3 x 8.1 cm. respectively. Printed in pale brown on a small 8vo sheet. Delicately printed with three tiny ink spots within the margins in very fine condition. § Blake’s last engraving executed for one of his closest friends. The images invoke one of Blake’s greatest themes—the relationships between time and eternity. Opinions vary on the purpose of this plate but it should be noted that at the time 1827 it was not uncommon to paste a calling card into a book as proof of ownership. However no book once owned by Cumberland has been located with his card pasted in. It has also been suggested that the name of Cumberland in the center was executed by a writing engraver and Blake added his borders later. 39 examples of this print are known to Essick not including examples now untraced all but three on laid paper printed later and three on card but it is quite rare in commerce. Essick The Separate Plates of William Blake XXI. Bindman Complete Graphic Works of Blake 654. unknown books
19771105008vo. London: BM Publications Ltd. 1977. 8vo introductory pamphlet and 17 woodcuts on special paper each in an individual folder all contained in a brown cloth folding box with black leather gilt-lettered labels on upper cover and backstrip. As issued in the original BM-issued numbered cardboard box; a few prints and mounts are slightly foxed a little musty from storage a couple of spots on the cloth box. § Limited to 150 sets this superb reprinting of Blake’s only woodcuts from the original blocks was executed by Iain Bain the Bewick authority and sold out immediately. Very few sets have since come to market as most were purchased by institutions. The accompanying commentary volume includes an introduction by Lord Clark a technical account of the printing of the blocks by Bain and David Chambers an essay on the engravings by Andrew Wilton and the text of Ambrose Phillip's "Imitation of Virgil's First Eclogue" which the illustrations were made to accompany. Bentley BBS p.262. BM Publications Ltd hardcover books
1887109160Folio. Edmonton: William Muir 1887. Folio 17 plates richly hand colored. Original printed wrappers dated September 1887 backstrip renewed gilt top fine. § Limited to fewer than 50 copies this copy numbered #11 signed priced and numbered by Muir. Based on three different copies see below. With the frontispiece “The Ancient of Days†which is perhaps Blake’s most famous image. Bentley BB 249k1: "plates 1 and 4 are from originals in Mr. Muir's possession copy c plates 2 5-6 and 8 are from copy D and plate 7 9-18 from copy A." See also Bentley Blake Books Supplement pp.66-69. William Muir unknown books
1887109161Folio. Edmonton: William Muir 1887. Folio 18 plates printed in blue. Original wrappers rebacbacked top edge gilt fine. § Uncolored Muir facsimile limited to around 50 copies of which according to Keynes in 1921 only 6 were hand-colored. This is copy #3 signed priced and numbered by Muir. "In the first of his "Continental Prophecies" see also Europe and The Song of Los Blake explores the radical paradigms of political repression and revolt through a highly imaginative treatment of the American Revolution. While historical figures such as Washington and Paine appear much of the symbolic and thematic weight is placed on Blake's own invented mythological figures including "Albions Angel" and "Londons Guardian" forces of the British government Urizen the god of restrictive reason and the origin of political repression and fiery Orc the spirit of revolt. The American Revolution is viewed as a harbinger of universal revolution epistemological as much as political." The Blake Archive. Eighteen copies of the original are known to exist. William Muir's facsimiles of Blake's works were the most ambitious and in many cases the first of their kind until the Trianon Press began work for the Blake Trust in 1951. Upon establishing the Blake Press at Edmonton his goals were clear: "My desire and intention is to reproduce ALL the important works by Wm Blake that exist in book form and also some of his finest designs and this by methods of working as nearly the same as Blake himself used as the need of maintaining fidelity to his results will allow. I will not use either photography or chromolithography. All outlines are drawn and all the colouring is by hand. I produce fifty copies only of each book and each of them is numbered".Keri Davies writes "‘Muir’s facsimiles not only made Blake’s works in “Illuminated Printing†accessible for the first time in reliable copies and helped establish Blake’s reputation as visual artist alongside his reputation as poet but I feel must also have contributed to the most advanced ideas in English art of the 1880s." Bentley Blake Books 249j. William Muir unknown books
18881223864to. Edmonton: William Muir 1888. 4to intaglio title page iv text prologue 18 leaves with Muir's black and white intaglio engraved plates sewed. with 25 leaves including the preliminary and final blank. Original wrappers upper cover lettered in manuscript and signed and numbered by Muir. with 1 leaf signed and numbered by Muir. Dark green straight grain morocco panelled in gilt gilt top backstrip lettered in gilt slightly worn but internally perfect. § The "Gates" is copy #17 signed by Muir. The facsimile is convincing enough that plates from it have been offered as originals on occasion. Bentley BB 249m. "There is No Natural Religion" is copy #4 and includes “ All Religions are One†and Muir's own version of the missing plate b5. Essick notes: There is No Natural Religion. The "Preface" dated 1886 indicates that the facsimile is based on plates "in the British Museum copy A and from some papers in my own possession copy L." Upper wrapper present. "On Homer's Poetry" is a single leaf #4 signed by Muir. Bentley BB 249 h. William Muir unknown books
18081078254to. London: Bensley for Cromek 1808. 4to xiv 36 4 pp. With a portrait frontispiece after Phillips etched title page and 11 plates engraved by Luigi Schiavonetti after Blake’s designs. Original drab gray boards printed paper label on upper cover preserved in a red cloth box worn. The finest copy we have ever seen. § First quarto edition of exceptional rarity in boards as issued. A completely untrimmed copy thus with the title-page uncropped. Bentley Blake Books 435B. Bindman Complete Graphic Works of Blake 465-476."In October 1805 Blake was commissioned by the engraver and would-be publisher Robert H. Cromek to prepare forty drawings illustrating Robert Blair's The Grave a popular "Graveyard" school poem first published in 1743. Cromek planned to select twenty of these designs for a deluxe edition of the poem. In Cromek's first prospectus of November 1805 Blake is named as both the designer and engraver of fifteen designs. Blake etched one image Deaths Door in white-line but Cromek rejected it. The dark power of the white-line print appeals to modern tastes but was far from fashionable in the early nineteenth century. In a second prospectus also of November 1805 Cromek announced that Luigi or Louis Schiavonetti would engrave twelve designs for the new edition. Blake had lost the potentially lucrative commission to engrave his own designs; his relationship with Cromek descended into anger and argument. In spite of their disagreement Cromek included a portrait of Blake as a frontispiece to the volume published in 1808. Cromek promoted the book aggressively and the illustrations to The Grave became Blake's best known work through much of the nineteenth century." The William Blake Archive Bensley for Cromek hardcover books
