ARTICLES
Blake in the Marketplace, 1998
The cycle of lean and fat years in the Blake marketplace continues. After a hectic pace in 1997, collectors deserved a respite in 1998. The one major event was the auction of the larger Blake-Varley sketchbook (illus. 1-3), for the last several years on deposit at the Tate Gallery. Succeeding where Christie’s had failed nine years earlier, Sotheby’s sold the album on 8 April to a private collector for £216,000. Rumor in the London art world has it that this anonymous purchaser was David Thompson, the son of Lord Thompson of Fleet and hitherto known primarily as a collector of drawings by John Constable. Thompson may also be the new owner of Blake’s water colors illustrating Bunyan’s Pilgrim’s Progress, sold in 1996 (see Blake 30 [1997]: 100-01, illus. 1-5), and The Elders of Israel Receiving the Ten Commandments (see entry below and illus. 4). The auction price for the sketchbook probably represents one bid above the “reserve” (the bid below which a lot will not be sold) plus auction-house fees. If we relegate the Varley drawings to financial inconsequence, then each of the 40 Blake drawings (including several less-valuable counterproofs) achieved a price of £5400. Buying in bulk—be it grain or art—generally means a lower per-unit cost than for a single example. Thus, original Visionary Heads sold individually should be worth, on average, perhaps 20% more than the per-drawing price at this sale. At least this auction probably established a benchmark price, one a little higher than what counterproofs should command and a little lower than what originals are likely to fetch at auctions.
While the market for Blake’s drawings is strong, probably due in part to a single new, eager, and wealthy buyer, Blake’s prints showed some weakness by the end of the year, as indicated by the failed attempt to auction an impression of “The Man Sweeping the Interpreter’s Parlour.” Three examples have been sold at public auction since 1991, each fetching between $60,500 and $98,000. Perhaps the high end of the market for Blake’s prints, always “thin” because dependent on just two or three major collectors, has become saturated for a year or two, at least for “The Man Sweeping.” To put it bluntly, everyone who wants this print—and can afford it—already has it.
It is always satisfying, even pleasantly romantic, when partners that have been rent asunder are reunited. Such is the case with the Huntington Library’s acquisition of the original receipt, signed by Blake, very probably for copy E of Songs of Innocence and of Experience also in that remarkable institution’s collection. See the single entry under “Manuscripts,” below.
In 1974, Princeton University Library acquired what at the time was the only known copy of the first prospectus of November 1805 for R. H. Cromek’s 1808 edition of Robert Blair’s The Grave illustrated by Blake. This ephemeral document is exceedingly important, for it validates Blake’s claim that he was originally hired by Cromek to both design and engrave the illustrations. A second copy, with manuscript annotations by Cromek indicating (like the second prospectus of the same month) that Louis Schiavonetti would be the engraver, came to light 10 years later and was sold by Sotheby’s on 23 July 1985 (see Blake 20 [1986]: 13, 20, 25). The auction house emphasized the significance of the lot in its catalogue description, claimed (mistakenly) that it was the only known copy, and found a purchaser at £5500, surely a record for any prospectus concerning Blake. I have not been able to trace this second copy; but another, unannotated, surfaced in 1998 at another Sotheby’s auction—see the entry below following Blair’s Grave. This third known example was taped into a copy of the book in original boards. Although the sale catalogue mentioned its presence in passing, the prospectus was well hidden and the lot achieved a “hammer price” (the winning bid, not including fees) of £950—only about £250 more than the value of the book alone. The prospectus is now in my collection, removed from the book.
In Blake 31 (1998): 109, 114, I reported the death of George Goyder and noted that two of the tempera paintings from his collection, Christ the Mediator and The Flight into Egypt (Butlin #429, 404) were on long-term loan to the Tate Gallery, London. Dan Goyder, one of George’s children, has kindly informed me in a letter of March 1998 that these works remain at the Tate and that it is the family’s present intention to give them to that institution. He further reports that the following works from the Goyder collection are on long-term loan to the Fitzwilliam Museum, Cambridge:
God Judging Adam, pen and water color. Butlin #258
The Fall of Fair Rosamond, pencil. Butlin #607
The Christ Child Asleep on a Cross, tempera. Butlin #410
“The Man Sweeping the Interpreter’s Parlour,” white-line metal cut. Essick impression 2F
Three sheets of drawings apparently remain in the Goyder family’s collection:
Frolic, pencil. Butlin #211begin page 93 | ↑ back to top
The Devil Outside a Church, pencil. Butlin #598
Two Sketches for “The Devil outside a Church” (recto) and A Woman and Child before a Church with Other
Figures Passing By (verso), pencil. Butlin #599
Since 1919, the Whitney family of New York has owned one of two known impressions of Blake’s 1795 color print, The Good and Evil Angels Struggling for Possession of a Child (Butlin #324). This is arguably one of the most important Blake pictures still in private hands; I can remember being greatly impressed by it when it was on display at the Yale Center for British Art and the Art Gallery of Ontario (Toronto) in 1982-83 (see David Bindman, William Blake: His Art and Times [London: Thames and Hudson, 1982] #53 and color illus. vii). Recently, the painting/print was owned by Betsey Cushing Whitney. She died on 28 March 1998, leaving many works from her vast art collection (valued at 200 million dollars in the press) to the Philadelphia Museum of Art and other institutions. The Blake, however, remains in Mrs. Whitney’s estate; according to S. Jeanne Hall, the co-executor, “its disposition has not yet been determined” (letter to me of 29 October 1998). I will do my best to keep readers apprised of the whereabouts of The Good and Evil Angels in future years. Copy N of Visions of the Daughters of Albion and copy E of The Book of Urizen were last recorded in the collection of Mrs. Harry Paine Whitney; perhaps an inventory of Betsey Whitney’s estate will reveal these treasures as well. For a painting by Fuseli thematically related to The Good and Evil Angels, see illus. 6.
Swann Galleries, the New York auction house, included an impression of “Fire,” plate 7 (inscribed “5”) from Blake’s For the Sexes: The Gates of Paradise, in its 12 November sale of “Works of Art on Paper,” lot 185. The catalogue entry reported that the print was in the “Second state (of 2)”—actually, 2nd state of at least 4—and showed a “partial indiscernable [sic] watermark” and a platemark of 11.5 × 9.0 cm. This measurement could not fail to raise questions, since all previously recorded impressions reveal a platemark of 9.1 × 7.3 cm. The platemark of the Swann impression is close to the facsimile platemark surrounding the reproduction of plate 7, 2nd state, included in W. A. White’s privately printed edition of For the Sexes, probably based on copy D (now Pierpont Morgan Library) and issued loose in portfolio c. 1897 (Bentley #46). The White platemark is beveled at a shallow angle and thus makes two embossments in the paper; depending on which indentations one measures, the platemark can be recorded at a maximum of 12 × 9.0 cm. and a minimum of 11.3 × 8.1 cm. A color xerox of the Swann impression, kindly supplied by Sybil Rodgers of Swann’s print department, hints at a similar platemark, faint and with a shallow bevel. Rodgers also informed me that their impression was on a sheet of laid paper, 20.3 × 17.4 cm., with chain lines approx. 2.5 cm. apart. All original impressions known to me are on wove paper; the White reproduction is on a sheet of machine-made paper, without chain lines real or faked, measuring 22.8 × 14 cm. Thus, the Swann impression could not simply be a reproduction plucked from the White edition, although it might be some
John Windle, the San Francisco book dealer, has issued another catalogue devoted exclusively to Blake. The November 1998 “List Twenty-Nine” offers 221 lots ranging in price from $15,500 for a handsome copy of Thornton’s Virgil (1821) with Blake’s wood engravings to $7.50 for an off-print of a 1954 journal article by H. M. Margoliouth. Items from Windle’s catalogue relevant to this review are detailed under the appropriate sections and titles below.
An increasing number of antiquarian book dealers are listing their stock on the internet. Bibliofind <www.bibliofind.com>, the Advanced Book Exchange <www.abebooks.com>, and MX BookFinder begin page 94 | ↑ back to top <www.mxbf.com> offer searchable/virtual catalogues provided by many dealers. When I searched “Blake, William” on the Book Exchange in June 1998, I got over 200 “hits”—mostly editions of Blake’s writings and Blake Trust facsimiles. The titles relevant to this sales review are listed below under the specific dealer’s name followed by the month I discovered the listing (not necessarily the month of initial posting) and “on-line cat.” These entries do not include a catalogue item number, there being none in hyperspace. Buying on the internet is rapidly transforming the bookselling trade, both new and used. Serious collectors, individual and institutional, will surely make ever-increasing use of this new resource. One warning: it is easy to get ripped off by internet intruders if you send your credit-card number to the web sites noted above.
The year of all sales and catalogues in the following lists is 1998 unless indicated otherwise. The auction houses add their purchaser’s surcharge to the hammer price in their price lists. These net amounts are given here, following the official price lists. The value-added tax levied against the buyer’s surcharge in Britain is not included. Late 1998 sales will be covered in the 1999 review. I am grateful for help in compiling this review to Detlef Dörrbecker (my continental spy), Andrew Edmunds, Dan Goyder, S. Jeanne Hall, Thomas V. Lange, Jane Munro, Sybil Rodgers (Swann Galleries), Charles Ryskamp, John Windle, and Henry Wemyss. Once again, Patricia Neill’s editorial assistance and John Sullivan’s electronic imaging have been invaluable.
Abbreviations
| BBA | Bloomsbury Book Auctions, London |
| Bentley | G. E. Bentley, Jr., Blake Books (Oxford: Clarendon P, 1977). Plate numbers and copy designations for Blake’s illuminated books follow Bentley. |
| BR | G. E. Bentley, Jr., Blake Records (Oxford: Clarendon P, 1969). |
| Butlin | Martin Butlin, The Paintings and Drawings of William Blake, 2 vols. (New Haven: Yale UP, 1981). |
| cat. | catalogue or sales list issued by a dealer (usually followed by a number or letter designation) |
| CE | Christie’s East, New York |
| CL | Christie’s, London |
| CNY | Christie’s, New York |
| CSK | Christie’s, South Kensington |
| Essick | Robert N. Essick, The Separate Plates of William Blake: A Catalogue (Princeton: Princeton UP, 1983). |
| illus. | the item or part thereof is reproduced in the catalogue |
| pl(s). | plate(s) |
| SL | Sotheby’s, London |
| SNY | Sotheby’s, New York |
| st(s). | state(s) of an engraving, etching, or lithograph |
| Swann | Swann Galleries, auctioneers, New York |
| # | auction lot or catalogue item number |
Illuminated Books
For the Sexes: The Gates of Paradise, plate 7 (“Fire”) only. Swann, 12 Nov., #185, wrongly recorded as “from For Children: The Gates of Paradise,” 2nd st., illus. (not sold; estimate $1200-1800). Almost certainly a reproduction; see the introductory essay for discussion.
Drawings and Paintings
The larger Blake-Varley sketchbook of 1819, leaves 25.5 × 20 cm. bound in an album, with 40 Visionary Heads by Blake. SL, 8 April, #151, with full descriptions of Blake’s drawings and 12 color illus. (£216,000 to an English private collector on an estimate of £200,000-300,000). The new owner has not replied to my letter, kindly passed on by Henry Wemyss of Sotheby’s (but see speculations above about this purchaser’s identity). Previously offered in an auction devoted exclusively to the sketchbook, CL, 21 March 1989 (not sold). For a full listing of the Blake contents and 5 illus., see Blake 24 (1990): 220-32. See illus. 1-3 for a group of drawings from this sketchbook not previously illus. in this journal.
The Elders of Israel Receiving the Ten Commandments. Monochrome wash drawing, 31.7 × 34 cm., datable to c. 1780-85. Butlin #113. CL, 14 July, #28, sold “from the estate of Louise Crane,” illus. (£18,400 on an estimate of £3000-4000). See illus. 4.
Manuscripts
Receipt signed by Blake, “Received of Mr. Butts six Pounds, six Shillings for Drawings, Songs of Innocence &c,” dated 9 Sept. 1806. Probably for Songs of Innocence and of Experience copy E, now in the Huntington Library. Marvin Sadik Fine Arts, April cat. 1, 8th unnumbered item, illus. color (not priced; acquired by John Windle, who sold the document in May to the Huntington Library).
Separate Plates and Plates in Series
“Chaucers Canterbury Pilgrims.” John Windle, Nov. cat. 29, #8, 5th st. on laid India, very probably a Colnaghi impression, framed and glazed ($15,000).
Dante engravings. Heritage Book Shop, Aug. on-line cat., begin page 95 | ↑ back to top complete set, printing uncertain but probably 1892, laid India, backing sheets approx. 40 × 54.5 cm., with the printed label, binding not mentioned but probably loose in portfolio ($45,000); same copy and price, Oct. cat. 203, #30.
“The Fall of Rosamond,” Blake after Stothard, 1783. An impression of the 2nd st., with full inscription and imprint, was acquired from a private source by David Bindman, fall 1997.
“George Cumberland’s Card.” Barrie Marks, Feb. private offer, printed in brown ink on a sheet of laid paper 10.2 × 12.7 cm., chain lines 2.5 cm. apart, two ink droplets within the image, a previously unrecorded impression (acquired by John Windle for stock; price from Windle on application). Another impression in brown ink, Windle, Nov. cat. 29, #9, sheet of laid paper 5.1 × 10.2 cm., a previously unrecorded impression ($6500).
“The Idle Laundress,” Blake after Morland, 1788. An impression of the 2nd st., with full inscription and imprint, was acquired from a private source by David Bindman, fall 1997.
Job engravings. Simon Finch, Feb. Los Angeles Book Fair, complete set, published “Proof” issue on India laid on J Whatman Turkey Mill 1825 backing paper, trimmed to 38.4 × 26.8 cm., interleaved with tissue guards, original paper wrappers and spine laid down and bound in at the end, original printed label (unpriced) on a front endpaper, Linnell’s autograph advertisement for the work laid down on a front endpaper, half morocco ($42,600). CNY, 27 April, #44, pls. numbered 2, 7, and 16 (Bentley pls. 3, 8, 17) only, laid India, “from various editions,” pl. 2 with a central horizontal crease, pl. 7 foxed ($2990). CNY, 29 May, #6, complete set, 1874 printing on laid India, sheets 50.5 × 34.3 cm., a few minor fox marks, loose in modern cloth folder and slipcase, pl. numbered 8 illus. (not sold; estimate $10,000-15,000). Bromer Booksellers, June on-line cat., complete set, 1826 printing on Whatman paper after removal of “Proof” inscription, marginal tears in pls. numbered 13 and 15, sheet size not recorded, later calf, pls. tipped onto stubs and interleaved, rubricated edges, slight wear to binding ($36,000). Heritage Book Shop, July private offer, complete set, 1826 printing on Whatman paper after removal of “Proof” inscription, leaves approx. 33.5 × 26 cm., 19th-century morocco ($45,000); same copy and price, Oct. cat. 203, #31, pl. numbered 3 illus. John Windle, Aug. on-line cat., complete set, “Proof” printing on laid India, sheets trimmed, “extremely early” cloth rebacked ($38,750); same copy and price, Nov. cat. 29, #25, pl. numbered 15 illus. Larkhall Fine Art, Oct. on-line cat., pl. numbered 14 only, 1874 printing on laid India (£1200). Swann, 12 Nov., #186, pl. numbered 21, 1874 printing on laid India, illus. ($850).
“The Man Sweeping the Interpreter’s Parlour.” Andrew Edmunds, Feb. private offer, Essick impression 2L (price on request); same impression, SL, 11 Dec., #111, “his [Essick’s] estimation of the quality of the impression is a little harsh,” illus. (not sold; estimate £30,000-40,000).
“Mrs Q,” Blake after Villiers. Campbell Fine Art, Sept. private offer, 2nd (final) st., printed in black (all other impressions I have seen are in brown ink), hand colored with yellow-brown wash (rather than gray) over the wall and the figure’s hip, trimmed just outside the platemark top and both sides, trimmed inside the platemark at the bottom, slight foxing, with the companion print “Windsor Castle” not by Blake (£1200 the pair).
“Rev. John Caspar Lavater,” Blake after an unknown artist. John Windle, Jan. private offer, wove paper without watermark, trimmed to the image, corners bent, repaired tear in left margin ($450).
“Robin Hood & Clorinda,” Blake after Meheux, 1783. Only known st. printed in red-brown ink on laid paper trimmed just outside the plate mark to 28.1 × 23.4 cm., with fragments of an unidentified watermark in the right margin. Some staining (now cleaned) outside the image. From the Oettingen-Wallenstein collection, probably formed in the 1780s; acquired Feb. by R. Essick from a private British collector.
“Winged Figure Flying through Clouds” (a book illustration, probably for Bell’s Editions of the Poets of Great Britain, known only through separate impressions). John Windle, Nov. cat. 29, #73, previously unrecorded impression, the 4th known, “cleaned and matted” ($3750).
Letterpress Books with Engravings by and after Blake, Including Prints Extracted from Such Books
Ariosto, Orlando Furioso. Adam Mills, March cat. 44, #330, 1799 ed., 5 vols., contemporary calf worn (£165); same copy and price, Dec. cat. 47, #34. Thomas Thorp, June cat. 497, #3, 1799 ed., 5 vols., pls. offset, contemporary Russia slightly worn, no mention of Blake’s pl. (£100). Joseph Natale, June on-line cat., 1783 ed., 5 vols., “beautiful full leather” ($475). Bookpress Ltd., June on-line cat., 1783 ed., 5 vols., contemporary calf, hinges on 3 vols. “cracking” ($425). Krown & Spellman, Aug. on-line cat., 1785 ed., 5 vols., “old leather” worn, hinges split, 1 cover loose ($125). London Antiquarian Book Arcade, Aug. on-line cat., 1783 ed., 5 vols. in 3, later half calf ($488). John Price, Dec. cat., #1, 1785 ed., 5 vols., pls. foxed or browned, contemporary calf rubbed (£300).
begin page 96 | ↑ back to top
Bell, ed., The Poets of Great Britain Complete from Chaucer to Churchill, 1776-92. CSK, 22 May, #22, complete in 109 vols., no mention of Blake’s pl. (frequently absent), contemporary calf rubbed (£1265). Note: The engraving by Blake actually published in some copies of Bell’s Poets, an illustration to a pseudo-Chaucerian ballad, should not be confused with “Winged Figure Flying through Clouds” (the last item under “Separate Plates,” above). The latter may have been intended for Bell’s Poets, but is not known to have been published in the series.
Blair, The Grave. CSK, 12 Dec. 1997, #2, 1808 folio, contemporary morocco, pl. 12 illus. (£1265 on an estimate of £400-600. The estimate indicates that Christie’s did not know how much rarer the 1808 folio is than the quarto issue of the same year). Maggs, Dec. 1997 cat. 1240, #49, [1870], pls. only as issued in portfolio (but no mention of the portfolio, and thus lacking?), some wear (£350). Swann, 8 Jan., #25, 1808 quarto, trimmed, marginal foxing, contemporary Russia rebacked, cloth slipcase ($805). Jeffrey Thomas Books, Jan. private offer, 1808 quarto, original boards rebacked with roan, cover label worn ($1500). Demetzy Books, Feb. Los Angeles Book Fair, 1808 quarto, trimmed close, boards with calf spine ($2000). CE, 25 Feb., #49, 1808 quarto, scattered light foxing, contemporary half calf rebacked ($1265). Robert Clark, March cat. 50, #352, “1813” (c. 1870) folio, “orig[inal] black blind-stamped cloth” rebacked, original backstrip laid down (£450). Perhaps a variant binding; those I’ve seen in publisher’s cloth are brown, not black. SL, 25 March, #53, the pls. only, including the portrait of Blake, “later reprints,” some staining, apparently loose (not sold). Adam Mills, June cat. 45, #21, 1813 folio with 1808 pls., some in the published “proof” sts., some offsetting and marginal foxing of text, modern quarter morocco (£500). Argosy Book Store, June on-line cat., 1813 quarto, half morocco worn ($1500—perhaps a record asking price for the begin page 97 | ↑ back to top 1813 quarto). William Roos/Antiquarian Books, June online cat., 1808 quarto, foxing and dampstaining, rebacked ($1200). Quaker Hill Books, June on-line cat., 1808 quarto, light dampstaining in margins, ¾ morocco ($1375 in one listing, $1250 in another). Robert Clark, Aug. on-line cat., 1808 quarto, some foxing, later half morocco worn ($1384). Swann, 10 Sept., #15, 1808 “small folio” (but probably the quarto), cloth worn ($460). Phillips auction, London, 18 Sept., #376, 1813 folio with a mixture of 1st and 2nd published sts., half morocco, from the collection of Lord Coleridge (Barrie Marks, £1300). John Windle, Nov. cat. 29, #5, 1808 quarto, uncut in original boards rebacked, no mention of the cover label ($3750); #6, 1808 quarto, modern half calf over early boards ($1750); #7, 1813 folio, half the pls. in the 1st (1808 folio) st., marginal foxing, modern boards, morocco backstrip, pl. 12 illus. ($5750).
Blair, The Grave, prospectus for. SL, 7 May, #31, a copy of the 1808 quarto Grave, original boards with front-cover label, rebacked and recased with new endpapers, 3rd known copy of the 1st of 2 prospectuses of Nov. 1805 (naming Blake as designer and engraver and listing 15 illustrations) taped to the 4th leaf, housed in a fitted case (£1092 to Barrie Marks acting for John Windle). The prospectus removed and sold to R. Essick in May. For the discovery of the prospectus and its significance, see comments in the introduction to this sales review and the following works by G. E. Bentley, Jr.: “A Unique Prospectus for Blake’s Grave Designs,” Princeton University Library Chronicle 35 (1974): 321-24; “Blake and Cromek: The Wheat and the Tares,” Modern Philology 71 (1974): 366-79; Blake Records Supplement (Oxford: Clarendon P, 1988) 30-40 (1st and 2nd prospectuses illus.).
Cumberland, An Attempt to Describe Hafod, 1796. Maggs, April cat. 1241, from the collection of the artists John and Myfanwy Piper, contemporary half morocco worn (very inexpensive at £300; Maggs had over a dozen orders). BBA, 30 April, #491, with the errata leaf, contemporary calf rebacked, corners repaired (Quaritch, £690 on an estimate of £180-220); same copy, Quaritch, Oct. cat. 1254, #29, Blake’s pl. illus. (£1250).
Cumberland, Outlines from the Antients, 1829. Adam Mills, March cat. 44, #44, large-paper issue with the pls. on laid India, some spotting, contemporary calf, “upper joint cracked and holding on cords,” from the collection of the Duke of Bedford with his bookplate (£1450). This copy has appeared in several earlier Mills cats. Marlborough Rare Books, Dec. cat. 177, #32, large-paper copy, pls. on laid India, some spotting, contemporary calf rebacked, original spine retained (£2500).
Cumberland, Thoughts on Outline, 1796. Gibson Galleries, Aug. on-line cat., extra-illus. with 3 engraved portraits and 5 “contemporary drawings or tracings by an unknown hand,” title page inscribed “With the author’s compliments,” uncut in early 19th-century calf rebacked ($1350).
Darwin, Botanic Garden. Bayntun of Bath, July cat. 6, #24, 1799 ed., 2 vols., contemporary calf (£900). Peter Murray Hill, Oct. cat. 188, #42, 3rd ed. of Part 1 (1795), 4th ed. of Part 2 (1794), contemporary calf rebacked (£375). John Windle, Nov. cat. 29, #11, 3rd ed. of Part 1 (1795), 4th ed. of Part 2 (1794), 2 vols., early marbled boards with new calf backstrip ($1500); #74, pl. 1 only ($750).
Darwin, Poetical Works, 1806. Antiquarian Book Shop (Washington, D.C.), June on-line cat., 3 vols., half calf rebacked ($750).
Enfield, Speaker, 1795. Ximenes, July cat. 98-2, #70, contemporary sheep worn (£250).
Flaxman, Hesiod designs, 1817. Second Life Books, June cat. 122, #86, edges foxed, new morocco-backed boards ($650).
Flaxman, Iliad designs, 1805. Avenue Victor Hugo Bookshop, June on-line cat., apparently in 1 vol. with the Aeschylus (1795) and Odyssey (1805) designs, ¾ leather ($2000). Second Life Books, June cat. 122, #174, title page foxed, stains in the margins, new morocco-backed cloth ($300). CSK, 11 Sept., #154, spotted and stained, original boards with printed label on upper cover, with Flaxman, Odyssey designs, 1805 (£126.50).
Gay, Fables. Edwin Epps, Jan. cat. “Three for the New Year (And More),” 1st (unnumbered) item, 1793 ed., 2 vols. in 1, margins dampstained, slight foxing, contemporary half calf rebacked ($600). Korn & Towns, Feb. Los Angeles Book Fair, 1793 ed., 2 vols. in 1, calf rebacked ($400). Riverrun Bookshop, June on-line cat., ed. not indicated, 2 vols. in 1, minor foxing, “nicely rebacked,” but no indication of what sort of binding is rebacked ($250). Boston Book Company, June on-line cat., 1793 ed., 2 vols., full calf worn, covers detached ($600). Edward T. Pollack, June on-line cat., ed. not indicated, 2 vols., calf by Morrell ($950). John Windle, Aug. on-line cat., 1793 ed., 2 vols., “finest possible impressions,” top edge gilt, others uncut, 19th-century morocco ($1750); another copy, 2 vols. in 1, 19th-century morocco worn ($875); same copies and prices, Nov. cat. 29, #19-20. Abbey Antiquarian Books, Aug. on-line cat., [1811] ed., 2 vols., some foxing, full calf ($586). Bartfield Fine Books, Aug. on-line cat., 1793 ed., 2 vols., “with the usual[?] foxing to some plates,” ¾ morocco ($950). Edward Pollack, Aug. on-line cat., 1793 ed., 2 vols., full calf ($950). Phillip Pirages, Oct. cat. 42, #28, 1793 ed., 2 vols., full calf worn ($1100).
begin page 98 | ↑ back to topGough, Sepulchral Monuments, 1786. BBA, 17 April, #419, 2 vols. in 5, some foxing, boards rebacked in morocco, rubbed (Kitazawa, £977 on an estimate of £300-400).
Hartley, Observations on Man, 1791. John Windle, Feb. private offer, frontispiece only, proof before signature on wove paper (acquired by R. Essick). The Chaucer Head, June online cat., spotted, contemporary calf rebacked, original spine retained (£1200).
Hayley, Ballads, 1805. Jarndyce, March cat. 124, #6, sts. of pls. not recorded, contemporary calf (£1500).
Hayley, Life of Cowper, 1803-04. BBA, 26 Feb., #334, ed. not identified (but probably 1st), 3 vols. in 1, spotted, contemporary calf very worn (Robert Clark, £69). Jarndyce, March cat. 124, #7, 1st ed., 3 vols., water-color profile of Cowper inserted, contemporary calf (£500). Argosy Book Store, June on-line cat., ed. not identified (but probably 1st), 3 vols., lacking Blake’s pl. 6, half calf worn, joints “mended” ($400; pretty pricey for an incomplete—and probably shabby—copy). Heritage Book Shop, June on-line cat., 1st ed., 3 vols., contemporary calf ($500). California Collectible Books, June on-line cat., “1803-06” (thus, including the supplementary vol.), 4 vols. in 2, half leather ($675). Richard Budd, June cat. 38, #161, 1st ed., 3 vols., with the supplement of 1806 bound in vol. 3, calf rebacked (£265). John Windle, Nov. cat. 29, #75, pls. 1-2 only, mounted on larger sheets ($200 the pair). SL, 11 Nov., #93, ed. not indicated, 3 vols., contemporary calf rebacked, with 12 other vols. related to Blake (£483).
Hayley, Life of Romney, 1809. Adam Mills, March cat. 44, #124, contemporary half calf (£350); same copy, Dec. cat. 47, #36 (£320). Roy Young Bookseller, July on-line cat., pls. offset, some imprints trimmed, half calf ($625). William Reese, July on-line cat., scattered foxing, ¾ morocco worn ($400). John Windle, July on-line cat., half calf repaired ($450). Heritage Book Shop, Aug. on-line cat., contemporary calf ($1350). John Windle, Nov. cat. 29, #22, half calf, hinges repaired ($450).
Hayley, Triumphs of Temper, 1803. Phillip Pirages, cat. for the Feb. Los Angeles Book Fair, #27, large-paper issue, some foxing, modern half calf ($1500); same copy and price, Oct. cat. 42, #220. Jarndyce, March cat. 124, #8, apparently small-paper issue, lacking half-title, some spotting, later calf worn, pl. 5 illus. (£750). Houle Rare Books, June on-line cat., “very good,” no mention of issue or binding ($2500). John Windle, July on-line cat., small-paper issue lacking half-title, calf rebacked ($475); same copy and price, Nov. cat. 29, #23. John Wm. Martin, Aug. on-line cat., apparently small-paper issue, contemporary calf worn ($375). Waterfield’s, Oct. cat., #131, contemporary calf very worn (£195). Phillip Pirages, Oct. cat. 42, #221, small-paper issue, contemporary calf worn ($750).
Hoare, Inquiry, 1806. Adam Mills, March cat. 44, #65, contemporary boards with modern calf spine (£400). John Windle, Aug. on-line cat., uncut in modern calf ($850); same copy and price, Nov. cat. 29, #24.
Hogarth, The Beggar’s Opera by Hogarth and Blake, 1965 portfolio with a modern restrike of Blake’s pl. after Hogarth. De Simone Company, July cat. 46, #10, extra-illus. with a “crudely hand colored” impression of the “4th state,” original cloth portfolio ($1250).
Hogarth, Works. SL, 25 March, #2, Blake’s pl., “The Beggar’s Opera, Act III,” st. not recorded, trimmed within the platemark, damaged at edges, with 10 other pls. by Hogarth (not sold). Walford’s/Nicholas Goodyer, April cat. 34, #65, undated Baldwin and Cradock issue, lacking the portrait of Hogarth and 1 other pl. (“Charity in the Cellar”), half morocco worn (£1850). BBA, 14 May, #14, undated Baldwin and Cradock issue, 154 pls. on 115 leaves, some spotting, half morocco worn (Goodyer, £1050). Messrs. Berkelouw, Aug. on-line cat., 1822 ed., 116 pls., half morocco ($1949).
Hunter, Historical Journal, 1793. Quaritch, April cat. 1247, Part 1, #107, quarto issue, contemporary half Russia rebacked, original spine retained (£6000). James Cummins, June on-line cat., quarto issue, contemporary calf rebacked ($4000). James Fenning, June on-line cat., octavo issue, recent quarter calf (£850). R & D Emerson, June on-line cat., issue not indicated but probably quarto, staining and foxing ($3500). Kenneth Hince, June on-line cat., quarto issue, early calf, “a superior copy” ($4500 Australian—about $2650 U.S.); another copy, quarto issue, recent morocco, “a fine large copy” ($4750 Australian). Gaston Renard, June on-line cat., octavo issue, calf rebacked ($1000 Australian); another copy, quarto issue, moderate foxing, modern half calf ($2500 Australian); same quarto copy, Sept. cat. 360, #292 (same price). The Book Gallery, June on-line cat., quarto issue, full calf, “a very fine copy” ($4000 Australian). Evergreen Books, June on-line cat., issue not indicated but probably quarto, slight foxing ($4000 New Zealand—about $2000 U.S.). Messrs. Berkelouw, June on-line cat., quarto issue, “one of the few large paper superfine, wove royal [quarto] copies,” uncut, full calf ($5847 Australian); another copy, quarto issue, large paper as in previous entry, boards (but apparently not original boards), uncut (same price); another copy, quarto issue, some foxing, quarter calf ($4400 Australian). The 19th Century Shop, Aug. on-line cat., issue not indicated but probably quarto, “generally untrimmed,” contemporary calf ($4800). Lawson, Oct. cat. 289, #26, quarto issue, trimmed but possibly large paper, later 19th-century half calf (£2250). Traylen, Oct. cat. 126, quarto issue, contemporary calf, joints repaired (£3300).
Josephus, Works. Swann, 12 March, #168, probably Bentley’s “E” issue, “modern leatherette” ($431). Adrian Harrington, begin page 99 | ↑ back to top Aug. on-line cat., Bentley’s “A” issue, “58 engraved plates, 2 [should be 3] by Blake,” contemporary calf ($610).
Lavater, Aphorisms. Claude Cox, May cat. 126, #37, 1794 ed., contemporary half calf rubbed (£85). James Cummins, June on-line cat., 1794 ed., disbound, some browning ($150). Heritage Book Shop, June on-line cat., 1788 ed., contemporary calf ($650). Wilsey Rare Books, June on-line cat., 1788 ed., contemporary calf rebacked, worn ($700). Robert Clark, Aug. on-line cat., 1788 ed., minor foxing, contemporary calf rebacked, worn ($269).
Lavater, Essays on Physiognomy. Robert Frew, Jan. cat. 12, #43, 1810 ed., 3 vols., lacking half titles to 2 parts, minor spotting, contemporary Russia (£1500). CSK, 13 Feb., #154, 1810 ed., 3 vols. in 5, “half of the plates lightly dampstained,” contemporary morocco rubbed, binding illus. (£989). Sotheran, March cat. 37, #126, 1810 ed., 3 vols. in 5, some spotting, contemporary calf rebacked (£1200). Krown & Spellman, March private offer, 1789-98 ed., 3 vols. in 5, scattered foxing, contemporary calf worn, with Physiognomical Sketches by Lavater, n.d., same binding ($1600); “1792” (i.e., c. 1818?) ed., 3 vols. in 5, contemporary calf, tape repairs to spine of vol. 1 ($1300). Marlborough Rare Books, April cat. 175, #96, 1789-98 ed., 3 vols. in 5, contemporary morocco (£1500). Edward Pollack, June on-line cat., 1789-98 ed., 3 vols. in 5, full Russia with slight restorations ($1750). Heritage Book Shop, June on-line cat., “1789-1810” ed. (a mixed set?), 3 vols. in 5, no indication of binding or condition ($1250). Antiquariat Manfred Nosbüsch,[e] June on-line cat., 1789-98 ed., 3 vols. in 5, contemporary calf (DM4500—about $2500). Middle Earth Rare Books, June on-line cat., 1789-98 ed., “three volume set” ($945). Ursus Books, July on-line cat., “1792” (i.e., c. 1818?) ed., 3 vols. in 5, near-contemporary morocco ($5500). John Windle, Aug. on-line cat., 1789-98 ed., 3 vols. in 5, contemporary half morocco worn ($2000). Westside Books, Aug. on-line cat., 1792 ed., “4 vols.” ($400). Truepenny Books, Aug. on-line cat., 1792 ed., 3 vols. in 5, lacking 4 pls., contemporary morocco ($1950). Swann, 10 Sept., #118, 1789-98 ed., 3 vols., 19th-century Russia very worn ($517). CSK, 11 Sept., #158, “1792” (i.e., c. 1818?) ed., 3 vols. in 5, lacking contents leaf in vol. 1, very spotted, contemporary morocco worn (not sold; estimate £500-700). For a preliminary drawing for this work, see Study of Martha Hess under Fuseli, below.
Malkin, Father’s Memoirs, 1806. Simon Finch, May cat. 34, #14, slight foxing and browning, inscribed “For Dr Pett / With the Author’s Compliments,” later morocco (£950). Maggs, Dec. cat. 1264, #42, modern boards (£550).
Nicholson, Introduction to Natural Philosophy, 1782. John Windle, Nov. cat. 29, #40, 2 vols., contemporary calf, lower hinge of vol. 1 repaired ($1250).
Novelist’s Magazine. John Windle, July on-line cat., vols. 10-11 (Sir Charles Grandison), 1783, 1st sts. of pls., contemporary calf, joints repaired ($675); same copy and price, Nov. cat. 29, #53. London Antiquarian Book Arcade, July on-line cat., vol. 8 (Don Quixote), lacking 3 pls. but apparently with the 2 by Blake, foxed, contemporary half calf ($74). Liber Redux, July on-line cat., vol. 8 (Don Quixote), “old boards detached” ($300). John Windle, Nov. cat. 29, #77, 5 pls. only: pl. 2 (2nd st.) from vol. 8, pl. 1 (1st st.) from vol. 9, and pls. 1-3 (1st sts.) from vols. 10-11 ($375 the lot).
Rees, Cyclopaedia, 1820. Korn & Towns, Feb. Los Angeles Book Fair, pls. only, disbound, illustrating the article on “Sculpture,” including the 4 by Blake ($60). Robert Frew, Aug. on-line cat., 39 text vols., 5 (of 6?) pl. vols., contemporary half calf slightly worn (£2500). CSK, 11 Sept., #165, 45 vols., contemporary half roan “rubbed but sound” (not sold; estimate £1500-2000). Traylen, Oct. cat. 126, complete in contemporary calf worn (£1900); #227, pls. vols. only in 6 vols., half morocco (£400). John Windle, Nov. cat. 29, #76, Blake’s 7 pls. only ($950).
Ritson, Select Collection of English Songs. For a proof of pl. 2, see the quarto album under Stothard, below.
Salzmann, Elements of Morality. Peter Keisogloff Rare Books, June on-line cat., title pages and the 50 pls. only from the 1791 ed., 1st sts., mounted in a morocco album ($600). BBA, 23 July, #180, 1799 ed., 3 vols., pls. with “some juvenile colouring,” covers detached, with 12 unrelated vols. (N. Devitt, £345 on an estimate of £100-150). John Windle, Sept. private offer, 1799 ed., 3 vols., lacking half titles, modern quarter calf ($2500).
Scott, Poetical Works, 1782. John Windle, July on-line cat., early calf rebacked ($600); same copy and price, Nov. cat. 29, #54.
Shakespeare, Plays, 1805. McNaughtan’s Books, July private offer, 10 vol. issue, contemporary quarter calf, very fine impressions of the pls. (acquired by J. Windle for stock); Windle, Nov. cat. 29, #55 ($4750).
Stedman, Narrative. The Book Chest, June on-line cat., 1813 ed., 2 vols., modern 3/4 calf ($3000). CGT Co., Aug. on-line cat., 1813 ed., 2 vols., modern 1/4 calf ($3210). Chapel Hill Rare Books, Aug. on-line cat., 1806 ed., 2 vols., contemporary calf ($3500). Bernard Shapero, Beverly Hills Art & Antique Fair, Oct., 1796 ed., 2 vols., contemporary calf, hinges weak (£1500).
Tuer, Follies & Fashions of Our Grandfathers, 1886-87. Ian Hodgkins, April cat. 100, #115, large-paper issue, original boards slightly worn (£185). Liber Redux, Aug. on-line cat., begin page 100 | ↑ back to top “demi octavo ed. extra illustrated,” original cloth ($325). Boston Book Co., Aug. on-line cat., rebound ($150). Thomas Goldwasser, Aug. on-line cat., “demi octavo,” rebound ($450). For the restrike in this book of Blake’s pl. 3 from Hayley’s Essay on Sculpture (1800), see Jenijoy La Belle, “A Reprinting of Blake’s Portrait of Thomas Alphonso Hayley,” Blake 25 (1991-92): 136-38.
Vetusta Monumenta, [1789]. Randall House, Aug. on-line cat., 5 vols., 1747-1820, apparently lacking texts, 3/4 calf ($1000).
Virgil, Pastorals, 1821. Maggs, Feb. Los Angeles Book Fair, vol. 1 only, original sheep rebacked, black ruled lines added to both covers (at the time of rebacking?), exceptionally fine impression of Blake’s 1st wood engraving, from the collection of the artist John Piper ($16,500); April New York Book Fair, same copy (acquired by John Windle for stock); same copy, Windle, Nov. cat. 29, #67 ($15,500); same copy and price, Ursus Rare Books, Nov. cat. 208, #7 (making no mention of the rebacking or the fact that this is vol. 1 [of 2] only).
Virgil, The Wood Engravings of William Blake for Thornton’s Virgil, 1977. Maggs, Dec. 1997 cat. 1240, #48, original portfolio (£1000).
Wollstonecraft, Original Stories, 1791. CSK, 28 Nov. 1997, #279, some dampstaining, contemporary sheep, cloth case, pl. 4 (1st st.) illus. (£1150).
Young, Night Thoughts, 1797. John Windle, Feb. Los Angeles Book Fair, 2nd st. of the fly-title to “Night the Second,” with the Explanation leaf, uncut in marbled boards with calf spine, signature of “Caroline [Bowles] Southey” (1786-1854, author and second wife of the poet laureate) on the title page ($22,500); same copy and price, Nov. cat. 29, #71. Buddenbrooks, Feb. Los Angeles Book Fair, trimmed, 2nd st. of the fly-title to “Night the Second,” with the Explanation leaf, full calf ($9500). SL, 7 May, #30, leaves attached to binding stubs, original boards with “printed label on upper cover,” rebacked, fitted case, fly-title to “Night the Third” illus. (£2760). I have never seen a cover label for the Night Thoughts that would appear to be part of its original issue. Heritage Book Shop, Aug. on-line cat., leaves 41.7 × 32 cm., no information on binding ($10,000). Phillips auction, London, 18 Sept., #375 trimmed, contemporary half calf rebacked and worn (£2200).
Interesting Blakeana
Chaucer, Works, 1687. Grant & Shaw, Sept. cat. 43, #24, later calf repaired (£1275). Probably the ed. owned by Blake.
Anon., A Political and Satirical History of the Years 1756 and 1757, printed for E. Morris, London [1757?]. Peter Murray Hill, Nov. private offer, extra-illus. with variant states and 19 additional pls., contemporary calf rebacked (£475). Blake appears to have owned a copy of this work while an apprentice—see G. E. Bentley, Jr., Blake Books Supplement (Oxford: Clarendon P, 1995) 313-14 and pl. 12.
J. Boehme, Works, the so-called “Law edition,” 1764-81. Krown & Spellman, March private offer, 4 vols., modern calf ($15,000). The ed. of Boehme known to Blake and perhaps owned by him—see his comment to Henry Crabb Robinson on the beauty of the “figures” (i.e., the illus.) in “Law’s transl.n” (BR 313).
A Despairing Woman. Water color, 27 × 37 cm. SL, 28 May, #505, sold as “Circle of William Blake” (£862). A color photo, kindly supplied by Henry Wemyss, shows that the two figures are closely based on Blake’s typical postures. I suspect an “Imitation of Blake” rather than “Circle of William Blake.”
Royal Academy Exhibition Catalogues, 1779-97. Peter Murray Hill, Oct. cat. 188, #112, nos. 14 and 22 defective, completed in manuscript, no. 19 lacking half a leaf, disbound (£325). The exhibitions of 1780, 1784, and 1785 contained works by Blake.
Homer, Iliad and Odyssey, translated by Cowper, 1791. Adam Mills, Oct. cat. 46, #124, 2 vols., contemporary calf worn (£225). The List of Subscribers includes “W. Blake, Esq” (probably the attorney) and “Mr. W. Blake, Engraver.” The latter is probably either William Blake (poet, artist, and engraver) or the engraver William Staden Blake of Exchange Alley.
G. Cumberland, Some Anecdotes of the Life of Julio Bonasoni, 1793. Quaritch, March cat., #39, uncut in original boards (£350). For Blake’s direct references to this book in his letter to Cumberland of 1 Sept. 1800, see Robert N. Essick and Morton D. Paley, “‘Dear Generous Cumberland’: A Newly Discovered Letter and Poem by William Blake,” Blake 32 (1998): 4-13.
W. Hayley, Life of Milton, 2nd ed., 1796. John Price, Dec. cat., #68, contemporary calf slightly worn (£250). Blake almost certainly knew this biography, although no single copy has been traced to his ownership.
Boydell, J. and J. Alphabetical Catalogue of Plates, 1803. CSK, 11 Sept., #178, browned and spotted, later roan with original wrappers bound in, with 2 other cats. concerning Gainsborough (1789) and Morland (1799), and 3 further cats. issued by Boydell, Edward Evans, and J. R. Smith (£4140 on an estimate of £300-500). Boydell’s 1803 cat. includes a listing of Blake’s pl. after Hogarth (see Bentley #528).
W. Falconer, The Shipwreck, 1804. Ewen Kerr, June cat. 67, begin page 101 | ↑ back to top #12 (£120). An ed. probably owned by Blake—see Bentley 687.
J. Hassell, Memoirs of Morland, 1806. Rainsford, June cat. A60, half morocco (£195). Mentions Blake’s 2 pls. after Morland.
I. Reed, Bibliotheca Reediana, auction cat. of Reed’s library, King and Lochee, 2 Nov. 1807 and 38 following days. Maggs, Aug. cat. 1256, #77, contemporary half Russia very worn, back cover detached (£260). Lot 6577 on 5 Dec. was “Blake’s Poetical Sketches,” which sold to Heber for 6s.6d. (see Bentley #529, where this copy is identified as copy F, now in the Turnbull Library, Wellington, New Zealand).
P. Wakefield, Perambulations in London, 2nd ed., 1814. Abbey Antiquarian Books, June on-line cat., contemporary calf slightly worn ($64.60). Contains an early printing of Blake’s “Holy Thursday” from Songs of Innocence.
J. Varley, an album of 18 pencil drawings, sheets watermarked 1815, 1818, 1823, 1832. Ken Spelman, May cat. 38, #203, evidence of drawings having been removed from some leaves of the album, contemporary half roan rebacked, original spine retained, 1 sheet illus. (£2200). Spelman indicates that 4 sheets of drawings are of “portrait heads” probably associated with Blake’s production for Varley of the Visionary Heads. On the sheet illustrated in Spelman’s cat., the head on the right is very similar to the center head on p. 12 of the smaller Blake-Varley sketchbook (see Butlin #692.12, where the heads on this page are attributed to “Blake, Varley or Linnell”).
[J. Watkins and F. Shoberl], Biographical Dictionary of the Living Authors of Great Britain, 1816. Adam Mills, Oct. cat. 46, #18, later calf by Bedford (£245). One of the first bibliographies to include entries for Blake.
W. Hayley, Memoirs, 1823. Adam Mills, Oct. cat. 46, #116, 2 vols., later half calf (£300). Contains important references to Blake.
T.F. Dibdin, The Library Companion, 1824. Quaritch, March cat., #48, the 1-vol. issue, half calf rebacked (£100). Dibdin refers to D’Israeli’s Blake collection in a footnote on p. 734 (see Bentley #793).
G. Cumberland, An Essay on the Utility of Collecting the Best Works of the Ancient Engravers of All the Italian Schools; Accompanied by a Critical Catalogue, 1827. Oak Knoll Books, March cat. 198, #729, half calf worn ($300). Ken Spelman, May cat. 38, #46, scattered foxing, original boards rebacked, original backstrip and label preserved (£220). Quaritch, Oct. cat. 1254, #30, “publisher’s” (?) cloth rebacked (£250). Cumberland lent Blake the manuscript of his “Catalogue” in Nov. 1823 (BR 279).
The Annual Biography and Obituary, 1828. BBA, 26 Feb., #343, 21 vols., 1817-37, contemporary calf rebacked (C. R. Johnson, £253). Vol. 12 (1828) contains an obituary of Blake—see Bentley #842.
J. T. Smith, Nollekens and His Times, 1828. Peter Murray Hill, Oct. cat. 188, #178, 2 vols., later calf (£275). John Windle, Nov. cat. 29, #182, half morocco ($475). Contains an important early biography of Blake.
A. and J. Taylor, City Scenes, 1828. John Windle, Nov. cat. 29, #63, old boards with new backstrip ($575). Adam Mills, Dec. cat. 47, #35, light soiling, contemporary quarter morocco, marbled boards, rebacked with most of original spine retained (£275). Reprints Blake’s “Holy Thursday” from Songs of Innocence.
A. Cunningham, Lives of the Most Eminent British Painters, Sculptors, and Architects, 1829-33. Adam Mills, Oct. supplement to cat. 46, #239, 6 vols., contemporary half calf (£275). Contains an important early biography of Blake.
begin page 102 | ↑ back to topW. Hone, The Every-Day Book and Table Book, 1830 (vols. 1-3), 1832 (vol.4). Tavistock Books, July on-line cat., 4 vols., contemporary half calf ($225). For the printing of Blake’s “The Chimney Sweeper” from Songs of Innocence in this work (vol. 2, columns 625-26 in this copy), see G. E. Bentley, Jr., “William Blake and His Circle: A Checklist of Publications and Discoveries in 1997,” Blake 31 (1998): 149, 164-65 (where the poem is located in vol. 2, columns “628-629”).
A. Cunningham, The Cabinet Gallery of Pictures, 1834. Barbara Farnsworth, Aug. on-line cat., 2 vols. in 1, contemporary(?) morocco, leaves broken loose from front hinge ($125). An anecdote about Blake and the angel Gabriel appears at 1:11-13. Bentley records an issue with vol. 1 dated 1833, but not this 1834 issue.
Blake, Songs of Innocence and of Experience, Pickering ed., 1839 (the 1st typographic ed.). Claude Cox, Jan. cat. 124, #93, 2nd issue lacking “The Little Vagabond,” original cloth rebacked, original backstrip retained, signed by the editor, J. J. Garth Wilkinson, at the end of his preface (£550). Adam Mills, Jan. cat. 43, #269, 1st issue with “The Little Vagabond,” original cloth rebacked, original backstrip retained (£750).
R. Southey, The Doctor. Jarndyce, March cat. 124, #1137, vols. 1-2, 3rd ed. of 1839; vol. 3, 2nd ed. of 1839; vols. 4-7, first eds. of 1837-47, uncut in original green cloth (£225). The important Blake references (see Bentley #2731) are in vols. 6 and 7.
Gilchrist, Life of Blake, 2 vols., 1863, extra-illus. copies only. Yankee Peddler, Feb. Los Angeles Book Fair, rebound in calf, the following pls. added, 2 loosely inserted, all others bound-in: Blair, The Grave, pl. 1, apparently from the 1808 quarto; Darwin, Botanic Garden, 1799, or Poetical Works, 1806, pl. 7, “Fertilization of Egypt”; Gay, Fables, 9 pls. probably from the [1811] ed.; Hayley, Life of Cowper, 1803-04, pls. 1-3, 5 folded; Hayley, Triumphs of Temper, pls. 1-6 complete, very probably from the 1803 ed.; de Mora, Meditaciones Poeticas, frontis. portrait and pls. 2-12 folded (lacking only the engraved title page); Lavater, Aphorisms, pl. 1, 1st st., and thus very probably from the 1788 ed. ($1000).
Blake, The Marriage of Heaven and Hell, J. C. Hotten facsimile, [1868]. John Windle, Nov. cat. 29, #37, some foxing “as usual,” original roan-backed boards ($1200). The first facsimile of one of Blake’s illuminated books.
Gilchrist, Life of Blake, 2 vols., 1880. Simon Finch, May cat. 34, #15, original cloth (£375). A high price, perhaps motivated in part by Finch’s claim that “the prints of three of Blake’s magical and influential illustrations to Virgil’s Pastorals were taken directly from Blake’s own woodblocks.” I believe that they were “taken” from electrotypes—see Essick, “The Virgil Wood Engravings in Alexander Gilchrist’s Life of William Blake,” The Book Collector 40 (1991): 579-81.
Muir facsimiles. Alex Fotheringham, Jan. cat. 34, #14, Little Tom the Sailor, [1886], Bentley’s issue B or C, sheet 59.7 × 22.9 cm. (£120). Swann, 10 Sept., #14, The Book of Thel, “1920” (but actually 1884) issue, numbered “2” by Muir, original wrappers ($345); same copy, John Windle, Nov. cat. 29, #64 ($1500). John Windle, Nov. private offer, Little Tom the Sailor, [1886], folded several times (price on application).
Walter Crane (British illustrator, 1845-1915). Autograph letter signed, 16 Jan. 1890, with references to Blake (“You will be very welcome to use such slides as I have from William Blake’s . . . Book of Job . . . Woodcuts of Thornton’s Virgil ....”). David Schulson Autographs, March cat. 93, #25, letter’s recipient not identified, quotation of references to Blake as above ($225).
Frederick Hollyer, color reproductions of works by Blake, c. 1920. J. Windle, May private offer, Our Lady with the Infant Jesus Riding on a Lamb with St. John (Butlin #409) and “Glad Day” (“Albion rose,” Essick impression 1A), good condition ($50 each).
Songs of Innocence and of Experience, facsimile published by Young, 1923. John Windle, Feb. Los Angeles Book Fair, hand-colored copy no. 44, original calf, later morocco slipcase ($4750).
Maggs, Sept. 1949 cat., “Mercurius Britannicus” 117. CL, 26 Nov. 1997, in #108, with 189 other vols. from the collection of George Goyder (£2760 to J. Windle for stock); this cat. and a few other bits of ephemera acquired Jan. by R. Essick. The listing in this cat. of 16(!) drawings by Blake, all from the Graham Robertson collection sold at auction in 1949, has not been recorded previously. I list below each Blake item by the Maggs cat. number, followed by Butlin’s now-standard title, followed by Butlin’s reference number, followed by Maggs’ asking price.
488. An Arbour. Butlin #373. £10.10s.
489. Possible Sketch for Plate 2 [of Blake’s designs for Blair’s Grave]: “Christ Descending into the Grave.” Butlin #622. £25
490. “For Children: The Gates of Paradise”: Design for an Unpublished Title-Page. Butlin #205. “Sold”
491. A Girl Holding a Goblet. Butlin #97. £25
492. The Awards of Athene. Butlin #96. £31.10s.
493. Drawings from a Bas Relief, a Sphinx, and Another Figure, for Rees’s Cyclopaedia. Butlin #678. £18.18s.
494. Head of a Bearded Man in Profile, Possibly from the Antique. Butlin #177. £8.10s.
495. Classic Head of a Young Faun. Butlin #715. £18.18s.
496. Satan Between Two Angels(?). Butlin #592. £15.15s.
497. Studies for “Pestilence: The Death of the First-Born.” Butlin #443. £18.18s.
498. Sketches for “The Book of Thel”: Thel and the Clod of Clay, and Thel Fleeing from the House of Clay. Butlin #218. £35.
begin page 103 | ↑ back to top499. Two Types of Insanity. Butlin #763. £21
500. Sketch for “The Pilgrimage of Christiana”(?). Butlin #834. £10.10s.
501. Head of a Youth, Possibly Henry VIII. Butlin #747. £8.10s.
502. A Visionary Head (recto); Elevation and Plan of a Monument (verso). Butlin #759. £12.10s.
503. A Female Head. Butlin #709. £12.10s.
Folio Fine Art Ltd., Jan. 1968 cat. 51. Item 22 is pl. 18 (inscribed “16”) of For the Sexes: The Gates of Paradise, “second or third state . . . with 1 [inch] margins,” illus. (£38). The date of the cat. would appear to exclude the possibility that this is a loose impression from the Blake Trust facsimile, published later in the same year, but does not exclude the very convincing W. A. White facsimile of c. 1897, printed with fake platemarks and issued loose in portfolio. This impression not in Bentley.
White bone china cylindrical bud vase, 17.7 cm. high, 6.6 cm. diameter, with Blake’s relief etching of “The Sick Rose” transfer-printed on one side, the coloring based on the impression in Songs of Innocence and of Experience copy Z (with the pen and ink border, but lacking Blake’s ink number), produced by Coalport in celebration (and for sale at?) the 1978 Blake exhibition at the Tate Gallery, London. John Windle, Feb. private offer (acquired by R. Essick).
Blake’s Circle and Followers
Works are listed under artists’ names in the following order: paintings and drawings sold in groups, single paintings and drawings, letters and manuscripts, separate plates, books by (or with plates by or after) the artist.
BARRY, JAMES
Barry, Series of Etchings, 1808. Robert Frew, Jan. cat. 12, #3, minor spotting, contemporary boards rebacked (£3000).
“Jupiter and Juno on Mount Ida,” engraving. SL, 12 Dec. 1997, #2, 2nd st., possibly a posthumous impression, slight defects, with 19 pls. after Turner, Barry pl. illus. (not sold; estimate £600-800).
Barry, Works, 1809. De Simone Company, July cat. 46, #9, 2 vols., contemporary calf rubbed ($1800).
CALVERT, EDWARD
Dionysus and Erigone. Oil on paper, 26.7 × 34.3 cm. April private offer, Abbott & Holder (£3000).
“The Brook,” wood engraving. Garton & Co., Sept. cat. 71, #10, “contemporary impression on japan paper,” illus. ($5500); #11, from the Carfax portfolio ($2100).
“The Ploughman,” wood engraving. Garton & Co., Sept. cat. 71, #9, from the Carfax portfolio, illus. ($3000). Larkhall Fine Art, Oct. on-line cat., from the Carfax portfolio, some light foxing (£1250).
[Calvert, S.], Memoir of Edward Calvert, 1893. Adam Mills, addenda to Dec. cat. 47, #269, some light spotting on text leaves, original cloth slightly worn with new endpapers (£7500).
FLAXMAN, JOHN
A Laplander. Pen and gray ink, gray wash, 24 × 17 cm. SL, 16 July, #22 (£805).
Portrait Study of Mrs. Matthew. Pencil, 26.3 × 18.7 cm. CL, 24 Nov., #50, illus. (£3220).
Study of a Florentine Lady in Elaborate Head-Dress. Pen and gray ink, gray wash, sheet 25 × 14 cm., signed. SL, 26 Nov., #28, illus. (£5980 on an estimate of £800-1200).
Study of St. John the Evangelist Holding a Chalice. Brown wash over pencil, 73.5 × 38.5 cm. SL, 26 Nov., #27, illus. (not sold; estimate £2000-3000).
Study of Two Women Grieving. Pen and gray ink, gray washes, 34 × 24 cm. An early work, rather soft and sentimental; perhaps a preparatory study for a funerary monument. Spink-Leger, April “Master Drawings” cat., #24, illus. color (£36,000—probably a record asking price for a drawing by Flaxman). Previously sold, apparently to Spink-Leger, SL, 14 Nov. 1996, #79, illus. (£20,700 on an estimate of £4000-6000. An auction record for a figure study by Flaxman).
Three Classical Figures in a Landscape. Pen and gray wash, 47.5 × 64 cm. CL, 14 July, #25, illus. color (not sold; estimate £8000-12,000). See illus. 5.
Portrait of Flaxman by John Raphael Smith. Pastel, 24.1 × 19 cm., datable to c. 1795. CL, 24 Nov., #49, illus. color (£4370).
Letter to Flaxman from “Mr. Blake,” 9 March 1804, with pencil sketches by Flaxman on verso. Simon Finch, Oct. cat. 35, #66 (£800). Finch indicates that the author of the letter was “Robert Blake, attorney, of 14 Essex Street, Strand.” I have a letter addressed from “Bedford Row” on 12 May 1806 from an attorney who signed his name “Wm Blake.” Were there two attorneys named “Blake,” active c. 1804-06, with first names corresponding to the artist/poet William Blake and his deceased younger brother?
Letter by Flaxman to John Britton, 14 Nov. 1812, with a small sketch of Flaxman’s design for a monument to Chatterton. Quaritch, Oct. cat. 1254, #38 (£250).
begin page 104 | ↑ back to topAeschylus designs, 1795. Second Life Books, June cat. 122, #176, foxing and light water-staining in margins, modern morocco-backed boards ($450). Heritage Book Shop, Aug. on-line cat., original wrappers ($350).
John Britton, The Fine Arts of the English School, 1812, with 4 pls. after sculpture by Flaxman. Heritage Book Shop, Jan. private offer, contemporary morocco worn, amateurishly rebacked ($250). BBA, 12 March, #292, some foxing and dampstaining, contemporary sheep-backed boards broken and worn (not sold; estimate £80-120).
Dante designs. Heritage Book Shop, June on-line cat., engraved by Reveil, n.d., 2 vols., half morocco ($450). Andrew Christenson, June on-line cat., Carlsruhe ed. of c. 1833-35, 76 steel engravings, 3 hand colored, heavily foxed, calf ($65).
Flaxman, Anatomical Studies, 1833. Jeffry Town, Feb. Los Angeles Book Fair, contemporary cloth ($275). Marlborough Rare Books, April cat. 175, #57, frontispiece foxed, original cloth rebacked (£480). The Chaucer Head, Aug. on-line cat., original cloth (£200).
Flaxman, Eight Illustrations of the Lord’s Prayer, 1835. Marlborough Rare Books, Dec. cat. 177, #39, original wrappers, spine split (£320).
Flaxman, Lectures on Sculpture, 1829. CSK, 28 Nov. 1997, #201, later boards, with Catalogue of Richardson’s Collection of English Portraits, 2 vols. (£161); same copy of the Lectures?, Robert Clark, March cat. 50, #367, some foxing, “twentieth century patterned boards” worn (£165).
Flaxman, Oeuvre Complet, engraved Reveil, 1835. John Zubal, Aug. on-line cat., original wrappers ($150).
Hesiod designs, engraved Reveil, n.d. Heritage Book Shop, June on-line cat., 2 vols., half morocco ($300). Dailey Rare Books, Aug. on-line cat., original printed wrappers ($100).
Iliad designs, 1796. Heritage Book Shop, Aug. on-line cat., original wrappers ($400).
Odyssey designs, 1805. Second Life Books, June cat. 122, #175, margins foxed, modern morocco-backed cloth ($600).
FUSELI, HENRY
Agave, Queen of Thebes, Informed by Cadmus of the Death of Her Son Pentheus. Pen and gray ink, gray wash, 26.4 × 22.2 cm. Acquired recently (1997 or early 1998?) by the Snite Museum, University of Notre Dame, South Bend, Indiana. Acquisition announced and drawing illus. in “La Chronique des Arts,” Gazette des Beaux-Arts 131 (March 1998): 55.
Satan and the Birth of Sin. Oil, 142 × 117 cm. Acquired 1997 by the Dallas Museum of Art, Dallas, Texas, as announced in “La Chronique des Arts,” Gazette des Beaux-Arts 131 (March 1998): 88.
Sigelind, Siegfried’s Mother, Roused by the Contest of the Good and Evil Genius about Her Infant Son—Lied der Nibelunge. Oil, 71 × 91.5 cm., exhibited at the Royal Academy in 1814. SL, 25 Nov., #80, the property of “a Swiss Private Collector,” illus. color (£38,900 on an estimate of £20,000-30,000). Previously offered SL, 16 Nov. 1988, #108, the property of Mr. and Mrs. Richard Dreyfus of Switzerland, illus. color (not sold; estimate £40,000-60,000). See illus. 6.
The Spirit of Knowledge. Pencil and gray wash, 18.1 × 22.3 cm. Spink-Leger, April “Master Drawings” cat., #23, illus. color (£12,000).
Study of Martha Hess. Pencil, 12.4 × 8.6 cm. CL, 24 Nov., #56, illus. (£8050). The preliminary drawing for the engraving by Holloway in Lavater, Essays on Physiognomy (1789-98) 2:316.
Zacharias Writing the Name of His Son John the Baptist on a Tablet in His Lap. Pencil, 41.5 × 28 cm., inscribed “Roma 70.” SL, 26 Nov., #29, illus. (not sold; estimate £6000-8000).
Autograph letter signed to Mr. and Mrs. Thomas Coutts, 15 Nov. 1821. Erasmushaus/Haus der Bücher, Jan. cat. for the 5th Zurich Antiquarian Book Fair (SFr.2000).
“Evening Thou Bringest All,” lithograph. Bonhams auction, London, 6 May, #5, apparently removed from the original mount, slight defects, illus. (£850 on an estimate of £1000-1500).
“Heavenly Ganymede,” lithograph. Bonhams auction, London, 6 May, #9, apparently removed from the original mount, slightly spotted, illus. (£1100 on an estimate of £500-750).
“The Night Mare,” engraving by “A. Zaffonato” after Fuseli, 23 × 25 cm., published by “A. Suntach, 1795.” BBA, 14 May, #59, printed in “bistre” (Tumasonis, £180). This engraving of Fuseli’s most famous design is not listed in D. H. Weinglass, Prints and Engraved Illustrations by and after Henry Fuseli (Aldershot: Scolar P, 1994).
Bible, published Macklin, 1800. Robert Frew, Jan. cat. 12, #408, 7 vols., occasional spotting, contemporary morocco (£3250). BBA, 26 Feb., #216, 6 vols. in 7, foxed, contemporary morocco very worn, covers detached (Wade Galleries, £184). Swann, 19 Nov., #18, 7 vols. in 8, some pls. foxed, 19th-century morocco worn ($3680).
begin page 105 | ↑ back to topBonnycastle, Introduction to Astronomy. CSK, 28 Nov. 1997, #65, 1787 ed., contemporary calf, with 4 other vols. (£86.25). James Cummins, June on-line cat., 1811 ed., contemporary marbled boards worn ($150). London Antiquarian Book Arcade, June on-line cat., 1803 ed., modern quarter calf (£100). Argosy Book Store, June on-line cat., 1796 ed., light foxing, calf very worn, covers detached ($350).
Boydell, Collection of Prints. . .Illustrating the Dramatic Works of Shakspeare, 1803. BBA, 29 Jan., #157, complete in 2 vols., light spotting, later morocco worn, 1 pl. (not after Fuseli) illus. (Bruce Marshall, £3450 on an estimate of £1500-1800). Heritage Book Shop, June on-line cat., 2 vols. in 1, contemporary morocco, “a remarkably fine copy” ($15,000).
Cowper, Poems, 1811. Waterfield’s, Oct. cat., #30, 2 vols., 1st pl. detached, contemporary calf very worn, signatures coming loose (£55).
Darwin, Temple of Nature, 1803. BBA, 12 Feb., #280, pls. slightly cropped, some spotting, contemporary calf rebacked, little rubbed (Quaritch, £345 on an estimate of £100-150). Ximenes Rare Books, Oct. cat. 98-3, #41, contemporary calf (£650).
Fuseli, Lectures on Painting, 1820. Fine Art Catalogues, May cat. 112, #57, Royal Academy prize binding rebacked (£185). Stuart Bennett, April cat. 28, #93, occasional foxing, modern half calf ($200).
Gray, Poems, Du Roveray ed., 1800. The Book Chest, June on-line cat., light foxing, contemporary calf worn ($150).
Knowles, Life and Writings of Fuseli, 1831. Ken Spelman, Sept. cat. 61, presentation copy from the publisher, half calf (£160).
Lavater, Ovre de Physiognomie, Amsterdam, 1783. Ken Spelman, May cat. 38, #112, some foxing and browning, contemporary half calf (£380).
Seward, Anecdotes of Distinguished Persons, 1804. John Price, June on-line cat., 4 vols., contemporary calf (£150).
Shakespeare, Plays and Poems, ed. Valpy, 1832. CSK, 11 Sept., #137, 15 vols., pls. spotted, half morocco (£1495 on an estimate of £700-1000).
Young, Catalogue of Pictures. . .in the Possession of Sir John Fleming Leicester, 1821. Sims Reed, Nov. cat., #2146 (£165). Marlborough Rare Books, Dec. cat. 177, #162, uncut in original boards (£150).
LINNELL, JOHN
A folio of 7 landscape studies, 6 chalk, 1 pencil, 5 signed or initialed, “various sizes.” SL, 16 July, #107, 1 illus. (not sold; estimate £1500-2000).
Corn Stooks in a Field. Pencil, 24 × 32.45 cm., signed. SL, 8 April, #139, illus. (£4025 on an estimate of £1200-1800).
A Fine Evening After Rain: A Scene in Wales. Oil on panel, 35 × 53.5 cm., datable to 1815. Agnew’s, April private offer ($46,000; acquired by the Huntington Library and Art Gallery). Previously sold SL, 12 July 1995, #107 (£6325).
Forest. Oil, 30 × 49 cm., signed and dated 1875. SL, 11 March, #28, illus. color (not sold; estimate £5000-7000).
Hay-Making in the Countryside. Black and white chalk on buff paper, 27.5 × 42 cm. SL, 8 April, #141 (£690).
Near Redhill. Water color, 7 × 11 cm. SL, 16 July, #57, illus. color (not sold; estimate £2000-3000).
A Pastoral Scene. water color, 18 × 26 cm., signed and dated 1859. SL, 28 May, #476, illus. color (£1955).
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Piping Down the Valley Wild. Oil, 55.9 × 68.5 cm., signed and dated 1872. CSK, 12 March, #176, illus. color (£3220). I do not know the source of the title; but at least it, and perhaps the painting, was inspired by a line from the “Introduction” to Songs of Innocence. The image bears no relationship to any design by Blake known to me.
Resting Woodcutters, Bray Wood, Windsor. Water color, 16.5 × 27 cm., signed and dated 1827. SL, 8 April, #55, illus. color (£14,950 to Spink-Leger, the London dealer, on an estimate of £8000-12,000); Spink-Leger, Oct. cat. of “British Watercolours and Drawings,” #29, illus. color (£30,000). See illus. 7.
The Rise of the River. Oil, 36.5 × 52 cm., signed and dated 1857. SL, 15 July, #72, illus. color (£6900).
View in North Wales. Pencil, 42 × 57 cm., signed and dated 1813. Sotheby’s Prior Park, Bath, 29 Oct., #351 (not sold; estimate £600-800).
J. Linnell, The Royal Gallery of Pictures . . . At Buckingham Palace, 1840. BBA, 14 May, #27, most pls. in several states, a few mounted, some spotting, contemporary morocco rubbed (Page, £320).
MORTIMER, JOHN HAMILTON
Four Banditti Resting under a Tree. Pen and black ink, 26.5 × 20.5 cm. SL, 8 April, #6, illus. (£3450 on an estimate of £500-700). Previously offered CL, 16 March 1982, #4 (not sold).
PALMER, SAMUEL
The Colosseum, Rome. Water color over pencil, 27 × 42 cm. SL, 26 Nov., #90, illus. color (£34,500).
Llyn Gwynant, North Wales. Pencil on buff paper, 17 × 22 cm., datable to c. 1835, extensively inscribed by Palmer with notes in preparation for a very similar water color now in the Yale Center for British Art. SL, 8 April, #26, illus. (£1610).
The Monastery, Corpo di Cava, Looking towards Paestum. Water color, 27 × 38 cm., inscribed on reverse of mount (not by Palmer) “1837.” SL, 26 Nov., #91, illus. color (£27,600). On the River Machwy, Wales. Water color over pencil, 28.5 × 22 cm., dated July 1837. SL, 8 April, #45, illus. color (£13,225).
A Waterfall, North Wales, attributed to Palmer. Water color over pencil, 27.5 × 18.5 cm. SL, 26 Nov., #46, illus. (£805).
begin page 107 | ↑ back to topAutograph letter signed to John Wright, 15 Feb. 1865, 4 pp., containing advice on prints to collect, including “the large prints after Fuseli” and “Blake’s various works.” David Schulson Autographs, Jan. cat., #86 ($2150). Printed in The Letters of Samuel Palmer, ed. Raymond Lister (Oxford: Clarendon P, 1974) 2:727-28.
“Bellman,” etching. BBA, 4 Dec. 1997, #58, st. not recorded, “uniform browning” (Campbell Fine Art, £1092 on an estimate of £300-500). Larkhall Fine Art, Oct. on-line cat., 6th st., 1879 printing (£5000).
“Lonely Tower,” etching. Garton & Co., Feb. cat. 70, #4, 6th st., printing of 1879, illus. (“Sold”).
“Moeris and Galatea,” etching. Garton & Co., Sept. cat. 71, #15, 4th st., 1924 printing, illus. ($2100).
“Morning of Life,” etching. Royal Mile Gallery, Edinburgh, July private offer, 7th st., framed (£180).
“Opening the Fold” or “Early Morning,” etching. Garton & Co., Feb. cat. 70, #5, 6th st., deaccessioned from the Royal Academy in 1997, illus. ($4500).
“Skylark,” etching. R. E. Lewis, March cat., #20, 7th st., some foxing, illus. ($650).
“Willos,” etching. Swann, 14 May, #177, 2nd st., illus., with a print by William Strang ($287).
A Book of Favourite Modern Ballads, 1860. John T. Zubal, June on-line cat., original cloth, library label on spine (a steal at $20).
Milton, Shorter Poems, 1889. Robert Frew, Jan. cat. 12, #51, small-paper issue, slight foxing, original cloth (£250). BBA, 28 May, #106, small-paper issue, few leaves loose, original cloth detached and worn (Besley’s Books, £74); 23 July, #207, issue not identified, some foxing, original cloth, with an unrelated vol. (Robert Clark, £195). Robert Clark, Sept. cat. 51, #362, large-paper issue, original vellum (£325). See also S. Palmer, below.
A. H. Palmer, Life and Letters of Samuel Palmer, 1892. CSK, 13 Feb., #229, large-paper issue, original roan worn, “lacks spine” (£97.75). Ken Spelman, May cat. 38, #142, small-paper issue, original cloth (£280).
S. Palmer, English Version of the Eclogues of Virgil. Robert Frew, Jan. cat. 12, #52, 1883 ed., small-paper issue, slight foxing, original cloth (£300). SL, 26 Feb., #115, 1883 ed., small-paper issue, original cloth worn (£172). SL, 22 June, #655, 1883 ed., small-paper issue, original cloth, with Milton, Shorter Poems, 1889, small-paper issue, original cloth (£506).
BBA, 11 June, #111, 1884 ed., original cloth worn (Besley’s Books, £322). Swann, 19 Nov., #170, 1883 ed., large-paper issue, original vellum worn, 1 of 10 copies for presentation, with a letter, dated 30 Aug. 1927, from A. H. Palmer presenting the vol. to Martin Hardie (not sold; estimate $2500-3500).
Rogers, Pleasures of Memory, n.d. (c. 1875). Ian Hodgkins, Jan. cat. 98, #161, original cloth (£40).
RICHMOND, GEORGE
A sketchbook with 48 drawings and water colors, leaves 16 × 24 cm., used by Richmond while in Italy, 1837-39. SL, 8 April, #100 (£517).
A folio of 42 figure studies. SL, 8 April, #106, 1 illus. (£1380).
A folio of 24 drawings, mostly executed in Italy, some dated 1840. SL, 8 April, #101 (not sold; estimate £600-800).
A folio of 20 drawings, landscapes of Kent and elsewhere, some inscribed 1849, 1850, and 1871. SL, 8 April, #103, a sketch dated 1850 illus. (£1035).
A folio of 13 portrait studies, pen and ink, pencil, 1 with water color, “various sizes.” SL, 16 July, #27, 1 illus. (£1150).
A folio of 12 drawings from the antique and anatomical studies. SL, 8 April, #104, 1 illus. (£782).
A folio of 9 drawings, 1 dated 1829, another dated 1859. SL, 8 April, #102 (£632).
The Blessed Valley. Water color, 30 × 21 cm., signed and dated 1829. Spink-Leger, April “Master Drawings” cat., #27, illus. color (£24,000).
A Convolvulus at Shoreham. Water color, 18 × 12 cm., inscribed “Shoreham. 1827. G.R,” with 2 drawings of apples, approx. 14.5 × 13 cm., signed with initials and dated 1825. SL, 8 April, #99, Convolvulus illus. color (£6900 on an estimate of £1500-2000).
A Damned Soul Hanging from a Gothic Building. Pen, ink, and water color on the verso of a letter signed and dated 1823, 7 × 6.3 cm. According to Huon Mallalieu, “Around the Salerooms,” Country Life (16 April 1998): 80, this drawing was sold at a Cheffins, Grain & Comins (Oxford) auction in March for £2012. Mallalieu reproduces the drawing in color for the first time (81) and interestingly offers a new description of the figure (he is seen from above and is standing and bending over to turn a large screw, not “hanging”) and associates the image with Mammon in Paradise Lost, 1:679-83. Previously offered by Garton & Co., Feb. 1997 cat. 67, #4, illus. ($8000).
begin page 108 | ↑ back to topPortrait of Welby Sherman. Pen and brown ink, 22.5 × 18 cm., inscribed “W. Sherman. Dec. 5. 1827” below image, signed and dated 1827 lower left. SL, 8 April, #108, illus. (£828).
Portrait Study of William Ewart Gladstone. Chalk with touches of red, 21.5 × 17.5 cm. SL, 8 April, #107, illus. (£1092)
A Recollection of William Blake. Water color, sheet 27.5 × 18.5 cm., watermarked “[J WH] ATMAN/[TURKE]Y MILL/[18]36.” SL, 8 April, #105, illus. (£4140 on an estimate of £400-600). See illus. 8.
“The Fatal Bellman,” etching. Garton & Co., Feb. cat. 70, #3, final st. on laid India, signed with initials and with a presentation inscription by Richmond dated April 1883, illus. ($11,500—a record asking price). This impression previously sold, with “The Shepherd” (below), CL, 9 Dec. 1997, #114 (£9775). Campbell Fine Art, Sept. private offer, final st. on laid India (price on application).
“The Shepherd,” etching. Garton & Co., Feb. cat. 70, #2, 2nd st. on laid India, illus. ($18,000—a record asking price). The impression sold, with “The Fatal Bellman” (above), CL, 9 Dec. 1997, #114 (£9775, apparently to Garton).
ROMNEY, GEORGE
A Dancing Figure. Pencil and brown wash, 54 × 24.1 cm. Spink-Leger, April “Master Drawings” cat., #19, illus. color (£24,000).
Iphigenia Waking. Pencil, pen, gray and black washes, 38.9 × 51 cm. Spink-Leger, April “Master Drawings” cat., #20, illus. color (£32,000).
Study of Dancing Figures. Black chalk, 27 × 35.5 cm. SL, 28 May, #581, illus. color (£632).
Thelassie, the French Dancer, Reclining. Pen and ink, 12.1 × 19 cm., title inscribed on the backing of the old frame. Agnew’s, Feb. cat. of 125th annual exhibition, #1, illus. color (£2750).
The Toilet of Venus (recto); Reclining Woman (verso). Pencil, recto 15.9 × 17.8 cm. Agnew’s, Feb. cat. of 125th annual exhibition, #2, illus. color (£3500).
Torment—Scene in a Lazaretto. Pencil, pen and brown ink, brown wash, 28 × 41 cm. Agnew’s, Feb. cat. of 125th annual exhibition, #3, illus. color (£17,500).
STOTHARD, THOMAS
Design for a Book Illustration (not further identified). Pen and gray ink, wash, over red chalk, 11 × 8.5 cm., signed. SL, 8 April, #80 (not sold; estimate £200-300).
Mr. Valott’s Proposal. Water color, 10 × 7 cm. Sotheby’s at Prior Park, Bath, 29 Oct., #355 (£230).
Neptune: The Origin of Water. Oil, 34.5 × 52 cm. SL, 28 May, #449, illus. color (not sold; estimate £1000-1500).
The Promenade. Oil, 50 × 40 cm. SL, 28 May, #448, illus. color (not sold; estimate £1200-1800).
Turkish Men Seated on the Sand. Water color, 10 × 15.7 cm., framed. Heritage Book Shop, July on-line cat. ($600).
A Village Dance. Oil on panel, 43.2 × 56.5 cm. CSK, 17 July, #230, illus. color (£1150).
“The Lost Apple,” lithograph. R. E. Lewis, March cat., #17, removed from the original mount, repaired marginal tears, few stains, illus. ($2400).
A large quarto album of 127 engravings, all but a few after Stothard, mounted on the rectos only of 37 leaves, including a proof before letters of Blake’s pl. 2 for Ritson’s Select Collection of English Songs and a 1st published st. of Blake’s pl. 2 for Don Quixote in the Novelist’s Magazine. Acquired Sept. by David Bindman from a London print dealer; sold by Bindman to R. Essick in the same month.
Aesop, Fables, 1793. BBA, 12 March, #259, 2 vols. in 1, offsetting and spotting, contemporary half morocco worn, upper cover detached (R & J Prineas, £253). James Cummins, July private offer, 2 vols., fine impressions, contemporary calf, later slipcases ($1500).
Akenside, Pleasures of the Imagination. Kenneth Karmiole, July on-line cat., [1794] ed., contemporary calf worn ($75). Argosy Book Store, July on-line cat., 1803 ed., contemporary calf worn ($35).
The Bijou, 1828-30. Claude Cox, Jan. cat. 124, #20, 1828 ed. in original morocco-backed printed boards (£55); #21-22, 1829-30 eds. in later cream calf (£45 each).
Blair, The Grave, with Porteus, Death, etc., 1823. Waterfield’s, Oct. cat., #10, contemporary calf little rubbed (£30).
Blane, Cynegetica, 1788. James Cummins, July on-line cat., light water stains to the frontispiece, contemporary boards rebacked with calf ($350).
Boccaccio, Decamerone, Pickering ed., 1825. Claude Cox, Jan. cat. 124, #28, large-paper issue, 3 vols., pls. (before title inscriptions?) inscribed “Proof” on laid India, later morocco (£450). Wilsey Rare Books, July on-line cat., 3 vols. in 1, proofs on laid India, full morocco ($2250).
begin page 109 | ↑ back to top
Bonnycastle, Introduction to Mensuration, 1806. Heritage Book Shop, Aug. on-line cat., with the title-page vignette (unsigned) after Stothard, contemporary calf worn ($100). Bray, Life of Stothard, 1851, extra-illus. copies only. Brick Row Book Shop, June on-line cat., extended to 2 vols. with the addition of 118 pls., contemporary calf ($850). J. N. Bartfield, June on-line cat., extended to 2 vols. with the addition of 57 pls., full morocco ($1250).
Bunyan, Pilgrim’s Progress. Heritage Book Shop, Jan. private offer, 1830 ed. extra-illustrated with the 17 pls. after Stothard’s designs published by Seeley in 1839, proofs before begin page 110 | ↑ back to top
Swann, 16 April, #36, the 17 pls. only of 1839 on laid India, bound in a morocco album (not sold; estimate $500-750). Tamerlane Books, June on-line cat., 1862 Bohn ed., original cloth ($45).
Burns, Works, 1820. Dirk Cable, Aug. private offer, 4 vols., with the 1814 pls. by Cromek after Stothard first published in an “1813” ed., most pls. foxed, later quarter calf ($300). The presence of the 1814 pls. in this ed. has not been previously noted.
Catullus, Tibullus et Propertius, Pickering ed., 1824. Barry McKay, April cat. 50, #442, original cloth (£50).
Cervantes, Don Quixote, 1801. Heritage Book Shop, July online cat., 4 vols., contemporary morocco ($850).
Chaucer, Canterbury Tales, Pickering ed., 1830. Claude Cox, Jan. cat. 124, #33, 5 vols., with the pl. by Worthington of Stothard’s “Canterbury Pilgrims,” contemporary calf (£180).
Cowper, Poems, 1803. Claude Cox, March cat. 125, #14, 2 vols., with 9 of the 10 pls. first published 1798, contemporary half morocco worn (£35).
Cromek, ed., Remains of Nithsdale and Galloway Song, 1810. Grant & Shaw, April cat. 41, #28, contemporary calf rebacked (£60).
Defoe, Robinson Crusoe. Dailey Rare Books, July on-line cat., 1790 ed., 2 vols., pls. foxed, contemporary calf rebacked ($450). London Antiquarian Book Arcade, July on-line cat., 1820 ed., 2 vols., no description of binding ($49). Heritage Book Shop, July on-line cat., 1790 ed., 2 vols., half calf ($750). Kenneth Hince, July on-line cat., 1790 ed., 2 vols., contemporary calf ($219). Tamerlane Books, July on-line cat., 1876 ed., green cloth ($60). Claude Cox, Sept. cat. 128, #37, 1790 ed., contemporary calf rubbed (£85); #38, 1804 ed., spotted, contemporary calf (£45); #39, 1820 ed., contemporary calf rebacked (£120). Imperial Fine Books, Beverly Hills Art & Antique Fair, Oct., 1804 ed., 2 vols., contemporary calf ($950).
[Dodsley], The Economy of Human Life, 1799. Westfield Book Co., July on-line cat., contemporary calf worn (£45). The presence in this ed. of the 4 pls. after Stothard, dated 1796 in their imprints, has not been noted previously.
Falconer, Shipwreck, 1811. The Book Chest, June on-line cat., the 4 pls. after Stothard very worn, contemporary calf worn begin page 111 | ↑ back to top ($25). The presence of the 1795 pls., engraved by James Parker after Stothard, in this 1811 ed. has not been previously recorded. They still bear their 1795 imprints. Gessner, Death of Abel, 1797. Charles Agvent, July on-line cat., no description of the binding other than “joints split” ($150).
Glover, Leonidas, 1798. Argosy Book Store, June on-line cat., 2 vols. in 1, 2 pls. not by Stothard in duplicate with and without letters, contemporary morocco worn ($150).
Goldsmith, Vicar of Wakefield, 1792. The Book Chest, June on-line cat., 2 vols. in 1, possibly a large-paper copy trimmed, calf crudely rebacked, worn ($150).
Gray, Elegy in a Country Church-Yard, 1836. J & J House, July on-line cat., “wood engraved vignettes after Constable, . . . Stothard & others,” full morocco ($400). Not seen; not previously recorded as containing wood engravings after Stothard.
Green, The Spleen, and Other Poems, 1796. Peter Murray Hill, Oct. cat. 188, #71, contemporary half calf (£50).
Hall, Book of Gems. Ian Hodgkins, Jan. cat. 98, #52, 1868 ed., foxed, original boards (£120); #53, 1877 ed. (£85).
Hayley, Triumphs of Temper, 1788. Dailey Rare Books, June on-line cat., contemporary calf ($150). Sam Gatteno Books, June on-line cat., contemporary calf rubbed ($125).
Hazlitt, ed. Select British Poets, 1825. Maggs, Dec. cat. 1264, #162, spotted, contemporary half calf (£140).
Hume, History of England, Cadell ed., 1790-91. Krown & Spellman, March private offer, the pls. only, imprint dates of 1788-90, 44 pls. in all, of which 30 are attributed to Stothard as the designer of the border images, fine impressions on laid paper, some proofs before letters, later full morocco ($475).
Johnson, Rasselas, 1796. Harold B. Diamond, June on-line cat., contemporary 3/4 calf worn ($250).
The Keepsake. Sevin Seydi Rare Books, Feb. cat. “Midas,” #193, 1834 ed., original silk-covered boards worn (£40). Deighton Bell, March cat. 275, #342, 1829 ed., original silk worn (£30). Ken Spelman, May cat. 38, #185, 53 pls. only from the 1830-33 issues, including at least 1 by Stothard, bound in an album, contemporary half morocco (£380); same copy and price, Aug. cat. 39, #162.
LeSage, The Devil on Two Sticks, apparently extracted from The Novelist’s Magazine, 1780. The Book Chest, June on-line cat., no information on condition or binding ($120).
The Literary Souvenir. Deighton Bell, March cat. 275, #350, 1828 ed., lacking 1 pl. (not identified), contemporary calf (£25); #351, 1828 ed., large-paper issue with pls. on laid India, contemporary morocco (£60); #355, 1831 ed., lacking 1 pl. not by Stothard, large-paper issue with pls. on laid India, some foxing, half morocco (£25); #356, 1832 ed., large-paper issue with pls. on laid India, contemporary half morocco (£55).
Macpherson, Poems of Ossian, 1795, BBA, 12 March, #260, begin page 112 | ↑ back to top 2 vols., slight foxing, contemporary calf worn (not sold; estimate £50-75).
More, The Search after Happiness, 1811. Argosy Book Store, July on-line cat., “fine copy”—but the frontispiece (Tanner after Stothard) is a worn and browned impression ($35).
Novelist’s Magazine. See LeSage, above, and Novelist’s Magazine under Letterpress Books with Engravings by and after Blake, above.
Rogers, Italy. Howes, Jan. cat. 277, #271, 1830 ed., contemporary morocco, with Rogers, Poems, 1834 (£280); March cat. 278, 1830 ed., contemporary morocco, with Rogers, Poems, 1834 (£175). Jarndyce, March cat. 124, #851, 1830 ed., later morocco (£60); #852, 1830 ed., foxed, letter by Rogers inserted, contemporary morocco (£85); #854, 1852 ed., foxed, original cloth (£75); #855, 1854 ed., foxed, contemporary calf (£65). Claude Cox, May cat. 126, #55, 1830 ed., some browning throughout, uncut in modern half morocco (£60). Ewen Kerr, June cat. 67, #564, 1830 ed. (£120). Antiquariat Franz Deuticke, Sept. cat. 260, #475, 1830 ed., with Rogers, Poems, 1834 (about $375).
Rogers, Pleasures of Memory. Claude Cox, Jan. cat. 124, #70, 1796 ed., pls. lightly spotted, contemporary half calf (£15). Jarndyce, March cat. 124, #839, 1799 ed., later vellum (£75); #840, 1801 ed., contemporary half calf (£45); #841, 1803 ed., contemporary calf (£40). See also under Palmer, above.
Rogers, Poems. SL, 11 Dec. 1997, #184, 1836 ed., 2 vols. (thus including Italy?), presentation inscription from Rogers dated 1846, autograph poem by Rogers inserted, original cloth repaired (£230). Robert Frew, Jan. cat. 12, #336, 1834 ed., slight spotting, contemporary morocco (£100). Ian Hodgkins, Jan. cat. 98, #244, 1860 ed., original cloth worn (£38). Jarndyce, March cat. 124, #842, 1834 ed., uncut in original boards (£65); #844, 1834 ed., contemporary morocco (£85); #845, 1852 ed., original cloth (£60). Ewen Kerr, June cat. 67, #561, 1812 ed., 3rd issue, half calf (£75); #562, 1812 ed. (£60). Traylen, June cat. 125, #137, 1834 ed., full morocco (£70). Swann, 10 Sept., #163, 1838 ed., contemporary morocco ($126).
Rowe, Works, 1792. Robert Clark, Sept. cat. 51, #260, 2 vols., contemporary calf worn (£38).
Royal Engagement Pocket Atlas. Stuart Bennett, July on-line cat., for 1803, original pictorial wrappers, original slipcase ($250). Marlborough Rare Books, Sept. cat. 176, #19, for 1793, original pictorial wrappers (£185).
Ruggle, Ignoramus, 1787. The Book Chest, June on-line cat., Stothard’s frontispiece foxed, full calf stained ($350).
Scott, Rokeby, 1813. Argosy, July on-line cat., foxed, contemporary calf ($250).
Shakespeare, Dramatic Works, Pickering ed., 1826. Damon Van Vliet, June on-line cat., full morocco, slipcase ($200).
Shakespeare, The Plays, Heath ed., 1807. Grant & Shaw, Sept. cat. 43, #86, 6 vols., foxed, contemporary half calf (£1100).
Smollett, Peregrine Pickle, 1784. The Book Chest, June on-line cat., 4 vols., contemporary calf, 2 vols. rebacked ($165). Sterne, Sentimental Journey, 1792. The Book Chest, June on-line cat., full calf ($425). Alex Fotheringham, Oct. cat. 38, #126, date “excised” from title page, contemporary sheep repaired (£110).
Sterne, Works, 1798. SL, 11 Dec. 1997, #131, 10 vols., contemporary calf rebacked (not sold; estimate £350-450).
Thomson, Poetical Works, 1830. Claude Cox, March cat. 125, #239, original cloth (£30).
Thomson, Seasons, 1793. Richard Budd, Nov. cat. 41, #286, modern quarter calf (£95).
Townshend, Poems, 1796. Peter Murray Hill, Oct. cat. 188, #130, original boards uncut, partly unopened (£105).
Watts, ed., Literary Souvenir, and Cabinet of Modern Art, 1835. Deighton Bell, March cat. 275, #379, contemporary calf (£45). With 2 pls. after Stothard, “Euphrosyne” and “The Vintage.”
Young, Night Thoughts, 1798. Bartfield Rare Books, Aug. on-line cat., contemporary morocco ($550).
VON HOLST, THEODOR
A Man and a Woman Holding the Legs of a Naked Man (recto); A Man with a Sword Abducting a Woman (verso). Black chalk, 28.5 cm. diameter. SL, 9 Sept., #273, recto illus. (not sold; estimate £1000-1500).
Studies of Women and a Child (recto); A Woman on a Balcony Being Attacked by a Bat (verso). Pen and brown ink over pencil, 27 × 21.5 cm., verso signed. SL, 9 Sept., #271, verso illus. (not sold; estimate £800-1200).
Study of a Man with a Shield and Sword and a Pointing Man. Pen and brown ink, 18.5 × 15.5 cm. SL, 9 Sept., #272, illus. (£287).
Appendix: New Information on Blake’s Engravings
Listed below are substantive additions or corrections to Essick, The Separate Plates of William Blake: A Catalogue (1983), and Essick, William Blake’s Commercial Book Illustrations (1991). Abbreviations and citation styles follow the respective volumes.
The Separate Plates of William Blake: A Catalogue
Pp. 103-04, “The Man Sweeping the Interpreter’s Parlour,” impression 2F. As of late 1997, on long-term loan to the Fitzwilliam Museum, Cambridge.
P. 106, “The Man Sweeping the Interpreter’s Parlour,” impression 2L. For attempted sales, see under “Separate Plates and Plates in Series,” above, and comments in the introductory essay.
P. 111, “George Cumberland’s Card.” For two previously unrecorded impressions, see under “Separate Plates and Plates in Series,” above.
P. 132, “Robin Hood & Clorinda,” p. 134, “The Fall of Rosamond,” and p. 158, “The Idle Laundress.” For previously unrecorded impressions, see under “Separate Plates and Plates in Series,” above.
P. 153, “Rev. John Caspar Lavater,” Blake after an unknown artist, impression 3N. Sold Jan. 1998 by the dealer John Windle to the Bentley collection, Toronto.
P. 171, “Head of a Damned Soul in Dante’s Inferno,” Blake after Fuseli. Impression 1E given by Charles Ryskamp, in memory of Sir Geoffrey Keynes, to the Pierpont Morgan Library in 1982. Consequently, there are no more traced impressions remaining in private hands. Apologies for being so tardy in reporting this gift, kindly pointed out to me by Ryskamp.
P. 191, “Mrs Q,” Blake after Villiers. See under “Separate Plates and Plates in Series,” above, for a previously unrecorded impression in black ink (all others known to me are in brown ink).
P. 192, “Mrs Q,” Blake after Villiers. Impression 2D acquired by the Huntington Library, Jan. 1998. Impression 2H acquired Jan. 1998 by R. Essick from the dealer John Windle.
P. 214, “Christ Trampling on Satan,” Butts after Blake. An impression was acquired by the Huntington Library in Jan. 1998 from the dealer John Windle. Heavy wove paper, sheet 44.5 × 30.5 cm.
P. 236, “Winged Figure flying through Clouds,” after Stothard. A previously unrecorded impression was offered by the book and print dealer John Windle in Sept. (see under Separate Plates, above).
William Blake’s Commercial Book Illustrations
P. 34, Ritson, Select Collection of English Songs, 1783, pl. 2. A proof before letters is now in the RNE collection—see the quarto album of pls. under Stothard, above.
P. 49, Hartley, Observations on Man, 1791. A proof of Blake’s pl., lacking only the scratched signature, was acquired by RNE in Feb. 1998.
Addendum
In my 1997 sales review (Blake 31 [1998]: 108-37), I reproduced as illus. 1 an impression of Europe pl. 1 (“The Ancient of Days”) now in my collection. In the caption to this illustration, I failed to indicate that Bentley 340 states that a “note on the verso” of this impression “says it is from the Smith and Biddle collections.” I can find no evidence of such an inscription on the verso of the print itself. However, the brown wrapping-paper backing (now also in my collection) for the frame in which the print was mounted while in Leonard Baskin’s possession (June 1964 to May 1997) is inscribed, in rather elaborate ink script by Baskin, as follows: “Wm Blake / Frontispiece for =Europe= / From the Biddle-Smith Coll:s / From the 1832 posthumous ed. by / Fred.k Tathem [sic], / of which / only one copy known- / M. Zhn [i.e., Mabel Zahn] of Sesslers suggests a proof=.” Since this impression is neither a “proof” (in the sense of representing a state of the copperplate earlier than the one published in all but proof copy a of Europe) nor a posthumous printing, the only part of this inscription that strikes me as accurate is the provenance information tracing the print to the Smith and Biddle collections.