Volume 41 · Issue 4

ARTICLE

Blake in the Marketplace, 2007

By Robert N. Essick

THE hyperactive 2006 Blake market continued through 2007. In the first month of the year, John Windle—“the foremost dealer in Blake,” according to one member of the trade¹↤ 1. Michael Taylor, April Catalogue 65: Wood Engravings, item 1. —managed the sale of the only copy of Poetical Sketches remaining in private hands. To no one’s surprise, the price set a record for a letterpress edition of Blake’s writings. Bonhams, the London auction house, offered two Blake drawings in its 6 February sale catalogue. They were oddly estimated, with the more interesting drawing (illus. 6) given a lower range than the rather conventional drawings of a baby’s head (illus. 7). Unfortunately, I was not able to test my sense of their actual market value: on 31 January I was informed by Bonhams that both drawings were withdrawn. I will report any further information I can obtain about their destiny in future reviews.

In mid-January I learned that an “important Blake” had been sold (presumably late in 2006) to a private collector for something over $2 million, with Sotheby’s New York acting as the intermediary. I was able to confirm, from a reliable source, that this work was copy N of Visions of the Daughters of Albion, formerly in the Whitney family collection. This late and beautiful copy disappeared for many years, only to reemerge under mysterious circumstances at Swann, the New York auction house, in August 2004.²↤ 2. For further information, see Blake 38.4 (spring 2005): 124, and 39.4 (spring 2006): 148. I have not been able to confirm the rumored price.

Nancy Bialler of Sotheby’s New York informed me on 6 September that eight (of fifteen) plates from Songs of Innocence copy Y, for many years on deposit at the Wallraf-Richartz-Museum in Cologne, would be offered in six lots at auction on 1 November (illus. 1-5).³↤ 3. For information on copy Y and its rediscovery, see BBS 119-20 and Detlef W. Dörrbecker, “Innocence Lost and Found: An Untraced Copy Traced,” Blake 15.3 (winter 1981-82): 125-31, with illus. of “The Shepherd,” “The Little Black Boy” (2^nd pl.), “The Little Boy Found,” and “Cradle Song” (2^nd pl.). I had assumed that the museum would be the permanent home for copy Y, but I learned on 7 September from Detlef Dörrbecker that the owners of the work, apparently members of the Neuerburg family, had reclaimed the book in 2004 or 2005. Why only eight prints, and not all fifteen, were offered for sale remains unexplained. In December, Bialler told Windle that the “owners” (note the plural) had no plans to sell the remaining seven plates.

Windle and I, the only dedicated Blakeans in attendance, viewed the prints an hour before the auction. The color reproductions in the catalogue were pale, suggesting that the color washes had faded. The originals proved to be in good condition with delicate, unfaded coloring. Most of the plates had highlights in liquefied gold, a medium not mentioned in the catalogue. Although not as brightly tinted as copies of the combined Songs Blake produced in the 1820s, copy Y includes splendid examples of his mature style. Perhaps miniature portraiture, which Blake began to practice in 1801, influenced the subtle coloring effects evident in the copy Y impressions at Sotheby’s.

We believed that all lots would easily exceed their surprisingly modest estimates. Our prediction proved accurate, as the prices recorded below indicate. Most lots attracted three or four bidders in the early rounds, but bidding on each lot evolved into a contest between Windle, acting on my behalf, and the collector Alan Parker on the telephone from London. Windle won four lots, with Parker the underbidder on each; the roles were reversed on the remaining two lots. “The Divine Image” established a record price for a single plate from Songs of Innocence or Songs of Experience; “The Little Black Boy” set a record for any two plates from one of Blake’s illuminated books. Two lots fetched over ten times high estimate, a rare occurrence at any auction. It was a spirited contest lasting about eight minutes.

No sales review would be complete without a few words about Blake’s watercolors illustrating Robert Blair’s The Grave, offered for sale at Sotheby’s New York on 2 May 2006.⁴↤ 4. For details, see Blake 40.4 (spring 2007): 116-17, 120-26, and the various articles listed in 116n1 of that issue. On 2 April 2007, Windle saw The Day of Judgment watercolor hanging in Sam Fogg’s book and antique shop, 15d Clifford Street, London. Fogg stated that the work was “not presently for sale,” but would give no further information. His comment makes me suspect that he does not own the drawing; perhaps a friend or customer left it in the shop to spice up the décor. Fogg may have been one of the agents for the collectors who acquired three of the designs shortly after their failure to sell at auction, including The Day of Judgment. The latest rumors in London are that one or two were bought by David Thomson, Toronto, and one by Leon Black, New York. As of April 2007, the London dealer Libby Howie and her financial backer still had five Grave watercolors: Whilst Surfeited upon Thy Damask Cheek, The Descent of Man into the Vale of Death, The Gambols of Ghosts, The Counseller, King, Warrior, Mother and Child, in the Tomb, and The Death of the Good Old Man. Howie has not placed prices on these drawings but will consider substantial offers.

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The April/May 2007 issue of Rare Book Review offers an essay by R. M. Healey, “First Impressions,” about a plate-printing and publishing firm, “The Thomas Ross Collection,” located in Binfield, Berkshire. A sentence on page 52 caught my attention: “The plates by William Blake, which are the most valuable in the [Ross] Collection, and which are secreted away in another part of the building, also required more notice to retrieve, and so I had to be content with seeing one of the Turner aquatint plates. . . .” The context indicates that the references are to metal “plates,” not impressions from them. the only Blake print offered in the Ross online catalogue <http://www.thomasross.co.uk> is a reduced reengraving (or photogravure or zincograph) of “Chaucers Canterbury Pilgrims” in the third state (of five) with a platemark of 20.3 × 48.3 cm. The original copperplate, measuring 35.7 × 97.05 cm., has been in the Yale University Art Gallery since 1973. The Ross Collection is the successor to Dixon & Ross, the printers of Blake’s Dante engravings in 1838 who later operated under the name Thomas Ross & Son, at least until the 1980s.⁵↤ 5. See BB 544-45 and Anthony Dyson, Pictures to Print: The Nineteenth-Century Engraving Trade (London: Farrand P, 1984) xxvi. All of the “Blake” plates in the Ross Collection are reproductions, as will be explained in an article by G. E. Bentley, Jr., forthcoming in this journal.

An article by Harriet Rubin in the 21 July issue of the New York Times includes the following paragraph:

Until recently when Steven P. Jobs of Apple sold his collection, he reportedly had an “inexhaustible interest” in the books of William Blake—the mad visionary 18th-century mystic poet and artist. Perhaps future historians will track down Mr. Jobs’s Blake library to trace the inspiration for Pixar and the grail-like appeal of the iPhone.

I have received several inquiries about Jobs’s collection, presumed to contain significant works. I cannot trace any original work by “the mad visionary” to his ownership and I had never heard of this collection until learning of the Times article. Some readers assumed that the two-word quotation in the passage above was uttered by Windle, quoted elsewhere in the essay about non-Blakean matters. He tells me that he never said any such thing and that he has never met Jobs or sold anything to him. A digital legend in the making?

In my 2006 sales review I noted that there was a mysterious “confusion surrounding the sale” of Blake’s Tiriel Led by Hela (Butlin #198.10) at Sotheby’s London, 23 November 2006, #192.⁶↤ 6. Blake 40.4 (spring 2007): 117-18, 127, and illus. 10. In August 2007 I learned from Sotheby’s that this wash drawing had not been sold and remains in the ownership of Connie, David, and Richard Kain, the heirs of Mrs. Louise Y. Kain of Louisville, Kentucky. Sotheby’s had hoped to offer the drawing again at a New York auction in January 2008, but negotiations with the owners came to naught.

The London art world was abuzz, through the summer and fall of 2007, with rumors about yet another major Blake discovery. On 13 November, Tim Linnell told me about a story in the 11 November issue of the Observer concerning these works.⁷↤ 7. <http://observer.guardian.co.uk/uk_news/story/0,,2209033,00.html>, accessed 13 Nov. Another story appeared on the CBC.ca arts web site on 12 Nov. <http://www.cbc.ca/arts/artdesign/story/2007/11/12/ blake-watercolours-tate.html>. The latter repeats much of the information in the Observer article, but adds that the prints “were discovered after someone tried to sell them at an auction earlier in 2007.” I have no independent information about such an auction. The author of the article, Vanessa Thorpe, reports that Tate Britain is exhibiting eight recently discovered color prints by Blake. She does not indicate as much, but the group was clearly once part of A Small Book of Designs copy B (and/or a previously unidentified copy C?). I have learned from another source that the present owner, who acquired the works at a furniture auction many years ago, brought the prints to the Victoria and Albert Museum, where they were identified. Thorpe states that the following lines are written “beside an image” of The Book of Urizen pl. 23: “Fearless though in pain I travel on”; The Marriage of Heaven and Hell pl. 16 is captioned “Who shall set the prisoners free?” According to the Tate’s web site, all eight prints are included in an exhibition entitled William Blake: “I still go on / Till the Heavens and Earth are gone,” running at Tate Britain from 3 November 2007 through 1 June 2008.⁸↤ 8. <http://www.tate.org.uk/britain/exhibitions/blake/>, accessed 13 Nov. The subtitle of the exhibition is quoted from Blake’s Notebook poem beginning “The Caverns of the Grave Ive seen” (E 480). The color prints are described only as “the private loans of recently discovered works which have never before been exhibited.” I suspect that the Tate is attempting to purchase the group.

Robin Hamlyn, the curator at Tate Britain in charge of the Blake collection, has very kindly sent me a list of the newly discovered prints, each on a leaf of wove paper ranging between 25.0 × 18.2 and 26.7 × 18.7 cm. Seven of the eight designs bear pen and ink inscriptions by Blake. All include multiple ink framing lines, as with other impressions from A Small Book of Designs copy B; each is numbered by Blake, as with five previously recorded impressions in copy B. The group includes the designs on the following illuminated-book plates: The Book of Thel pl. 7; The Marriage of Heaven and Hell pl. 16; and The Book of Urizen pls. 7, 11, 12, 17, 19, 23. All but Urizen pl. 17 are inscribed on the verso, “This Coloured print by W^m Blake / Was given to me by his widow / Frederick Tatham Sculptor.”⁹↤ 9. Tatham wrote the same inscription on the verso of Urizen pl. 1 in A Small Book of Designs copy B (Butlin #261.1, Keynes Family Trust). Except for Urizen pl. 12, impressions (probably the first pulls) of these designs appear in Small Book copy A in the British Museum. Another impression of Urizen pl. 12, now in the Morgan Library and Museum (Butlin #261.10), has been included as part of Small Book copy B by modern scholars, but it is trimmed to the image and thus lacks framing lines and an inscribed number (if once present). Yet a third color-printed begin page 142 | ↑ back to top impression of pl. 12 (Butlin #280, British Museum) has not been associated with either copy of Small Book. Two impressions of Urizen pl. 3 are included in modern reconstructions of Small Book copy B. Two plates are numbered “9,” Marriage pl. 14 in the National Gallery of Art, Washington (Butlin #261.3), and Urizen pl. 7 in the new group. These several repetitions lead me to speculate that Blake may have begun, c. 1818 or later, to assemble two sets of A Small Book of Designs—copy B and what we might call copy C—using illuminated-book illustrations color printed c. 1794-96.¹⁰↤ 10. Small Book copy A, and the second pulls that constitute most of copy B, were printed in 1796. Urizen pls. 9, 12, and 22 (Butlin #261.9-11) are considered to be part of copy B but they are not present in copy A. All three examples (I have not seen the impression of pl. 12 in the new group) have thinner color printing, but more extensive hand coloring, than their companions. These full-page designs may have been printed as part of Blake’s production of color-printed copies of The First Book of Urizen in 1794 and not incorporated into Small Book until c. 1818 or later. Hamlyn and Martin Butlin are preparing an essay on the newly discovered color prints for publication in this journal.

The year of all sales and catalogues in the following lists is 2007 unless indicated otherwise. Dates for online catalogues are the dates accessed, not the dates of publication. Works offered online and previously listed in either of the last two sales reviews are not repeated here. 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 2007 sales will be covered in the 2008 review. I am grateful for help in compiling this review to G. E. Bentley, Jr., Nancy Bialler, Detlef Dörrbecker, Emmeline Hallmark, Robin Hamlyn, Tim Linnell, David Redden, Robert Smith, Steven Tabor, Joseph Viscomi, and John Windle. My special thanks go to Alexander Gourlay for his generosity in keeping me abreast of internet auctions. Once again, Sarah Jones’s editorial expertise and John Sullivan’s electronic imaging have been invaluable.

Abbreviations

BB	G. E. Bentley, Jr., Blake Books (Oxford: Clarendon P, 1977). Plate numbers and copy designations for Blake’s illuminated books follow BB.
BBS	G. E. Bentley, Jr., Blake Books Supplement (Oxford: Clarendon P, 1995)
BH	Bonhams, auctioneers, London
BL	Bloomsbury Auctions, London
BNY	Bloomsbury Auctions, New York
BR(2)	G. E. Bentley, Jr., Blake Records, 2nd ed. (New Haven: Yale UP, 2004)
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)
CB	Robert N. Essick, William Blake’s Commercial Book Illustrations (Oxford: Clarendon P, 1991)
CL	Christie’s, London
CNY	Christie’s, New York
Coxhead	A. C. Coxhead, Thomas Stothard, R.A. (London: Bullen, 1906)
CSK	Christie’s, South Kensington
E	The Complete Poetry and Prose of William Blake, ed. David V. Erdman, newly rev. ed. (New York: Anchor-Doubleday, 1988)
EB	eBay online auctions
F	G. E. Bentley, Jr., The Early Engravings of Flaxman’s Classical Designs (New York: New York Public Library, 1964)
illus.	the item or part thereof is reproduced in the catalogue
PBA	Pacific Book Auction Galleries, San Francisco
pl(s).	plate(s)
SL	Sotheby’s, London
SNY	Sotheby’s, New York
SP	Robert N. Essick, The Separate Plates of William Blake: A Catalogue (Princeton: Princeton UP, 1983)
st(s).	state(s) of an engraving, etching, or lithograph
Swann	Swann, auctioneers, New York
#	auction lot or catalogue item number

Illuminated Books

Songs of Innocence copy Y. SNY, 1 Nov., 8 pls. only (of 15) on 8 leaves of wove paper, printed in light-brown ink (pls. 4, 5, 10, 12, 16, 17), reddish-brown ink (pl. 9), and blue ink (pl. 18), each leaf bearing the blind-stamped collection mark of Heinrich Neuerburg lower right.¹¹↤ 11. For illus., see Frits Lugt, Les Marques de Collections de Dessins et d’Estampes: Supplément (La Haye: Martinus Nijhoff, 1956) 190 #1344a. Heinrich Neuerburg died in 1956. Apparently his heir, Walter Neuerburg, who acquired copy Y in March 1962, continued to use the Heinrich Neuerburg collection mark. Dr. Walter Neuerburg is recorded as the owner of copy Y in Dörrbecker (see note 3, above) and BBS 120. Relief etchings, some with white-line etching, hand colored and with pen and black ink border lines contiguous with the edges of the images. Selected motifs on all pls. outlined in pen and black ink; highlights added in liquefied gold on pls. 4, 5, 9, 12, 17, 18. Numbered in pen and black ink by Blake. Sold in the following lots, all illus. color:

#16. Pl. 4, “Introduction,” numbered “3” top right. Image 11.9 × 7.9 cm. on leaf 20.3 × 14.5 cm. with a BUTTA[NSHAW] watermark. $28,000 to John Windle acting for Robert Essick; estimate $3000-5000. See illus. 1.

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#17. Pl. 5, “The Shepherd,” numbered “4” top right. Image 11.1 × 7.0 cm. on leaf 20.3 × 14.0 cm. with a deckle edge at the bottom. $109,000 to John Windle acting for Robert Essick; estimate $35,000-45,000. For illus., see Blake 15.3 (winter 1981-82): 127.

#18. Pls. 9-10, “The Little Black Boy,” numbered “8” and “9” top right. Images 11.2 × 6.9 cm. (pl. 9) and 10.5 × 6.7 cm. (pl. 10) on 2 leaves, 20.8 × 14.3 cm. (pl. 9) and 20.7 × 14.2 cm. (pl. 10). $193,000 to John Windle acting for Robert Essick; estimate $45,000-65,000. The boy furthest to the left in pl. 10 has a darker skin color than the other boy, as in some early copies (e.g., Innocence L and Z; I, L, and R of the combined Songs) and most 19^th-century copies (e.g., E, T²-W, Y, and Z of Songs

of Innocence and of Experience). The copperplate extends about 7 mm. below the relief image on pl. 10. Blake left this area uncolored in this impression and in most copies of Songs of Innocence (e.g., B, D, G, I, L, O, Z) and most early copies of the combined Songs (e.g., A-C, F, R), but added watercolors to extend the earth or water at the bottom of the design into this lower area in copies I and L of Songs of Innocence and of Experience (both printed 1795) and most later copies (e.g., T²-W, Y, Z, AA). See illus. 2 (pl. 9) and Blake 15.3 (winter 1981-82): 127 (pl. 10).

#19. Pl. 12, “The Chimney Sweeper,” numbered “11” top right. Image 11.3 × 7.3 cm. on leaf 21.4 × 15.0 cm. $73,000 to Alan Parker, London; estimate $3000-5000. See illus. 3.

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#20. Pl. 18, “The Divine Image,” numbered “17” top right. Image 11.1 × 6.9 cm. on leaf 20.1 × 13.6 cm. $121,000 to John Windle acting for Robert Essick; estimate $5000-10,000. See illus. 4.

#21. Pls. 16-17, “A Cradle Song,” numbered “15” and “16” top right. 11.3 × 7.2 cm. (pl. 16) and 11.3 × 7.1 cm. (pl. 17) on 2 leaves, 20.8 × 14.9 cm. (pl. 16) and 20.9 × 14.4 cm. (pl. 17), both with a BUTTA[NSHAW] watermark. $115,000 to Alan Parker, London; estimate $10,000-15,000. See illus. 5 (pl. 16) and Blake 15.3 (winter 1981-82): 129 (pl. 17).

See also comments above in the prefatory essay.

Songs of Innocence and of Experience posthumous copy o, 3 pls. only: “Nurses Song” (pl. 24) from Innocence, “Nurses Song” (pl. 38) from Experience, and “The School Boy” (pl. 53). The impressions offered in John Windle’s Nov. 2006 cat. were acquired in Jan. by the Victoria University Library, Toronto. For further information about these prints, see Blake 40.4 (spring 2007): 119.

Visions of the Daughters of Albion copy N. Sold late 2006 by private treaty through SNY to a private collector (probably over $2 million). See comments above in the prefatory essay.

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Drawings and Paintings

Paolo and Francesca(?). Pencil, approx. 19.0 × 11.0 cm. on leaf 21.3 × 37.4 cm. Butlin #816, dating the drawing to c. 1824-27. BH, 6 Feb., #90, illus. color (estimate £6000-9000; withdrawn at least a week before the sale). See illus. 6.

The Resurrection (recto), with studies of eyes, the head of an eagle, a human face, and a lion (verso). Some of the verso sketches are related to Blake’s 1802 Designs to a Series of Ballads by William Hayley. Pen and gray ink, gray wash over pencil (recto), pencil (verso), recto image and sheet 20.5 × 21.0 cm., recto datable to the mid-1780s. Butlin #610. W/S Fine Art, Sept. flier, “Three Centuries of English, Scottish and Irish Oil Paintings and Works on Paper,” no entry #, recto illus. color (not priced). For discussion, auction sale, and illus., see Martin Butlin, “A Blake Drawing Rediscovered and Redated,” Blake 34.1 (summer 2000): 22-24; and Blake 36.4 (spring 2003): 120-21.

Two Studies of a Baby’s Head. Pencil, with touches of watercolor on the lower head, leaf 37.4 × 26.2 cm. Butlin #788, dating the drawing to c. 1820. BH, 6 Feb., #91, illus. color (estimate £10,000-15,000; withdrawn at least a week before the sale). See illus 7.

First Editions of Blake’s Writings First Published in Letterpress in Blake’s Lifetime

Poetical Sketches, 1783, BB and BBS copy E. Sold Jan. by James Edwards, Potomac, Maryland (the “American Collector” listed in BBS 107) to Alan Parker, London, through the San Francisco dealer John Windle ($250,000). Edwards paid $170,000 for the book c. 1991, not the rumored “$265,000” noted in BBS 107. For an illus. of the title page, including Flaxman’s presentation inscription, see Blake 40.4 (spring 2007), back cover.

Separate Plates and Plates in Series

“Chaucers Canterbury Pilgrims.” Larkhall Fine Art, Jan. private offer, 3^rd st., SP impression 3W, marginal tears (1 into the image) repaired (£17,500). Cowan’s auction, Cincinnati, 13 Oct., #794, 5^th st., a Sessler impression with the “France” watermark, illus. color online ($4500 to John Windle, who immediately sold it to the Victoria University Library, Toronto).

Dante engravings. CNY, 30 Oct., #156, “The Circle of the Corrupt Officials” only, some creases, marginal foxing and soiling, illus. color (not sold; estimate $6000-8000); #157, “The Circle of the Falsifiers” only, some creases, marginal foxing and tears, illus. color (not sold; estimate $6000-8000); #158, “The Circle of the Traitors” only, marginal tears and foxing, illus. color ($1625).

“George Cumberland’s Card.” One of 2 previously unrecorded impressions was on consignment with John Windle by Oct. (price on request). For both impressions, see the appendix, The Separate Plates of William Blake.

Job engravings. Skinner auction, Boston, 2 March, #42, pl. numbered 16 only, on laid India, probably the 1874 printing since there is no clear evidence of the “Proof” inscription, foxed (mostly in the margins), illus. color ($1600; estimate $300-350). Swann, 3 May, #244, pl. numbered 9 only, 1874 printing on laid India, illus. ($3200). Ursus Books, May cat. 262, #13, complete set, 1826 printing on Whatman paper after the removal of the “Proof” inscription, tissue guards, later cloth-backed boards, original cover label, housed in a later morocco box, previously offered for £40,000 by Sims Reed and for $85,000 by Ursus, illus. ($85,000 again); same copy (?), Sims Reed, Aug. cat., #20, illus. color (£45,000). BL, 11 June, #36, complete set, 1826 printing on Whatman paper after the removal of begin page 148 | ↑ back to top

the “Proof” inscription, modern cloth-backed boards, cover label initialed “J. L.” (John Linnell), illus. color (£22,000). CL, 18 Sept., #163, complete set, 1826 printing on Whatman paper after the removal of the “Proof” inscription, red pen and ink framing lines added just outside the platemarks, brown calf, illus. color (£20,900). Swann, 20 Sept., 3 pls. in 3 lots, 1874 printing on laid India, all illus. color: #103, pl. numbered 2 (not sold; estimate $2000-3000); #104, pl. numbered 3 ($1900); #105, pl. numbered 16 ($3800); 31 Oct., #209, pl. numbered 6 only, 1874 printing on laid India, illus. color ($3400).

“Morning Amusement” and “Evening Amusement,” after Watteau. The previously unrecorded impressions offered in John Windle’s Nov. 2006 cat. were acquired in Jan. by the Victoria University Library, Toronto. For details, see Blake 40.4 (spring 2007): 130.

Letterpress Books with Engravings by and after Blake, Including Prints Extracted from Such Books

Adams, New Royal Geographical Magazine, c. 1793. International Book Sales, July online cat., with the 2^nd sts. of the 3 pls. by Blake first published in Seally and Lyons, A Complete Geographical Dictionary, lacking the frontispiece (not by Blake), pls. foxed and some with marginal tears, contemporary calf very worn, front cover detached, engraved title page illus. color online ($1375). The only copy I have ever seen on the market. BBS 252 locates only the copy in the Library Company of Philadelphia; the English Short-Title Catalog <http://estc.ucr.edu> lists copies in the British Library, Cambridge University Library, Dalhousie University, and Union Theological Seminary. See also comments in the appendix, William Blake’s Commercial Book Illustrations.

Ariosto, Orlando furioso. Valley Auctions, Dublin, Virginia, 13 April, #42, 1783 ed., 5 vols., scattered foxing, contemporary calf begin page 149 | ↑ back to top

worn, illus. color online ($150). John Price, May cat., #2, 1785 ed., 5 vols., pls. foxed and browned, contemporary calf worn (£300). EB, July-Aug., 1799 ed., 5 vols., marginal foxing on pls., contemporary half calf worn, illus. color (£83). Calendula Horticultural Books, Sept. online cat., 1785 ed., 5 vols., contemporary calf very worn, covers detached ($195.95). Choice Books, Sept. online cat., 1799 ed., 5 vols., “covers worn” ($275). Bertrand Michel, Sept. online cat., 1799 ed., 5 vols., half calf very worn, spines of 2 vols. missing ($1170.84). Taurus Books, Sept. online cat., 1785 ed., 5 vols., contemporary calf worn ($300). Adams & Adams, Sept. online cat., 1783 ed., 5 vols., contemporary calf, binding illus. color ($1500). Havercroft Books, Sept. online cat., 1783 ed., 5 vols., Blake’s pl. detached, contemporary calf worn (£385). Experienced Books, Sept. online cat., 1799 ed., vol. 3 only, presumably including Blake’s pl., “readable copy” ($19.50). First Place Books, Sept. online cat., 1783 ed., 5 vols. in 3, extra-illus. with 12 pls. (none related to Blake), later half calf ($1000). White Hills Farm, Sept. online cat., 1799 ed., 5 vols., later half calf worn, binding illus. ($400).

Blair, Grave. EB, Dec. 2006-Jan., “1813” (actually 1870) folio, some pls. stained, publisher’s cloth very worn, spine broken and leaves detached, illus. color ($500). Galerie Bassenge auction, Berlin, 26 April, #1182, 1813 quarto, half calf, illus. online ($955). Brighton City Art, May online cat., pls. 7 and 12 only with 1813 imprints, illus. color (£139 each). MacDonnell Books, June cat. 47, #10, 1808 quarto, “mild” foxing, “contemporary three-quarter [calf?] and marbled boards” ($1500). EB, June, pl. 10 only, 1813 imprint, probably the 1870 printing, illus. color (no bids on a required minimum bid of $249.95); same impression, also June, illus. color ($249.95); July, pl. 5 only, 1813 imprint, badly foxed and stained, illus. color ($184.20). Heritage Book Shop, Sept. online cat., 1808 quarto, 1 pl. foxed, 3 with marginal stains, 20^th-century morocco ($2500). Old Tampa Book Co., Sept. online cat., apparently the 1808 quarto, pls. browned and foxed, quarter calf ($2000). Stephen Foster, Sept. online cat., 1813 quarto, pls. foxed, later quarter morocco (£850). Subun-So Book Store, Sept. online cat., apparently the 1813 “folio” (but begin page 150 | ↑ back to top probably the quarto), some marginal foxing, original boards worn ($1779.39). PBA Galleries auction, San Francisco, 13 Sept., #19, 1813 quarto, minor soiling, 19^th-century morocco rebacked, handsome binding illus. color online ($1440). EB, Oct., 1808 quarto, scattered foxing on the pls., pl. 1 (engraved title page) slightly trimmed into the image top and bottom, later quarter calf, illus. color (no bids on a required minimum bid of £750); same copy, Nov. (£675). Leslie Hindman auction, Chicago, 30 Oct., #70, 1813 quarto, modern three-quarter calf, clamshell case, with Keynes, Blake, Faber Gallery, n.d., and Blake’s Job engravings, United Book Guild reproduction, 1947, binding of Grave illus. ($700). PBA Galleries auction, San Francisco, 29 Nov., #19, 1808 quarto, imprint trimmed off on title pl., scattered marginal foxing, contemporary calf very worn, rebacked, illus. color online ($1300).

Bonnycastle, Introduction to Mensuration, 1794. Madoc Books, May online cat., full “leather” worn (£75).

Boydell, Graphic Illustrations of . . . Shakspeare, c. 1803. BL, 14 Dec. 2006, #280, foxed, contemporary morocco rubbed, binding illus. color (not sold; estimate £300-500); same copy, 17 May, #120, illus. color (£220). CSK, 21 March, #94, marginal browning and spotting, later cloth (£288). Adrian Greenwood, Sept. online cat., minor marginal foxing, later buckram, illus. color (£595).

Bray, Life of Stothard, 1851. For an extra-illus. copy containing 14 pls. by Blake, see under Stothard, below.

Bryant, New System . . . of Ancient Mythology, 1774-76. EB, Feb., 1^st ed., 3 vols., contemporary calf repaired with new calf spines, illus. color (reserve not met; highest bid $1000); same copy, Feb., offered at the “buy it now” price of $1900; same copy, April ($999); June, 2^nd ed., 3 vols., marginal stains on some leaves, modern half calf, illus. color ($797.03). Petersfield Bookshop, Sept. online cat., 2^nd ed., 3 vols., contemporary calf rebacked (£550). Book Haven, Sept. online cat., 2^nd ed., 3 vols., some browning, later calf ($400). Ian Hodgkins, Sept. online cat., 2^nd ed., 3 vols., contemporary half calf worn (£280). Older Ways, Sept. online cat., 2^nd ed., vols. 1-2 only, title page to vol. 1 illus. color, no information on binding ($1000). Xerxes Books, Sept. online cat., apparently 1^st ed., vols. 2-3 only, minor spotting, full calf ($200).

Catullus, Poems, 1795. Any Amount of Books, Sept. online cat., 2 vols., minor foxing, full calf worn (£104.50).

Cumberland, Outlines from the Antients, 1829. Paul Grinke, June cat. 2, #20, small-paper issue, “some foxing throughout,” later half morocco (£225).

Darwin, Botanic Garden. Jeff Weber, June cat. 140, #53, 1^st ed. of Part 1, 3^rd ed. of Part 2, both 1791, 2 vols. in 1, occasional foxing, a few water stains, modern three-quarter calf, spine illus. color ($2500). Peace of Mind Bookstore, Sept. online cat., 1799 ed., apparently 2 vols. in 1, foxed, “rebound” in cloth ($475). Grants Bookshop, Sept. online cat., 1799 ed., apparently 2 vols. in 1, contemporary calf very worn ($327.19). Books on High, Sept. online cat., 1^st ed. of Part 1, 3^rd ed. of Part 2, both 1791, 2 vols. in 1, pls. foxed, some pls. folded, contemporary quarter calf very worn, covers detached ($1050). SessaBks, Sept. online cat., 1791 eds. (otherwise not described), lacking 3 pls. (including 2 by Blake of the Portland Vase), modern buckram ($650). William H. Allen, Sept. online cat., apparently 1^st ed. of Part 1, 3^rd ed. of Part 2, both 1791, 2 vols. in 1, half calf very worn, covers detached ($700). EB, Oct., 1^st ed. of Part 1, 3^rd ed. of Part 2, both 1791, 2 vols., at least 1 Portland Vase pl. trimmed into the image, occasional foxing, contemporary calf worn, illus. color ($1225); Oct.-Nov., 1799 ed., Part 1 (“The Economy of Vegetation”) only, apparently with all pls. by Blake, stains, contemporary calf worn, illus. color (£105.35).

Euler, Elements of Algebra, 1797. Beacon Books, Sept. online cat., 2 vols., foxed, apparently quarter calf ($1400).

Flaxman, Hesiod designs, 1817. EB, Dec. 2006, 1^st issue with pl. 20 misnumbered “37,” foxed, contemporary calf, illus. color (£180.63); April-May, some foxing and water staining, original boards with cover label very worn, back cover missing, illus. color ($272.82 to “Oothoon,” presumably a pseudonym); July, scattered marginal foxing, later boards, illus. color (offered only at the “buy it now” price of €545.95); same copy offered Sept., Oct., and Dec. at the same price. BL, 12 July, #402, “browning throughout,” contemporary half morocco worn, front cover detached, illus. color (not sold; estimate £300-500).

Flaxman, Iliad designs, 1805. EB, Feb., bound with Flaxman’s Odyssey designs, 1805, and his Aeschylus designs, 1795, scattered foxing and staining, 19^th-century quarter calf, illus. color (£188). GDS Books, Sept. online cat., bound with Flaxman’s Odyssey designs, 1805, marginal tears, some into the images, quarter calf very worn ($800). McLean Arts & Books, Sept. online cat., foxed, modern three-quarter calf ($800). Kingswood Books, Sept. online cat., dated to “1806” (probably an error for 1805), foxed, half calf worn (£250). EB, Sept., foxed, three-quarter calf, illus. color (no bids on a required minimum bid of $750).

Gay, Fables. EB, Jan., 1793 ed., vol. 1 (of 2) only, contemporary quarter calf very worn, spine broken, front cover detached, back cover missing, illus. color ($511—a remarkable price for a complete wreck); March, [1811] ed., 2 vols. in 1, minor foxing to margins, contemporary half calf, illus. color ($401.87). Swann, 17 May, #362, 1793 ed., 2 vols., scattered foxing, calf worn ($325). BL, 11 June, #28, 1793 ed., 2 vols., slight offsetting, modern calf, illus. color (£600). John K. King, Sept. online cat., 1793 ed., 2 vols., foxed, few leaves begin page 151 | ↑ back to top detached, contemporary calf very worn, vol. 1 covers detached ($747.50). Riverby Books, Sept. online cat., 1793 ed., apparently vol. 2 only with 3 pls. by Blake, “full calf” ($400). Xerxes Books, Sept. online cat., 1793 ed., 2 vols. in 1, three-quarter calf ($850). Ryan O’Horne, Sept. online cat., [1811] ed., apparently 2 vols. in 1, bound uniformly with Aesop, Fables, “1793” [also 1811?], 2 vols., scattered foxing, contemporary calf worn, illus. color (£1900). B. & L. Rootenberg, Sept. online cat., 1793 ed., 2 vols., bound uniformly with Aesop, Fables, 1793, 2 vols., “large paper copy,” full calf ($4500). Rulon-Miller Books, Sept. online cat., 1793 ed., 2 vols., contemporary calf worn ($900); another copy, 2 vols., contemporary morocco, quarter morocco slipcase ($1500). Paul Foster, Sept. online cat., 1793 ed., 2 vols., contemporary Russia worn (£950). Peter Harrington, Sept. online cat., 1793 ed., 2 vols., 19^th-century morocco worn (£1375). Alan Wofsy Fine Arts, Sept. online cat., 1793 ed., 2 vols., contemporary quarter calf ($1100). Addyman Books, Sept. online cat., 1793 ed., 2 vols., lacking the title and contents page in vol. 1, final gathering “becoming separated,” foxed, contemporary calf rebacked, worn (£300). Swann, 9 Nov., #110, 1793 ed., 2 vols., scattered foxing and damp staining, “large-paper issue,” modern morocco ($950).

Hartley, Observations on Man, 1791. Rachel Lee Rare Books (formerly Thoemmes Antiquarian Books), Sept. online cat., quarto issue, Blake’s pl. “spotted,” contemporary half calf rebacked (£750).

Hayley, Ballads, 1805. EB, Jan., pl. 4 (“The Hermits Dog”) only, slight stains in the inscription area, illus. color (no bids on a required minimum bid of $250).

Hayley, Essay on Sculpture, 1800. Brand Books, Sept. online cat., later cloth very worn ($300).

Hayley, Life of Cowper, 1803-04. EB, Dec. 2006-Jan., vols. 1-2 (of 3) only, 1^st ed., with Blake’s pls. 1-4, some spotting, contemporary calf very worn, covers detached, illus. color (no bids on a required minimum bid of $137.50); Jan., pl. 1 only, title and imprint trimmed off, illus. (no bids on a required minimum bid of $124). Brighton City Art, May online cat., pls. 3 (2^nd st.) and 5 only, illus. color (£299 and £239). EB, May-June, pl. 1 only, illus. color (£39.99); July, pl. 1 only, illus. color ($129); July, pl. 2 only, probably 2^nd st., illus. color ($124). BL, 19-20 July, #694, apparently 1^st ed., vols. 1-2 bound in 1, some foxing, later half calf (vols. 1-2) and contemporary calf (vol. 3), with the 1806 supplement in original boards worn (not sold; estimate £100-150).

Hayley, Life of Romney, 1809. James Fenning, Sept. cat. 236, #210, minor foxing, half morocco slightly worn (£650). EB, Nov., Blake’s pl. only, marginal browning, illus. color ($51).

Hayley, Triumphs of Temper, 1803. W. G. Stuart, Sept. online cat., apparently the small-paper issue, contemporary calf rebacked ($450). Jarndyce, Sept. online cat., apparently the small-paper issue, some pls. spotted, later calf worn (£863). Kurt Gippert, Sept. online cat., apparently the small-paper issue, calf rebacked ($850). Thornton’s Bookshop, Sept. online cat., large-paper issue, light foxing, 19^th-century morocco rebacked (£1200); another copy, apparently the small-paper issue, lacking pl. 1, foxed, disbound (£150).

Hogarth, The Beggar’s Opera by Hogarth and Blake, 1965. Antiquariaat Van Coevorden, Sept. online cat., with the restrike from Blake’s pl. as issued, original folding box ($503).

Hogarth, Works. EB, July, Blake’s pl. only, said to be from “the 1837 restrike edition,” probably 5^th or 6^th st., illus. color ($102). Adrian Greenwood, Sept. online cat., 1822 ed., frontispiece and title page stained, contemporary half morocco worn, illus. color (£1295). Subun-So Book Store, 1822 ed., three-quarter morocco ($6025). Christian Heritage Museum, Sept. online cat., 1822 ed., half calf ($4200). Robert Frew, Sept. online cat., undated Baldwin and Cradock issue, minor spotting, contemporary half morocco (£2250). Argosy Book Store, Sept. online cat., undated Baldwin and Cradock issue, three-quarter calf worn ($4000). D & E Lake, Sept. online cat., undated Baldwin and Cradock issue, contemporary half morocco worn ($4500). The “1822” eds. may be the Quaritch reissue of c. 1880 dated “1822” on the title page.

Hunter, Historical Journal, quarto issue, 1793. CNY, 17 April, #272, some spotting, title page cropped into the text at the upper margin, contemporary calf repaired, illus. color ($2400). Michael Sharpe, Sept. cat. 1, #64, title page cropped top and bottom, contemporary calf, joints repaired, binding illus. color ($7500). Rambler Rare Books, Sept. online cat., no information on binding ($3750). Family Album, Sept. online cat., lacking the engraved title page and 2 pls. but apparently with Blake’s pl., some pls. repaired with tape, foxed, disbound ($800). Kenneth Hince, Sept. online cat., contemporary half calf rebacked, recent cloth box ($3295). Grant & Shaw, Sept. cat. 73, #80, “large paper copy” trimmed to 29.5 × 23.8 cm., late 19^th-century calf (£3200).

Josephus, Works. EB, April, probably BB issue B, contemporary calf very worn, lacking front cover, illus. color (no bids on a required minimum bid of £150); same copy, May, same result on a required minimum bid of £135. BL, 19-20 July, #557, probably BB issue D or E (printed by C. Cooke), stained, some leaves repaired, later quarter morocco (£150). Flora Books, Sept. online cat., probably BB issue A or B (printed by J. Cooke), contemporary calf rebacked, worn (£320); another copy, probably BB issue D or E, modern quarter calf (£250). Hudson City Books, Sept. online cat., probably BB issue D or E, “hardcover” binding a wreck ($300). Best Buy Books, Sept. online cat., probably BB issue B or later, contemporary calf very worn ($770). Heritage Auction Galleries, Dallas, 26 Oct., #30946, BB issue A, scattered foxing, contemporary calf begin page 152 | ↑ back to top worn, rebacked, worn slipcase, illus. color online ($600.25). EB, Nov., pl. 2 only, 3^rd st., illus. color ($22.50).

Kimpton, History of the Bible, c. 1781. Andersens Antikvariat, Sept. online cat., 55 (of 61) pls. only, but possibly including 1 or more of Blake’s 3 pls., contemporary calf ($263). EB, Oct.-Nov., apparently complete but in very poor condition with stains and foxing, contemporary calf very worn, covers detached, illus. color (no bids on a required minimum bid of £9.99).

Lavater, Aphorisms. EB, March, 1788 ed., 1^st st. of the pl., contemporary calf worn, illus. color (no bids on a required minimum bid of $300). Larry W. Price, Sept. online cat., 1788 ed., pl. damp stained, calf repaired ($595). Malvern Rare Books, Sept. online cat., 1789 ed., contemporary calf (£124). John Windle, Sept. online cat., 1788 ed., 1^st st. of the pl., contemporary calf rebacked ($695). Howes Bookshop, Nov. cat. 325, #8, 1788 ed., some pencil annotations, contemporary half morocco rebacked (£125).

Lavater, Essays on Physiognomy. EB, Jan.-Feb., Blake’s pl. 2 only, illus. ($174); March, 1789-98 ed., 3 vols. in 5, scattered minor foxing, contemporary calf rebacked, illus. color ($1725). Lyon & Turnbull auction, Edinburgh, 10 May, #644, 1810 ed., 3 vols. in 5, light browning and marginal stains in vol. 5, contemporary calf rebacked, binding illus. color online (£600). J & J Hanrahan, Aug. cat. 59, #135, 1810 ed., 3 vols. in 5, some foxing, contemporary three-quarter calf very worn, 1 cover detached ($500). Alexandre Antique Books, Sept. online cat., 1789-98 ed., 3 vols. in 5, contemporary calf rebacked ($2750). Peter Bichsel, Sept. online cat., 1789-98 ed., 3 vols. in 5, modern half parchment (€2210). Röde Orm Antikvariat, Sept. online cat., “1792” (actually c. 1818) ed., 3 vols. in 5, some damp staining to preliminaries, contemporary calf worn ($4263). ABCD Books, Sept. online cat., 1789-98 ed., 3 vols. in 5, foxed, three-quarter calf very worn with missing spines and detached covers ($1200). Brunk Auctions, Asheville, North Carolina, 3 Nov., #351, a mixed set of “1792” (vol. 2, actually c. 1818) and 1810 (vols. 1, 3), 3 vols. in 5, scattered light foxing, early boards rebacked in calf, binding illus. color online ($300).

Malkin, Father’s Memoirs of His Child, 1806. Jarndyce, Sept. online cat., some spotting, uncut in original boards worn (£1380).

Monthly Magazine, vol. 4, 1797. Roger Collicott, Sept. online cat., uncut in contemporary half calf worn (£40).

Mora, Meditaciones Poeticas, 1826. EB, Aug., bottom margin of pl. 1 (title page) folded over and the legs of the descending angel marred by the perforated collection stamp of the “City Library / Springfield Mass.,” minor marginal soiling, contemporary half calf, illus. color ($1150.89). Only the second copy I have seen on the market in the last 30 years.

Novelist’s Magazine. EB, Jan., vol. 8 (Don Quixote) only, apparently with the Novelist’s Magazine title page removed and with it the date, late 19^th-century calf, illus. color ($450). John Price, Sept. cat., #69, 21 vols., 1780-88, lacking vols. 5 and 13 but with the Blake pls. in vols. 8-10, contemporary calf (£2500).

Olivier, Fencing Familiarized, 1780. BL, 16 Aug., #632, slight browning and minor damage to margins, “some heavy underlining in text,” contemporary calf worn (£120).

Rees, Cyclopædia, 1820. Barter Books, Sept. online cat., 4 vols. of pls. only, lacking 152 unspecified pls. but possibly including some of Blake’s, calf very worn, spines missing, “suitable for research[,] restoration or breaking” (£780); another copy, pls. vol. 2 only, presumably including Blake’s pl. 2 (“Basso Relievo”), foxed and browned, calf worn and repaired (£369.60). Evans the Book, Sept. online cat., an incomplete set, lacking 4 text vols., but with vol. 4 of the pls., presumably including Blake’s pls. 4-7 (“Sculpture”), calf very worn, spines and covers missing (£600). Antiquarischer Lexikonhandel, Sept. online cat., complete in 45 vols., contemporary half calf (€11,900). Best Buy Books, Sept. online cat., vol. 1 of the pls. only, presumably including Blake’s pl. 1 (“Armour”), cloth rebacked ($1595). McConnell Books, Sept. online cat., complete in 45 vols., contemporary half Russia worn (£5500). Schooner Books, Sept. online cat., pls. vol. 2 only, presumably including Blake’s pl. 2 (“Basso Relievo”), foxed, tears, cloth very worn, front cover detached ($300). Steven Schuyler, Sept. online cat., “complete plates in 3 volumes,” later “library buckram” ($1176.50).

Remember Me!, [1824] for 1825. Publisher’s calf, lacking some pls. (but with Blake’s), lacking 1 leaf of text, sold Dec. by John Windle to the Victoria University Library, Toronto. Previously sold SNY, 12 Dec. 2006, #41, Blake’s pl. illus. color ($10,200 to Windle).

Ritson, Select Collection of English Songs, 1783. Adam Mills, Sept. online cat., 3 vols., contemporary calf rebacked (£525). Church Green Books, Sept. online cat., 3 vols., calf (£300).

Salzmann, Elements of Morality, 1792. BL, 14 Nov., #317, 3 vols., some marginal tears, minor spotting, modern quarter calf, illus. color (not sold; estimate £800-1200).

Scott, Poetical Works. Powell’s Books, Sept. online cat., 1782 ed., occasional foxing, contemporary calf rebacked, worn ($200). Kenneth Karmiole, Sept. online cat., 1786 ed., modern cloth ($250). David Kenyon, Sept. online cat., 1782 ed., some foxing, calf worn (£250).

Shakespeare, Dramatic Works, 1802. Heritage Book Shop, Feb. cat. of “Finely Bound Books,” #282, 9 vols., contemporary morocco rebacked, “some rubbing,” illus. color ($15,000). Swann, begin page 153 | ↑ back to top 14 June, #181, 9 vols., scattered foxing and browning, “early” half morocco worn, illus. color ($1700). Alexandre Antique Books, Sept. online cat., 9 vols., scattered foxing on pls., contemporary morocco rebacked, worn ($7500). Arundel Books, Sept. online cat., 8 vols. only (lacking vol. 8, but presumably including Blake’s pl. in vol. 9), foxed, “full leather” worn, back cover of vol. 9 detached ($1950). CL, 14 Nov., #145, 9 vols., scattered foxing (heavy on some pls.), contemporary morocco worn, illus. color (not sold; estimate £2500-3500).

Shakespeare, Plays, 1805. EB, July-Aug., large-paper issue, vol. 10 only, with Blake’s pl. 2 (“Romeo and Juliet”) after Fuseli, pls. foxed, contemporary calf worn, illus. color ($25.50). Adrian Harrington, Sept. online cat., 9 vol. issue, some browning and staining, contemporary calf rebacked, worn, no information on the pls. (£875). Aabenhus Aarhus Antikvariat, Sept. online cat., 9 vol. issue, contemporary calf worn ($4622). EB, Oct., 9 vol. issue, contemporary calf rebacked, illus. color (no bids on a required minimum bid of $700); same copy, Oct.-Nov. (no bids on a required minimum bid of $500); Oct., vol. 7 only, with Blake’s pl. 1 (“King Henry VIII”) after Fuseli, badly foxed, contemporary calf very worn, front cover detached, illus. color ($15); Nov., vol. 7 only, with Blake’s pl. 1 (“King Henry VIII”) after Fuseli, badly foxed, contemporary calf very worn and repaired with tape, illus. color (£9.99).

Stedman, Narrative, 1796 ed., uncolored copies. David Mason, Sept. online cat., 2 vols., Blake’s pl. 13 “supplied from a later edition,” contemporary calf rebacked ($8299). Peter Harrington, Sept. online cat., 2 vols., marginal spotting on pls., contemporary half calf with slight wear (£4500). EB, Oct.-Nov., 2 vols., lacking 2 pls. including 1 by Blake, pls. foxed and stained, contemporary calf rebacked, illus. color ($1604.99).

Stedman, Narrative, 1806 ed., colored copy. Donald Heald, March online cat., 2 vols., contemporary Russia, bindings illus. color ($13,500).

Varley, Zodiacal Physiognomy, 1828. CSK, 21 March, #284, all pls. present, a few leaves detached, marginal stains, bound with The Horoscope; a Weekly Miscellany of Astrology, 1834, contemporary half roan (£600). John Windle, Sept. online cat., all pls. present, contemporary calf “restored” ($10,950; sold Oct. to the Victoria University Library, Toronto).

Wit’s Magazine, 1784. EB, Nov., pl. 4 (“The Discomfited Duellists”) only, with title and imprint although not shown in the illus. (no bids on a required minimum bid of $299).

Wollstonecraft, Original Stories, 1791. Heritage Book Shop, Dec. 2006 cat., #408, 2^nd sts. of the pls., contemporary sheep rebacked, illus. color ($5500).

Young, Night Thoughts, 1797, uncolored copies. Ursus Books, March online cat., no mention of the “Explanation” leaf (because not present?), all edges gilt, “near contemporary” morocco ($25,000); same copy and price, May cat. 262, #12, illus. Juniper Books, April online cat., with the “Explanation” leaf, “excellent margins,” “original” (i.e., contemporary?) vellum slightly worn, illus. ($19,500); another copy, Oct. private offer, lacking the “Explanation” leaf, some pls. cropped, contemporary vellum worn ($15,000). BL, 11 June, #29, with the “Explanation” leaf, contemporary calf rebacked, modern cloth box, illus. color (£5500). EB, Oct., pl. 18 only, framed, illus. color (no bids on a required minimum bid of $2500).

Interesting Blakeana

[T. Percy, ed.], Reliques of Ancient English Poetry, 1765. Quaritch, Oct. cat. 2007/16, #59, 3 vols., contemporary calf, joints repaired (£1250). Blake gave his copy to Mary Ann Linnell, John Linnell’s wife. It was acquired at an unrecorded time by George Herbert Palmer (1842-1933), an American-born professor at Harvard and apparently not related to the artist Samuel Palmer, and is now in the Wellesley College Library, Wellesley, Massachusetts. See A Catalogue of Early and Rare Editions of English Poetry Collected and Presented to Wellesley College by George Herbert Palmer (Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1923) 379, and BB #736.

Minutes of a General Conference of the Members of the New Church Signified by the New Jerusalem . . . Held in Great East Cheap, London, from the 13^th to the 17^th of April, 1789 (London: R. Hindmarsh, 1789). Robert H. Rubin Books, Oct. cat. 61, #142, 42 pp. “disbound,” with August Nordenskiöld, Församlings Formen uti det Nya Jerusalem [The Form of Society in the New Jerusalem] (Copenhagen, 1790), contemporary boards worn ($2250). William and Catherine Blake attended the first session of the general conference on 13 April (BR[2] 50-51).

George Augustus Baldwyn, A New, Royal, Authentic, Complete and Universal System of Geography (London: A. Hogg, n.d. [c. 1794?]). EB, Jan., 1 pl. only, showing “A Man of the Duke of York’s Island” (top panel) and “A Family of New South Wales” (bottom panel), hand colored, illus. color (no bids on a required minimum bid of $129). The bottom panel is an unsigned version of the design in Blake’s engraving, “A Family of New South Wales,” dated Nov. 1792 in the imprint and published in John Hunter, An Historical Journal of the Transactions at Port Jackson and Norfolk Island (1793). See also Hunter in the appendix, William Blake’s Commercial Book Illustrations.

“For the Naval Monument,” an engraved admission ticket for a concert in support of the naval monument at Greenwich, 21.0 × 14.6 cm., dated 28 May 1800 and signed “Blake sc. ‘Change Alley.” Ken Spelman Books, April cat. 61, #24, printed in red, illus. (£120; acquired by the Victoria University Library, Toronto). The address following the signature makes it certain that the engraver was William Staden Blake (1748-c. 1817). begin page 154 | ↑ back to top Thus, it is merely coincidental that our William Blake engraved pls. for John Flaxman’s proposal for the monument, published in Flaxman’s A Letter to the Committee for Raising the Naval Pillar (1799). This ticket is wrongly attributed to William Blake in Archibald G. B. Russell, The Engravings of William Blake (London: Grant Richards, 1912) 169-70. In Russell’s copy of his cat., he has lined through the entry in pencil and written next to it “Not Blake (By W. S. Blake).” The pl. is correctly attributed in G. E. Bentley, Jr., “A Collection of Prosaic William Blakes,” Notes and Queries ns 12 (1965): 175.

Pencil (and pen and ink?) drawing of Blake’s design for Young, Night Thoughts, pl. 10, the figure and chain only with a globe (the earth?) below. Wove paper, 22.9 × 17.8 cm., with a “J. Willmot 1805” watermark. With pen and ink verses in German carefully written in highly decorative calligraphy below the design and pen and ink framing vines and leaves in the side margins. EB, Nov., illus. color (no bids on a required minimum bid of £125).

J. and A. Taylor, City Scenes. BL, 26 April, #327, 1818 ed., some stains, “original roan-backed boards,” illus. (£200). EB, Nov., 1828 ed., lacking vignettes numbered 42-48, pls. hand colored, publisher’s cloth worn, illus. color (£42.30). Includes Blake’s “Holy Thursday” from Songs of Innocence.

J. S. Deville, life mask of William Blake, 1823. EB, Jan.-Feb., with the Deville inscription dated 1 Aug. 1823 on the back of the neck, illus. color (£393). Very probably made from a second-generation mold based on the National Portrait Gallery (London) original. Deville’s inscription on the back of the neck was almost certainly incised with a stylus on the NPG cast and not inserted as raised letters in the original mold itself. Thus, the fact that this EB cast exactly repeats the inscription on the NPG example, even in the shape and placement of the letters, indicates that the former is a copy mold-made from the latter. The EB cast, however, is made of gray plaster painted a cream color, whereas most modern copies known to me are dead-white plaster of Paris, either unpainted or painted with a faux-copper patina in dark green or black. The EB cast may have been made from an earlier mold than the one produced c. 1953 by the NPG. EB’s vendor, Elliot Moran, tells me that the cast was “found . . . in a lot of period items,” including a “Phrenological and Physiological Register” bearing the printed date 1889 and the date “10/2/[18]90” in pen and ink. Another cast, painted a cream color and similar to the EB cast of Jan.-Feb., was offered by a vendor in Australia on EB in Dec., illus. color ($54.32).

J. T. Hacket, The Student’s Assistant in Astronomy and Astrology, 1836. Krown & Spellman, May online cat., publisher’s cloth worn ($225); another copy, a few inner marginal stains, later cloth, original front cover label reattached ($125). Blake is listed among “Patrons and Admirers of the science and doctrine of Astrology” (118-20; see BB #1766). His time of birth is recorded as precisely “Nov. 28, 7h. 45″ pm. 1757” (119). This information is very probably taken from Anon. [R. C. Smith?], “Nativity of Mr. Blake, the Mystical Artist,” Urania; or, the Astrologer’s Chronicle, and Mystical Magazine no. 1 (1825): 70-72, where it is explained that “the above horoscope is calculated for the estimate time of birth” (BR[2] 407). The author of this article was familiar with Blake’s Visionary Heads and his work on the Job engravings; the source for the estimated time of birth may have been Blake himself. In his chapter on “The Harmony of Astrology, Phrenology, and Physiognomy” (123-70), Hacket refers to “the several plates and figures,” including the personifications of “Gemini” and “Cancer” (147), in Varley’s Zodiacal Physiognomy of 1828. Both of these physiognomic portraits were based on drawings by Blake (see BB #501). The only copies of Hacket’s book I have seen on the market in the last 25 years.

H. G. Bohn, A Catalogue of Books, 1841. Jeff Weber, March cat. 137, #263, original half calf ($500). Copies of Blake’s Book of Thel, Songs of Innocence and of Experience, Milton a Poem, and Jerusalem are included among the 23,208 items offered for sale (see BB #554).

Revue Britannique, vol. 5, 1862. EB, May, quarter calf, illus. color (€12.50). Includes [Amédée Pichot], “Le Visionnaire Blake,” a slightly modified version of an essay first published in 1833. For description and justifiably acerbic comments, see BB #2392.

The Century Guild Hobby Horse. Leonard Roberts, March cat. 1, #27, issue 7 (July 1887), with a facsimile of Blake’s On Homers Poetry [and] On Virgil, original wrappers ($350 Canadian); #28, issue 11 (June 1888), with reproductions of 3 of Blake’s Virgil wood engravings, original wrappers ($350 Canadian).

“Bernard Quaritch’s Wholesale Stock. Annual Results.” A folio ledger of business records, 1898-1912, approx. 270 pp. Charles Cox, Feb. cat. 54, #199, containing “the statistics on [William Griggs’s 1892 facsimile of?] William Blake’s Book of Ahania (1895), [the E. J. Ellis facsimile of?] Songs of Innocence (Quaritch, 1893) and the three-volume Works of 1893 edited by Yeats and Ellis (small and large paper),” half calf (£150).

Job engraving, pl. numbered 3. EB, Feb., lightly stained, framed and glazed, illus. color ($651). The high bidder failed to make payment, and thus the vendor offered the print again on EB, March (withdrawn). Probably a leaf extracted from the 1902 Dent facsimile, as the rounded platemark and grainy texture of the paper indicate, but several bidders must have thought this was an original when it was first offered.

W. M. Rossetti, ed., Rossetti Papers 1862 to 1870, 1903. Leonard Roberts, March cat. 1, #86, publisher’s cloth ($200 Canadian). Includes interesting early references to Blake.

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Blake, The Marriage of Heaven and Hell, Venetian Series 2, London: E. Grant Richards, 1906. BB #101. Madoc Books, Aug. online cat., printed presentation card dated 1909 from Holbrook Jackson (British journalist, writer, and publisher, 1874-1948) pasted to the front free endpaper, publisher’s decorated paper binding, printed front cover and spine labels (£125). Apparently rare; the only copy I have ever seen on the market.

A collection of 24 auction and 3 dealers’ catalogues, 1922-78, all listing original works by Blake. Jeffrey Eger Books, Oct. private offer, original bindings, some with price lists, 2 with manuscript annotations about prices and buyers ($378).

B. B. Macgeorge, auction cat. of his collection, SL, 1-9 July 1924. BL, 4 Oct., #506, issue with illus., annotated with prices, contemporary half calf, original wrappers retained (£75). With 28 lots of Blake material, including illuminated books, drawings, and a letter to Flaxman.

Donald E. Boyd, head of Blake carved in apple wood, 23 cm. high, 1965. Ro Gallery auction, Long Island City, New York, 14 April, #2015, signed and dated, mounted on a rod and plinth, illus. color online ($350). This carving, with a (symbolic?) fissure through the middle of the forehead, was probably influenced by Blake’s life mask and by Leonard Baskin’s wood-engraved portrait, “Blake: An Imagined Death Mask,” first published in Baskin, Blake and the Youthful Ancients (Northampton: Gehenna P, 1956).

Illustrations of the Book of Job, ed. David Bindman, William Blake Trust, 1987. Michael Kemp Bookseller, June online cat., 1 of 5 copies specially bound and with additional materials, this copy for the printing and binding firm Smith Settle, 4 vols., half morocco, in 3 morocco-trimmed boxes (£12,000). I suspect that this is a record asking price for a book featuring reproductions of Blake’s illustrations and for any 20^th-century work on Blake.

F. Bacon, “William Blake,” color lithograph based on Blake’s life mask, 1991. CL, 19 Sept., #498, “artist’s proof” signed in pencil, presentation inscription to Michel Archimbaud, illus. color (£6500; estimate £1500-2500). EB, Oct., signed and numbered “29/60” by Bacon, framed, illus. color (no bids on a required minimum bid of $8999.95).

E. Paolozzi, “Newton after Blake,” lithograph, 26.5 × 37.0 cm., 1997. BL, 28 June, #634, signed, titled, and dated in pencil, inscribed “P/P” (printer’s proof), illus. color (£380). Based on Blake’s 1795 color print and similar to Paolozzi’s monumental bronze of Newton in the forecourt of the British Library.

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

“Orpheus,” etching. Hill-Stone Gallery, 1^st st. of 3, advertised in Apollo (Nov. 2007): [2], illus. color (price on request).

Boydell, The American Edition of Boydell’s Illustrations of the Dramatic Works of Shakespeare, 1852. EB, Sept., 1 pl. only, “King Lear,” engraved by Legat, illus. color (no bids on a required minimum bid of $250). The pls. in this work are the original British pls., “restored.”

CALVERT, EDWARD

CSK, 4 April, 3 prints in 3 lots, all probably from the Memoir, 1893, all illus. color: #1, “The Cyder Feast,” wood engraving, 3^rd st. (£1200); #2, “The Bride,” engraving, 3^rd st. (£1800); #3, “The Return Home,” wood engraving, 2^nd st. (£300).

FLAXMAN, JOHN

See also Flaxman, Hesiod and Iliad designs, under Letterpress Books with Engravings by and after Blake, above.

Ulysses Terrified by the Ghosts and Venus Presenting Helen to Paris, a pair. Pen and brown ink on buff paper, each 17.2 × 24.5 cm., datable to c. 1793 and c. 1795 respectively. CL, 5 June, #28, illus. color (£3120).

Angels Guiding a Soul to Heaven. Pen and gray ink and gray wash, 48.2 × 71.0 cm., possibly dating from the mid-1790s. Advertised by W. M. Brady & Co. in Burlington Magazine 149 (Jan. 2007): xi, illus. color (price on request). Previously sold CL, 5 June 2006, #6, titled Angels Rescuing a Soul from the Ranks of the Dead, illus. color (£14,400 to Colnaghi; estimate £4000-6000).

Giving Alms. Pencil, 11.4 × 8.9 cm., title inscribed in pencil. EB, April, illus. color (no bids on a required minimum bid of $1300).

Aeschylus designs. EB, Dec. 2006, 1795 ed., foxed, contemporary calf, illus. color (£172); Dec. 2006-Jan., 1831 ed., marginal browning, original boards (with cover label) very worn and stained, leaves detached, illus. color ($39); May, 1795 ed., title pl. stained, no binding but stitched pamphlet-style, begin page 156 | ↑ back to top

8. Henry Fuseli, “The Night Mare,” engraved in stipple by “A. Laffonato” (possibly “Lassonato,” with a double long “s,” or “Zaffonato”), published by “A. Suntach,” 1795.   Laid paper, image 19.1 × 23.1 cm., leaf 25.0 × 24.2 cm. Essick collection. The design is reversed in relation to Fuseli’s painting and to the prints engraved by Thomas Burke (1783) and William Raddon (1827). Not recorded in D. H. Weinglass, Prints and Engraved Illustrations by and after Henry Fuseli (Aldershot: Scolar P, 1994), but probably a pirated pl. like Weinglass #67A: image 19.2 × 22.1 cm., engraved by “Laurede,” published by “le Noir,” and dated by Weinglass to 1782. The width of the 2 prints indicates that they are probably not different states of the same copperplate. I suspect that the engraver’s and publisher’s names are pseudonyms on both pls. “Laffonato” or “Lassonato” may be a strained Italian pun on “the sinking one” (from affondàre, to sink) or “the sleeper” (from assonnàto, sleepy); both are appropriate for the woman in Fuseli’s design. The inscribed verses from Erasmus Darwin’s The Botanic Garden, left and right of the title, in the pirated pls. repeat those in Burke’s engraving; both may be copies of his print in spite of the date given by Weinglass for the Laurede pl. The presence of inscriptions on Burke’s 1783 pl. from Part 2 of The Botanic Garden, not published until 1789, may be explained by the fact that Fuseli was acting as an intermediary between Darwin and the poem’s publisher, Joseph Johnson, as early as 1784 (see Weinglass 55). Thus, Fuseli may have read the poem in manuscript in 1783 and requested Burke to add the lines from it. The engraver of the pl. reproduced here did not bother to reverse the image on the copperplate so that it would print right way around.

begin page 157 | ↑ back to top illus. color ($134.63). Barter Books, Sept. online cat., 1831 ed., foxed, some leaves detached, cloth-backed boards very worn (£160). Toby English, Sept. online cat., 1831 ed., lacking pls. numbered 5 and 7, severe foxing, half morocco very worn (£200). Powell’s Books, Sept. online cat., 1831 ed., severe foxing, half morocco worn, cover illus. color ($250). Skinner auction, Boston, 18 Nov., #365, 1795 ed., later cloth very worn, illus. color online ($153.13).

Dante designs. EB, May, 1867 ed., modern cloth in period style, illus. color (no bids on a required minimum bid of £149.95). Chapitre Books, Sept. online cat., 1867 ed., modern boards (€150). Antiquariat Hammer, Sept. online cat., Umrisse zu Dante Alighieri’s Göttlicher Komödie, n.d. (1830s?), contemporary calf (€150). EB, Sept., 38 pls. engraved by Réveil, Paris, n.d. (1830s?), some light foxing, publisher’s wrappers, illus. color ($25.99).

Flaxman, Anatomical Studies, 1833. CNY, 5 Oct., #166, minor marginal staining, contemporary cloth rebacked, cover label, illus. color ($563).

Hesiod designs. Epsilon, Sept. online cat., with the Aeschylus and Dante designs, Paris, 1847, no information on binding (€150).

Iliad designs. EB, Dec. 2006, 1793 ed., foxed, contemporary calf, illus. color (£180.69). Adam and Eve Books, Sept. online cat., 1793 ed., bound with the Aeschylus designs, 1795, some pls. browned, three-quarter morocco (£200). Tombland Bookshop, Sept. online cat., Iliade D’Omero Rappresentata in Figure da Giovanni Flaxman Contenente xxxix Tavole in Rame Conforme alla Edizione di Londra del mdcccv (Firenze [Florence]: Presso Luigi Piazzini Librajo in Porta Rossa, mdcccxxvi [1826]), bound with the Odyssey, Aeschylus, and Hesiod designs, all with similar letterpress title pages dated 1826, 143 pls. in all, no engraver’s name given, slight scattered foxing, 19^th-century half morocco worn (£120). The 1826 Florence eds. are not recorded in F.

Odyssey designs, 1793. EB, Dec. 2006, foxed, contemporary calf, illus. color (£172).

Oeuvres de Flaxman, engraved by Réveil, Paris, 1836. Antiquariaat Van Coevorden, Sept. online cat., 2 vols., contemporary calf (€1000).

Umrisse zu Homer’s Ilias und Odyssee, engraved by Riepenhausen, Berlin, n.d. Galerie Bassenge auction, Berlin, 26 April, #1215, original wrappers, illus. online ($450). Resource Books, Sept. online cat., badly damp stained, boards with cloth spine very worn ($325). Dated to c. 1840 by Galerie Bassenge, but possibly the work (or a later issue of the work) dated to “1817?” in F 25 no. 6.

Umrisse zur Ilias von J. Flaxmann, engraved by Schnorr, Leipzig, 1839. EB, Sept.-Oct., bound with Umrisse zur Odyssee von J. Flaxmann, engraved by Schnorr, Leipzig, 1839, minor foxing, contemporary paper-covered boards, illus. color (€69). These issues not in F, but probably reissues of the 1804 Iliad and the 1807 Odyssey engraved by Schnorr (see F 34 no. 4 and 25 no. 5).

FUSELI, HENRY

An Archer with a Companion, Taking Aim at a Warrior, the Sun Rising above the Ocean Beyond (recto); Three Studies of a Leg (verso). Pen and brown ink over pencil, 18.0 × 22.0 cm. SL, 6 June, #189, recto illus. color (£15,600; estimate £5000-7000).

A Naked Warrior Repelling Soldiers at the Entrance to a Tent. Pen and brown ink over pencil, 15.0 × 16.6 cm. SL, 6 June, #190, illus. color (£7800).

Portrait of Harriet Mellon. Pen and brown ink, 17.8 × 11.3 cm., c. 1815. SL, 6 June, #184, illus. color (£9600).

A Seated Male Nude (recto); A Study of Lovers with a Further Study of a Woman Kneeling and a Chess Set Seen from Above (verso). Pen and brown ink, 21.7 × 17.7 cm., datable to c. 1795-1800. SL, 6 June, #187, recto illus. color (£3600).

Studies of a Male Nude. Pen and brown ink over pencil, 22.2 × 17.5 cm., datable to c. 1777-79. SL, 6 June, #186, illus. color (not sold; estimate £7000-10,000).

Studies of Reclining Figures. Pen and brown ink, 24.7 × 35.1 cm., letter by Francesco Bartolozzi on verso. SL, 6 June, #185, illus. color (£4800).

Study of a Male Nude, Seated. Pencil, 19.2 × 19.4 cm., datable to the 1770s. SL, 6 June, #188, illus. color (£3600).

“The Night Mare,” engraved by “A. Laffonato” (possibly “Lassonato,” with a double long “s,” or “Zaffonato”), published by “A. Suntach,” 1795. EB, Sept., cut close on 3 sides, skinned on the verso, cleaned and pressed, illus. ($187.50). See illus. 8.

Bible. A Practical Family Bible, ed. Francis Willoughby, 1772-73. Christopher Mendez, Aug. private offer, 1 pl. only, “Jonah’s Indignation,” etched by Fuseli after his own design, inscriptions trimmed off (£1800).

Bible. Notes by Matthew Henry, abridged by Thomas Smith, printed by Thomas Kelly, London, 1815. EB, Dec. 2006-Jan., pl. after Fuseli only (“The Death of Golia[t]h,” engraved by Grainger), illus. (€49.50).

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Bodmer, Die Noachide, 1765. Antiquariat A. Thomi, Nov. online cat., complete with 12 pls. (8 after Fuseli), contemporary quarter calf (€253). Fuseli’s first book illustrations, crudely etched by Christian Gottfried Matthes (or Mathes), 1738-c. 1805.

Boothby, Sorrows, Sacred to the Memory of Penelope, 1796. EB, Feb., large-paper copy, frontispiece by Beneditti after Fuseli in 1^st published st., half calf over (original?) boards, illus. color (no bids on a required minimum bid of $359).

Boydell, The American Edition of Boydell’s Illustrations of the Dramatic Works of Shakespeare, 1852. EB, Sept., 1 pl. only, “King Lear,” engraved by Earlom, illus. color (no bids on a required minimum bid of $325); 1 pl. only, “King Henry the Fifth,” engraved by Thew, illus. color (no bids on a required minimum bid of $175); 1 pl. only, “King Henry the Fourth,” engraved by Leney, illus. color (no bids on a required minimum bid of $225). The pls. in this work are the original British pls., “restored.”

Boydell, Collection of Prints . . . Illustrating . . . Shakspeare, c. 1803. BL, 14 Dec. 2006, #688, 11 pls. only but including 1 (unidentified) after Fuseli, incorrectly described as pls. from Boydell’s Graphic Illustrations of . . . Shakspeare, foxed, marginal tears, illus. color (£260). EB, Jan., 1 pl. only, “Midsummer Night’s Dream,” engraved by Simon, framed, illus. color ($199.99); 1 pl. only, “King Henry the Fourth,” engraved by Leney, illus. color (no bids on a required minimum bid of $165); May, 1 pl. only, “Macbeth,” engraved by Caldwell, hand colored, framed, illus. color (offered only at the “buy it now” price of $1150, reduced by July to $495); July, 1 pl. only, “Midsummer Night’s Dream,” engraved by Simon, badly torn into the image and stained, illus. color ($48.77). Donald Heald, Sept. online cat., 2 vols., extra-illus. with 8 “proof plates,” near-contemporary morocco rebacked ($17,500). BL, 4 Oct., #73, vol. 2 only, presumably containing the 3 pls. after Fuseli in that vol., tears, foxing, water staining, contemporary morocco very worn, covers detached—all in all a wreck (£550). EB, Oct.-Nov., a group of single pls. sold individually, each with marginal foxing and illus. color, as follows: “Midsummer Night’s Dream,” engraved by Simon ($799.10—probably a record price for a Boydell Shakespeare pl. in the published st.); “Midsummer Night’s Dream,” engraved by Ryder ($787); “Macbeth,” engraved by Caldwell ($190.50); “King Henry the Fourth,” engraved by Leney ($108.05); “King Henry the Fifth,” engraved by Thew ($43). EB, Nov., 2 vols. in 1, scattered marginal foxing, 19^th-century three-quarter morocco, illus. color ($6500).

Darwin, The Temple of Nature, 1803. Jeff Weber, June cat. 140, #55, occasional foxing, modern three-quarter calf, spine illus. color ($2850). EB, July, “The Creation of Eve” only, engraved by Haughton, illus. color (£24.99). CSK, 25 Oct., #27, some foxing, contemporary half calf very worn, front cover detached (£250).

Fuseli, Lectures on Painting, 1820. Francis Edwards, Sept. online cat., foxed, a few pencil annotations, contemporary half calf rebacked, worn (£150).

Heinrich Fuessli’s Sœmmtliche Werke, Zurich, 1807-09. Moirandat Company, June cat. 19, #97, 2 vols., 16 pls. after Fuseli by J. H. Lips, publisher’s wrappers, illus. color (9000 Swiss francs—about $7300).

Homer, Iliad and Odyssey, translated by Pope, Du Roveray ed., 1813. EB, May, 12 vols., contemporary morocco, binding illus. color ($405).

Lavater, Aphorisms on Man, Boston, 1790. Minnesota Bookman, Nov. online cat., contemporary calf very worn, “spine about half perished,” front cover detached ($150).

Lavater, Essays on Physiognomy, translated Hunter, 1789-98. EB, June, 1 pl. only, “Satan,” engraved by Holloway, illus. color ($39.80); 1 pl. only, “The Daughter of Herodias,” engraved by Holloway, illus. color ($139.14). See also under Letterpress Books with Engravings by and after Blake, above.

Lavater, Essays on Physiognomy, translated Moore, 1797. EB, July, 4 vols. in 2, some pls. badly foxed, contemporary half calf, illus. color (£112).

Milton, Poetical Works, published Suttaby, 1806. Spivey’s Books, Nov. online cat., 2 vols., small tear into the image of the frontispiece after Fuseli, contemporary half calf ($100).

Milton, Poetical Works, Bohn editions. EB, Jan., 1848 ed., contemporary calf, binding illus. color (£27); March, 1855 ed., modern cloth, illus. color (no bids on a required minimum bid of $15).

A Series of Magnificent Engravings, to Illustrate . . . Shakespeare and Milton, published H. M’Lean, 1818. Gallery at Knotty Pine auction, West Swanzey, New Hampshire, 28 April, #113, some foxing, contemporary quarter calf very worn, illus. color online ($220). EB, May, scattered marginal foxing, contemporary quarter morocco, illus. color ($525). BL, 19-20 July, #161, foxed, contemporary half morocco very worn (£150). Contains a selection of Stothard’s large pls. illustrating Paradise Lost (executed 1792-93; see Coxhead 103-04) and 5 pls. after Fuseli executed for earlier publications: “Oberon Squeezing the Flower on Titania’s Eyelids,” “Titania Embracing Bottom,” “The Witches Appear to Macbeth and Banquo,” “Macbeth and Banquo Meet the Witches on the Heath,” and “I’ve Done the Deed” (Macbeth and Lady Macbeth).

Shakespeare, Plays, 1805. EB, Jan., 1 pl. only, “Tempest,” engraved by Bromley, imprint trimmed off, badly stained at corners, illus. color ($9.99); Aug., vol. 4 only, light foxing, contemporary calf, illus. color ($15); Sept., vol. 5 only, foxed, begin page 159 | ↑ back to top contemporary calf worn, illus. color (no bids on a required minimum bid of $15); vol. 3 only, foxed, contemporary calf worn, front cover detached ($15); vol. 1 only, foxed, contemporary calf worn, front cover detached, illus. color ($22.50); Oct., vol. 6 only, foxed, contemporary calf very worn, illus. color ($16.50); Oct.-Nov., vol. 9 only, pls. badly foxed, contemporary calf very worn, back cover detached, illus. color ($15); Nov., vol. 4 only, margins of pls. badly foxed, contemporary calf very worn and repaired with tape, illus. color (£15.99). See also under Letterpress Books with Engravings by and after Blake, above.

Shakespeare, Plays, Stockdale ed., 1807. EB, June, 6 vols., modern three-quarter calf, illus. color (offered only at the “buy it now” price of £395); July, 1 pl. only, “I’ve Done the Deed” (Macbeth and Lady Macbeth), engraved by Heath, slight marginal staining, illus. color (offered only at the “buy it now” price of £60). Bauman Rare Books, Sept. online cat., 6 vols., modern three-quarter morocco ($8200). Antiquariat Markus Wolter, Sept. online cat., 6 vols., “contemporary binding” worn ($5484). Peter Harrington, Sept. online cat., 6 vols., some browning, contemporary Russia, bindings illus. color (£6500); another copy, 6 vols., contemporary calf rebacked, worn, bindings illus. color (£2500).

LINNELL, JOHN

Beach and Boats, attributed to Linnell. Pencil and chalk, 13.5 × 19.0 cm., inscribed “J Linnell”. EB, May, illus. color (£148).

Figures on a Track, in an Extensive Landscape. Watercolor, 17.7 × 25.1 cm. SL, 22 Nov., #156, illus. color (not sold; estimate £3000-5000).

Forest. Oil, 29.5 × 48.5 cm., signed and dated 1873. SL, 21 March, #32, illus. color (not sold; estimate £2000-3000).

A Gypsy Camp. Oil, 28.6 × 44.5 cm. Leslie Hindman auction, Chicago, 15 Jan., #1104, 2 punctures in the canvas restored, illus. color online ($475). Possibly an early work, datable to the 1820s or 1830s.

Heathland. Oil, 22.7 × 30.5 cm., signed. Gorringes auction, Lewes, 25 April, #1256, illus. color online (£1200).

Portrait of J. Moseley Esq. of Suffolk. Oil, 127.0 × 101.3 cm., signed and dated 1843. SL, 22 Nov., #69, illus. color (£9375).

Portrait of William Coningham. Oil, 128.0 × 103.0 cm., signed and dated 1842. SL, 22 Nov., #70, illus. color (£24,500; estimate £8000-12,000).

Storm in Harvest. Oil, 127.3 × 182.9 cm., signed and dated 1873. CL, 7 June, #102, illus. color (£57,600).

Study of a Young Child. Pencil, 12.5 × 9.1 cm., signed and dated 1822. SL, 6 June, #172 (£960).

A View near Hampstead. Oil, 20.3 × 29.3 cm., signed and dated 1827. CL, 7 June, #101, illus. color (£7800).

Woodcutters in Windsor Forest. Oil, 18.0 × 27.0 cm., signed, datable to the 1820s. SL, 6 June, #89, illus. color (£15,600; estimate £6000-8000). Not to be confused with several watercolors of the same subject and basic composition.

Autograph letter signed, 28 Aug. 1877, 1 p., to the editor of the Dublin University Magazine with a small self-portrait in pen and ink to indicate which photograph should be used in a forthcoming publication about Linnell. Quaritch, Feb. cat. 2007/6, #35 (£180).

“Sheep at Noon,” etching. BL, 12 July, #423, with “Woodcutters in Windsor Forest,” both “later impressions,” and “The Reverend John Martin,” framed, the Martin engraving illus. color (£140).

MORTIMER, JOHN HAMILTON

Sleeping Baby, tentatively attributed to Mortimer. Pen and ink, 10.5 × 17.3 cm. EB, Oct., framed, illus. color (no bids on a required minimum bid of $450).

“An Academy,” engraved by S. F. Ravenet. EB, Jan., apparently stained in the inscription area below the design, illus. (offered only at the “buy it now” price of £90).

Fifteen Etchings Dedicated to Sir Joshua Reynolds, 1778. Cheffins auction, Cambridge, 22 March, #258, 23 pls. in all, including additional etchings of banditti, original boards lacking spine, illus. color online (£1400; estimate £50-100).

“Palamon and Arcita,” etching, no etcher named but probably Francis Chesham. EB, Oct., brown ink on wove paper, illus. color ($62.37).

Shakespeare Character Heads, etchings. Thomaston Place auction, Maine, 30 June, #568, 3 pls. only, “Bardolph,” “Beatrice,” and “Falstaff,” probably Palser impressions, framed, some wrinkles, illus. color online ($175). EB, Aug., 1 pl. only, “Ophelia,” with (probably later) hand coloring, marginal stains, illus. color ($31.19).

PALMER, SAMUEL

The Broken Bridge. Watercolor, 40.0 × 50.8 cm., signed, datable to c. 1846. W/S Fine Art, June-July cat., #34, illus. color (price on application).

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Crossing the Common—Sunset. Watercolor, 18.4 × 40.6 cm., datable to 1848. Lowell Libson, April cat., #13, illus. color (not priced).

The End of the Day: A Recollection of Italy. Watercolor, 14.3 × 21.0 cm., signed, datable to the early 1870s. W/S Fine Art, June-July cat., #35, illus. color (price on application).

Gypsy Camp, Evening, attributed to Palmer. Watercolor, 19.7 × 27.9 cm. EB, Feb.-March, illus. color (no bids on a required minimum bid of £5000); May, now attributed to a “Follower of Samuel Palmer” (no bids on a required minimum bid of $700).

Landscape with Sheep and Cattle and a Windmill in the Distance. Watercolor, 18.1 × 41.0 cm., signed, datable to c. 1850. BH, 6 Feb., #107, illus. color (not sold; estimate £15,000-20,000).

Mark Yon Old Mansion, the preliminary drawing for an illustration to Samuel Rogers, The Pleasures of Memory, n.d. (c. 1879). Pen and brown ink, 11.8 × 17.8 cm. CL, 5 June, #92, illus. color (not sold; estimate £4000-6000).

“The Bellman,” etching. CSK, 4 April, #7, 4^th st., inscribed “Artist’s Proof” by A. H. Palmer, illus. color (£7200; estimate £3000-4000). CL, 18 Sept., #182, 2^nd st., a working proof touched with pencil and Chinese white, with annotations in pencil, illus. color (£6875). Galerie Bassenge auction, Berlin, 29 Nov., #5450, 5^th st., pencil signature, illus. color online (€9000).

“Christmas,” or “Folding the Last Sheep,” etching. CSK, 4 April, #5, 4^th st., “posthumous impression,” illus. color (£1140); #13, 5^th st., printed in 1926, illus. color (£960).

“The Early Ploughman,” etching. EB, July, 5^th st., illus. color (no bids on a required minimum bid of $1000). CL, 18 Sept., #184, 4^th st., some staining and foxing. illus. color (not sold; estimate £1500-2000).

“The Herdsman’s Cottage,” etching. EB, Jan., 2^nd st., illus. color ($309). Swann, 6 March, #177, 2^nd st., with “The Rising Moon,” 9^th st., and “The Morning of Life,” 9^th st., the last illus. ($1600). BH, 26 March, #5, 2^nd st., a late impression, with “The Skylark,” 7^th st., “The Sleeping Shepherd,” 4^th st., and “The Early Ploughman,” 8^th st., all framed (£2640); #6, 2^nd st., framed (£1020). CSK, 4 April, #10, 2^nd st., marginal foxing, illus. color (£660).

“The Lonely Tower,” etching. CSK, 4 April, #9, 5^th st., inscribed “Trial Proof” by A. H. Palmer, time stained, illus. color (£4800). Doyle auction, New York, 2 May, #4346, 6^th st., published 1880, pencil signature, slight marginal stains, illus. color online ($6000).

“The Morning of Life,” etching. CL, 18 Sept., #183, 6^th st., a working proof touched with pencil and pen and ink, illus. color (£3125).

“Opening the Fold,” etching. CSK, 4 April, #8, 4^th st., framed, illus. color (£960); #11, 3^rd st., “with extensive proofing notes in pencil, with a little retouching,” illus. color (£3840). EB, Sept., 10^th st., 1926 impression from the cancelled pl. with a vertical line through the center, illus. color (£97).

“The Rising Moon,” etching. CSK, 4 April, #6, 7^th st., laid India, crease in left margin close to the image, illus. color (£960); #12, 7^th st., laid India, discoloration in margin, illus. color (£900).

“The Skylark,” etching. CSK, 4 April, #4, 7^th st., laid India, narrow margins, illus. color (£1020).

“The Willow,” etching. CSK, 13 Dec. 2006, #2264, 2^nd st., “post-humous impression” (not sold; estimate £150-200). Swann, 6 March, #178, with “The Herdsman’s Cottage” and “The Early Ploughman,” sts. not recorded, the last illus. ($1700). EB, Aug., 4^th st., an impression from the cancelled pl. with a vertical line through the center, illus. color (£44.95).

Dickens, Pictures from Italy, 1846. Blackwell’s, May cat., #36, 2^nd ed., original cloth (£110). BNY, 28 Nov., #103, 1^st ed., original cloth, presentation inscription from Dickens to “The Count d’Orsay,” binding illus. color ($70,000; estimate $18,000-25,000).

Hamerton, Etching and Etchers, 1880. Swann, 29 Nov., #57, half pigskin worn ($1500). Contains Palmer’s etching, “The Herdsman’s Cottage,” 2^nd st.

A. H. Palmer, Life and Letters of Samuel Palmer, 1892. BL, 16 Aug., #477, publisher’s cloth worn, later folding box (£200). Contains Palmer’s etching, “The Willow,” 2^nd st.

S. Palmer, English Version of the Eclogues of Virgil, 1883. BL, 14 Nov., #425, “one of 10 presentation copies,... large paper,” with “some illustrations not used in the final book,” some foxing, original vellum soiled, illus. (£1000).

PARKER, JAMES

Blake’s fellow apprentice under James Basire and partner with Blake in a printselling business in the early 1780s.

British ladies in India (?), a separate pl. engraved by Parker after Stothard. See under Stothard, below. Not recorded in G. E. Bentley, Jr., “The Journeyman and the Genius: James Parker and His Partner William Blake with a List of Parker’s Engravings,” Studies in Bibliography 49 (1996): 208-31.

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“The Pulse” and “Sterne Conducting Maria into Moulines,” a pair based on scenes in Sterne’s A Sentimental Journey, engraved by Parker after James Northcote. BL, 25 Oct., #309, “The Pulse” printed in “bistre” and illus. color (£150).

Adams, New Royal Geographical Magazine, c. 1793. 2 pls. engraved by Parker, “Burgos” and “Dantzick,” first published in Seally and Lyons, A Complete Geographical Dictionary, c. 1784. See under Letterpress Books with Engravings by and after Blake, above.

RICHMOND, GEORGE

Study of Harriet Tatham; Study of Frederick Tatham. Apparently on 2 leaves, the former inscribed “G. Richmond 1826—Harriet Tatham” and the latter inscribed “Fred Tatham.” Pen and ink over pencil, 20.6 × 14.0 cm. and 20.4 × 16.2 cm. BH, 6 Feb., #92, with Study of Two Standing Acolytes and Study of Female Figures, apparently on 2 leaves, pencil and brown wash, both 22.3 × 13.0 cm., Study of Harriet Tatham and Study of Two Standing Acolytes illus. color (not sold; estimate £1000-1500).

Jesus. Chalk and charcoal drawing, 19.5 × 14.3 cm., inscribed “Sketched at Milan from the fresco” and signed “G. R.” EB, June, illus. color (offered only at the “buy it now” price of £380).

Man’s Head in Profile. Pen and brown ink, 17.8 × 11.4 cm., pen and ink sketches of 2 (female?) heads on verso, possibly dating from the 1830s. EB, Nov., illus. color (£8.50).

Portrait of Fra Girolamo Savonarola, after Fra Bartolommeo, Half Length. Pencil, 30.5 × 20.7 cm., inscribed (probably at a later date) “4” and “Savonarola.” CL, 5 June, #170, illus. color (not sold; estimate £3000-5000).

A Sheet of Figure Studies, Including an Angel and a Portrait Head Study of Samuel Palmer (recto); A Figure Study (verso). Pencil on leaf with an 1838 watermark, 20.3 × 15.9 cm. CL, 5 June, #169, illus. color (not sold; estimate £3000-5000). I am not convinced that the head is Palmer’s.

ROMNEY, GEORGE

An Heroic Head: A Study from Life. Oil, 40.5 × 44.5 cm., datable to 1788-89. Lowell Libson, April cat., #8, illus. color (not priced). The face is closely related to the portrayal of Prospero in Romney’s painting of The Tempest for Boydell’s Shakespeare Gallery.

The Infant Shakespeare Nursed by Tragedy and Comedy. Pencil, pen and brown ink, brown wash, datable to c. 1783. CL, 21 Nov., #197, illus. color (£11,250).

Studies of Thelassie, the French Dancer, Reclining. Pen and brown ink, 12.1 × 19.0 cm. CL, 21 Nov., #13, illus. color (£875).

Titania’s Attendants. Oil, 119.4 × 149.9 cm., datable to c. 1792. Lowell Libson, April cat., #9, illus. color (not priced). Previously sold, under the title Titania’s Attendants Chasing Bats, SL, 23 Nov. 2006, #68, illus. color (£38,400).

Boydell, The American Edition of Boydell’s Illustrations of the Dramatic Works of Shakespeare, 1852. EB, Sept., 1 pl. only, “The Tempest,” engraved by B. Smith, illus. color (no bids on a required minimum bid of $295); 1 pl. only, “The Infant Shakspeare,” engraved by B. Smith, marginal foxing, illus. color (no bids on a required minimum bid of $125). The pls. in this work are the original British pls., “restored.”

RUNCIMAN, ALEXANDER

“Cormar Attacking the Spirit of the Waters,” etching. EB, Nov., trimmed to the image and mounted on a backing sheet, illus. color (no bids on a required minimum bid of £28).

STOTHARD, THOMAS

Book illustrations in published states are listed only for editions not recorded in the standard reference works, A. C. Coxhead, Thomas Stothard, R.A. (London: Bullen, 1906), and Shelley M. Bennett, Thomas Stothard: The Mechanisms of Art Patronage in England circa 1800 (Columbia: U of Missouri P, 1988).

Ghost Chamber. Watercolor, 33.0 × 25.0 cm., signed. SL, 17 May, #17, illus. color (not sold; estimate £1200-1800). Very probably a preliminary drawing for a book illustration.

Study for Halloween. Watercolor, 19.5 × 16.0 cm. BL, 12 July, #92, framed, with “an English school scene of a romantic couple,” the latter (an unattributed work) illus. color (£320). Stothard’s watercolor only, W/S Fine Art, 14 Nov.-7 Dec. cat., #18, illus. color (price on request). Study for Halloween is a preliminary drawing for the pl., engraved by S. Smith and inscribed “Halloween,” published in The Cabinet of Modern Art, and Literary Souvenir, ed. Alaric A. Watts, 2^nd series (London: Whittaker & Co., 1836).

The Wedding. Oil, 35.0 × 64.5 cm. EB, Dec. 2006, framed, illus. color (£1031.76). Previously offered SL, 13 July 2006, #15, illus. color (not sold; estimate £1000-1500).

“Amyntor and Theodora,” engraved by Tomkins. EB, July, illus. color (no bids on a required minimum bid of $135).

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British ladies in India (?), I wearing a turban-like hat, circular design engraved in stipple by James Parker. Image 19.2 cm. dia., platemark 26.7 × 23.8 cm. EB, Jan., a proof before title and imprint, printed in reddish-brown, leaf of wove paper without watermark 29.5 × 24.5 cm., slight marginal stains, illus. color (£15). Its size, stipple technique, and ink color suggest that this print is a separate pl. or part of a suite of prints, not a book illustration. Probably the same impression sold EB, Jan. 2006 (£31). Not in Coxhead.

“Cecilia Overhear’d by Young Delvile,” engraved in stipple by Nutter. EB, Nov., with a 1784 imprint, foxed, framed, illus. color (offered only at the “buy it now” price of $299.99 or “best offer”). The subject of this circular print is taken from Frances Burney’s Cecilia, or Memoirs of an Heiress (1782).

“The Fifth of November,” engraving after Stothard. EB, Jan., hand colored, illus. color (£12.50). One from a set of 5 oval pls. (each about 18.0 × 21.5 cm.) picturing children at play or in the classroom, published by J. F. Tomkins in Jan. 1790 (see Coxhead 180). Might Stothard have been composing these designs at about the same time Blake was working on his Songs of Innocence in 1789? Three pls. in Innocence picture children’s games.

“The Finding of Moses,” engraved by Dadley, 22.0 × 17.0 cm. EB, June, illus. color (no bids on a required minimum bid of €1). Very probably a book illustration, perhaps for a Bible.

“The Irish Volunteer,” stipple engraving by Delattre, 1786. EB, May, illus. color (offered only at the ludicrous “buy it now” price of £3300); same impression, Sept.-Oct., illus. color (no bids on a required minimum bid of $5450 Australian).

“Princess Catherine of France Presented to Henry V,” stipple engraving by Cardon. BL, 12 July, #314, with another pl., the Stothard illus. color (not sold; estimate £150-200).

“The Wellington Shield,” etched by Stothard after his own design. Cheffins auction, Cambridge, 22 March, #247, the circular design of the shield’s center and 5 border designs, 6 pls. in all, lacking the outline etching of the entire shield, illus. color online (£4400; estimate £100-200).

Bray, Life of Stothard, 1851, extra-illus. copies only. BNY, 24 Oct., #118, extended to 10 vols. small quarto, extra-illus. with 14 drawings attributed to Stothard, 1 letter by Stothard, and 1335 pls. after his designs, 19^th-century morocco, bindings illus. color (not sold; overestimated at $20,000-30,000). The vols. include the following pls. engraved by Blake: Ariosto, Orlando furioso, only pl., 2^nd st.; Bonnycastle, Introduction to Mensuration, st. not recorded; Novelist’s Magazine, vol. 8, both pls., vol. 9, pls. 2-3, and vol. 10, all 3 pls.; Ritson, Select Collection of English Songs, pl. 7; Scott, Poetical Works, all 4 pls.

Diamond Pocket Prayer [Book], with Notes Explanatory, published by J. White, Boston, 1809. EB, April-May, 10 pls. after designs by “Richard [sic] Stothard,” contemporary morocco, illus. color (no bids on a required minimum bid of $69.99); same copy, May ($39.99).

A Series of Magnificent Engravings, to Illustrate . . . Shakespeare and Milton, published H. M’Lean, 1818. See under Fuseli, above.

TATHAM, FREDERICK

Portrait of a Man, Half Length. Watercolor, 38.1 × 26.7 cm., c. 1830? EB, June, illus. color ($112.50). Works by Tatham rarely appear on the market.

Appendix: New Information on Blake’s Engravings

Listed below are substantive additions or corrections to Robert N. 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, with the addition of “Butlin” according to the list of abbreviations at the beginning of this sales review. Newly discovered impressions of previously recorded published states of Blake’s engravings are listed only for the rarer separate plates.

The Separate Plates of William Blake: A Catalogue

Pp. 24-29, “Albion rose.” Joseph Viscomi has shown that the 1^st state of “Albion rose” dates from no earlier than 1795 because its copperplate was cut from the same large sheet of copper as The Book of Los and the pls. of The Book of Ahania, both dated “1795” by Blake on their title pages. Viscomi also dates the two color-printed impressions of “Albion rose” to 1795. This means that they were not printed as part of the Large Book of Designs of 1796, but were forerunners of that work and were later incorporated into copies A and B of the Large Book. There is no compelling evidence, however, to rule out a slightly different scenario: Blake cut the large sheet of copper into 4 pieces in 1795, executed “Albion rose” as an intaglio etching in that year, but did not color print it until his production of the Large Book of Designs in the next year. Viscomi further suggests that some of the 2^nd-state alterations in “Albion rose,” such as the burst of light around the figure’s head, were immediate responses to the color-printed version and thus datable to c. 1795. See Viscomi, “Blake’s ‘Annus Mirabilis’: The Productions of 1795,” Blake 41.2 (fall 2007): 52-83, esp. 75-78.

Pp. 111-22, “George Cumberland’s Card.” Two newly discovered impressions: begin page 163 | ↑ back to top

1. a. Professor Loretta Innocenti, Venice, Italy. Printed in black ink (possibly with a slight greenish hue) on a card pasted into a copy of George Cumberland, Jr., Bristol Beauties 1848. This work is “a made-up volume of works by George Cumberland (Jr.) printed at various times (dated 1847, 1849, 1850, 1851, 1852, 1858, 1860) with different paginations; the engraved titlepage applies only to the first 15 pages” (G. E. Bentley, Jr., A Bibliography of George Cumberland [New York: Garland Publishing, 1975] 34). According to its owner, “the book has an autograph dedication and is signed G. C. [George Cumberland, Jr.?] on the front page.” No provenance information. Its card support and bibliographic context indicate that this impression was probably pulled before most of those on thinner papers in black and brown inks. On consignment with John Windle by Oct. 2007.

2. b. Joyce Passaro, Kingston, New York. Printed in black ink on laid paper, size of sheet unknown. Acquired at auction by Passaro early in 2007 as part of a collection of bookplates from the estate of George Viner, New York. Accompanied by manuscript notes by Viner about the pl.

Pp. 125-31, “Morning Amusement” and “Evening Amusement,” after Watteau. See under Separate Plates and Plates in Series, above.

William Blake’s Commercial Book Illustrations

Pp. 64-65, Hunter, Historical Journal, 1793. For a c. 1794 version of the design pictured in Blake’s pl., dated Nov. 1792 in the imprint, see Baldwyn, the third entry under Interesting Blakeana, above. Another version of this design, “Drawn [i.e., engraved?] from a Sketch taken on the Spot” and signed by “Goldar” (John Goldar, 1729-95) as the engraver, appears in Michael Adams, The New Royal Geographical Magazine (London: Alexander Hogg, [c. 1793]), facing p. 9. The Goldar pl., titled “Man, Woman and Children of New South Wales,” may have been engraved some years before its publication in Adams’s book. The pls. in the Baldwyn and Adams vols. have a horizontal format and are much closer to each other than to Blake’s pl. One of these 2 horizontal pls. is probably a copy of the other.