Volume 43 · Issue 4

ARTICLE

Blake in the Marketplace, 2009

BY ROBERT N. ESSICK^[e]

THE 2009 MARKETPLACE is memorable for several discoveries and rediscoveries. Blake’s unpublished letter to William Hayley of 7 August 1804 reappeared after an absence of 124 years. The contents of this letter have been known only through brief excerpts in auction catalogues of 1878 and 1885; see under Manuscripts, below, for all the details presented in Sotheby’s 17 December auction catalogue. Poetical Sketches copy M reemerged, or at least its existence was confirmed; see below under First Editions of Blake’s Writings. A leaf of previously unrecorded verso sketches was uncovered when a drawing in need of conservation was removed from its mat (illus. 1). The year also brought forth several discoveries about Blake’s nineteenth-century reputation, including six lithographic reproductions of his designs published in Mexico in 1840 (illus. 4). These publications are listed among the first thirteen items under Interesting Blakeana, below; see also note 5. John Highmore’s 1779 journal of a sketching tour with George Cumberland and Thomas Stothard, although not directly related to Blake, offers insights into the activities of his friends; see under Cumberland, below.

John Windle’s enormous William Blake: Catalogue 46, with 1706 entries on 164 pages, appeared in October. Published in a limited number available for $25, the catalogue contains a CD-ROM of all items to make them searchable. The full catalogue is also available as a PDF file accessible through Windle’s web site <http://www.johnwindle.com/shop/windle/index.html>. Much of the material listed came from the collection of Kay and Roger Easson, supplemented by several important items from Roger Lipman, who built most of his collection just a few years ago with Windle’s help, as well as Windle’s own stock and a few works on consignment from other collectors and dealers. Highlights include two versions of The Resurrection of the Dead, one in wash and one in pencil, the latter bearing the newly revealed verso sketches (illus. 1). All items (including those sold prior to publication) in Windle’s landmark catalogue customarily within the purview of this report are listed below. The illustrations in the printed catalogue are in black and white, but in color in the online and CD-ROM versions.

As I reported in Blake 42.4 (spring 2009): 133, an important collection of papers relating to Robert H. and Thomas H. Cromek was sold at Sotheby’s, London, 17 July 2008, #9, for £20,000. On 24 February I learned from Windle that this archive, with its references to the publication of Blake’s designs for Blair’s Grave and the controversy over Blake’s and Stothard’s paintings of Chaucer’s Canterbury pilgrims, had been acquired at the auction by two British book dealers, John Hart and C. R. Johnson. They wrote a forty-six page overview of the archive’s contents and priced the collection at £45,000. The archive was acquired in March by Princeton University Library, received by the library on 3 April (according to Donald Skemer, Curator of Manuscripts at Princeton), and catalogued under the call number C1313. A detailed description of the Cromek papers is available online at <http://diglib.princeton.edu/ead/getEad?eadid=C1313&kw=>.

The Tate Collection, London, has purchased the eight recently discovered color prints from A Small Book of Designs copy B.¹↤ 1. See Blake 41.4 (spring 2008): 141-42, and Martin Butlin and Robin Hamlyn, “Tate Britain Reveals Nine New Blakes and Thirteen New Lines of Verse,” Blake 42.2 (fall 2008): 52-72. See also the Times [London], “Rare Etchings by William Blake Discovered in Railway Timetable,” accessed 11 Jan. 2010 <http://entertainment.timesonline.co.uk/tol/arts_and_entertainment/visual_arts/article6982852.ece>. At the conclusion of a successful fund-raising campaign, the Tate was able to acquire these prints in late December 2009 or early January 2010. Another recent discovery, an impression of Blake’s great “Job” separate plate, may also be destined for the Tate, where it remains on long-term loan.²↤ 2. Information on the Tate’s acquisitions and on plans for the Job engraving was kindly supplied by Alison Smith, Head of Acquisitions, British Art to 1900, Tate Britain (e-mail, 2 Dec. 2009). For further information on the Job engraving, see Butlin and Hamlyn and Blake 42.4 (spring 2009): 142. As far as I have been able to determine, only one further plate from an illuminated book, a posthumous impression of the “Introduction” to Songs of Experience, changed hands during the year. Although several drawings listed in my 2008 review (Blake 42.4 [spring 2009]: 117-22) remained available from dealers, none to my knowledge was sold.

The market for Blake and his circle held its own in 2009, seemingly unfazed by financial difficulties elsewhere in the world economy. The more common items, such as sets of the Job illustrations and copies of Blair’s Grave, continued to fetch good prices. Windle’s sale of a copy of the 1802 Designs to a Series of Ballads (prefatory material and Ballad 1 only) to Northwestern University Library probably established a new record for a letterpress book illustrated with Blake’s intaglio’s engravings. The year’s final month saw new auction records for “Chaucers Canterbury Pilgrims” and a manuscript by Blake. Perhaps old books and prints offer tangible, time-tested values, in contrast to abstract entities such a credit-default swaps. A book in the hand is worth more than a derivative in hyperspace.

The year of all sales and catalogues in the following lists is 2009 unless indicated otherwise. Most reports on auction catalogues are based on the online versions. Dates for dealers’ begin page 117 | ↑ back to top online catalogues are the dates accessed, not the dates of publication. Works offered online by dealers and previously listed in either of the last two sales reviews are not repeated here. The illustrations in the printed version of Windle’s October catalogue are monochrome; all other illustrations are in color unless noted otherwise. Most of 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 2009 sales will be covered in the 2010 review. I am grateful for help in compiling this review to David Bindman, Joseph Bray, Danielle Burrows, Martin Butlin, Mark Crosby, Harriet Drummond, Morris Eaves, Alexandra Gill, Sue Hodson, Nicholas Lott, Edward Maggs, Morton Paley, Michael Phillips, Wayne C. Ripley, Sir Nicholas Serota, Donald Skemer, Alison Smith, Joseph Viscomi, David Weinglass, and John Windle. My special thanks go to Alexander Gourlay for his generosity in keeping me abreast of eBay 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)
Bennett	Shelley M. Bennett, Thomas Stothard: The Mechanisms of Art Patronage in England circa 1800 (Columbia: U of Missouri P, 1998)
BHL	Bonhams, auctioneers, London
BHNY	Bonhams, auctioneers, New York
BHO	Bonhams, auctioneers, Oxford
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(s).	catalogue(s) or sales list(s) 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-Random House, 1988)
EB	eBay online auctions
illus.	illustration(s)
PBA	PBA Galleries, auctioneers, 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
Weinglass	D. H. Weinglass, Prints and Engraved Illustrations by and after Henry Fuseli (Aldershot: Scolar P, 1994)
#	auction lot or catalogue item number

Illuminated Books

“Introduction” (pl. 30) to Songs of Experience. A posthumous impression in gray-black ink on wove paper without watermark, the leaf trimmed to 17.9 × 11.0 cm. to match the leaf size of a copy of William Pickering’s 1839 ed. of Songs of Innocence and of Experience, into which this impression is bound as a frontispiece. Windle, Oct. cat. 46, #6 (“sold”). Book and print sold Feb. 2006 by Windle to Roger Lipman, London. Placed on consignment by Lipman with Windle, fall 2008; book and print sold by Windle in Jan. to Victoria University Library, Toronto. For further information on this impression, see Blake 39.4 (spring 2006): 150.

Small Book of Designs, copy B. Designs only, color printed, from 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. Acquired Dec. 2009 or Jan. 2010 by the Tate Collection, Tate Britain, London (£441,000). For further information about these prints, see note 1.

“Spring,” 2^nd pl. (pl. 23 from Songs of Innocence), trimmed to the design only below the text, 2.8 × 7.5 cm. Color printed with hand coloring. Windle, Oct. cat. 46, #5 (“sold” in Oct. 2008 to Victoria University Library, Toronto). For illus. and earlier sales, see Blake 40.4 (spring 2007): 119, and 42.4 (spring 2009): 117.

Drawings and Paintings

Paolo and Francesca(?). Pencil, approx. 19.0 × 11.0 cm. on leaf 21.3 x 37.4 cm. Butlin #816, dating the drawing to c. 1824-27. Windle, Oct. cat. 46, #4 (“sold” Sept. 2008 to Maurice Sendak, Connecticut). For illus. and earlier sales, see Blake 41.4 (spring 2008): cover, 147, 148, and 42.4 (spring 2009): 118.

begin page 118-119 | ↑ back to top

The Resurrection or The Last Trumpet (recto), with studies of eyes, the head of an eagle, a human face, and a lion (verso). Recto datable to c. 1780-85; some of the verso sketches related to Blake’s 1802 Designs to a Series of Ballads, Written by William Hayley. Pen and gray ink, gray wash over pencil (recto), pencil (verso), recto image and leaf 20.5 × 21.2 cm. Butlin #617 (listed as untraced since 1922). Windle, Oct. cat. 46, #1, “offered courtesy of W S Fine Art Ltd., Andrew Wyld,” illus. (price on request). For earlier sales and offers for sale, see Blake 42.4 (spring 2009): 122. For illus. of recto and verso and comments, see Martin Butlin, “A Blake Drawing Rediscovered and Redated,” Blake 34.1 (summer 2000): cover, 22-24. For a preliminary study, see The Resurrection of the Dead, next entry below.

The Resurrection of the Dead (recto); studies of a leg, two heads, a standing figure, and the head of an eagle (verso). Both pencil, recto drawing 17.2 × 24.4 cm., datable to c. 1780-85, inscribed “Drawn by William Blake / Vouched by Fred.^k Tatham.” Butlin #79 (recto only). Similar to, and probably a preliminary study for, The Resurrection or The Last Trumpet, listed immediately above. Windle, Oct. cat. 46, #2, recto, verso, and watermark illus. ($47,500). For earlier sales, see Blake 42.4 (spring 2009): 122. For the newly discovered verso sketches, see illus. 1.

Visionary Head: A Man Wearing a Tall Hat. Pencil strengthened in part with black chalk, 36.0 × 26.0 cm., datable to c. 1819-25. Not in Butlin. Windle, Oct. cat. 46, #3, “Untitled Visionary Head” (“sold”). For illus. and earlier sales, see Blake 37.4 (spring 2004): cover, 119-20, and 40.4 (spring 2007): 127. The drawing is now in a British private collection.

Manuscripts

Autograph letter signed to William Hayley, 7 Aug. 1804, 3 pp. (text 2½ pp.). SL, 17 Dec., #72, “unpublished and rich in biographical detail,” 7 lines of text illus. (£46,850 to Windle acting for Essick; estimate £25,000-35,000). The cat. entry offers the following partial description of the letter’s contents:

[The letter deals with] personal and artistic subjects, including pleasure at news that Hayley was writing poetry (“... I also particularly rejoice to hear that your Muse is rocking the Cradle Pray take care of both Mother & Child & suffer not the wicked harlot Prose to ingress too much of your precious time ...”), reporting on his ongoing engraving work (“... the Plate goes on with Spirit & neatness ...”) and requesting ten pounds (“... I had hoped by incessant Labour to have managed my Money Matters so well as not to have troubled you for any till I had produced a Proof of my Plate ...”), hinting at the melancholy with which he had been struggling and expressing a renewed self-belief, concluding with pointed thanks for Hayley’s compliments to Catherine (“... You have quite Elated my Wife & not a little made me remember my begin page 120 | ↑ back to top unworthiness ...”) .... “... I know my own weak side & will by labour supply what Genius Refuses how it can be that lightness should be wanting in my Works, while in my life & constitution I am too light & aerial is a Paradox only to be accounted for by the things of another World. Money flies from me Profit never ventures upon my threshold tho every other mans door stone is worn down unto the very Earth by the footsteps of the fiends of Commerce ....” ... Blake thanks Hayley for helping him in his struggle with melancholy and optimistically informs his friend that “I do know that soon these fiends will be vanquished.” The relationship between Blake and Hayley was a complex one with a developing undercurrent of tension, which is expressed here in Blake’s thinly veiled jealousy of his wife in response to Hayley’s “Klopstockian Compliment” (i.e. in the vein of Mrs Klopstock, whose letters of conjugal love he had just been reading). Passages already quoted show how Blake’s inimitable visionary prose brings drama to this letter—for example when he sets his aerial Genius against the “fiends of Commerce”—and there are also quieter moments which flicker with the imagery of his mystical world-view, such as when, on hearing of the recovery to health of Harriet Poole, a mutual friend from Sussex, he writes that “the hills and valleys of beautiful Sussex ... must sadly lament her sickness.”

Two of Blake’s statements quoted above, beginning “how it can be that lightness” and ending with “fiends of Commerce,” have been known from their quotation in auction cats. of 1878 and 1885; see E 754 for the full text of quotations from this letter in those 2 cats. “The Plate” which “goes on with Spirit & neatness” is “Sketch of a Shipwreck after Romney,” published in Hayley’s Life of Romney (1809). For other references to Mrs. Klopstock’s letters, printed in The Correspondence of Samuel Richardson (1804), and to Henrietta (Harriet) Poole’s recovery, see Blake’s letter to Hayley of 16 July 1804 (E 753-54). BB p. 279 traces the provenance of the 7 Aug. letter through its sale at auction in 1885, to which the SL cat. of 17 Dec. adds the following history: Robert Griffin of Court Garden, Marlow, Buckinghamshire (c. 1840-1921), “thence by descent” (apparently to the vendor at the 17 Dec. auction). An export license is pending. Mark Crosby and I plan to write an essay about the letter, with a complete transcription, in the near future.

Receipt signed by Blake, 5 July 1805 to Thomas Butts for £5.7s. Sold March by the autograph dealer Kenneth Rendell for $45,000 to an unidentified “museum” (according to Windle). In an e-mail of 12 May, Rendell regrets that he cannot reveal “the name of the purchaser” until such time that the receipt is “included in an exhibition.” Rendell has not responded to my request to forward a letter to the new owner. For earlier listings in sale cats., see Blake 39.4 (spring 2006): 156.

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

Poetical Sketches, copy M (BB pp. 344, 351, “Untraced”). Ursus Rare Books, New York, was contacted in April by the book’s anonymous private owner for its appraisal and possible sale. Acquired no later than June 1883 by Harry Buxton Forman and sold from his collection at Anderson Galleries, New York, 15 March 1920, #35, with “two corrections in Blake’s own hand at pp. 12 and 15, and possibly two others, according to a note in Mr. Forman’s hand” ($410, purchaser not recorded). According to information supplied by the owner to William Wyer of Ursus, copy M has manuscript annotations on pp. 4, 9, 12, and 15. Geoffrey Keynes states that these “corrections in the text” were “copied by him [Forman] from copy B” (Blake Studies, 2^nd ed. [Oxford: Clarendon P, 1971] 44). Copy B of Poetical Sketches, now in the British Library but in the collection of Forman’s friend Thomas James Wise between 1906 and 1937, contains 4 manuscript corrections, 1 each on pp. 4 and 9 and 2 on p. 15, but none on p. 12 (according to BB p. 344; Michael Phillips, “Blake’s Corrections in Poetical Sketches,” Blake 4.2 [fall 1970]: 40-47; and William Blake’s Writings ed. G. E. Bentley, Jr. [Oxford: Clarendon P, 1978] 2: 752, 755, 759). Like Wyer, I have not seen copy M and at this point cannot reconcile these differing descriptions.³↤ 3. In Blake 41.4 (spring 2008): 140 I was wrong in claiming that Poetical Sketches copy E was the only one “remaining in private hands,” although at the time it was the only traced copy privately owned.

Separate Plates and Plates in Series

“Chaucers Canterbury Pilgrims.” New England Book Auctions, Northampton, Massachusetts, 9 Dec. 2008, #14, 5^th st., Colnaghi impression on laid India, trimmed on or just within the platemark, light marginal foxing, illus. ($800); same impression, EB, Aug., illus. (sold 9 Aug. at the “buy it now” price of $1850). Larkhall Fine Art, June private offer, 5^th st. on Japan paper (£8000). Allinson Gallery, Sept. online cat., 5^th st., Colnaghi impression on laid India, illus. ($6750). Windle, Oct. cat. 46, #19, 5^th st., Colnaghi impression on laid India, illus. ($17,500). BHL, 15 Dec., #59, 4^th st. with the drypoint inscriptions left and right of the title clearly printed, “laid” paper attached to a backing card, scattered foxing, a few rubbed spots in the sky, illus. (£14,400 to Windle acting for Essick; estimate £2000-3000. A record auction price for any st.). See comments on Japan-paper impressions in the appendix, The Separate Plates of William Blake: A Catalogue, below. I have not seen the 4^th-st. impression as of Jan. 2010; an export license is pending. I will provide more information about it in my 2010 sales review.

“Christ Trampling on Satan,” engraved by Thomas Butts, Jr., after Blake. Windle, Oct. cat. 46, #32, SP impression 1I, wove begin page 121 | ↑ back to top paper with “wide margins,” illus. ($1750, sold to Northwestern University Library).

Dante engravings. Swann, 30 April, #87, pl. 7 only, laid India, illus. ($6480). CNY, 22 July, #1, pl. 4 only, laid India, “pale light-staining and surface soiling,” framed, illus. ($1625). Windle, Oct. cat. 46, #22, 1838 or c. 1892 printing, complete set on laid India, original letterpress label, from the collection of Philip Hofer, loose in a morocco case (“sold” to Livio Ambrogio, Italy); #23, 1838 or c. 1892 printing, complete set on laid India, original letterpress label, loose in a morocco case, illus. (price on request; sold to Northwestern University Library); #24-27, pls. 2, 4-6 offered individually, 1838 or c. 1892 printing on laid India ($7500 to $12,500); #28-29, pls. 2 and 6 offered individually, 1968 printing on wove paper ($2500 and $1750 respectively).

“George Cumberland’s Card.” Windle, Oct. cat. 46, #20, printed in black ink on a card 10.2 × 12.8 cm. and pasted onto the frontispiece to [George Cumberland, Jr.], Bristol Beauties 1848, illus. ($29,500, sold to Northwestern University Library); #21, printed in brown ink on paper 10.2 × 12.8 cm. ($17,500). Windle’s #20 previously offered Windle/Sotheran, June 2008 William Blake cat., #69, illus. (£10,300). For more information on this impression, see Blake 41.4 (spring 2008): 147, 162-63 (impression a).

“The Idle Laundress,” after Morland. Windle, Nov. private offer, 3^rd st., color printed and with touches of hand coloring (sold to Northwestern University Library).

“The Idle Laundress” and “Industrious Cottager,” a pair after Morland. Grosvenor Prints, March online cat., color printed and hand colored, imprints (1803?) trimmed off or covered by the mats, framed, both illus. (£1350). Windle, Oct. cat. 46, #31, 2^nd st. of “Idle Laundress,” 3^rd st. of “Industrious Cottager,” both with the 1788 imprints, color printed and hand colored, “uniformly browned” (“sold” to Victoria University Library, Toronto). For earlier sales of the Windle impressions, see Blake 40.4 (spring 2007): 127.

Job engravings. Bonhams, Los Angeles, 17 May, #7095, pl. numbered 8 only, 1826 printing on Whatman paper after removal of the “Proof” inscription, small stain in the text below the image, illus. ($1830; estimate $600-800). R. E. Lewis, spring online cat., #31, pl. numbered 3 only, 1826 printing on Whatman paper after removal of the “Proof” inscription, illus. (£1140). Sims Reed, July private offer, complete set of published “Proof” impressions on laid India, backing leaves (c. 43.0 × 33.0 cm.) with the Whatman, Turkey Mill, 1825 watermark on pls. numbered 2, 8, 13, and 14, interleaved with guard sheets, uncut in publisher’s ochre boards with printed title label inscribed in manuscript “Subscriber’s copy / £5.5.-,” Sir Thomas Lawrence’s copy with his small blind-stamped collection mark on the title label and title engraving, probably the copy to which he subscribed on 30 Oct. 1825 and sold posthumously from his collection at CL, 14 May 1830, #577 (£2.5s. to “Strutt”),⁴↤ 4. Subscription and auction dates as recorded in Barbara Bryant, “The Job Designs: A Documentary and Bibliographical Record,” William Blake’s Illustrations of the Book of Job, ed. David Bindman (London: William Blake Trust, 1987) 110, 115, 131. BR(2) 787, 800-01, 807 records a payment by Lawrence of “5 5 -” (that is, £5.5s., the amount inscribed on the title label of the Sims Reed copy) for a copy of the Job engravings on 29? April 1826. Different dates of subscription and final payment (upon delivery?) are understandable. According to a footnote in BR(2) 800, “Lawrence’s India-paper proof” copy of Job was sold on the 1^st day of the Lawrence auction, CL, 10 May 1830, #118. The India-paper copy offered by Sims Reed is apparently not the one sold CL, 6 Dec. 1978, #159 (£4000), described in the CL cat. as a copy printed “on wove paper, final states, the word Proof distinct,” bound in “original orange paper boards” with title label inscribed in manuscript “Proof,” “Prints £3.3,” and “Proofs £6.6,” and claimed (without supporting evidence) to be the copy sold from Lawrence’s collection at “Christie’s, May 13, 1830, lot 577 (£2 to Strutt).” Lawrence paid for 2 Job sets in April 1826, 1 supposedly for presentation to the Royal Academy (BR(2) 801, 807), but perhaps he retained both copies. No copy of the Job engravings is listed in A Catalogue of Books in the Library of the Royal Academy of Arts London, compiled by H. R. Tedder (London: Royal Academy, 1877); the copy presently in the collection was presented to the library by Stephen F. Gooden in 1948 (see the R.A. online cat., accessed 12 Oct. 2009 <http://www.racollection.org.uk>). manuscript note (by Lawrence?) attached to the verso of the title guard leaf (“It is recommended to turn over the plates by laying hold of the interleaving paper and not the print”), no description of condition (£60,000). Windle, Oct. cat. 46, #7, complete set of published “Proof” impressions on laid India, leaves 32.0 × 25.4 cm., light foxing, “preserved in a red cloth box,” illus. ($87,500); #8, same printing, paper, and leaf size, “original label and invoice from 1826 are preserved at the front, and the original hand-lettered brown paper wrappers at the back,”⁵↤ 5. The ink manuscript “invoice” (or draft for an advertisement?) would appear to be in the hand of John Linnell: “Blake’s Illustrations / of the / Book of Job. / Consisting of 22 Plates engraved by himself upon / copper from his own designs / Price to subscribers - - - 3.3 - / Proofs on India paper 5 . 5 - / Subscriptions- - 1. - / received by the Author W-^m Blake. 3 Fountain Court / Strand / or M.^r J. Linnell 6. Cirencester Place Fitzroy Sq[uare]- / These Plates are engraved entirely by M^r Blake with the / graver only (that is without the aid of aqua fortis).” The concluding statement is very similar to a note by Linnell among the Ivimy manuscripts that the Job pls. were “cut with the graver entirely on copper without the aid of Aqua fortis” (BR(2) 318fn). modern half morocco ($82,500); #9, published “Proof” impressions on “French” paper, light foxing, “in the original blue paper boards as issued” ($75,000); #10, pl. numbered 19 only, published “Proof” impression on “French” paper ($3950); #11-18, title page and pls. numbered 3, 6, 7, 8, 16, 17, 18 offered individually, 1874 printing on laid India paper ($2000 to $2750 each). Swann, 5 Nov., #168, pl. numbered 14 only, apparently the 1874 printing on laid India paper, illus. ($3600); 9 Nov., #43, pl. numbered 5 only, 1826 printing on Whatman paper after removal of the “Proof” inscription, illus. (not sold; estimate $2500-3500); begin page 122 | ↑ back to top #44, pl. numbered 6 only, same printing, illus. ($4560). SL, 17 Dec., #73, complete set of published “Proof” impressions on laid India, late 19^th-century morocco, illus. (£30,000).

“Morning Amusement” and “Evening Amusement,” a pair after Watteau. Windle, Oct. cat. 46, #30, 2^nd sts. “printed in sepia, with touches of hand-coloring in blue and rose” and “cleaned recently” (“sold” Jan. 2007 to Victoria University Library, Toronto). This pair offered CL, 20 Sept. 2006, #17 (not sold; acquired by Windle immediately after the auction and offered in his Nov. 2006 cat., #90, for $7500). Windle, Nov. private offer, another pair, 2^nd sts. printed in black, trimmed just below the titles (sold to Northwestern University Library).

“M^rs Q,” after Villiers. Grosvenor Prints, March online cat., 2^nd (published) st., illus. (£600); another impression, imprint trimmed off or covered by the mat, with the companion print, “Windsor Castle,” Maile after “I. B.,” both illus. (£1650).

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

Allen, History of England, 1798. McBlain Books, April online cat., heavy foxing on pls., “couple of tears,” contemporary “leather” worn ($375). Jarndyce, June cat. 182, #46, some slight cropping of imprints on the pls., recent calf, illus. (£1250).

Allen, Roman History, 1798. Windle, Oct. cat. 46, #60, complete pls. only, with the imprints, matted ($1250).

Ariosto, Orlando furioso. EB, Feb.-March, 1785 ed., 5 vols., scattered browning, bookplate of Sir Philip Stanhope, 5^th earl of Chesterfield, contemporary calf, illus. ($356). Il Pensatoio Studio Bibliografico, April online cat., 1799 ed., 5 vols., contemporary calf ($403). North American Rarities, April only cat., 1785 ed., 5 vols., early calf slightly worn ($700). N & A Smiles, April online cat., 1799 ed., 5 vols., contemporary “leather” worn ($500). Windle, Oct. cat. 46, #61, 1783 ed., 5 vols., calf rubbed ($1195). BL, 10 Dec., #101, 1783 ed., 5 vols., water stained, contemporary calf very worn (not sold; estimate £150-200).

Bible. Royal Universal Family Bible, 1780-81. Victoria Bookshop, April online cat., apparently 2 vols. in 1, “boards detached” (£150.47). Carmarthenshire Rare Books, April online cat., apparently 2 vols. in 1, contemporary “leather” (£250).

Blair, The Grave. EB, Dec. 2008, pls. 2, 6, and 8-10 only, offered individually, 1813 imprints, illus. ($95 each for pls. 6, 9, and 10, $272.87 for pl. 8, no bids on a required minimum bid of $95 for pl. 2); 1813 quarto, damp stained and foxed, contemporary calf very worn, covers detached, illus. (£293); Jan., frontispiece portrait of Blake and pls. 1, 4, 5, 7, 11, 12 only, offered individually, 1813 imprints, illus. ($530 for the portrait [a record price], $125 for pl. 1, $95 for pl. 4, $229.50 for pl. 5, $132.50 for pl. 7, $227.50 for pl. 11, $152.50 for pl. 12); Feb., pls. 3, 5, 12 only, offered individually, dated to 1808 by the vendor, illus. (offered at the “buy it now” price of $149 each or “best offer”). BL, 12 Feb., #298, “4to, 1813” (but the binding suggests the 1870 folio offered BL, 11 June 2008, #423, not sold), margins slightly browned, “original blind-stamped cloth” worn and rebacked (£260). PBA, 19 Feb., #21, 1808 folio, some pls. remargined or inlaid in paper mounts, the portrait frontispiece possibly from another copy, foxed and soiled, contemporary half calf worn and rebacked, illus. (not sold; estimate $4000-6000). BHO, 24 Feb., #106, 1808 “folio” (but actually the quarto), “moderate spotting,” late 19^th-century half morocco worn, illus. (£780). BL, 26 Feb., #240, 1808 quarto, light foxing and soiling, “slightly cropped shaving portrait and engraved title,” modern calf (£500). EB, Feb.-March, frontispiece portrait of Blake only, 1813 imprint, illus. ($261). Swann, 12 March, #175, 1808 quarto, scattered minor foxing, later fancy calf worn and rebacked, illus. (not sold; estimate $2000-3000). BL, 2 April, #599, 1813 quarto, some soiling, 1 pl. water stained, later half calf worn (£230). Buddenbrooks, April online cat., 1808 quarto, John Quinn’s copy in Buddenbrooks’ stock since at least 2004, uncut in original boards rebacked in cloth ($7500). Arader Galleries, April online cat., 1808 “folio” (but probably the quarto), modern half morocco ($2500). Andria Vertbois, April online cat., described as the “1813” ed. but probably the 1870 folio, publisher’s cloth (£995). Contact Editions, April online cat., described as the “1813” ed. but probably the 1870 folio, damp stained, publisher’s cloth worn ($1500). Lipper Books, April online cat., 1808 “folio” (but probably the quarto), “bit of foxing,” 1 pl. stained, contemporary calf ($2496). BHO, 24 June, #753, 1808 quarto, some browning and light damp staining, later morocco worn, illus. (not sold; estimate £400-600). George Minkoff, July cat. 2009-A, described as the 1808 quarto but clearly the 1808 folio with the 1^st published sts. of the pls., frontispiece portrait on laid India, slight foxing to pls., contemporary “leather-backed boards, in damaged slipcase,” in Minkoff’s stock since at least 2000 ($5000). EB, July, 1808 quarto, damp stained, browned, scattered foxing, later morocco worn, illus. (£700). Pietà Fine Art, Aug. online cat., pls. 7 and 12 only, 1813 imprints, slight marginal foxing, illus. (£150 each). Windle, Oct. cat. 46, #48, 1808 quarto, “original drab gray boards, printed paper label on upper cover, skillfully rebacked to match,” illus. ($9750); #49, 1870 folio, “occasional foxing or oxidization,” quarter calf ($975); #50-51, pls. 11 and 10 offered individually, 1^st published sts. from the 1808 folio, margins slightly soiled ($675 each). Bloomsbury Godalming, 18 Nov., #410, “small folio, 1813” (but probably the 1870 folio), 1 pl. loose, “original cloth,” illus. (£120). See also Mora, below; Diario de los niños, 1839-40, under Interesting Blakeana, below; and illus. 2 and 4.

Bonnycastle, Introduction to Mensuration, 1794. Acorn Bookshop, April online cat., “full calf” worn ($125). On the market since at least 2006.

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Boydell’s Graphic Illustrations ... of Shakspeare, c. 1803. Eveleigh Books, April online cat., scattered foxing, last few pls. damp stained, “rebacked original boards” ($3158). Bauman Rare Books, April online cat., later three-quarter morocco ($9000). BHNY, 15 Dec., #5159, marginal stains, modern half calf, illus. ($610).

Bryant, New System ... of Ancient Mythology, 1774-76. Powell’s Books, April online cat., 1^st ed., vols. 1-2 only, light foxing, contemporary calf very worn (400). Book Alley, April online cat., “two volume set” (3 vols. bound in 2?), contemporary “leather” very worn ($850). Richard Smith, April online cat., 1^st ed., 3 vols., light foxing, recent half “leather,” illus. (£750). Windle, Oct. cat. 46, #62, 2^nd ed., 3 vols., contemporary calf worn, 1 free endpaper loose ($1500).

Bürger, Leonora, 1796. Windle, Oct. cat. 46, #56, bound with Bürger, Lenore, and Seward, Llangollen Vale, both 1796, pl. 1 “slightly stained in outer margin,” quarter morocco, illus. ($19,750, sold to Northwestern University Library).

Cumberland, Outlines from the Antients, 1829. Bow Windows Bookshop, April online cat., foxed, modern half calf, illus. (£473). Windle, Oct. cat. 46, #70, foxed or browned throughout, 19^th-century quarter morocco ($975).

Cumberland, Thoughts on Outline, 1796. Windle, Oct. cat. 46, #64, presentation inscription “From the Author,” original boards with new backstrip, illus. ($2500); #65-69, Blake’s pls. 1, 4, 5, 7, 8 offered individually, each with a J Whatman 1794 watermark ($350 to $550 each).

Darwin, Botanic Garden. EB, Jan.-Feb., 1^st ed. of Part 1, 3^rd ed. of Part 2, both 1791, 2 vols. in 1, scattered spotting and light water staining, contemporary quarter calf very worn, illus. (offered at the “buy it now” price of $1490 or “best offer”). Librairie Alain Brieux, Feb. online cat., 3^rd ed. of Part 1 (1795), 4^th ed. of Part 2 (1794), 2 vols. in 1, half shagreen (€900). Scott Brinded, March cat. 52, #59, 1799 ed., vol. 1 only (containing Blake’s 5 pls.), 1 pl. not by Blake torn, contemporary calf “worn and virtually detached” (£50). Barter Books, April online cat., 3^rd ed. of Part 1 (1795), 4^th ed. of Part 2 (1794), 2 vols. in 1, some tears and browning, no description of binding (£693.40). Thomas Macaluso, April online cat., 3^rd ed. of Part 1 (1795), no information on Part 2, 2 vols. in 1, slight damp staining, contemporary boards rebacked in calf ($1000). Second Time Around, April online cat., 2^nd ed. of Part 1 (1791), 4^th ed. of Part 2 (1794), 2 vols. in 1, lacking 1 botanical pl. (not by Blake), contemporary calf rebacked, illus. (£800). Ainslie Books, April online cat., 2nd ed. of Part 1 (1791), no information on Part 2, 2 vols. in 1, foxed, modern boards (£595). ASP Art & Science Projects, April online cat., 1^st ed. of Part 1 (1791), 2^nd ed. of Part 2 (1790), 2 vols., “moderate” foxing, uncut in half calf (£1200). Keogh’s Books, April online cat., 1^st ed. of Part 1 (1791), 2^nd ed. of Part 2 (1790), 2 vols., lacks 3 pls. but includes “Fertilization of Egypt” (Blake after Fuseli), damp stained, “hardback” very worn, lacking backstrips (£200). Argosy Book Store, April online cat., 1^st ed. of Part 1 (1791), 2^nd ed. of Part 2 (1790), 2 vols. in 1, scattered foxing, modern three-quarter morocco ($1500). Shaw’s Antiquarian Books, April online cat., 1^st ed. of Part 1, 3^rd ed. of Part 2, both 1791, 2 vols. in 1, foxed, modern “leather” (£495). Hordern House, April online cat., 1^st ed. of Part 1, 3^rd ed. of Part 2, both 1791, 2 vols. in 1, light foxing, contemporary calf ($4593). BHO, 7 April, #230, 1799 ed., 2 vols., contemporary calf worn (£114). EB, April, 1799 ed., 2 vols., scattered foxing, contemporary calf worn, illus. ($456.57). Windle, Oct. cat. 46, #71, 3^rd ed. of Part 1 (1795), 4^th ed. of Part 2 (1794), 2 vols. in 1, light spotting and foxing, contemporary calf “restored,” illus. ($2250).

Earle, Practical Observations on the Operation for the Stone, 1793. Staniland Booksellers, April online cat., pls. “browned and stained,” original boards uncut, new spine (£200). On the market since at least 2006.

Enfield, Speaker, 1781. Windle, Oct. cat. 46, #72, “large-paper copy,” 1^st st. of Blake’s pl., contemporary calf, “upper hinge split” ($675).

Fenning and Collyer, New System of Geography, 1785. Grosvenor Prints, March online cat., Blake’s pl. 2 only, 1^st st., illus. (£140). This is only the 2^nd impression of pl. 2 I have encountered in the marketplace; see Blake 36.4 (spring 2003): 123 and illus. 6. I have never seen a copy of the book or an impression of Blake’s pl. 1 for sale.

Flaxman, Hesiod designs, 1817. W. Hornby, April online cat., foxed, tear in 1 pl., quarter calf worn (£350). Sims Reed, April online cat., with Flaxman’s designs for the Iliad (1805), Odyssey (1805), and Aeschylus (1831), 4 vols., foxed, some pls. repaired, half morocco worn (£550). Peter Keisogloff, Oct. online cat., bound with Flaxman’s Iliad (1805), Odyssey (1805), and Aeschylus (1831) designs, foxed, later morocco very worn, some leaves loose, “may require professional restoration” ($2500). Windle, Oct. cat. 46, #73, with Flaxman’s Iliad (1805), Odyssey (1805), and Aeschylus (1831) designs, 4 vols., some foxing, “original quarter green cloth and brown boards with the original printed label[s] on the upper cover[s] and red paper manuscript labels on the backstrips,” perhaps bound thus c. 1831, “hinges repaired” ($2750, sold to the Morgan Library and Museum). Bloomsbury Godalming, 18 Nov., #282, bound with Flaxman’s Iliad (1805), Odyssey (1805), and Aeschylus (1831) designs, foxed, contemporary morocco worn (£360). For Flaxman’s Hesiod drawings, see the 37 drawings at the beginning of the Flaxman entry under Blake’s Circle and Followers, below.

Flaxman, Iliad designs, 1805. Trillium Books, April online cat., bound with Flaxman’s Odyssey (“1803,” probably an error begin page 124-125 | ↑ back to top

for 1805) and Aeschylus (1795) designs, scattered foxing, a few pls. trimmed close, three-quarter “leather” ($2000). “harvardyard zshop,” April online cat., foxed, tear in pl. numbered 5, no description of binding other than “edgewear to covers” ($479.95). See also Flaxman, Hesiod designs, above.

Fuseli, Lectures on Painting, 1801. BL, 20 Aug., #85, contemporary calf rebacked, worn, with 2 unrelated vols. (not sold; estimate £250-350). Windle, Oct. cat. 46, #74, final leaf with water stains “not touching the image” of Blake’s pl., “old calf ... upper joint cracked” ($1250).

Gay, Fables. BHNY, 15 Dec. 2008, #2111, [1811] ed., 2 vols., contemporary calf, binding illus. ($1080). EB, Feb.-March, 1793 ed., 2 vols. in 1, some text foxed and water stained but pls. reasonably clean, later calf very worn, spine damaged, leaves coming loose, illus. ($500). St. Mary’s Books, April online cat., 1793 ed., 2 vols. in 1, spotting and browning, contemporary “leather” (£495). A Book by Its Cover, April online cat., 1793 ed., 2 vols. in 1, light foxing, “original leather” rebacked ($1200). Hermitage Book Shop, April online cat., 1793 ed., 2 vols., calf worn, rebacked ($1250). Sanctuary Books, April online cat., 1793 ed., 2 vols. in 1, scattered foxing, contemporary sheep worn ($750). Bromer Booksellers, April online cat., 1793 ed., 2 vols., title pages foxed, with Aesop, Fables (1793), 2 vols., uniformly bound in contemporary morocco ($4250). Argosy Book Store, April online cat., 1793 ed., 2 vols., damp stains to bottom of leaves, contemporary calf ($1200). begin page 126 | ↑ back to top Wittenborn Art Books, April online cat., 1793 ed., 2 vols., contemporary half “leather” ($1100). BL, 23 April, #163, 1793 ed., 2 vols., light foxing, contemporary calf worn, illus. (£230). EB, July, 1793 ed., 2 vols. in 1, scattered foxing, contemporary calf worn, illus. (no bids on a required minimum bid of $490); same copy, July-Aug. ($305). Windle, Oct. cat. 46, #75, 1793 ed., 2 vols., “possibly large-paper,” contemporary calf “scuffed and untidy” ($1500). EB, Nov., 1793 ed., 2 vols., minor soiling, contemporary boards with new calf spines, illus. (no bids on a required minimum bid of $975). Some of these copies of the “1793” ed. may be the [1811] issue.

Hayley, Ballads, 1805. Windle, Oct. cat. 46, #34, pls. 1-3 1^st sts., pls. 4-5 only sts., “original drab gray boards, printed paper label,” illus. ($10,500); #35, sts. as in #34, marbled boards and roan spine worn ($6750); #36, pls. 1-3 2^nd sts., full calf ($4750).

Hayley, Designs to a Series of Ballads, 1802. Windle, Oct. cat. 46, #33, prefatory matter and 1^st ballad only, “old” half morocco, “the Monckton Milnes, Earl of Crewe, Moss, Todd, Bentley, Essick, Klemen, Lipman copy,” illus. ($89,500, sold to Northwestern University Library). For earlier sales, see Blake 39.4 (spring 2006): 158.

Hayley, Essay on Sculpture, 1800. Windle, Oct. cat. 46, #76-78, Blake’s pls. 1-3 offered individually ($375, $495, $595 respectively).

Hayley, Life of Cowper, 1803-04. EB, Jan., 1^st ed., with Cowper, Poems (1806), 4 vols. in all, contemporary quarter calf worn, extensively illus. ($288.87). Grosvenor Prints, March online cat., Blake’s pl. 1 only, probably 1^st st., illus. (£180). Windle, Oct. cat. 46, #37, 2nd ed., 3 vols., Cowper, Illustrated by a Series of Views (1803) bound in vol. 3, calf rebacked with new labels ($975). Grosvenor also offered what it claimed to be a proof before all letters of Blake’s pl. 3 (£420), but this was actually Bartolozzi’s 1799 engraving of the same portrait of Cowper after a drawing by Lawrence (see CB pp. 87-88).

Hayley, Life of Cowper, New York 1803 ed. with a wood engraving of Blake’s “Weather House” design, 2: 245. Vintage Books, April online cat., vol. 2 only, browned and foxed, “leather” very worn ($50).

Hayley, Life of Romney, 1809. Cloe Dewey on AmazonUK, April online cat., no description of binding (£1087.96). G. W. Stuart, April online cat., minor foxing, later half morocco ($575). Howell’s Books, April online cat., contemporary calf very worn, spine damaged ($500). Windle, Oct. cat. 46, #79, “large-paper copy,” modern half morocco “scuffed on joints” ($1650).

Hayley, Triumphs of Temper, 1803. Bohemian Bookworm, April online cat., probably small-paper issue, no description of binding other than new endpapers and “strengthened hinges” ($850). Windle, Oct. cat. 46, #80, “large-paper copy,” occasional foxing, uncut in original boards rebacked, quarter morocco slipcase ($4750); #81, small-paper issue, old calf, joints split ($475).

Hoare, Inquiry, 1806. Sims Reed, April online cat., marbled boards with cloth spine, new endpapers (£285). Windle, Oct. cat. 46, #82, Blake’s pl. only ($875).

Hogarth, The Beggar’s Opera by Hogarth and Blake, 1965. Windle, Oct. cat. 46, #85, with the 7^th published st. of Blake’s pl. as issued, publisher’s folding cloth box worn ($975).

Hogarth, Works. PBA, 11 Dec. 2008, #77, said to be the 1790 ed., presumably with Blake’s pl., occasional foxing, contemporary calf worn and rebacked, illus. (apparently not sold); same copy?, 19 Feb., #75, now dated to c. 1805 and said to be the 3^rd Boydell issue (not sold; estimate $6000-9000). Andria Vertbois Books, April online cat., undated Baldwin and Cradock ed., foxed and stained, contemporary half morocco worn and damaged (£1250). Hollett & Son, April online cat., undated Baldwin and Cradock ed., minor spotting, contemporary half morocco worn, illus. (£2250). Old Church Galleries, April online cat., Blake’s pl. only, 4^th published st. from the 1822 ed. (£245). CSK, 1 June, #214, 1790 ed. but with 2 leaves watermarked 1805, marginal tears, “light soiling,” contemporary half Russia worn, illus. (£2750). EB, Aug., Blake’s pl. only, described by the vendor as “fourth state” but probably 5^th published st., framed, illus. ($350). Windle, Oct. cat. 46, #83, Blake’s pl. only, 4^th published st., “finely colored by a skilled hand probably in the early 19^th century,” a few marginal tears and repairs ($4500); #84, 4^th published st., uncolored, illus. ($1500). SL, 29 Oct., #58, 1790 ed., 105 pls. on 81 leaves, 19^th-century calf worn (£4000; estimate £1500-2000); #59, undated Baldwin and Cradock ed., 104 leaves, foxed, 19^th-century half morocco worn, illus. (£1625; estimate £600-800). Michael Finney, Nov. online cat., Blake’s pl. only, st. not identified but possibly 4^th published st., illus. (£300). BL, 25 Nov., #314, 1822 ed., 116 leaves, marginal stains, contemporary half morocco worn (£1300).

Hunter, Historical Journal, quarto issue, 1793. Time Booksellers, April online cat., modern calf ($9000) Australian). Peter Harrington, April online cat., occasional foxing, modern calf (£4750). SNY, 11 Dec., #169, foxed, title page cropped, 19^th-century calf worn, hinges repaired ($1750).

Josephus, Works. EB, April, BB issue E, foxed and soiled, title page damaged, contemporary calf very worn, illus. ($275). Reg Bladen, April online cat., BB issue D or E, some damp stains, contemporary sheep very worn (£275). Swann, 3 Dec., #186, probably BB issue B or later, upper margins stained, contemporary calf very worn, covers loose ($390).

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Lavater, Aphorisms on Man. EB, June-July, 1794 ed., 3^rd st. of Blake’s pl., slight browning, modern calf, illus. (a bargain at £35.50). Northgate Books, Aug. online cat., 1788 ed., small piece of “last page is missing (no loss of text),” full calf (£300). Windle, Oct. cat. 46, #86, 1788 ed., calf rebacked ($695); #87, 1794 ed., 3^rd st. of Blake’s pl., lacking a leaf of text, pl. browned, calf rebacked ($295). E. M. Lawson, Nov. cat. 328, #33, 1788 ed., contemporary calf rebacked (£220).

Lavater, Essays on Physiognomy. EB, Dec. 2008, Blake’s pl. 3 only, illus (£63). Better World Books, April online cat., 1789-98 ed., 3 vols., scattered foxing, ex-library copy in modern cloth ($695.26). B & L Rootenberg, April online cat., a mixed set (1789, 1792, 1810), 3 vols. in 5, minor foxing, contemporary calf worn ($2500). John Gach, April online cat., 1810 ed., 3 vols. in 5, contemporary boards with modern “leather” spines ($2500). Ursus Rare Books, April online cat., 1810 ed., 3 vols. in 5, “some foxing or spotting,” later three-quarter morocco ($3500). Antiquariat Nikolaus Weissert, April online cat., 1789-98 ed., 3 vols. in 5, “binding restored” (€3000). EB, June, Blake’s pl. 1 only, illus. (£52.77); July, Blake’s pl. 4 only, full leaf with letterpress text, slight browning, illus. (£124); Aug., Blake’s pl. 3 only, full leaf with letterpress text, 1809 watermark, illus. (£106); 1789-98 ed., 3 vols. in 5, light scattered foxing, later half morocco, illus. (no bids on a required minimum bid of $2500); same copy, Aug., illus. (no bids on a required minimum bid of $2000); Sept., Blake’s pl. 2 only, full leaf said to be from the 1810 ed., bottom margin badly stained, illus. (£75.75). Windle, Oct. cat. 46, #88, 1789-98 ed., 3 vols. in 5, “unusually large copy with wide margins,” early 19^th-century calf worn and with repairs ($1750).

Malkin, Father’s Memoirs of His Child, 1806. Swann, 20 Oct., #288, John Quinn’s copy (sold at auction in 1923 for $18), contemporary calf very worn, front cover detached ($210). This copy reportedly sold (but perhaps bought in) for $550, Swann, 7 April 2008, #21. Windle, Oct. cat. 46, #57, contemporary morocco slightly worn, illus. ($1875).

Monthly Magazine, vol. 4, 1797. John Turton, April online cat., contemporary quarter calf worn (£71.50).

Mora, Meditaciones poeticas, 1826. Windle, Oct. cat. 46, #52-55, pls. 8, 7, 4, 10 offered individually, “ample margins, a little dusty but very good,” pl. 7 illus. ($275 each). See also Blair, above; Diario de los niños, 1839-4, under Interesting Blakeana, below; and illus. 4.

Novelist’s Magazine. EB, Jan., vol. 8, both title pages dated 1792, lacking 2 pls. not by Blake, contemporary calf worn, illus. (£208). J & S Wilbraham, Feb. online cat. 79, #132, vol. 9, general (engraved) title page dated 1782, specific (letterpress) title page dated 1792, contemporary calf (£85). Chapter 1 Books, April online cat., vol. 8, 1782 issue, foxed, “boards ... worn” ($1000); vols. 10-11, 1783 issue, foxed, “boards ... worn” ($140). EB, Aug., vols. 10-11, general (engraved) title pages apparently absent, 1783 issue, later cloth very worn, illus. (£57.56). Windle, Oct. cat. 46, #89, vol. 9, 1^st sts. of Blake’s 3 pls., pls. 1-2 hand colored, “in a very damaged binding” ($250); #90 vol. 10, Blake’s pl. 1 only, 1^st st. ($50); #91, vol. 10, Blake’s pl. 3 only, 1^st st., trimmed to the inner design ($75); #92, vol. 10, Blake’s pl. 3 only, “later printing of the first state with slightly less stippling, full-page” ($50). EB, Oct.-Nov., pls. only in 2 vols., “350” in all, a complete? run, “1781-1788,” including engraved title pages and all 8 pls. by Blake in their 1^st sts., later calf, illus. ($760).

Rees, Cyclopædia, 1820. Cox & Budge, April online cat., complete in 45 vols., “full leather” worn, illus. (£2910). Windle, Oct. cat. 46, #93, pls. vol. 4 only with Blake’s pls. 4-7, Blake’s pl. 3 inserted loose, foxed, half calf worn ($1250).

Remember Me!, [1824] for 1825. BHO, 7 April, #22, publisher’s printed paper boards and original color-printed card slipcase, rubbed and slightly soiled, illus. (£1056); same copy, Windle, Oct. cat. 46, #43, Blake’s pl. and front of slipcase illus. (“sold” to Victoria University Library, Toronto). Loe Books, Sept. online cat., “original grey-green end papers” and red “paper-covered boards” possibly rebacked with matching paper, with the “original hand-coloured [actually color-printed?] card slipcase with replica of the title page pasted to the top side,” slipcase very worn, binding slightly worn (£2100).

Ritson, Select Collection of English Songs, 1783. Quaritch, Feb. cat. 2009/03, #58, 3 vols., scattered foxing, modern half calf (£550). Travis & Emery Music Bookshop, April online cat., 3 vols., “recent plain leather,” 2 gatherings in vol. 3 coming loose (£525). Argosy Book Store, April online cat., 3 vols., contemporary calf rebacked ($750).

Salzmann, Elements of Morality. Zubal Books, April online cat., 1791 ed., 3 vols., contemporary “leather” very worn, some covers loose ($2750). Rosley Books, April online cat., 1799 ed., 3 vols., lacking the frontispiece (vol. 1) and the pls. numbered 5 and 18 (Blake’s pls. 4 and 14 in CB), contemporary sheep worn (£795). James Burmester, June cat. 75, #201, 1799 ed., 3 vols., contemporary calf repaired (£1500). Lazy River Books, July online cat., 1792 ed., vol. 1 (of 3) only, lacking the frontispiece (not by Blake), “leather” very worn, spine missing ($249.99). Windle, Oct. cat. 46, #94, 1791 ed., 3 vols., sts. of the pls. not recorded, with the book label of Pamela Lister, modern calf (“sold” to Victoria University Library, Toronto).

Scott, Poetical Works, 1782. Irene Hena on Amazon, April online cat., “leather” binding (489.96). Better World Books, April online cat., considerable foxing, ex-library copy, modern cloth worn ($102.01).

Shakespeare, Dramatic Works, 1802. Rosenbad Antique Books, April online cat., 9 vols., scattered foxing, contemporary begin page 128 | ↑ back to top calf rebacked, worn with 5 covers detached, illus. ($12,900). Arundel Books, April online cat., 9 vols., scattered foxing, “leather” very worn, 12 covers detached ($3995).

Shakespeare, Plays, 1805. EB, Dec. 2008, 9 vol. issue, scattered foxing and staining, contemporary calf very worn, illus. (no bids on a required minimum bid of £599.99); same copy, Jan., May, and Aug., same result. Stella & Rose’s Books, Feb. online cat., 9 vol. issue, with Richardson, Essays on Shakespeare’s Characters (1812), “leather” very worn, 2 covers detached (£350). EB, March-April, 9 vol. issue, scattered foxing, contemporary calf, illus. (offered at the “buy it now” price of $1440); same copy, Merchants Rare Books, April online cat., illus. ($1500; same copy, EB, May, illus. (offered at the “buy it now” price of $1600); same copy, EB, Aug., illus. (“buy it now” price reduced to $1440 then raised back to $1600). Trumpington Fine Books, April online cat., 9 vol. issue, light foxing, contemporary half “leather” worn (£1000). Thornton’s Bookshop, April online cat., vols. 1-8 only of the 9 vol. issue (and thus lacking Blake’s pl. 2), contemporary calf worn, 1 cover detached (£350). Windle, Oct. cat. 46, #95, 10 vol. (large-paper) issue, some browning, “old calf restored,” illus. ($4750). EB, Dec., 10 vol. (large-paper) issue, Blake’s pl. 2 with marginal water stains, later half calf worn, illus. ($280).

Stedman, Narrative, 1806, colored copies. AioloZ Antiquarian Books, April online cat., 2 vols. in 1, full vellum (€7975). CNY, 9 Dec., #305, some light browning, later calf worn, illus. ($7500). Argosy Book Store, Dec. online cat., 2 vols., modern three-quarter morocco ($15,000).

Stedman, Narrative, uncolored copies. Michael Sharpe, April online cat., 1796 ed., 2 vols., contemporary calf rebacked ($5500). Krul Antiquarian Books, April online cat., 1806 ed., 2 vols., “browned in places,” full calf (€7800). Gert Jan Bestebreurtje, April online cat., 1806 ed., 2 vols., foxed, “stains on the plates,” later half calf (€3850). Windle, Oct. cat. 46, #96-98, Blake’s pls. 1, 3, 5 offered individually, some soiling and marginal tears ($150 each). Bartleby’s Books, Dec. online cat., 1796 ed., 2 vols., later half morocco ($5500). SaBeRo Books, Dec. online cat., 1806 ed., 2 vols. in 1, contemporary calf rebacked (£4000).

Stuart and Revett, Antiquities of Athens. Donald Heald, April online cat., vols. 1-3, 1762-94, “a later issue of the first three volumes” with a map in vol. 3 dated 1824, contemporary half calf worn, “covers detached,” illus. ($17,500). Sims Reed, Nov. cat., #7, vols. 1-5 complete, 1762-1830, vols. 1-4 half morocco, vol. 5 full morocco, illus. (£35,000).

Varley, Zodiacal Physiognomy, 1828. Windle, Oct. cat. 46, #59, contemporary calf “restored” (“sold” Oct. 2007 to Victoria University Library, Toronto; see Blake 41.4 [spring 2008]: 153).

Virgil, Pastorals, 1821. Christian White of Modernfirsteditions (Leeds, Yorkshire), Jan. private offer, 2 vols., a few pls. foxed (but not Blake’s wood engravings), early 20^th-century “half-leather” (£8500; acquired by Windle, who in turn sold it at the New York Book Fair in April); May private offer, vol. 2 only, contemporary calf worn, possibly a variant publisher’s binding with the same gilt-stamped lettering on the spine as in the publisher’s presentation binding for St. Paul’s School but different gilt decorations (£1500). In the 2 vol. copy (the 1^st listed above), a printed label has been pasted over the last 2 lines of text on the title page of vol. 1. The label reads “AT THE FRENCH AND ENGLISH JUVENILE LIBRARY, / No. 195, (St. Clement’s), Strand.” There is no label on the title page of vol. 2, but the price of “15s.” in the penultimate line has been rubbed out. The French and English Juvenile Library is an imprint of M. J. Godwin & Co., founded by William Godwin (1756-1836) and his second wife, Mary Jane Clairmont Godwin (1768-1841), in 1807 (see the article by Pam Perkins on M. J. Godwin, ODNB 22: 616; for the Strand imprint, see Ford K. Brown, The Life of William Godwin [London: J. M. Dent; New York: E. P. Dutton, 1926] 355). Windle, Oct. cat. 46, #38, 2 vols., with George Goyder’s bookplate in each vol., full calf, illus. (“sold”); #39, 2 vols., the copy from Christian White with the label pasted to the title page of vol. 1 (“sold”); #40, 2 vols., early 19^th-century calf ($47,500); #42, Blake’s pl. 10 only (the 6^th wood engraving, but called “the fifth cut” in the cat.), with Essick, A Troubled Paradise (1999), “enclosed in a folding quarter cloth box as issued” ($3500).

Virgil, Wood Engravings of William Blake, 1977. Windle, Oct. cat. 46, #41, publisher’s folding box ($6500).

Whitaker, The Seraph, London: Jones & Co., c. 1825-28. EB, Feb., 2^nd st. of the pl., “disbound but text block is holding firmly,” illus. (£99.05).

Wit’s Magazine, 1784. Grosvenor Prints, March online cat., Blake’s pl. 6 only, illus. (£160). Windle, Oct. cat. 46, #99, bound in 2 vols. including the 1785 issues, contemporary calf worn ($9750); #100, Blake’s pl. 1 only, “first state of the earlier of the two designs for this illustration” (i.e., BB pl. 1, CB pl. 1A), “trimmed to the margin of the plate” ($500); #101-02, Blake’s pls. 4 and 6 offered individually, “full margins, a little soiled, folded vertically as usual” ($400 each). Swann, 3 Dec., #291, 17 issues, 1784-85, “initial plate nicked at one corner, other small faults to plates,” early calf worn, illus. ($4560; estimate $1200-1800. A record auction price.).

Wollstonecraft, Original Stories, 1791. CSK, 18 Dec. 2008, #49, pl. 1 in the 2^nd st., sts. of other pls. not described but probably 2^nd, scattered “spotting,” contemporary calf worn and rebacked, illus. (£1500). Phillip Pirages, May cat. 57, #279, 2^nd sts. of the pls., recent calf ($5250). Windle, Oct. cat. 46, #44, 2^nd sts. of the pls., modern calf with “joints restored,” illus. ($6750).

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Young, Night Thoughts, 1797, uncolored copies. CSK, 16 Sept., #7, oddly described as “after William Blake,” minor stains, no mention of the “Explanation” leaf, edges trimmed and gilt, morocco worn, illus. (not sold; estimate £1800-2200. According to Alexandra Gill of CSK, the vendor accepted an offer after the sale.). Donald Heald, Sept. online cat., with the “Explanation” leaf, trimmed to 41.6 × 32.0 cm., from the collections of Greville MacDonald and George Goyder, fine contemporary morocco, binding illus. ($25,000). The MacDonald/Goyder copy previously sold CL, 27 Nov. 1996, #454 (£7130 to the dealer Andrew Cumming); offered by Phillip Pirages cats. with the price reduced to $15,500 in the May 2004 cat. 50, #94. Windle, Oct. cat. 46, #45, 2 pls. before imprints, with the “Explanation” leaf, leaves 43.2 × 33.3 cm., “uncut at the fore- and lower edges,” full morocco “rehinged,” illus. ($25,000); #46, no mention of the “Explanation” leaf, “untrimmed at the fore- and lower edges,” the “Coleridge family copy,” modern morocco ($22,500); #47, lacking the “Explanation” leaf, disbound, the former binding converted to a quarter-calf folder ($15,000).

Interesting Blakeana

Chaucer, Works, 1687. Bernard Shapero, May cat., #27, contemporary calf rebacked, illus. (£2750). Probably the ed. used by Blake; see Alexander S. Gourlay, “What Was Blake’s Chaucer?” Studies in Bibliography 42 (1989): 272-83.

An Allegory, attributed to Blake. Pen and ink, 33.0 × 23.0 cm. EB, April, “from the collection of Viscount Gelippe and Baron W. J. Haydon de Lomley,” illus. (£1087). Not by Blake, and probably not even British, but the drawing attracted 44 bids. The subject may be Manoah’s sacrifice (Judges 13.15-20). Blake’s recto/verso drawing based on this passage was last recorded in the collection of Lady Melchett (Butlin #116, dating the work to c. 1780-85).

E. Swedenborg, The Wisdom of Angels Concerning the Divine Providence, 1790. Windle, Oct. cat. 46, #1152, “original sheets sewn but not bound, enclosed in a new cloth box” ($375). The ed. owned and annotated by Blake (BB#743).

W. Hayley, autograph manuscript of “List of the Portraits of English Poets,” 1 sheet folded into a pamphlet of 2 leaves, 14.8 × 10.5 cm., with (later?) additions by Hayley’s friend George Steevens (Shakespeare editor, 1736-1800). Christopher Edwards, April private offer, possibly a wants-list or a list of (engraved?) portraits already owned, dated “before 1800?” on the basis of Steevens’s death (£450; acquired by a private collector). Hayley’s interest in portraits of poets led him to commission “Eighteen Heads of Poets” from Blake in 1800 (Butlin #343.1-18).

A Missionary Voyage to the Southern Pacific Ocean ... in the Ship Duff. London: T. Chapman, 1799. Addyman Books, July online cat., contemporary calf rebacked (£750). Camberwell Books, July online cat., half calf worn ($5000 Australian). Sotheran’s, July online cat., some spotting, later half cloth over contemporary boards, illus. (£800). A passage in this work provided the basis for Blake’s painting The Goats, an Experiment Picture (Butlin #659, untraced). For Blake’s entry on the painting in his Descriptive Catalogue of 1809, see E 546.

Classical Male Nude, pencil, recto and verso, recto with ink framing lines, attributed to “Circle of William Blake,” dimensions not given, dated to “Circa 1800” for no apparent reason, laid paper with a “G P” (or possibly “GIP” or “GLP”) watermark. EB, Nov.-Dec., illus. (£46). As David Bindman points out, there is nothing “that connects” this drawing “to Blake,” although it probably is of his era (e-mail, 30 Nov. 2009).

Hilaris Benevolus and Co. [pseudonym of John Britton], Pleasures of Human Life. London: Longman, Hurst, Rees, & Orme, 1807 (1^st and 2^nd eds.); Boston: Oliver & Munroe and Joseph Greenleaf, 1807. EB, Dec. 2008, London, 2^nd ed., contemporary half calf worn, illus. (no bids on a required minimum bid of £71.99). Hollett & Son, Feb. online cat., London, 2^nd ed., half morocco (£120). Mike Maddigan, Feb. online cat., Boston ed., contemporary calf ($65). Bertram & Williams, Feb. online cat., London, 2^nd ed., three-quarter morocco ($200). Tiger Books, Feb. online cat., London, 2^nd ed., uncut in original boards with newer spine, from the library of John Sparrow (barrister and bibliophile, 1906-92) with his book label (£120). Twistleton Rooke Books, Feb. online cat., London, 2^nd ed., lacking the engraved title page and 1 other pl., “leather” binding (£60). Gaa Books, March online cat., London, 2^nd ed., later boards ($100). Windle, Oct. cat. 46, #564, London, 2^nd ed., uncut in original boards ($375). See illus. 3 and its caption.

Reflector, a Quarterly Magazine ... Conducted by the Editor of the Examiner [Leigh Hunt]. London: Printed and Published by John Hunt, 1810-11. William Dailey Rare Books, Feb. online cat., 2 vols. (all published), scattered foxing and staining, title page in vol. 1 torn, half calf worn, 3 covers loose ($100). The 1^st issue, Oct. 1810, p. 88, includes a reference to Blake in an essay titled “Art. XI.—Account of a Familiar Spirit” and signed with the pointing hand symbol of the Hunt brothers; see Wayne C. Ripley, “William Blake and the Hunt Circle,” forthcoming in Studies in Romanticism. Leigh Hunt is probably the author since a revised version of the essay, retitled “The Nightmare” and with the 1^st 3 paragraphs (including the Blake reference) deleted, is included in his collection of essays, The Seer; or, Common-Places Refreshed, part 2 (1841). Not in BB or BBS.

E. Young, Night Thoughts. London: John Sharpe, 1817. Classic Bindings, Sept. online cat., “with a good period fore-edge painting after Blake: ‘Elohim creating Adam,’” half morocco (£250).

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A. Cunningham, Lives of the Most Eminent British Painters, Sculptors, and Architects. Resource Books, Feb. online cat., 6 vols., 1829-33, 1^st ed. of vols. 3-6, three-quarter calf worn ($475). Ken Spelman, May online cat. 66, #98, 6 vols., 1829-33, 1^st ed., contemporary calf, illus. (£350). Includes an important early biography of Blake (BB #1433A-B).

Anon., The Georgian Era: Memoirs of the Most Eminent Persons, Who Have Flourished in Great Britain, from the Accession of George the First to the Demise of George the Fourth. 4 vols. London: Vizetelly, Branston and Co., 1832 (vol. 1), 1833 (vol. 2), 1834 (vols. 3-4). Prints and Paper, Sept. online cat., former owner’s stamp on each title page, publisher’s cloth, backstrip of vol. 1 partly detached, illus. ($138). Ohio Book Store, Sept. online cat., 4 vols., authorship oddly attributed to “Christie, Agatha,” modern cloth ($135). Primrose Hill Books, Sept. online cat., 4 vols., some foxing, “half leather” worn (£210.50). J & J House Booksellers, Sept. online cat., 4 vols, some foxing, half morocco rubbed ($450). Includes a brief biography of Blake (4: 113-15), based on Cunningham (see the entry immediately above), and brief biographies of Basire, Flaxman, Fuseli, Hayley, and Stothard. The British Library cat. attributes the work to “Clarke” (no first name) as author or editor. I am grateful to Morton Paley for telling me about this work; not in BB or BBS.

Songs of Innocence and of Experience, Pickering ed., 1839 (BB #171B). Windle, Oct. cat. 46, #105, issue without “The Little Vagabond,” publisher’s cloth slightly worn, hinges repaired, modern quarter morocco folding case, illus. ($12,500, sold to the Library of Congress). The 1^st letterpress ed. of Blake’s Songs.

Diario de los niños: Literatura, entretenimiento e instruccion [Diary of the Children: Literature, Entertainment and Instruction]. 3 vols. Mejico [Mexico City]: Miguel Gonzalez, 1839 (vol. 1), 1840 (vol. 2); Mexico [City]: Vicente G. Torres, 1840 (vol. 3). With 6 lithographs based on Blake’s designs originally executed as illus. to Blair’s Grave. Bray Books, Oct. Seattle Book Fair, lightly browned throughout, worm damage in vol. 1, contemporary quarter calf over embossed paper boards worn ($2450, acquired by Windle for Essick). The editing of this collection of essays, stories, and poems for children has been attributed to Wenceslao Sánchez de la Barquera.⁶↤ 6. According to Claudia Agostoni, “Divertir e instruir: revistas infantiles del siglo xix mexicano,” La república de las letras asomos a la cultura escrita del México decimonónico, ed. Belem Clark de Lara and Elisa Speckman Guerra (Mexico [City]: Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, 2005) 2: 175. The unpaginated “Introduccion” in vol. 1 of the Diario is signed by “Los Editores,” indicating that there was more than one editor. Not in BB or BBS. See illus. 4 and its caption.

Thirty Pictures by Deceased British Artists Engraved Expressly for the Art-Union of London by W. J. Linton, 1860 (BBS p. 236). EB, Jan., publisher’s cloth, illus. (£23.66). Goldsworth Books & Prints, May online cat., pl. 16 after Fuseli missing, publisher’s cloth worn, covers detached ($41). Bound 2 Please, May online cat., minor foxing, publisher’s cloth stained (£9.99). Mungobooks, May online cat., publisher’s cloth (£22). Includes 1 or 2 wood engravings of Blake’s “Death’s Door” produced by Linton. For more on Linton’s wood engravings based on Blake’s design, see Blake 39.4 (spring 2006): 167.

The Marriage of Heaven and Hell, Camden Hotten facsimile, 1868 (BB #99). Windle, Oct. cat. 46, #291, “the usual foxing,” original gray boards, buckram spine, “possibly a remainder binding” ($1975).

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Illustrations of the Book of Job, heliotype reproductions with commentary by Charles Eliot Norton, 1875 (BB #422). Windle, Oct. cat. 46, #358, publisher’s cloth ($1500).

Twelve “autotype” reproductions of Blake’s works published by the English Picture Publishing Company, Manchester and London, 1876. Am Here Books, Sept. online cat., including 6 watercolors from the Comus series (Thomas set), Queen Catherine’s Dream, The Mourners, The Bread of Life (The Good Farmer), A Breach in the City (A Breach in a City, the Morning after the Battle), and 2 watercolors from the Paradise Lost series (Thomas set), ownership signature of Ruthven Todd, apparently collected individually by Todd and bound by him in marbled boards ($850).

Jerusalem, Pearson facsimile, 1877 (BB #76). Windle, Oct. cat. 46, #288, modern quarter morocco ($1650); #289, slightly foxed, original wrappers ($1500).

W. Muir facsimiles, 1884-1927. Windle, Oct. cat. 46, #233, “A Private Collection of Muir Facsimiles,” including America (2 copies, 1887 hand-colored issue), The Book of Thel (3 copies, 1885; 1 copy, 1920), Europe (2 copies of the hand-colored issue, 1887), The First Book of Urizen (1888), The Gates of Paradise (1888), Little Tom the Sailor (1886), The Marriage of Heaven and Hell (3 copies, 1885), Milton (1886), On Homers Poetry [and] On Virgil (1887), The Song of Los (1890), Songs of Experience (2 copies, 1885; 3 copies, 1927), Songs of Innocence (2 copies, 1884; 2 copies, 1927), There is No Natural Religion (2 copies, 1886), Visions of the Daughters of Albion (4 copies, 1884), with the Century Guild Hobby Horse no. 11 (June 1888), with 3 of Blake’s Virgil wood engravings reproduced (offered en bloc for $245,000); #234, Songs of Innocence (copy no. 30, 1884) and Songs of Experience (copy no. 13, 1885), 2 vols., quarter vellum, original wrappers retained, illus. ($12,500).

The Lamb. Oxford: H. Daniel, 1889 (BB #269). Maggs, Dec. 2008 private offer, publisher’s wrappers (£1000). The printer/publisher of this 8-pp. vol., 10.5 × 9.0 cm., accounts for the price.

Blake His Songs of Innocence. Oxford: H. Daniel, 1893 (BB #148). William & Nina Matheson, Dec. online cat., 1 of 100 copies, publisher’s wrappers worn ($700).

Songs of Innocence and of Experience, facsimile ed. Ellis, hand-colored issue published by Quaritch, 1893 (BBS pp. 134-35 issue B). Windle, Oct. cat. 46, #299, no. 22 of 50 copies, bookplate of Pamela and Raymond Lister, publisher’s half morocco “recased” ($6750). Marilyn Braiterman, Nov. cat. 31, #6, no. 14 of 50 copies, half morocco, illus. ($5750).

For the Sexes: The Gates of Paradise. Windle, Dec. 2008 online cat., 21 loose leaves in a later half-cloth portfolio ($500); same copy, Oct. cat. 46, #287 (“sold”). Apparently the facsimile printed for William A. White (1843-1927), America’s first great Blake collector, from his copy D (now Morgan Library and Museum). Dated to “1913” in Geoffrey Keynes, A Bibliography of William Blake (New York: Grolier Club, 1921) 303 #237, to “?1897” in BB #46, and to “?1913” in BBS p. 80.

Songs of Innocence. London: Robert Scott, n.d. (c. 1900-10?). The Gem Booklets, ed. Oliphant Smeaton. Two-pp. unsigned “Introduction” (by Smeaton?). Bookbarn International, March online cat., publisher’s boards with linen spine ($44.63). The only record I have ever seen of this pocketbook ed., 22 unpaginated leaves 8.5 × 5.6 cm. My estimated date of publication is based on the style of the binding and title-page decorations, on the period in which Smeaton was most active as author and editor, and on book dealers’ dating of other vols. in the “Gem Booklets” series. Not in BB or BBS.

W. G. Robertson, Magic Dew, watercolor monotype printed from millboard, 30.8 × 46.7 cm., datable to c. 1905. Larkhall Fine Art, Feb. online cat. of “New Acquisitions,” no item #, illus. (£1800). The technique used to create this work demonstrates Robertson’s reconstruction of Blake’s method of planographic color printing.

Catalogue of the Library of Bernard B. Macgeorge, 1906 (BB #589B). Scott Brinded, Dec. 2008 cat. 50, #264, uncut in original cloth “little rubbed” (£225). The Macgeorge cat. includes many important works by Blake.

Letters of William Blake, ed. Russell, 1906 (BB #88A). Windle, Dec. 2008 online cat., inscribed “W. M. Rossetti from the Daily Graphic 1906” in Rossetti’s hand, from the collection of Charles Ryskamp, publisher’s cloth ($245).

The Lyrical Poems of William Blake, ed. Sampson, intro. by Raleigh, 1906 (BB #275B). Peter Harrington, May cat. 64, #226, presentation inscription from Bertrand Russell to Lady Ottoline Morrell (“Ottoline, from B.”), publisher’s cloth, illus. (£850).

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Le mariage du ciel et de l’enfer, translated by André Gide, Paris: Chez Claude Aveline, 1923 (BB #111C). Burton Weiss, Dec. online cat., no. 8 of 23 copies “sur papier du japon,” publisher’s wrappers ($525). Abraxas, Dec. online cat., no. 44 (sic?) of 27 copies “sur papier de Hollande blanc,” no description of binding but apparently publisher’s wrappers or cloth and dust jacket, illus. (€220). Librairie ancienne du Parnasse, Dec. online cat., 1 of 1500 copies “sur papier verge,” no description of binding but apparently publisher’s cloth (€60). BB #111B, “Charlot, 1922,” may be a ghost. “Charlot” is not a place but the name of the publisher of the 1947 ed. of Gide’s translation in a series ed. by Albert Camus (BBS p. 100 issue F). The Aveline ed., although dated “MCMXXIII” on the title page, is stated to be “L’Édition originale de la traduction” (p. 3) and was printed “a Abbeville, le XXX Novembre MCMXXII” (colophon, p. 65). The 1^st printing of Gide’s translation appeared in La nouvelle revue française, 9^th year, new series no. 107 (1 Aug. 1922): 129-47 (BB #111A, giving the vol. no. as “XIX,” which I cannot confirm from this issue of the journal).

Songs of Innocence and of Experience, facsimile published by Henry Young & Sons, 1923 (BB #178). Sotheran’s, June cat., #60, 1 of 51 hand-colored copies, modern half morocco (£3700). Windle, Oct. cat. 46, #302, 1 of 51 hand-colored copies, “original roan, very well restored and rebacked” ($5500).

Writings of William Blake, ed. Keynes, India-paper issue limited to 75 copies, 3 vols. in 1, 1925 (BB #370A). First Folio, June cat. 12, #17, copy no. 45, publisher’s limp vellum, later clamshell case ($2500). Sotheran’s, June cat., #62, publisher’s morocco (£1250).

American Art Association auction cat., New York, 14-15 Jan. 1926. Includes Blake’s letter (to John Linnell?) of 11 Oct. 1819 (#39, sold for $100) and copy H of For the Sexes: The Gates of Paradise (#40, title page illus. black and white, sold for $400). This sale is not recorded in the provenance record for either item in BB pp. 203, 281. Windle, Oct. cat. 46, #537, prices added in pencil, original wrappers ($15).

American Art Association auction cat., New York, 19-20 Jan. 1927. Includes Blake’s pencil sketch, In Maiden Meditation Fancy Free (#59, sold for $30; Butlin #582) and a sepia ink drawing, “Study of a man, tied up to a post,” attributed (wrongly?) to Blake (#60, sold for $30). This sale is not recorded in the provenance record for Butlin #582. Windle, Oct. cat. 46, #538, prices added in pencil, original wrappers ($10).

Job a Masque for Dancing. By Geoffrey Keynes and Gwendolen Raverat, music by R. Vaughan Williams. “Miniature Score.” London: Oxford UP, n.c. (1931?). EB, Sept., front wrapper slightly foxed, publisher’s wrapper coming loose from the spine, illus. (£13). Oxford UP also published the “Full Score,” with an otherwise identical title on the front cover, and a version with a “Pianoforte arrangement by Vally Lasker” (BB #2049), all 3 apparently in the same year. For a transcript of Keynes’s scenario for the ballet and a discussion of Williams’s music, see Frank Howes, The Music of Ralph Vaughan Williams (London: Oxford UP, 1954) 299-314. “Full Score” and “Miniature Score” not in BB or BBS.

Leonard Baskin (American artist, 1922-2000), “Blake from the Life Mask by Deville.” Wood engraving, 1956, 10.0 × 7.5 cm., signed in pencil. BHL, 11 Feb., #343, with 3 cats. related to Baskin, illus. (£156). This print was 1^st published in Baskin, Blake and the Youthful Ancients (Northampton, Massachusetts: Gehenna P, 1956) (BB #400).

Auguries of Innocence, illus. Baskin, 1959 (BB #223A). Spadina Road Books, Dec. online cat., no. 182 of 250 copies, publisher’s wrappers ($1763.05).

Poems from William Blake’s Songs of Innocence, illus. by Maurice Sendak, 1967 (BB #290). Windle, Oct. cat. 46, #181, 1 of 275 copies, publisher’s wrappers, illus. ($4250, sold to the Morgan Library and Museum).

Eternity. San Francisco: Goat Hill Printing Co., 1975 (BBS p. 155). Windle, Dec. 2008 online cat., 1 of 300 copies, miniature pamphlet in original wrappers ($30); same copy, Oct. cat. 46, #153 (“sold”). A calligraphic ed. by Thomas Ingmire of the poem from Blake’s Notebook (E 470), 11 pp. Apparently rare; the only copy I have ever seen on the market.

Alex Comfort, I and That: Notes on the Biology of Religion. London: Mitchell Beazley Publishers; New York: Crown Publishers, 1979. EB, March, London ed., publisher’s cloth and dust jacket, illus. (£9.75). Virtual House of Books, April online cat., London ed., publisher’s cloth and dust jacket ($14). J. W. Mah, April online cat., New York ed., publisher’s cloth and dust jacket ($17.49). Powell’s Books, April online cat., New York ed., publisher’s cloth ($9.95). Includes “Individuative Cosmologies—Blake,” pp. 119-23. Comfort (1920-2000) is best known as the author of The Joy of Sex (1972). Not in BBS.

Blakeana by the truckload. CafePress, Jan. online cat. <http://www.cafepress.com>, a large selection of objects with Blake images and quotations, including refrigerator magnets, sweatshirts, T-shirts (“My ♥ Belongs to Blake,” “Vote Blake,” “Blaker Babe,” “Blake-o-holic,” “Jesus Loves Blake,” and much more), maternity T-shirts (“Blake’s Mom”), boxer and thong underpants (“Blake Was Here”), coffee mugs and steins, coaster tiles, baby bibs, infant bodysuits, mouse pads, license-plate frames (“Brake for Blake”), bumper stickers, tote and messenger bags, caps, badges and buttons, wall clocks, throw pillows, keepsake boxes, postcards and greeting cards, Christmas-tree ornaments, teddy bears wearing “Blake” shirts, notebooks, and posters, all illus. ($4.49 to $35.65 each). Some of the items are generic for anyone named “Blake.” I succumbed only to begin page 135 | ↑ back to top the refrigerator magnets, but was sorely tempted by the throw pillow with Blake’s portrait and the “Team Blake” trucker cap.

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 pls., books by (or with pls. by or after) the artist.

BARRY, JAMES

“The Birth of Venus,” engraved by B. Smith, 1827. Grosvenor Prints, March online cat., illus. (£160).

“Doctor Samuel Johnson,” engraved by A. Smith, 1808. Grosvenor Prints, March online cat., illus. (£220).

Portrait of Barry, soft-ground etching by Daniell, 1809. Grosvenor Prints, March online cat., illus. (£60).

“Venus Anadyomene,” mezzotint by Green, 1772. Grosvenor Prints, March online cat., illus. (£520).

Boydell, Collection of Prints ... Illustrating ... Shakespeare, c. 1803. EB, March, 1 pl. only, “King Lear” engraved by Legat, illus. (no bids on a required minimum bid of $99).

BASIRE, JAMES

Bryant, New System ... of Ancient Mythology, and Stuart and Revett, Antiquities of Athens. See under Letterpress Books with Engravings by and after Blake, above.

Rogers, Collection of Prints in Imitation of Drawings, 1778. Quaritch, Nov. cat. 1389, #72, vol. 1 of 2 only, 42 pls. on 40 leaves, full calf of “c. 1830,” illus. (£2500).

CROMEK, ROBERT

Papers of Robert H. and Thomas H. Cromek. Acquired March by Princeton University Library. See Blake 42.4 (spring 2009): 133; the introductory essay (above); and G. E. Bentley, Jr., “William Blake and His Circle: A Checklist of Publications and Discoveries in 2008,” Blake 43.1 (summer 2009): 24-25.

CUMBERLAND, GEORGE

John Highmore, 90-pp. manuscript journal of a sketching tour in Kent with Cumberland and Thomas Stothard, 22-26 May 1779. BHL, 24 March, #109, the lot titled “Blake Circle—Stothard, Cumberland and Highmore,” bookplate of Anthony Highmore, title page inscribed “A Highmore,” half vellum, illus. (£4320). Blake joined Stothard and Cumberland on a sketching tour on the Medway River in Kent, probably in 1780 or 1781 (see BR(2) 22-24), but there is no mention of Blake in Highmore’s journal of this May 1779 adventure (or at least none recorded in the extensive entry on the journal in the auction cat.). John Field Highmore (1750-84) was a clerk with the Royal Exchange Assurance Office, where Cumberland also worked from 1769 to 1784. The later owner of the journal was J. F. Highmore’s brother Anthony (1758/59-1829), a legal scholar. Their father, also Anthony (1719-99), was an artist, the son of the important painter Joseph Highmore (1692-1780). See ODNB 29: 81-83 and Letters of the Late Ignatius Sancho, an African, ed. Vincent Carretta (London: Penguin, 1998) 296-97, editor’s note on J. F. Highmore and Cumberland. Both men knew Sancho and subscribed to the 1782 ed. of his Letters; see the Carretta ed. 13, 15, 252. In an undated letter, Cumberland states that “Highmore had introduced me to Sancho.” Cumberland gave “Jn Highmore” a narrative about a July 1778 sketching tour which the recipient, “being very poor,” sold to the Evening Post for £30. For these references to Cumberland and Highmore, see G. E. Bentley, Jr., A Bibliography of George Cumberland (1754-1848) (New York: Garland Publishing, 1975) 47, 125. An album of prints by Cumberland in my collection includes a small etched portrait, entitled in pen and ink on the facing verso “M^r. John Highmore—from nature” in the hand of George Cumberland, Jr.

This newly discovered journal mentions that, on 24 May, Cumberland and Stothard went “over the [Medway] River to Allington Castle [just north of Maidstone, Kent], to take views” (quoted from the auction cat.). Stothard’s pencil drawing of the castle, inscribed “1779,” is in the Oppé Collection, Tate Collection, London (accession #T10083; for illus., see <http://www.tate.org.uk/servlet/ViewWork?workid=23751&searchid=22403>). We can now be confident that this drawing, mentioned in Bennett 91n4 and BR(2) 22-23fn, was made during the May 1779 tour and not during the trip with Blake. Based on the month of the 1779 excursion, the author of the BHL auction cat. entry surmises that the 1780 or 1781 tour was also in May, rather than the Sept. date suggested in BR(2) 22.

FLAXMAN, JOHN

Online listings of Flaxman’s classical compositions with insufficient information to identify the ed. have been excluded. See also Flaxman under Letterpress Books with Engravings by and after Blake, above.

Thirty-seven pencil and gray ink drawings illustrating Hesiod, a set created by Flaxman independent of the production of begin page 136 | ↑ back to top Blake’s pls. published in 1817 and showing differences in details from the pls. 22.7 × 30.5 cm., mounted on card and bound in a morocco album of the mid-1860s. Windle, Oct. cat. 46, #1048, “offered courtesy of Maggs Bros.,” with a detailed discussion by Edward Maggs pointing out that “some of the paper is watermarked, dated 1809 and 1815, in one case definitely postdating Blake’s return of the engraved pl., which we therefore take to mean that these drawings cannot have been what Blake worked from,” 5 illus. (price on request). Longman, the publisher of Blake’s Hesiod pls., began paying Blake for finished engravings, plus reimbursements for the price of the copperplates, in Sep. 1814 (BB p. 557). According to BB p. 558, proofs of pls. 2, 7, 22, and 26 are dated to 1814 in manuscript. These 37 drawings appear to be a uniform suite, not a gathering of drawings executed at different times. Thus, the presence of an 1815 watermark on 3 of the drawings would appear to exclude the entire group from being the preliminaries Blake used. Previously offered from the estate of H. D. Lyon, CL, 7 June 2001, #78, illus. (not sold; estimate £80,000-120,000), and privately by Maggs Bros., June 2008 ($125,000).

Giving Alms. Pencil, 8.8 × 10.8 cm. on larger leaf, title inscription in pencil and signature on verso. BHL, 2 June, #172, illus. (not sold; estimate £400-600). Probably the same work offered EB, April 2007, with the measurements given as 11.4 × 8.9 cm. (no bids on a required minimum bid of $1300).

Medea Enamoured of Jason, or Merope Expelled from the Society of the Hyades. Pencil, pen and black ink, 28.5 × 39.4 cm., datable to Flaxman’s sojourn in Rome (1787-94), inscribed (at a later date?) with both titles in brown ink. CSK, 9 July, #631, illus. (£3250; estimate £1000-1500).

Not Unobserv’d They Pass’d the God of Light. Pencil and pen, 19.0 × 26.0 cm. on Whatman paper with a 1794 watermark. BHL, 28 April, #13, “extensively inscribed” (apparently by Flaxman), illus. (£6600; estimate £2000-3000). An illus. to book 10 of Pope’s translation of the Iliad, stylistically very similar to the engraved series but never engraved. Possibly a preliminary, numbered “14” lower right, for a design to be added to the 1805 ed., but not chosen as 1 of the 5 new pls. engraved by Blake (3) and James Parker (2).

Portrait of Flaxman as a Young Man. Black basalt Wedgwood plaque, inscribed “FLAXMAN,” oval, 8.9 × 6.4 cm. EB, July, dated by the vendor to “circa 1895+,” illus. ($133.50).

Autograph letter signed, 29 March 1799, regarding the inscription on a monument, 3 pp. Argosy Book Store, May online cat., with a “mezzotint portrait,” presumably of Flaxman ($350).

Autograph letter (signed?), 10 July 1802, regarding a subscription to commission a monument to Captain Miller, 1½ pp. A. R. Heath, Feb. cat., #20, some water stains (£225).

Autograph letter signed to E. D. Clarke, 14 Sept. 1818, regarding the inscription on a monument to Sir John Moore, 1 p. Julian Browning Autographs, May online cat. (£250).

Acts of Mercy, etchings with aquatint by Lewis, 1831. Swann, 4 Dec. 2008, #555, foxed and soiled, leaves loose, quarter roan ($86). Sims Reed, May online cat., contemporary cloth rebacked in morocco (£1000—an astounding asking price).

Aeschylus designs. Chapitre livres anciens, May online cat., lithographs, Paris, 1823, “leather” (€575). See also Iliad designs, below.

Dante designs. Sims Reed, May online cat., 1807 ed., marginal foxing, contemporary morocco-backed boards worn (£250). Antiquariat Grandville & Old Nick, May online. cat., Umrisse zu Dante Alighieri’s Göttlicher Komödie, n.d. (1830s?), contemporary calf (€197.13). Gozzini Libreria Antiquaria, May online cat., engraved by Lasinio figlio, Florence, 1834, half “leather” (€241). Zubal Books, May online cat., engraved by Réveil, Paris, 1847, publisher’s wrappers worn ($48.46). Antiquariat Karel Marel, May online cat., Carlsruhe, 1835, half leather (€172). BL, 20 Aug., #662, 1807 ed., foxed, contemporary calf worn (not sold; estimate £100-150).

Flaxman, Anatomical Studies, 1833. EB, May, publisher’s cloth and cover label (no bids on a required minimum bid of £140). FasterBooks.net, May online cat., publisher’s cloth ($785). Zita Books, May online cat., “hard cover” ($1350). Sims Reed, May online cat., publisher’s cloth rebacked and worn (£350).

Hesiod designs, Paris, 1821. Librería Anticuaria Sanz, May online cat., contemporary boards (€660). See also Iliad designs, below, and the 37 Hesiod drawings (first entry under Flaxman, above).

Iliad designs. BL, 12 March, #708, Iliade d’Homere, bound with Odyssée d’Homere, both engraved by Piroli, probably the eds. published Rome?, c. 1818, “pencil translations added to a few plates below printed French titles,” foxed throughout, some leaves “working loose,” half morocco very worn, with Compositions tirées des Ouvrages, des Jours et de la Théogonie d’Hésiode, engraved by Piroli, probably the ed. published Rome?, c. 1818, 5 pls. “partially re-margined,” foxed throughout, half morocco very worn, upper cover detached (£70). Antiquariat Dr. Haack, April online cat., 1795 ed., scattered foxing, no description of binding other than new title label on front cover (€5600—a record asking price). World’s End Bookshop, April online cat., 1795 ed., bound with the Aeschylus designs (1795), three-quarter morocco worn (£200). Rambler Rare Books, May online cat., 1793 ed., “original publisher’s wrappers” ($1150). EB, May, 1795 ed., a few marginal stains, scattered light foxing, later cloth, illus. ($175). Antiquariat Düwal (and cross-listed with several begin page 137 | ↑ back to top other dealers), May online cat., Leipzig, 1804, marginal water stains, covers worn (€75). Swann, 3 Dec., #303, 1795 ed., bound with the Aeschylus (1795) and Odyssey (Paris, 1803) designs, contemporary quarter calf very worn, Odyssey pls. “moderately foxed” ($300).

Odyssey designs. EB, May, engraved by Réveil, Paris, 1835, original wrappers very worn, illus. (no bids on a required minimum bid of $195). Librería Anticuaria Sanz, May online cat., Paris, 1803, contemporary leather (€770). EB, June, 9 lithographs from the Paris 1823 ed., illus. (offered at the “buy it now” price of $49.99 each). EB, July, Paris ed. dated to 1803 by the vendor but probably the c. 1835 printing with the date removed, light foxing, contemporary boards very worn, illus. (£62). See also Iliad designs, above.

Oeuvres de Flaxman, engraved by Réveil. Epsilon, May online cat., 1836 ed., 8 vols., half shagreen worn (€280). Fólio Livraria Antiquária, May online cat., 1836 ed., 3 vols., occasional foxing, “contemporary bindings” ($1500). Chapitre livres anciens, May online cat., 1847 ed., 8 vols., calf very worn, some covers detached (€403).

FUSELI, HENRY

Head of the Virgin, after Raphael. Wash drawing, 21.7 × 16.0 cm., inscribed by J. C. Lavater and engraved by J. H. Lips for Lavater’s Essays on Physiognomy. Christie’s Paris, 23 June, #132, illus. (€3750).

Lady Susan, Countess of Gilford, with Daughters. Oil, 69.0 × 59.0 cm., datable to c. 1810. Galerie Hans, Hamburg, Oct. online cat., illus. (price on request).

Mrs. Fuseli Seen from Behind, Brandishing a Whip. Pen and brown ink over pencil on the back of an envelope addressed to Joseph Johnson, 13.1 × 18.6 cm., datable to c. 1790-93. SNY, 28 Jan., #51, illus. ($13,750; estimate $7000-9000).

Orpheus and Euridice. Pencil, 25.6 × 22.5 cm. Shepherd & Derom Galleries, New York, Oct. online cat., illus. (price on request).

Portrait of Sophia Rawlins, the Artist’s Wife. Oil, 60.0 × 49.5 cm. SL, 10 Dec., #249, a “previously untraced version,” illus. (£42,050).

Louis Francia (artist, 1772-1839), autograph letter signed to “Dear Sir” (not Fuseli), 21 Feb. 1814, 2 pp., including an admission ticket to the 1811 exhibition of the Associated Painters in Water Colors made out to “H Fusely Esq^r” and signed by Francia. EB, July-Aug., illus. (no bids on a required minimum bid of $49.99); Aug., the admission ticket only ($25 to a private collector).

“Evening Thou Bringest All,” lithograph by Fuseli after his own design. Hill-Stone, Nov. International Fine Print Dealers Association Fair, New York, 5-8 Nov. (price on request).

“Lady Macbeth Act 5^th,” mezzotint by J. R. Smith, 1784. EB, Aug., with the Oxford Street address in the imprint, laid paper with a dovecote watermark, small margins with the platemark visible on all sides, paper evenly and lightly browned, light foxing in the lower margin, 6.5 cm. section of the left margin broken off at the platemark, illus. ($199.99). Smith moved his place of business from Oxford Street to King Street in 1786; see Julia Frankau, An Eighteenth Century Artist and Engraver: John Raphael Smith His Life and Works (London: Macmillan, 1902) 26. Thus, the st. of this pl. with the Oxford Street address is prior to the st. with the address changed to King Street. For this pl. with the King Street address, see Weinglass 74-75, #71, illus. (entitled “Lady Macbeth Walking in Her Sleep”). Fuseli’s original oil painting is in the Louvre, Paris. According to Frankau 166, Fuseli’s Lady Macbeth is a portrait of the actress Mary Anne Yates (1728-87).

Bible, Macklin ed., 1800. Windle, Oct. cat. 46, #1053, the single pl. after Fuseli, “St. John’s Vision of the Seven Lights” engraved by Thomson, “borders browned,” illus. ($1500). EB, May, vols. 1-6, scattered foxing, some heavy offsetting from the pls., half calf damaged (no bids on a required minimum bid of $2500).

Bible, A Practical Family Bible, notes by Willoughby, 1773. Pricewisebooks, May online cat., marginal tears, “full leather” repaired with a cloth spine, worn (£1500). C. Dickens Books, May online cat., occasional light foxing, 1 pl. by Fuseli stained in margin, contemporary calf rebacked with new calf spine, illus. ($2450). See illus. 5.

Bodmer, Die Noachide, 1765. Daniel Thierstein, May online cat., calf worn (3080 Swiss francs). Antiquariat Wolfgang Braecklein, may online cat., half “leather” worn (€350).

Bonnycastle, Introduction to Astronomy. Knollwood Books, May online cat., 1786 ed., “worn full leather” repaired ($500). Robert’s Bookshop, May online cat., 1787 ed., “binding is worn” ($475). N. G. Lawrie, May online cat., 1787 ed., calf rebacked, worn, illus. (£150). Moorside Books, May online cat., 1796 ed., contemporary calf repaired (£275). Colebrook Book Barn, May online cat., 1803 ed., slight foxing, rebound in half morocco (£225). B. M. Israël, May online cat., 1811 ed., contemporary half calf worn (€240). McLaren Books, May online cat., 1811 ed., repaired tears in some pls., foxed and browned, contemporary half calf rebacked, worn (£165). Caliban Book Shop, May online cat., 1816 ed., foxed, boards very worn ($93.05). Anson-Cartwright Books, May online cat., 1822 ed., pls. foxed, rebound in cloth ($150 Canadian). begin page 138 | ↑ back to top PBA, 23 July, #11, 1811 ed., light foxing, later half calf, illus. (not sold; estimate $100-150).

Boothby, Sorrows, Sacred to the Memory of Penelope, 1796. James Cummins, May online cat., uncut in original boards, later cloth spine ($1000). Books on the Hill, May online cat., foxed, “half leather” worn (£475). Loe Books, May online cat., original boards worn, backstrip missing (£450). Windle, Oct. cat. 46, #1054, 1^st st. of the pl. after Fuseli, scattered foxing, large-paper issue uncut in original boards, cover label ($4500). EB, Nov. 1^st st. of the pl. after Fuseli, scattered light foxing, large-paper issue, half calf worn (reserve not met; highest bid $49.95).

Boydell, The American Edition of Boydell’s Illustrations of the Dramatic Works of Shakspeare, 1852. EB, July, 3 pls. only, “King Lear” engraved by Earlom, “King Henry the Fourth” engraved by Leney, and “King Henry the Fifth” engraved by Thew, light foxing, illus. (no bids on a required minimum bid of $150 each). The pls. in this work are the original British pls., “restored.”

Boydell, Collection of Prints ... Illustrating ... Shakspeare, c. 1803. BHNY, 15 Dec. 2008, #2083, lacking 1 pl. not by Fuseli, disbound, housed in 2 clamshell cases, illus. ($5100). EB, Dec. 2008, 2 pls. only, “King Henry the Fourth” engraved by Leney and “King Lear” engraved by Earlom, both illus. (offered at the “buy it now” prices of $225 and $325 respectively); Feb., 1 pl. only, “King Lear” engraved by Earlom, framed, illus. ($31). Golden Legend, Feb. online cat., 1 pl. only, “King Henry the Fifth” engraved by Thew, tears and soiling in margins ($350). Grosvenor Prints, Feb. online cat., 1 pl. only, begin page 139 | ↑ back to top

begin page 140 | ↑ back to top “Tempest” engraved by Simon, illus. (£520). EB, March, 2 pls. only, “Macbeth” engraved by Caldwell and “King Henry the Fourth” engraved by Leney, illus. (no bids on required minimum bids of $200 each). Berkelouw Books, May online cat., “extensive water stains,” contemporary morocco worn and repaired ($6066). EB, Aug., 1 pl. only, “King Henry the Fourth” engraved by Leney, marginal foxing, illus. (no bids on a required minimum bid of $150); another impression, Nov.-Dec., illus. (£32).

Cowper, Poems. Powell’s Books, May online cat., 1808 ed., 2 vols., foxed, contemporary calf rebacked ($100). John Taylor Books, May online cat., 1811 ed., 2 vols., occasional light spotting, contemporary calf, illus. (£250).

Darwin, Botanic Garden, New York: T. & J. Swords, 1807. Resource Books, Feb. online cat., moderate foxing, “full calf” very worn ($375). Bookhouse, April online cat., “leather” worn ($350). Quill & Brush, April online cat., “pages showing age,” modern cloth ($300). Includes 3 pls. after Fuseli, “Nightmare,” “Flora Attired by the Elements,” and “Fertilization of Egypt.” See also Darwin under Letterpress Books with Engravings by and after Blake, above.

Darwin, Botanic Garden, London: Jones & Co., 1824. Wells Books, April online cat., half “leather” worn ($200). Includes an unsigned re-engraving of Fuseli’s “Fertilization of Egypt.” See also Darwin under Letterpress Books with Engravings by and after Blake, above.

Darwin, Temple of Nature, 1803. Jarndyce, June cat. 182, #147, pls. foxed, contemporary half calf rebacked and repaired, illus. (£850).

Fuseli, Lectures on Painting, 1830. William H. Allen, May online cat., frontispiece browned and foxed, ex-library copy, modern buckram worn ($100). For the 1801 ed., see Letterpress Books with Engravings by and after Blake, above.

Gray, Poems, Du Roveray ed., 1800. W. Fraser Sandercombe, May online cat., minor foxing on pls., “leather” worn ($600). The Book Gallery, May online cat., browned, full calf very worn, front cover detached (£30). Phillip Pirages, May online cat., “Etruscan style calf by (or in the style of) Edwards of Halifax,” rebacked, fore-edge painting of Yarmouth Castle and harbor ($850).

Homer, Iliad, Du Roveray, ed. Camelot Books, May online cat., 1805 ed., 6 vols. in 3, quarter “leather” worn ($195). Julian’s Books, May online cat., 1813 ed., 6 vols. in 3, full calf ($350). See also Pope, Poetical Works, below.

Homer, Odyssey, Du Roveray ed., 1813. Julian’s Books, May online cat., 6 vols. in 3, full calf worn ($395). See also Pope, Poetical Works, below.

Hume, History of England, Bowyer ed., 1806. EB, July, pls. only, presumably including Fuseli’s “Death of Cardinal Beaufort” engraved by Bromley, later quarter calf, illus. (no bids on a required minimum bid of $1199.99); same copy, Sept. (no bids on a required minimum bid of $959.99).

Lavater, Aphorisms. Celsus Books, May online cat., Dublin 1790 ed., modern quarter calf (£125). Zita Books, May online cat., Boston 1790 ed., pl. lightly foxed, contemporary calf with “part of the spine lacking” ($575). Chandler & Reed, May online cat., Boston 1790 ed., minor browning, contemporary “leather” worn ($80). Cobnar Books, May online cat., New York 1790 ed., contemporary sheepskin rebacked (£166.75). See also under Letterpress Books with Engravings by and after Blake, above.

Lavater, Whole Works of Lavater on Physiognomy, London: W. Butters, n.d. EB, Sept.-Oct., 3 vols. in 4, scattered foxing, contemporary calf worn, 3 covers detached, illus. ($371). See Weinglass #84A-108A, 109B-10B.

Milton, Paradise Lost, Du Roveray ed., 1802. Caliban Books, 2 vols., full “leather” worn ($375).

Milton, Paradise Lost, Sharpe ed., 1805. Lilian Modlock, Nov. online cat., vol. 1 (books 1-6) only, described as containing both pls. after Fuseli and bound in “very worn paper covers” but actually with only 1 pl. after Fuseli (“Satan Rousing His Legions” engraved by Tomkins) and bound uncut in publisher’s printed wrappers (a rare survival) in good condition (£3).

Milton, Paradise Lost, J. Johnson ed., 1808. Zubal Books, Feb. online cat., some staining, “modern leather” ($200). EB, April, contemporary morocco worn, illus. (offered at the “buy it now” price of $310.50); same copy, Aug.-Sept., offered at the “buy it now” price of $345. Fortune Green Books, Nov. online cat., contemporary roan (£65). Wadard Books, Nov. online cat., calf rebacked (£150). Adrian Harrington, Nov. online cat., contemporary morocco, “a superb copy” (£275).

Milton, Poetical Works, published by Chidley. EB, Sept., 1842 ed., publisher’s embossed calf very worn, illus. (£10.50); 1844 ed., publisher’s gilt-decorated calf slightly worn, illus. (£29.99). Includes Fuseli’s “Silence” engraved by Rogers.

Pope, Poetical Works, Du Roveray ed., 1804. Collectable Books, Feb. online cat., large-paper issue, with Homer, Iliad (1805) and Odyssey (1806) also with pls. after Fuseli, 18 vols. in 3, pls. foxed, calf worn (£650). Bauman Rare Books, May online cat., begin page 141 | ↑ back to top 6 vols. in 4, large-paper issue, most pls. “in three states,” extra-illus. with 285 drawings and pls., late 19^th-century morocco ($7800). Best Buy Books, May online cat., with Homer, Iliad (1805) and Odyssey (1806), 18 vols. in 15, damp stained, contemporary calf very worn, covers detached (£452.79). Julian’s Books, May online cat., 6 vols. in 3, full calf worn ($295). Gary White Books, May online cat., 6 vols., damp stained, three-quarter “leather” very worn, covers detached ($350).

Pope, The Rape of the Lock, Du Roveray ed., 1798. Book Haven, May online cat., foxed, full morocco worn ($275). Bookshop on the Heath, May online cat., “leather” binding (£200). Artisan Books, May online cat., “slight water damage at frontispiece,” contemporary calf worn ($300). Flora Books, May online cat., “some light spotting,” calf (£260).

Seventeen Engravings, to Illustrate Shakspeare, published by Woodmason, 1817. Grosvenor Prints, Feb. online cat., 2 pls. only, “Oberon Squeezing the Flower on Titania’s Eyelids” engraved by Rhodes and “The Witches Appear to Macbeth and Banquo” engraved by Bromley, both illus. (£180 each). EB, Oct., 1 pl. only, “Titania Embracing Bottom” engraved by Rhodes, 1794 imprint, browned, margins tattered, illus. ($51).

Seward, Anecdotes of Distinguished Persons, 1798. Xerxes Books, May online cat., 4 vols., “full leather” worn ($900).

Shakespeare, Complete Works, Leipzig, 1837. Zentral-antiquariat Leipzig, Feb. online cat., no description of binding (€120).

Shakespeare, Dramatic Works, 1848. EB, March, 1 pl. only, “Prospero and Caliban,” foxed, illus. (no bids on a required minimum bid of $9.95); April, 1 pl. only, “Midsummer Night’s Dream,” badly foxed, illus. (no bids on a required minimum bid of $9.95).

Shakespeare, Plays, 1805. EB, June, 1 pl. only, “Hotspur, Worcester, Mortimer and Glendower Dividing Up Trent” (Henry IV, Part 1) engraved by Rhodes, illus. (no bids on a required minimum bid of $199.99). For complete copies of this work, see under Letterpress Books with Engravings by and after Blake, above.

Smollett, Peregrine Pickle. Barter Books, May online cat., 1769 ed., 4 vols., no description of binding other than very worn (£170). Gibb’s Bookshop, May online cat., 1778 ed., 4 vols., pls. foxed, contemporary calf rebacked (£150). Raymond Alger Fine Arts, May online cat., 1778 ed., 4 vols., no description of binding other than worn ($150). Vangsgaards Antikvariat, May online cat., 1779 ed., 4 vols., contemporary half calf worn ($183). Arundel Books, May online cat., 1779 ed., 4 vols., full calf worn ($245). Beverly Blvd. Books, May online cat., 1779 ed., 4 vols., “full leather” worn ($281.75). Gordon Hopkins Americana, May online cat., 1779 ed., vol. 1 only, “full-leather ... attractively worn” ($50). Capertree Classic Books, May online cat., 1779 ed., 4 vols., vol. 1 lacking 1^st gathering of text, half calf ($175 Australian). Ruffin Books, May online cat., 1779 ed., vol. 4 only, no description of binding other than “front board detached” ($49). Roger Middleton, May online cat., mixed set of 1779 and 1784 eds., 4 vols., contemporary calf worn, illus. (£275). Brick Row Book Shop, May online cat., 1784 ed., 4 vols., contemporary sheep worn ($375). Flora Books, May online cat., 1784 ed., 4 vols., some spotting and browning, contemporary sheep worn (£104).

Sotheby, Oberon, 1805. John Hart, Dec. 2008 cat. 84, #135, 2 vols., contemporary calf little worn (£150). Bountiful Books, May online cat., 2 vols., contemporary calf worn and repaired ($150).

Spectator. Neil Williams, May online cat., 1803 ed., 8 vols., later cloth worn ($125). Patrick McGahern Books, May online cat., with Tatler and Guardian, 14 vols. in all, 1812-13 ed., contemporary calf ($400 Canadian). Bristow & Garland, May online cat., with Tatler (1813) and Guardian, 14 vols. in all, 1812-13 ed., contemporary calf, illus. (£380). Flora Books, May online cat., Spectator 1803 ed. and Tatler 1804 ed. as part of a (complete?) set of Sharpe’s “British Classics,” 24 vols., contemporary calf very worn (£730). Subun-So Book Store, May online cat., Spectator (1812) and Tatler (1804) as part of a complete set of Sharpe’s “British Classics,” 27 vols., modern half morocco ($5213). Stephen Foster, May online cat., Spectator (apparently 1803) and Tatler (1804) as part of a complete set of Sharpe’s “British Classics,” 34 vols., full calf worn (£1250). Richard Sylvanus Williams, May online cat., Spectator (1803), vol. 5 only, and Tatler (1804), vol. 3 only, contemporary boards worn (£19 each). The 2 pls. after Fuseli are in Spectator vol. 5 and Tatler vol. 3.

Tatler, 1804. Braintree Book Rack, May online cat., 4 vols., half “leather” worn ($125). See also Spectator, above.

Thirty Pictures by Deceased British Artists Engraved Expressly for the Art-Union of London by W. J. Linton, 1860. See under Interesting Blakeana, above.

LINNELL, JOHN

Autumn Trees. Watercolor, 16.0 × 48.0 cm. BHL, 19 Aug., #176, illus. (£336). The attribution is questionable.

Balaam and the Angel. Oil, 47.0 × 68.0 cm., signed and dated 1859. SL, 29 Oct., #175, illus. (not sold; estimate £4000-6000). Previously sold SL, 9 July 1997, #100 (£3220).

Entrance to Dovedale from Ashbourne, Derbyshire. Watercolor, 28.3 × 41.5 cm., signed and dated 1814. SL, 9 July, #138, illus. (£6500).

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Evening, Storm Clearing Off. Oil, 39.0 × 58.4 cm., signed, datable to 1818-19. Lowell Libson, Jan. cat., pp. 42-45, illus. (price on request). Previously offered Fine Art Society and Lowell Libson, April 2008 cat., Power and Poetry: The Art of John Linnell, #2, illus. (price on request).

Harvesting. Oil, 50.8 × 71.1 cm., signed, datable to the 1860s or 1870s. EB, Nov., illus. ($2929.89).

Harvest Time, attributed to Linnell. Oil, 51.0 × 76.0 cm., inscribed “J. Linnell 1847” on the back of the canvas. EB, Nov., illus. (£1850).

Harvest Time in Sussex. Oil, 63.2 × 101.6 cm., signed. SNY, 31 Jan., #176, illus. ($31,250). Previously offered SNY, 18 April 2008, #111, illus. (not sold; estimate $60,000-80,000).

Homeward Bound, Sunset. Oil, 71.1 × 94.0 cm., signed and dated 1861. CNY, 4 June, #31, illus. ($74,500; estimate $30,000-40,000).

The Isle of Wight from Lymington Quay. Oil, 28.6 × 40.0 cm., signed and dated 1825. Lowell Libson, Jan. cat., pp. 46-47, illus. (price on request). Previously offered Fine Art Society and Lowell Libson, April 2008 cat., Power and Poetry: The Art of John Linnell, #3, illus. For more cat. listings, see Blake 40.4 (spring 2007): 140.

Miss Jane Puxley, oil sketch for the finished portrait exhibited by Linnell at the R.A. in 1826. David Bindman discovered the sketch at a Boston antique shop in Oct. (no price information).

Portrait of a Gentleman Wearing a Black Stock. Oil, 38.1 × 31.4 cm. Freeman’s auction, Philadelphia, 7 Dec. 2008, #15, illus. online (not sold; estimate $1000-1500); EB, May-June, illus. (reserve not met; highest bid $1777).

Portrait of a Man (recto), Study of a Young Girl (verso). Recto in black chalk heightened with white, squared in pencil, 39.8 × 28.2 cm. Emanuel von Baeyer, exhibited at Raphael Valls, London, 4-10 July (price on request). For illus., see Burlington Magazine 151 (June 2009), unpaginated advertisement for “Master Drawings London.” Probably a preliminary sketch for a more finished painting or engraving.

Portrait of John Davies Gilbert. Oil, 44.2 × 35.2 cm., signed and dated 1834. CNY, 14 Oct., #75, illus. (not sold; estimate $5000-7000). Previously sold CL, 17 June 1983, #209 (£1728), and SL, 15 Feb. 1989, #297 (£2200).

Portrait of Madame de Wouters. Oil, 29.5 × 23.8 cm., signed and dated 1827. CL, 9 Dec., #242, “in the original frame,” illus. (£6250).

Portrait of Three Elder Children of Robert Clutterbuck. Oil, 81.5 × 103.0 cm., title inscribed on a verso label. Bonhams, Bury St. Edmunds, 11 Dec. 2008, #479, illus. (not sold; estimate £6000-8000). Possibly the painting Linnell exhibited at the R.A. in 1843.

Reapers at Noon. Oil, 100.0 × 137.8 cm., signed and dated 1862. CNY, 4 June, #33, illus. ($206,500; estimate $120,000-180,000). Possibly a record auction price for a work by Linnell, but perhaps less than the £800 Linnell received for the painting in 1862 when adjusted for inflation. This is the 1^st of 4 versions of the design. The best known is now in the Tate Collection (Reapers, Noonday Rest, 94.0 × 139.7 cm., signed and dated 1865).

Red Sunset. Oil, 81.0 × 106.0 cm., signed and dated “[18]77.” SL, 9 July, #30, illus. (not sold; estimate £20,000-30,000).

“Shoreham”: Study of a Little Rustic Bridge over Which Perhaps the Ancients Liked to Wander. Black chalk heightened with white on tan paper, 43.2 × 53.3 cm. Abbott and Holder, Jan. online cat. 393, #120 (£1250). The title, with its intriguing reference to Blake’s followers, is the dealer’s invention.

Study for “The Barley Cart,” attributed to Linnell. Oil, 17.8 × 22.9 cm., signed. EB, Feb., illus. (no bids on a required minimum bid of $7500); March-April (offered at the “buy it now” price of $3000). The finished painting, 49.5 × 60.5 cm., signed and dated 1865, was sold from the Leverhulme Collection at SL, 26 June 2001, #381, illus. (£80,500).

Study of Trees, attributed to William Linnell, John Linnell’s son. Pencil and chalk on 3 leaves of blue paper pasted together, 22.9 × 26.7 cm. EB, April, framed, illus. (no bids on a required minimum bid of $99). A typed label on the back of the frame reads: “By William Linnell / Bought from his grand-daughter / Joan Linnell Ivimy 1971 / G. L. Keynes.” The typeface corresponds to the typewriter Keynes used in the 1970s.

Travellers’ Encampment in Woodland. Oil, 15.0 × 19.0 cm., signed. Bonhams, Chester, 4 Nov., #487, illus. (£432). The attribution is questionable; I have not been able to find the signature in the online illus. of the work.

Windmill Sketch. Pencil, 11.0 × 9.0 cm., signed. BHO, 20 May, #14, illus. (£120).

“The Rev.^d Joseph Hallet Batten,” mezzotint by Linnell after his painting, 1838. Grosvenor Prints, March online cat., minor foxing in margins, illus. (£260).

“The Burial of Saul,” mezzotint by Linnell after John Varley, 1831. Grosvenor Prints, March online cat., “slight surface scuffing,” illus. (£1350).

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“A. W. Callcott, Esq.,” engraved by Linnell after his painting, 1832. Grosvenor Prints, March online cat., illus. (£280).

“William Empson,” mezzotint by Walker after Linnell’s painting, c. 1850. Grosvenor Prints, March online cat., illus. (£220).

“Robert Gooch,” engraved by Linnell after his painting, 1831. Grosvenor Prints, March online cat., illus. (£260).

“Rev.^d John Leifchild,” mezzotint by Linnell after his painting, 1836. Grosvenor Prints, March online cat., illus. (£360).

“The Rev.^d T. R. Malthus,” mezzotint by Linnell after his painting, 1834. Quaritch, Jan. cat., Thomas Robert Malthus and Population Theory, #22, slightly browned and with repaired marginal tears, illus. black and white (£650). Grosvenor Prints, March online cat., “edges knocked,” illus. (£240).

“Right Hon.^ble Lord Methuen,” lithograph after Linnell’s painting, c. 1846. Grosvenor Prints, March online cat., illus. (£190).

“The Right Hon. Sir Robert Peel,” mezzotint by Linnell after his painting, 1838. EB, March, illus. (£101).

“Edward William Wynne Pendarves,” mezzotint by Linnell after his painting, 1835. Grosvenor Prints, March online cat., foxed and water stained, illus. (£160). EB, April, some spotting and browning, illus. (offered at the “buy it now” price of £24.99).

“R.^t Hon.^ble Tho.^s Spring Rice,” mezzotint by Linnell after his painting, 1836. Grosvenor Prints, March online cat., illus. (£290); another impression, proof before title, water stained in margin, illus. (£220).

MORTIMER, JOHN HAMILTON

Soldiers by the Wayside, attributed to Mortimer. Pen and ink, brown wash, 20.0 × 15.0 cm. EB, Feb., illus. (no bids on a required minimum bid of £60). Stylistically comparable, particularly in the handling of light brown wash, to Study for St. Paul Preaching to the Ancient Britons, dated to c. 1763-64 in John Sunderland, John Hamilton Mortimer: His Life and Works, 52^nd vol. of the Walpole Society ([London]: Walpole Society, 1988), no. 13a. The EB drawing also includes hatching lines, with rounded lower ends created by a return stroke, similar to the hatching in Study for the Finished Drawing, “St. Paul Converting the Ancient Britons” (Sunderland no. 13c, dated to c. 1775-77).

“Bacchic Figure with Girl,” engraved by Ryley, 1780. Grosvenor Prints, March online cat., illus. (£130).

Fifteen Etchings Dedicated to Sir Joshua Reynolds, etchings by Mortimer, 1778. Allinson Gallery, Sept. online cat., complete set of 15, apparently the 1804 printing, extra-illus. with 2 etchings of monsters by Mortimer and 5 etchings of banditti by Blyth after Mortimer, original paper cover with label, illus. ($6,500). EB, Sept., “Banditti on the Look Out” and “Banditti Taking His Post” only, offered individually, the 1^st stained brown above the figures, illus. (£83 and £36 respectively). William Carl Prints, Sept. online cat., “Musical Monster” and “Enrag’d Monster” only, offered individually, full margins, illus. ($900 each).

“Man Embracing Girl,” engraved by Ryley, 1780. Grosvenor Prints, March online cat., illus. (£130).

“Shylock,” etching. EB, July, trimmed to the image left and right, repaired marginal tears, dust stained, lower quarter stained light brown, illus. (sold at the “buy it now” price of £15).

PALMER, SAMUEL

Cornfield with Windmill and Spire Seen under a Crescent Moon (recto); related sketches on verso. Recto pen and ink, wash, 6.7 × 10.5 cm., verso pencil, both datable to c. 1826-27. CL, 7 July, #47, recto illus. (£121,250). See illus. 6.

A Waterfall, North Wales. Watercolor, 43.2 × 32.4 cm., datable to 1835-36, signed with initials. CL, 9 Dec., #229, “hitherto unrecorded,” illus. (£37,250).

Autograph letter signed to “Dear Sir,” n.d. [1865], 3 pp., discussing Palmer’s watercolor, The Good Farmer. BHL, 24 March, #116 (£432).

Autograph letter signed to “Mrs. George,” March 1872, 4 pp. BHL, 24 March, #117 (not sold; estimate £500-700).

“Christmas,” etching. CSK, 1 July, #39, 4^th st. from the Memoir, illus. (£1125).

“The Cypress Grove,” etching. EB, April, 2^nd st., illus. (offered at the “buy it now” price of $599.99).

“The Early Ploughman,” etching. EB, Jan., probably 5^th st., illus. (offered at the “buy it now” price of $1050 or “best offer”). CSK, 9 April, #1, 4^th st., scattered foxing, illus. (not sold; estimate £1000-1500); same impression, 1 July, #40, illus. (£688). EB, June, 5^th st., 1868 printing, illus. (offered at the “buy it now” price of $1499.99 or “best offer”). BL, 2 July, #376, 8^th st., framed, illus. (£360). BHL, 14 July, #99, 9^th st., 1926 printing, with “The Lonely Tower,” 6^th st., 1954 printing, illus. (£1920). R. E. Lewis, Aug. online cat., #14, st. not recorded but probably begin page 144 | ↑ back to top 6^th, illus. ($4800). Windle, Oct. cat. 46, #1089, 4^th st. ($1250). Swann, 5 Nov., #199, 5^th st., illus. (not sold; estimate $1200-1800).

“The Herdsman’s Cottage,” etching. EB, June-July, 2^nd st., leaf 30.5 × 21.6 cm., probably from The Portfolio (1872), evenly stained light brown, illus. ($325). BL, 2 July, #378, 2^nd st., framed, illus. (£360). Windle, Oct. cat. 46, #1092, 2^nd st. ($1250).

“The Lonely Tower,” etching. Swann, 24 Sept., #70, st. not recorded but clearly a modern restrike from the very worn copperplate, numbered in pencil lower left “15/25” and initialed “M.S” lower right, illus. ($2160).

“Moeris and Galatea,” etching. EB, April, 2^nd st., illus. (no bids on a required minimum bid of $499.99).

“Opening the Fold,” etching. EB, April, 8^th st., illus. (offered at the “buy it now” price of $999.99 or “best offer”); same impression?, May, 8^th st., illus. ($399.99). BHL, 14 July, #98, 10^th st., 1926 printing, illus. (£1140).

“The Rising Moon,” etching. Swann, 30 April, #224, 7^th st. on laid India, illus. ($1680). BHL, 14 July, #100, “possibly the third state,” with “The Herdsman’s Cottage,” 2^nd st., and “The Early Ploughman ... prior to the fifth state, with areas of possible scratching out,” illus. (£10,560; estimate £500-700).

“The Sleeping Shepherd,” etching. BL, 2 July, #377, 4^th st., framed, illus. (£1300; estimate £200-300).

Etchings for the Art-Union of London by the Etching Club, 1872. Windle, Oct. cat. 46, #1093, with Palmer’s “The Morning of Life,” 2^nd st., original cloth worn ($1250).

Hamerton, Etching and Etchers. Windle, Oct. cat. 46, #1090, 1868 ed. with Palmer’s “The Early Ploughman,” 5^th st., but lacking 4 pls. by other artists, quarter roan very worn ($1250); #1091, 1880 ed., with Palmer’s “The Herdsman’s Cottage,” 2^nd st., but lacking 2 pls. by other artists, quarter roan worn ($1250).

Keats, Poetical Works, ed. H. Buxton Forman, 1883. Scarthin Books, Dec. 2008 online cat., 4 vols., foxed, cloth very worn (£175). Zubal Books, Dec. 2008 online cat., 5 vols. (including the supplement of 1890), cloth very worn, spines missing ($130.22). Better World Books, Dec. 2008 online cat., vol. 1 only (with the pl. after Palmer), rebound in buckram ($12.67). First Folio, Dec. 2008 online cat., 4 vols., cloth rebacked ($875). Claude Cox, Dec. 2008 online cat., 4 vols., contemporary half morocco (£350). William Reese, Dec. 2008 online cat., 4 vols., Buxton Forman’s bookplate in each vol., decorated cloth ($550). See illus. 7.

A. H. Palmer, Life and Letters of Samuel Palmer, 1892. BL, 12 Feb., #144, no. 5 of 130 large-paper copies, scattered foxing, “original leather” worn, with a copy of the small-paper issue, no description of the binding (£200). EB, Aug.-Sept., no. 29 of 130 large-paper copies, preliminary leaves “spotted,” light foxing throughout the text, publisher’s calf very worn with part of the spine missing, illus. (no bids on a required minimum bid of £400); Nov., same copy and result. Windle, Oct. cat. 46, #1096, small-paper issue, publisher’s cloth very worn ($875). Life and Letters includes Palmer’s etching, “The Willow,” 2^nd st.

S. Palmer, English Version of the Eclogues of Virgil, 1883. Windle, Oct. cat. 46, #1095, small-paper issue, publisher’s cloth worn ($1500).

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PARKER, JAMES

Flaxman, Iliad and Odyssey designs, 1805. See both Flaxman entries under Letterpress Books with Engravings by and after Blake, above.

Shakespeare, Plays, ed. Wood, 1806. BL, 11 Dec. 2008, #675, 14 vols., foxed, contemporary calf worn, some vols. rebacked (not sold; estimate £250-350). Includes 4 pls. by Parker.

ROMNEY, GEORGE

Study of Distraught Figures for “John Howard Visiting a Lazaretto.” Pencil, 10.2 × 15.2 cm., datable to c. 1790. Abbott and Holder, Jan. online cat. 393, #70 (£875).

Titania’s Attendants. Oil, 119.4 × 149.9 cm., datable to c. 1791-92. Lowell Libson, Jan. cat., pp. 54-57, illus. (price on request).

“M^r. Henderson in the Character of Macbeth,” mezzotint by Jones, 1787. Grosvenor Prints, March online cat., illus. (£420).

“Sensibility,” stipple engraving by Earlom, 1789. Grosvenor Prints, March online cat., color printed, illus. (£360).

Boydell, Collection of Prints ... Illustrating ... Shakspeare, c. 1803. EB, Dec. 2008, 2 pls. only, “The Infant Shakespeare,” foxed, and “Tempest,” marginal foxing, both engraved by Smith, both illus. (offered at the “buy it now” prices of $125 and $295 respectively).

STOTHARD, THOMAS

Books with illus. by Stothard are listed only for eds. not recorded in the standard reference works, Coxhead and Bennett.

Group of narrative scenes, 5 drawings on 4 leaves, variously pencil, pen and ink, and wash, 8.5 × 6.0 cm. to 14.0 x 10.0 cm. BL, 2 July, #62, all framed, 1 illus. (£260).

The Ambitious Step-Mother. Pen and ink, 9.2 × 9.6 cm. Windle, Oct. cat. 46, #1073, with Leney’s engraving of the design for the Cawthorn issue of Bell’s British Theatre (1795) ($125).

The Avenging Angel (or Lucifer). Ink and watercolor, no size recorded. Abbott and Holder, June online cat. 396, #123 (£475).

Calypso and Her Nymphs, a Study for Fenelon’s “Telemachus.” Pen and ink, 20.3 × 17.8 cm. Abbott and Holder, April online cat. 395, #107 (£300).

The Canterbury Pilgrims. Watercolor, 9.9 × 34.4 cm. CSK, 9 July, #630, illus. (£5000). As the auction cat. states, this is the same work sold CL, 18 June 1980, #108, illus. black and white (£950), described in that cat. as a work on Whatman paper with an 1833 watermark. In Blake 16.2 (fall 1982): 102 I describe that work as possibly “a copy after the small engraving of about the same size,” but actually this watercolor is a good deal larger than the 1822 print by W. H. Worthington measuring 5.0 × 17.4 cm. If this drawing is by Stothard, perhaps its incomplete coloring can be explained by Stothard’s death in April 1834.

Children Decorating an Arch with Garlands for Harvest Festival. Pen and ink and wash, 12.7 × 10.2 cm. Abbott and Holder, Sept. online cat. 398, #94 (£225).

Christian and Hopeful. Oil, 15.0 × 19.0 oval. BHO, 25 Nov., #177, illus. (£780). Possibly a copy after 1 of Stothard’s published illus. for Bunyan’s Pilgrim’s Progress, engraved by J. Strutt in 1793 and generally titled “The Four Shepherds Converse with the Pilgrims.” The pl. is an oval the same size as this oil painting, but 1 figure (3^rd from the left) in the latter varies considerably from Strutt’s engraving.

Design for a Tomb, attributed to Stothard. Black chalk, pen and brown ink, brown wash, 15.0 × 11.2 cm. CNY, 30 Jan., #296, illus. ($1500).

Figure Studies for a Hunting Scene. Pen and ink, 10.2 × 15.2 cm. Abbott and Holder, Sept. online cat. 398, #93 (£225).

Figure Studies for Boccaccio’s “Decameron.” Pen and ink on a letter addressed to Stothard, 20.3 × 17.8 cm. Abbott and Holder, April online cat. 395, #106 (£300).

Honours Marine and Military Laid at Britannia’s Feet. Pen and ink, wash, 12.7 × 7.6 cm. Abbott and Holder, Jan. online cat. 393, #78, described as related to the frontispiece in the British Magazine, vol. 2 (1783) (£275).

Joseph Andrews. Monochrome wash drawing, 12.4 × 7.5 cm. SL, 17 Dec., #66, stained lower left, illus. (not sold; estimate £1500-2000). A preliminary drawing for an illus. to Fielding’s novel published in the Novelist’s Magazine; see Coxhead 61 for a discussion of this design.

“Measure for Measure”: Isabella Begging for Claudio’s Life. Oil, 10.2 × 7.6 cm. Abbott and Holder, Jan. online cat. 393, #16 (£375). Possibly related to 1 of Stothard’s 2 book illus. of this subject; see Coxhead 99, 101 (pls. dated 1803 and 1823).

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The Princess Catherine of France Presented to Henry V at the Battle of Agincourt. Oil, 17.8 × 25.4 cm. Abbott and Holder, Jan. online cat. 393, #15, described as related to Marriage of Henry V to Princess Catherine, exhibited at the R.A. in 1791 (£1250).

Sylvia and the Outlaws: A Scene from Shakespeare’s “Two Gentlemen of Verona.” Oil, 69.9 × 52.4 cm., indistinctly signed. CSK, 25 Feb., #914, illus. (not sold; estimate £4000-6000). Previously offered CSK, 3 Sept. 2008, #183, illus. (not sold; estimate £8000-12,000); previously sold CL, 20 Feb. 2003, #68, illus. (£10,755). Painted for Boydell’s Shakespeare Gallery, engraved by John Ogborne and published in Boydell’s ed. of the Dramatic Works (1802) and Boydell’s Graphic Illustrations of the Dramatic Works of Shakspeare (c. 1803).

Venus Rising. Watercolor, 30.5 × 22.8 cm., signed and dated 1814. CSK, 8 Nov., #112, illus. (£625; estimate £1000-1500). Previously offered SL, 12 March 1987, #110, titled Venus Arising from the Waves, illus. black and white (not sold; estimate £2000-3000).

Autograph letter to “M^r & M^rs Hall,” 17 Jan. 1826, accepting an invitation. EB, July, illus. ($10.50).

J. Highmore, journal of a sketching tour with Stothard and George Cumberland, 22-26 May 1779. See under Cumberland, above.

F. Burney, Cecilia, illus. to, a suite of 4 pls. by “F. Masetti,” published by “A. Suntach,” 1794: “The Power of Innocence,” “The Innocent Stratagem,” and 2 titled “Cecilia.” EB, Feb., leaves 36.8 × 41.9 cm., minor dust soiling, all 4 illus. ($61). EB, April, 1 pl. only, “The Power of Innocence” engraved by “A. Ragona,” no imprint, leaf approx. 34.3 × 42.0 cm. showing full platemark, hand colored (no bids on a required minimum bid of £12.99). These would all appear to be (pirated?) copies, those by Masetti in reverse, of an earlier and finer group engraved by Joseph Strutt in 1792. Coxhead notes “The Power of Innocence” (178), “two ovals” illustrating “Cecilia” (170), and “two [pls.] on a large scale, published by Durand in 1789,” for “Cecilia” (179), but does not name the engraver(s) or indicate that these are part of a set of 4.

O. Goldsmith, The Vicar of Wakefield, illus. to, suite of 2 pls. Grosvenor Prints, March online cat., “Young Thornhill’s First Interview” engraved by Simon, 1787, and “Olivia’s Return” engraved by Playter, 1789, both illus. (£260 each).

“John Gilpin,” engraved by Worthington, 1825. EB, Jan., hand colored, title and imprint trimmed off, title mounted below the design, illus. (no bids on a required minimum bid of $225). George Glazer Gallery, Jan. online cat., full margins, illus. (“sold”).

I. de Montolieu, Caroline de Lichtfield, illus. to, a suite of 2 pls. engraved by Harris, 1788. Grosvenor Prints, March online cat., both illus. (£520 the pair).

“Pilgrimage to Canterbury,” engraved by Schiavonetti and Heath after Stothard, 1817. Allinson Gallery, Sept. online cat., st. not indicated, wove paper, framed, illus. ($1750).

Portrait of Stothard, engraved by Worthington after Harlow, 1818. Grosvenor Prints, March online cat., marginal foxing, illus. (£70).

“The Procession of the Flitch of Bacon,” engraved by Watt, 1832. Grosvenor Prints, March online cat., open-letter impression on laid India, illus. (£660).

“The Surrender of the Children of Tippoo Sultan,” mezzotint by C. Turner, 1800. CSK, 8 April, #152, color printed with additional hand coloring, inscriptions partly trimmed off, foxed, illus. (£1000).

Bray, Life of Stothard, 1851, extra-illus. copies only. Windle, Oct. cat. 46, #1074, extended to 10 vols. quarto (“sold” to Victoria University Library, Toronto). For details, see Blake 42.4 (spring 2009): 141.

B. Franklin, The Works of Dr. Benjamin Franklin; Consisting of Essays, Humorous, Moral, and Literary; with His Life, Written by Himself. Chiswick: Charles Whittingham, 1824. The Americanist, July online cat., slight foxing, modern quarter calf ($85). The engraved title page includes a vignette of Franklin as a boy, engraved by Samuel Davenport after Stothard. Not in Coxhead or Bennett.

Shakespeare, The Dramatic Works of William Shakespeare, notes by Samuel Weller Singer, life of Shakespeare by Charles Symmons. Chiswick: Charles Whittingham, 1826. EB, Nov. 2008, 10 vols., contemporary calf very worn, most spines damaged, covers loose and 2 missing, illus. ($16.51). Bauman Rare Books, Dec. 2008 online cat., 10 vols., fancy 19^th-century calf ($2600). Antonio Raimo Galleries, Dec. 2008 online cat., 10 vols., “leather binding” ($1250). The half-title in each vol. states that this ed. contains “sixty engravings on wood, by John Thompson; from drawings by Stothard, Corbould, Harvey, etc.” Of these, 17 cuts can be attributed with confidence to Stothard: a group in vol. 1 representing Shakespeare’s 7 ages of man from As You Like It and 10 title-page vignettes incorporating large decorative letters. Coxhead 102 refers to this “1826 issue ... of Shakespeare’s Plays” and mentions 10 of the cuts, but does not record the total number of cuts and does not give the title of the work. Not in Bennett.

Shakespeare, The Dramatic Works of William Shakespeare, notes by Samuel Weller Singer, essays by William Watkiss begin page 148 | ↑ back to top Lloyd. London: Bell and Daldy, 1856. EB, Feb., 10 vols., contemporary morocco, illus. ($232.50). The half-title in each vol. indicates that this ed. includes “Vignettes Engraved on Wood by John Thompson from Drawings by Stothard.” There are 10 in all, 1 on the title page in each vol. The wood engravings are not the same as in the 1826 Whittingham ed., listed immediately above. Not in Coxhead or Bennett.

[Tatler]. The Lucubrations of Isaac Bickerstaff. 6 vols. London: C. Bathurst, et al., 1786. EB, March-April, vols. 3-6 only, offered individually, scattered foxing, contemporary half calf worn, some covers loose, illus. (£13 for vol. 3, £9.99 for vol. 4, no bids on required minimum bids of £12.50 for vols. 5 and 6). Michael Brown, April online cat., complete in 6 vols., pl. in vol. 2 badly torn, marginal staining on all pls., calf rebacked and very worn, several covers chipped, gouged, and loose, almost a complete wreck ($100). With 6 pls. after Stothard, 1 in each vol.; not in Coxhead or Bennett.

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. Newly discovered impressions of previously recorded published sts. of Blake’s engravings are listed only for the rarer separate pls.

The Separate Plates of William Blake: A Catalogue

P. 30, “The Accusers of Theft Adultery Murder,” impression 1A. In the description of this impression I state that the “first gathering” of The Marriage of Heaven and Hell copy B “is quarto,” at least as it was sewn when I inspected it c. 1980. I should have stated that the first gathering is a folio in twos—that is, one folio inside another, each with 2 leaves for a total of 4 leaves. I mention this minor point only because several scholars, including G. E. Bentley, Jr., Michael Phillips, and Joseph Viscomi, have expressed an interest in the printing and binding format of Marriage copy B.

Pp. 70-75, “Chaucers Canterbury Pilgrims,” 5^th st. Larkhall Fine Art of Bath, England, acquired in May an impression on thin Japan paper with prominent chain lines about 2.9 cm. apart. Nicholas Lott of Larkhall tells me that the print was in a 19^th-century frame. The discovery of an impression on Japan paper in such a frame, in which the print appears to have been housed for many decades, and the type of paper make it probable that all impressions on Japan (e.g., 5SS in the New York Public Library) were pulled in the 19^th century, probably in the 1880s shortly after Colnaghi acquired the copperplate, rather than produced as part of the Sessler printing of 1941. The quality of the Japan-paper impressions also suggests an early printing date before the stipple on the pilgrims’ faces became worn. These impressions are probably the ones printed by Colnaghi “on Japanese paper,” according to a brief announcement in Notes and Queries, 6th series, 3 (5 March 1881): 200 (see SP p. 85, where this paper is wrongly described as “laid India”). For the Larkhall impression, see above under Separate Plates and Plates in Series.

Pp. 132-33, “Robin Hood & Clorinda,” engraved by Blake after “J. Meheux,” published by Macklin in 1783. The designer of the engraving was very probably the amateur artist John Meheux (1749?-1839); see Vincent Carretta, “Blake’s Meheux?” Blake 31.3 (winter 1997-98): 84. As Carretta points out, Meheux knew and corresponded with Ignatius Sancho (1729-80), whose Letters were published in 1782. Sancho was also known to Blake’s friend George Cumberland; see the John Highmore journal under Cumberland, above. Thus, Cumberland may have been acquainted with Meheux and could have played a role in securing for Blake the commission to engrave this pl.

William Blake’s Commercial Book Illustrations

Pp. 43-44, The Original Works of William Hogarth. An impression of the first (etched) proof state of Blake’s pl. is in the Lockwood Memorial Library, University of Buffalo. See A Selection of Books and Manuscripts in the Lockwood Memorial Library of the University of Buffalo (New York: Lockwood Memorial Library, 1935) 4.

P. 126, “False and Conjectural Attributions,” new title: Anon., Biographical Sketches of Eminent British Characters (London: William Darton, n.d. [c. 1813]). A pencil note in a copy in the Victoria and Albert Museum states that “These admirable ‘heads’ were Engraved by W. Blake.” I see no reason to attribute the 7 unsigned outline engravings to Blake. For more information, see G. E. Bentley, Jr., “William Blake and His Circle: A Checklist of Publications and Discoveries in 2008,” Blake 43.1 (summer 2009): 18.