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The Last Years of Catherine Blake Man’S Fictionalized Life, Voices for Catherine Blake: a Gather- Ing (2000), Observed

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The Last Years of Catherine Blake Man’S Fictionalized Life, Voices for Catherine Blake: a Gather- Ing (2000), Observed A rtI cleIn the last two decades interest in and recognition of cath- erine’s position in Blake’s life and work have grown. In 1993 Joseph Viscomi asserted her integral role in all aspects of Blake’s bookmaking projects.4 In 2004 she was given her own “an excellent saleswoman”: entry in the new edition of the Oxford Dictionary of National Biography.5 eugenie r. Freed, in her review of Barbara lach- The last Years of catherine Blake man’s fictionalized life, Voices for Catherine Blake: A Gather- ing (2000), observed: By Angus Whitehead like many of those interested in Blake’s work, I do feel the need to know a great deal more about catherine Blake, an unsung heroine who has yet to be acknowledged as the cou- 6 IogrAphIcAl information concerning any period of rageous woman of many parts that she had to be in real life. B the life of catherine Sophia Blake, née Boucher (cover illus.), remains lamentably sparse. however, few twenty-first- As this essay will demonstrate, scholars have yet to exhaust century scholars would agree with Mona Wilson’s comment, all avenues in reclaiming historical information concerning made about 1927, that “there is little independent record of the life of Blake’s wife. hitherto, the final four years of her life catherine Blake, nor is it needed.”1 For the four years fol- (1827-31) have received negligible attention from Blake’s bi- lowing Blake’s death, catherine was the custodian and sales- ographers. only g. e. Bentley, Jr., has attempted a detailed woman of a varied and substantial collection of her husband’s chronological reconstruction of where catherine lived during works, as well as his drawing, painting, engraving, and print- those years. In the second edition of Blake Records he sug- ing materials. She was also a unique source for much infor- gests that after six months living and working at 6 cirencester mation about his life and working practices communicated to place, John linnell’s town house and painting studio (Sept. Frederick tatham, his fellow Ancients, and other friends and 1827-c. Mar. 1828), the recently widowed catherine lived, visitors. For almost forty-five years she was the person who briefly, alone in lodgings at 17 Upper charlotte Street, Fitzroy lived and worked most closely with Blake, enabling him to Square, before residing with tatham and his wife at 20 lisson realize numerous projects, impossible without her assistance. grove North (Apr. 1828-spring 1829). According to Bentley, catherine was an artist and printer in her own right, with she then returned to her former residence in Upper charlotte firsthand knowledge and experience of Blake’s art practices.2 Street.7 And yet in surviving contemporary records written during Bentley’s reconstruction, based on contemporary data and and after her marriage, she was principally commended for informed guesswork, provides our most reliable picture of her her domestic role.3 last years to date. We can be certain that she lived at ciren- cester place for the first six months of her widowhood.8 how- ever, reliable information about the remaining three and a earlier versions of the paper were presented at the Blake at 250 confer- half years of her life is meager. A close inspection of Bentley’s ence, University of York, 30 July-1 Aug. 2007, the romantic Biographies chronology reveals that we really know little of catherine’s conference, University of Keele, 8 May 2009, and the session on recov- ering the historical catherine Blake, 1762-1831, MlA convention, los life or whereabouts after she left tatham in the early spring Angeles, 7 Jan. 2011. Much of the material derives from chapter 8 of my of 1829. Moreover, the precise nature of tatham’s domestic phD thesis, “New Discoveries concerning William and catherine Blake in Nineteenth century london: residences, Fellow Inhabitants, Neigh- bours, Friends and Milieux, 1803-1878,” University of York, 2006. For 1790s. however, according to tatham, catherine soon took over those kind assistance and support during the research and writing of this paper duties: “(as Mrs. Blake declared …) the more service the more Inconven- I wish to thank the staff of New Stratford library, New Stratford, london, ience” (“life of Blake,” quoted in BR[2] 676). Kate Davies, David Alexander, troy r. c. patenaude, my friend and fel- 4. See, for example, Joseph Viscomi, Blake and the Idea of the Book low student at York, and especially my thesis supervisor, Michael phillips. (princeton: princeton University press, 1993) 102-03. 1. Mona Wilson, The Life of William Blake(1927; ed. geoffrey Keynes, 5. robert N. essick, “Blake, catherine Sophia,” Oxford Dictionary of oxford: oxford University press, 1971) 368. National Biography [hereafter ODNB], oxford University press, 2004 2. In a letter to george richmond, Samuel palmer recommends “Mrs. <http://www.oxforddnb.com/view/article/64608>, accessed 19 Apr. 2006. Blake’s white” as an effective art medium. See raymond lister, ed., The 6. eugenie r. Freed, Blake 36.4 (spring 2003): 151. Letters of Samuel Palmer, vol. 1 (oxford: clarendon press, 1974) 38. 7. BR(2) 754-55. Under the heading for 17 Upper charlotte or charl- 3. In a letter to richard Monckton Milnes, first Baron houghton, c. ton Street, Bentley says that “she had returned to Upper charlotte Street 1870, the painter, antiquary, and visionary Seymour Kirkup described by the spring of 1829”; under 20 lisson grove, he gives Apr. 1828-early catherine as “as good as a Servant” (g. e. Bentley, Jr., Blake Records, 2nd 1830 for her residence with the tathams, but he corrects 1830 to 1829 in ed. [New haven: Yale University press, 2004] [hereafter BR(2)] 294). She addenda to BR(2) in Blake 40.1 (summer 2006): 39. had probably been in service as a maidservant before marrying (see BR[2] 8. Alexander gilchrist states that she left linnell during the summer of 71). There is an account of there being a servant at the Blakes’ house in the 1828; see Life of William Blake, “Pictor Ignotus,” vol. 1 (london: Macmil- early period of their residence at 13 hercules Buildings, lambeth, in the lan, 1863) 365. 76 Blake/An Illustrated Quarterly Winter 2011-12 arrangements is unknown. Bentley’s assertion that catherine happens not to be larger than grand eagle, and it is a good resided with and worked for tatham and his wife at lisson one in other respects I have one idle which would answer Mrs grove, although apparently widely accepted, is based on cir- B’s purpose.”13 however, the proposed project to swap presses cumstantial evidence and has not been fully investigated. appears not to have materialized, as four days later linnell ar- tatham’s wife, the “Mrs. tatham” in whose arms catherine ranged for Blake’s star wheel rolling press to be moved from died,9 has not been identified, nor has any Blake biographer 3 Fountain court to cirencester place.14 catherine followed recovered the precise location of the last residence of cath- two weeks after the press. erine Blake. Although it is clear that she resided at no. 17, it During the period in which she lived with linnell and then has not been established whether her final lodgings were in with tatham, catherine’s principal means of support derived charlotte Street, Upper charlotte Street, charlton Street, or from her performance of the duties of a domestic housekeep- Upper charlton Street, Fitzroy Square. er. While at cirencester place she was also responsible for This essay presents and explores new information concern- accepting money from linnell’s customers when he was not ing the life, residences, and circle of catherine Blake in the at home.15 Nevertheless, from the autumn of 1827 she began period immediately following her departure from linnell’s occasionally to sell her late husband’s works to visitors. With town house, c. March 1828, until her death in mid-october linnell’s assistance, she sold Blake’s last commission, a name 1831. It revises a number of Bentley’s assertions regarding the plate, as well as a copy of Illustrations of the Book of Job, to his chronology and location of her residences. The essay will also old friend george cumberland.16 catherine also attempted to explore her relationship with Frederick tatham, the member encourage cumberland to try to sell further copies of Job in of the Ancients with whom she had most contact after Blake’s Bristol, despite the fact that he had been unable to sell the death, and who—rightly or wrongly—inherited the Blakes’ copy he had received from Blake some months earlier.17 earthly possessions after catherine’s demise. 1. Catherine Blake in Widowhood, 1827-31 When William Blake died on the evening of 12 August 13. BR(2) 467. 1827, catherine was left a considerable number of unsold 14. BR(2) 468. 10 15. See BR(2) 471. In a note to the artist and traveler edward Thomas works but little ready money, and she appears to have been Daniell written shortly after 11 Sept. 1827, linnell states, “Mrs Blake … unable to support herself. That day she was obliged to borrow lives with me now here [i.e., cirencester place].” george cumberland ad- five pounds from Blake’s patron linnell.11 In a letter to lin- dressed his letter dated 25 Nov. to “Mrs. Blake at Mr linells 6 cirencester nell written two days later, John constable expressed the hope place” (BR[2] 477fn). however, linnell spent most of his time at hamp- that the royal Academy would “do something handsome for stead with his family (see BR[2] 475).
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