C A T A L O G U E 6 5 W I L L I A M B L A K E Always in Paradise J O H N W I N D L E A N T I Q U A R I A N B O O K S E L L E R 49 Geary Street, Suite 233, San Francisco, California 94108 (415) 986-5826 | johnwindle.com | [email protected] “I have very little of Mr. Blake’s company; he is always in Paradise...” -Catherine Blake C A T A L O G U E 6 5 WILLIAM BLAKE Always in Paradise A Catalogue of Artwork and Books by and about Blake and his Circle JOHN WINDLE ANTIQUARIAN BOOKSELLER San Francisco 2017 TERMS: All items are guaranteed as described and may be returned within 5 days of receipt only if packed, shipped, and insured as received. Payment in US dollars drawn on a US bank, including state and local taxes as ap- plicable, is expected upon receipt unless otherwise agreed. Institutions may receive deferred billing and duplicates will be considered for credit. References or advance payment may be requested of anyone ordering for the first time. Postage is extra and will be via UPS. PayPal, Visa, MasterCard, and American Express are gladly accepted. Please also note that under standard terms of business, title does not pass to the purchaser until the purchase price has been paid in full. ILAB dealers only may deduct their reciprocal discount, provided the account is paid in full within 30 days; thereafter the price is net. J O H N W I N D L E A N T I Q U A R I A N B O O K S E L L E R 49 Geary Street, Suite 233 San Francisco, CA 94108 T E L : (415) 986-5826 F A X : (415) 986-5827 C E L L : (415) 224-8256 www.johnwindle.com www.williamblakegallery.com John Windle: [email protected] Chris Loker: [email protected] Rachel Eley: [email protected] Annika Green: [email protected] Justin Hunter: [email protected] Cassie Leone: [email protected] O P E N S H O P : Monday - Friday 10 - 6, Sat 11 - 5 (preferably by appointment) Member ABAA, ILAB, PBFA F R O N T C O V E R : (inset) Songs of Innocence and Experience, Plate 2, c. 1825. F R O N T I S P I E C E : Frontispiece portrait from The Grave, A Poem. Illustrated by twelve Etchings executed by Louis Schiavonetti, from the Original Inventions of William Blake. 1808. Table of Contents Introduction ix Part One: Original Art The Virgin Hushing the Young John the Baptist 1 The Complaint of Job 3 Part Two: Printed Works Illuminated Books, Separate Plates & Prints in Series 4 Commercial Book Illustrations Designed and Engraved by Blake 20 Engraved by Blake after Designs by Other Artists 34 Designed by Blake and Engraved by Others 46 Typographic Editions of Blake’s Writings 54 Facsimile Editions 58 Books Featuring Reproductions of Blake’s Art (Chronologically) 62 Catalogues and Bibliographies 65 Biography and Criticism 66 Blake’s Circle 71 Calligraphic and Other Works Inspired by Blake 75 Part Three: The Trianon Press and the William Blake Trust 81 Part Four: Additional Editions, Reference Works and Ephemera under $300 110 Part Five: Resources 50 Essential Books About Blake 138 The Blake Archive 141 The Blake Quarterly 141 Bibliography 142 INTRODUCTION In my prior catalogues devoted solely to William Blake, beginning in 1995 with the Holland / Newton Collection, I noted the availability of Blake’s original watercolors, drawings, prints, commercial engravings etc. at affordable prices given Blake’s fame as surely the best known and most widely quoted British visionary artist, author, and craftsman. Over twenty years later, though prices have increased at the very highest end, almost all of the readily available prints and books are still very modestly priced compared with other artists of his stature. It has always been my goal to bring Blake to people interested in his work for any reason at prices that a college student might afford and although this catalogue has its share of high spots it also has a plethora of material which can be had for the price of a martini (or less) at the legendary Zam Zam Room in the Haight. It was perhaps after one (or more) of these potent potations that I decided to open a gallery devoted to Blake’s art. I had bought a huge archive of the Trianon Press (see page 81) with multiple copies of every title, suites of proofs, Fawcus’s own copies, and about 2500 trial printings of the illuminated books, which crowded out the former Chil- dren’s Book Gallery and forced its transformation into the William Blake Library. With alarming speed the room was filled with around 1000 titles by and about Blake from rare first editions and original prints to paperbacks, knick-knacks, mugs, temporary tattoos, etc. and still I had nowhere to show our prints, which now included a recent consignment of the superb early proof suite of Dante engravings, a very fine set of the Job prints on India paper, several brilliant lifetime prints from the “Gates of Paradise”, the frontispiece “Adam and the Beasts” for Hayley’s Ballads (1802), commercial plates from “The Grave” and “Night Thoughts”, Hayley’s “Ballads” and Gay’s “Fa- bles”, and so forth. In a sign from above, another suite on my floor opened up and was the perfect size and config- uration to display Blake in all his glory. Then, since Nature abhors a vacuum, my friend Elaine Klemen consigned her superb tempera painting of “The Virgin Hushing the Young John the Baptist” which I had first seen in 1974 at John Howell-Books, and a local collector and friend loaned the wash drawing “The Complaint of Job” which has been untraced since 1928 and is, I believe, the only Blake watercolor in private hands in San Francisco. The stage was set and all I had to do was sign a lease and alert the Press. About a week later I realized what I had done and panic set in. Happily Rachel Eley and Annika Green came to the rescue and with help from James Welsch and Justin Hunter, Annika set up the Gallery while Rachel whipped the detritus of years of cataloguing Blake into shape and conformity. As always, Bob Essick has been the foundation upon which we have relied in every way, and sincere and profound thanks are due to Jerry Bentley, Joe Viscomi, Morris Eaves, Sandy Gourlay, Sarah Jones at “Blake: An Illustrated Quarterly”, and the friendly and helpful circle of Blake scholars, collectors, and dealers around the world who have helped me buy and sell William Blake. The love and support of my long-suffering wife Chris Loker means more to me than I can express: as Blake said of his wife “you have ever been an angel to me”. As I get older (now older than Blake, sadly) I come to see just how deeply his vision, both images and text, has affected my conscious and unconscious life. The connection is inexpressible but profound. I see Blake everywhere, and wonder what the world must have looked like to him. His wife summed it up best (as wives usually do) when she said: “I have very little of Mr. Blake’s company, he is always in Paradise”. I hope that opening our little gallery and sharing Blake’s vision with those who come by will bring a little piece of paradise to 49 Geary Street. It certainly has to me. John Windle March 2017 ix T H E W I L L I A M B L A K E G A L L E R Y from JOHN WINDLE ANTIQUARIAN BOOKSELLER A new exhibition space in San Francisco dedicated to works created by the influential 19th century poet, artist, and engraver. Our opening exhibition featured works by Blake’s own hand, including a stunning tempera painting, an important preparatory wash painting, and the earliest impression of an illuminated plate printed by Blake ever offered for sale - a proof plate from Songs of Innocence. Also exhibited are many other prints of unparalleled quality, displaying Blake’s range and many of his most iconic images. 49 Geary Street, Suite 205 San Francisco, CA 94108 (415) 986-5826 williamblakegallery.com johnwindle.com x W I L L I A M B L A K E : A L W A Y S I N P A R A D I S E C A T A L O G U E 6 5 : O R I G I N A L A R T PART 1: Original Art THE VIRGIN HUSHING THE YOUNG JOHN THE BAPTIST 1. The Virgin Hushing the Young John the Baptist. 1799. Pen and ink and tempera on paper on linen, laid down on canvas 10 5/8 x 15 inches (270 x 380 mm). Signed with mono- gram and dated 1799 at lower left. § This painting is part of a commission of fifty tempera paintings which Blake received in 1799 from Thomas Butts, a clerk in the office of the Mus- ter-Master General. The tem- pera series was a Biblical cycle, with typological connections between Old and New Testa- ments. Only about thirty of these works survived. They were all executed in an exper- imental technique which the artist referred to as ‘Portable Fresco’ and were stylistically in- fluenced by early Renaissance panel paintings.