m<m V • m*\ ~ ■■ fWt* AN ILLUSTRATED QUARTERLY VOLUME 26 NUMBER 4 SPRING 1993 BLAKE/AN ILLUSTRATED QUARTERLY SPRING 1993 &}Um AN ILLUSTRATED QUARTERLY Volume 26 Number 4 Spring 1993 Contents Article Reviews 140 Blake in the Marketplace, 1992 162 William Blake—A Man by Robert N. Essick Without Marx Review Essay by John Vice Minute Particulars 166 David Bintley's/ob at the San 160 Cromek's Lost Letter about Francisco Ballet, 17 March 1992 Blake's Grave Designs Reviewed by Morton D. Paley G. E. Bentley, Jr. 168 Blake as Craftsman and Artist: Discussion Two Exhibitions in Japan Reviewed by G. E. Bentley, Jr. 161 Blake and Women: A Reply to Nelson Hilton Newsletter Margaret Storch 171 Blake Ephemera, The Illuminated Blake Returns, Songs Lecture, NEH Summer Seminar, Power and Passion in William Blake, Blake Society News Cover: William Blake and Other Portrait Studies, attributed to Thomas Phillips (1770-1845). For details, see page 148. Photo cour• tesy of Sotheby's London. © 1993 Copyright Morris Eaves and Morton D. Paley SPRING 1993 BLAKE/AN ILLUSTRATED QUARTERLY CONTRIBUTORS EDITORS INFORMATION G. E. BENTLEY, JR., of the University Editors: Morris Eaves, University of Managing Editor: Patricia Neill Rochester, and Morton D. Paley, Uni• of Toronto, works with his wife, Dr. Blake/An Illustrated Quarterly is versity of California, Berkeley. E.B. Bentley on Blake biography, bil- published under the sponsorship of the biography, and editions and illustrated Bibliographer: G. E. Bentley, Jr., Department of English, University of books of Blake's time. Department of English, University Col• Rochester. lege, University of Toronto, Toronto 5, ROBERT N. ESSICK is the co-editor of Subscriptions are $50 for institutions, Canada. William Blake: The Early Illuminated $25 for individuals. All subscriptions Books (with Morris Eaves and Joseph Review Editor: Nelson Hilton, Uni• are by the volume (1 year, 4 issues) and Viscomi) and William Blake: Milton versity of Georgia, Athens. begin with the summer issue. Subscrip• and the Final Illuminated Works (with tion payments received after the sum• Associate Editor for Great Britain: Joseph Viscomi), vols. 3 and 5 in the mer issue will be applied to the 4 issues David WorralL St Mary's College. new Blake Trust series (forthcoming of the current volume. Foreign addres• late 1993). Production Office: Morris Eaves, ses (except Canada and Mexico) require MORTON D. PALEY is co-editor of Department of English, University of a $8 per volume postal surcharge for Blake. He recently edited The Last Man Rochester, Rochester, NY 14627. surface mail, a $18 per volume sur• charge for air mail delivery. U.S. cur• by Mary Shelley for Oxford World's Telephone: 716/275-3820. Classics. rency or international money order Fax: 716/442-5769. necessary. Make checks payable to MARGARET STORCH is the author of E-mail: Blake/An Illustrated Quarterly. Ad• Sons and Adversaries: Women in Wil• Morris Eaves dress all subscription orders and re• liam Blake and D. H. Lawrence, and is [email protected] lated communications to Patricia Neill, a member of the Commonwealth of Patricia Neill Blake, Department of English, Univer• Massachusetts Higher Education Coor• [email protected] sity of Rochester, Rochester, NY 14627. dinating Council. She is currently Morton D. Paley, Department of Eng• Many back issues are available at a working on motifs in the visual art of lish, University of California, Berkeley, reduced price. Address Patricia Neill Blake and of D. H. Lawrence. CA 94720. for a list of issues and prices. JOHN VICE works in the House of G. E. Bentley, Jr., Department of Eng• Commons for Hansard, the Official Re• Manuscripts are welcome. Send two lish, University College, University of port. He is currently writing a full-length copies, typed and documented accor• Toronto, Toronto 5, Canada. biography of Jacob Bronowski. ding to the forms suggested in The MIA Nelson Hilton, Department of English, Style Manual, to either of the editors: University of Georgia, Athens, GA 30602. Morris Eaves, Dept. of English, Univer• sity of Rochester, Rochester, NY 14627; David Worrall, St. Mary's College, Straw• Morton D. Paley, Dept. of English, Uni• berry Hill, Waldegrave Road, Twicken• versity of California, Berkeley, CA ham TW1 4SX, England. 94720. Only one copy will be returned to authors. International Standard Serial Num• ber: 0l60-628x. Blake/An Illustrated Quarterly is indexed in the Modern Language Association's International Bibliography, the Modern Humanities Research Association's Annual Bibli• ography of English Language and Literature, The Romantic Movement: A Selective and CriticalBibliographyied. David V. Erdman et al.), American Hu• manities Index, the Arts and Humanities Citation Index, and Current Contents. 140 BLAKE/AN ILLUSTRA TED QUARTERL Y Spring 1993 Blake in the Marketplace, 1992 by Robert N. Essick or the Blake collector ravaged by sheets appeared (illus. 2-4). The price lists. These net amounts are Fthe dual afflictions of bibliomania recto/verso pair (illus. 3-4) was pre• given here, following the official price and graphomania, 1992 began with viously unknown and both sheets of lists. Late 1992 sales will be covered in nostalgia and unrequited longing. No drawings attracted surprisingly high the 1993 review. I am grateful for help great sales were announced or bids that make one fear what a good in compiling this review to E. B. rumored, and thus the mad Blakists Blake water color would now cost. Bentley, G. E. Bentley, Jr., Nancy among us looked back at the last few Those who find the following lists a bit Bialler, Jay Dillon, Detlef Dorrbecker years of hectic activity and sighed. of a bore will have some sense of what (who keeps his own extensive mar• Two pages from the smaller Blake- Blake collectors experienced. ketplace records and kindly shares Varley Sketchbook (illus. 1) were Those interested in Blake's circle and them with me), Alexander Gourlay, hardly sufficient to rouse the blood, followers were offered better fare. Thomas V. Lange (the supplier of more but a solitary Virgil drawing (illus. 5) Christie's London devoted an entire book entries than I like to admit), Jane was enough to bring out the heavy sale to a previously unknown collection Munro, Christopher Powney, Law• hitters. The winning bid of $79,750 of 57 drawings (not counting verso rence Salander, Justin Schiller, Edward (including the purchaser's surcharge) sketches) by Fuseli, each recorded be• Seffel, David Weinglass, and John more than doubled the high estimate low. This sale catalogue of 14 April is Windle. Once again, Patricia Neill's and set a new record for any uncolored well worth having, both for the com• editorial assistance and Robert drawing by Blake. At $15,466.66 per plete illustrations and the informative Schlosser"s skills as a photographer square inch, the Virgil preliminary introduction by Martin Butlin. All have been invaluable. drawing may have also set a record as drawings found purchasers, with the the most expensive British work of art best examples (see illus. 10-13 for a ABBREVIATIONS on paper or canvas (when calculated small sample) soaring well beyond es• BBA Bloomsbury Book Auctions, in such Urizenic terms). timates. This special sale, combined London Dealers' catalogues and the Febru• with the paucity of important Blakes, Bentley G. E. Bentley, Jr., Blake Books (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1977) ary Los Angeles Book Fair offered the constitutes my main excuse for the im• balance between the Blake and Butlin Martin Butlin, 7be Paintings and usual volumes with Blake's commer• Drawings of William Blake, 2 vols. cial book illustrations; only an impres• "Circle" sections of this review. (New Haven: Yale UP, 1981) sion of George Cumberland's card and In my review of 1989 sales, I cat. catalogue or sales list issued by a the high prices caused much of a stir. reported on the acquisition of Blake's dealer (usually followed by a In its 21-22 July auction, Sotheby's drawing of A Vision (Butlin #756) by number or letter designation) or London offered 17 consecutive lots of the Tate Gallery (Blake24 [1990]: 227). auction house (followed by the day and month of sale) Blake-related volumes, including 4 lots According to Christie's Review of the CL Christie's, London with 7 works containing Blake's engra• Season 1990, ed. Mark Wrey and Anne CNY Christie's, New York vings. The entire group was, I believe, Montefiore (London: Christie's, 1991) illus. the item or part thereof is from the stock of the London book 15, "a current gross value of £30,000 reproduced in the catalogue dealer Simon Finch. But just 2 lots of ($48,000) was agreed for this PAL Phillips Auctions, London secondary volumes sold, suggesting negotiated private sale." I trust that pl(s). plate(s) that either the reserve prices were too Christie's received the Tate's permis• SL Sotheby's, London high or that most lots were withdrawn sion before revealing the price of this SNY Sotheby's, New York after the publication of the auction "private" sale. st(s). state(s) of an engraving, etching, or lithograph catalogue and before the event itself. The year of all sales and catalogues Swann Perhaps the fall sales would provide at Swann Galleries, auctioneers, in the following lists is 1992 unless New York least a meager palliative, a long-lost indicated otherwise. The auction * auction lot or catalogue item painting or illuminated book, but only houses add their purchaser's sur• number three awkward early drawings on two charge to the hammer price in their Spring 1993 BLAKE/AN ILLUSTRATED QUARTERLY 141 DRA WINGS AND PAINTINGS York, from Agnew's. Previously offered Resurrection of the Dead.