BLAKE, William (1757-1827). The Grave, a poem by Robert BLAIR. London: T. Bensley, 1808. 4° (350 x 274mm). Engraved portrait of William Blake by L. Schiavonetti after T. Phillips, engraved title-page and twelve engravings all by L. Schiavonetti after William Blake, verso of dedication leaf with 29-line note in pencil signed 'David Scott' and discussing the fitness and relationship of Blake's work to the poem, and the quality of the engravings, Blake's reaction to this work and to the engravings themselves, autograph poem 'On Seeing again after many years William Blake's Designs for 'The Grave'' by William Bell Scott, with a number of corrections, pasted in at end. (Engraved title-page cropped affecting printer's name, some light spotting, some slight soiling, hinges restored.) Quarter brown morocco (rebacked retaining original backstrip, extremities rubbed). Provenance: David Scott (ownership inscription dated 1844); William Bell Scott (bookplate, and ownership inscription on title-page dated 1849); Alice Boyd (ownership inscription dated 1890); George Goyder (bookplate).David Scott and William Bell Scott were both sons of the well-known Edinburgh engraver, Robert Scott, and it is possible that ownership of this work passed from father to son to brother. Both brothers were painters and poets, and both were deeply influenced by Blake's work. David Scott published in 1831 a set of six designs which owed much to Blake in terms of both composition and style. William Bell Scott wrote and illustrated William Blake: Etchings on his works, London: 1878. Alice Boyd and William Bell Scott became close friends, and both were intimates of the Rossetti family and of Swinburne. This copy presumbly became Alice Boyd's on the death of William Bell Scott at her family home Penkill Castle, Ayrshire. The Grave is considered the best of Robert Blair's poems. Blake's illustrations are seen as seminal in his artistic development: 'they ... not only express Blake's complex response to a popular contemporary poem, but also establish the basis for the pervasive themes and structures of his later works.' (See Read, D. William Blake and the Grave. London: University Microfilms International, 1977, p. 238.)BLAKE, William. Five line engravings entitled The Eagle, The Dog, The Hermits Dog, The Lion, and The Horse. London: R. Phillips, June 18, 1805. The Hermits Dog without variant apostrophe. (All trimmed within plate margins and mounted.) Paper wrappers, inscription in ink on upper cover (some surface dirt). Provenance: Greville Matheson MacDonald (bookplate); George Goyder (bookplate). Binyon. The Engraved Designs of William Blake. 1926. Numbers 96, 95, 98, 97, and 99. These five plates formed the title-page and illustrations to Hayley's Ballads founded on anecdotes relating to animals. Chichester: 1805. (2)

BLAKE, William (1757-1827). The Grave, a poem by Robert BLAIR. London: T. Bensley, 1808. 4° (350 x 274mm). Engraved portrait of William Blake by L. Schiavonetti after T. Phillips, engraved title-page and twelve engravings all by L. Schiavonetti after William Blake, verso of dedication leaf with 29-line note in pencil signed 'David Scott' and discussing the fitness and relationship of Blake's work to the poem, and the quality of the engravings, Blake's reaction to this work and to the engravings themselves, autograph poem 'On Seeing again after many years William Blake's Designs for 'The Grave'' by William Bell Scott, with a number of corrections, pasted in at end. (Engraved title-page cropped affecting printer's name, some light spotting, some slight soiling, hinges restored.) Quarter brown morocco (rebacked retaining original backstrip, extremities rubbed). Provenance: David Scott (ownership inscription dated 1844); William Bell Scott (bookplate, and ownership inscription on title-page dated 1849); Alice Boyd (ownership inscription dated 1890); George Goyder (bookplate). David Scott and William Bell Scott were both sons of the well-known Edinburgh engraver, Robert Scott, and it is possible that ownership of this work passed from father to son to brother. Both brothers were painters and poets, and both were deeply influenced by Blake's work. David Scott published in 1831 a set of six designs which owed much to Blake in terms of both composition and style. William Bell Scott wrote and illustrated William Blake: Etchings on his works, London: 1878. Alice Boyd and William Bell Scott became close friends, and both were intimates of the Rossetti family and of Swinburne. This copy presumbly became Alice Boyd's on the death of William Bell Scott at her family home Penkill Castle, Ayrshire. The Grave is considered the best of Robert Blair's poems. Blake's illustrations are seen as seminal in his artistic development: 'they ... not only express Blake's complex response to a popular contemporary poem, but also establish the basis for the pervasive themes and structures of his later works.' (See Read, D. William Blake and the Grave. London: University Microfilms International, 1977, p. 238.) BLAKE, William. Five line engravings entitled The Eagle, The Dog, The Hermits Dog, The Lion, and The Horse. London: R. Phillips, June 18, 1805. The Hermits Dog without variant apostrophe. (All trimmed within plate margins and mounted.) Paper wrappers, inscription in ink on upper cover (some surface dirt). Provenance: Greville Matheson MacDonald (bookplate); George Goyder (bookplate). Binyon. The Engraved Designs of William Blake. 1926. Numbers 96, 95, 98, 97, and 99. These five plates formed the title-page and illustrations to Hayley's Ballads founded on anecdotes relating to animals. Chichester: 1805. (2)

Details

BLAKE, William (1757-1827). The Grave, a poem by Robert BLAIR. London: T. Bensley, 1808. 4° (350 x 274mm). Engraved portrait of William Blake by L. Schiavonetti after T. Phillips, engraved title-page and twelve engravings all by L. Schiavonetti after William Blake, verso of dedication leaf with 29-line note in pencil signed 'David Scott' and discussing the fitness and relationship of Blake's work to the poem, and the quality of the engravings, Blake's reaction to this work and to the engravings themselves, autograph poem 'On Seeing again after many years William Blake's Designs for 'The Grave'' by William Bell Scott, with a number of corrections, pasted in at end. (Engraved title-page cropped affecting printer's name, some light spotting, some slight soiling, hinges restored.) Quarter brown morocco (rebacked retaining original backstrip, extremities rubbed). Provenance: David Scott (ownership inscription dated 1844); William Bell Scott (bookplate, and ownership inscription on title-page dated 1849); Alice Boyd (ownership inscription dated 1890); George Goyder (bookplate).

David Scott and William Bell Scott were both sons of the well-known Edinburgh engraver, Robert Scott, and it is possible that ownership of this work passed from father to son to brother. Both brothers were painters and poets, and both were deeply influenced by Blake's work. David Scott published in 1831 a set of six designs which owed much to Blake in terms of both composition and style. William Bell Scott wrote and illustrated William Blake: Etchings on his works, London: 1878. Alice Boyd and William Bell Scott became close friends, and both were intimates of the Rossetti family and of Swinburne. This copy presumbly became Alice Boyd's on the death of William Bell Scott at her family home Penkill Castle, Ayrshire. The Grave is considered the best of Robert Blair's poems. Blake's illustrations are seen as seminal in his artistic development: 'they ... not only express Blake's complex response to a popular contemporary poem, but also establish the basis for the pervasive themes and structures of his later works.' (See Read, D. William Blake and the Grave. London: University Microfilms International, 1977, p. 238.)

BLAKE, William. Five line engravings entitled The Eagle, The Dog, The Hermits Dog, The Lion, and The Horse. London: R. Phillips, June 18, 1805. The Hermits Dog without variant apostrophe. (All trimmed within plate margins and mounted.) Paper wrappers, inscription in ink on upper cover (some surface dirt). Provenance: Greville Matheson MacDonald (bookplate); George Goyder (bookplate). Binyon. The Engraved Designs of William Blake. 1926. Numbers 96, 95, 98, 97, and 99. These five plates formed the title-page and illustrations to Hayley's Ballads founded on anecdotes relating to animals. Chichester: 1805. (2)

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