The Works of William Blake in the Huntington Collections : A Complete Catalogue.

Essick, R.N. ; Henry E. Huntington Library and Art Gallery.

ISBN 10: 0873280849 / ISBN 13: 9780873280846

Published by Huntington Library, San Marino, first edition, 1985, 1985

About this Item

Quarter-cloth and illustrated laminated boards, 24 cm, xviii, 256 pp. From the introduction: ".the present volume is not a revision of any previous publication. It includes all original Blake materials at the Huntington and is based on a new examination of them and all relevant documents 1 have been able to locate. My major goal has been to provide scholars and students with basic facts about the physical properties of the works recorded. The extent of additional information varies according to the importance of the works. For example, books with Blake's commercial copy engravings are listed with only brief notes on condition of the plates and standard catalogue references, whereas the illuminated books are described in more detail with information on binding, provenance, variations in design preliminary drawings and drafts. For some works, I have been able to correct or add to the information offered in the standard catalogue of Blake's paintings and drawings (Butlin 1981.) and the standard bibliography of his writings (Bentley 1977). Notes on iconography and interpretation are reserved for the drawings and paintings in Part I. The emphasis in these brief essays is on the direct relationships between Blake's designs and the texts illustrated, the major sources for motifs, and the differences among works at the Huntington and Blake's other illustrations of the same texts. Some of the drawings have already been the objects of extensive analysis, as noted in the Literature recorded for each series or image; but others such as the Genesis manuscript, have not previously received as much commentary as is offered here. I hope that these discussions . and the accompanying illustrations will help the general reader, as well as the scholar, toward a greater understanding and appreciation of Blake's art." Contents include: Introduction; Bibliography; Exhibitions; I Drawings and Paintings: A. Illustrations to Milton's Poetry (a. Comus, eight designs; b. Paradise Lost, twelve designs; c. "Satan, Sin, and Death," one design for Paradise Lost; d. "On the Morning of Christ's Nativity six designs); B. Visionary Heads; C. Illustrated Genesis Manuscript; D. Other Drawings and Paintings.II. Writings: A. The Illuminated Books; B. Typographic Publications; C. Annotations in Books; D. Letters. III. Prints: A. Separate Plates B. Commercial Book Illustrations and Prints in Series. IV. Works of Questionable Attribution. V. Portraits of Blake. VI. A Note on Related Materials. Near Fine.

Seller Inventory # ABE-15399

Bibliographic Details

• Title: The Works of William Blake in the Huntington Collections : A Complete Catalogue.
• Publisher: Huntington Library, San Marino, first edition, 1985
• Publication Date: 1985
• ISBN 10: 0873280849
• ISBN 13: 9780873280846
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition: 1st Edition
• Seller catalogs:
  • Art Reference

About this title

Synopsis

This complete catalogue of William Blake's work from the richly comprehensive collections of the Huntington Library and Art Gallery features a full introduction and explanatory text by a leading Blake scholar and covers the artist's entire oeuvre: his pencil sketches, watercolor drawings, tempera paintings, engravings, etchings, relief color printing, illustrated and illuminated books, and printed writings.

About the Author

Robert N. Essick is Professor of English at the University of California, Riverside. Among his many books are William Blake, Printmaker, selected by CHOICE as an Outstanding Academic Book of 1980-81, and William Blake at the Huntington, a Book-of-the-Month Club alternate selection. Essick specializes in British romantic literature and art, particularly William Blake. He is currently working on the Blake Electronic Archive.