The William Blake Gallery presents:
William Blake in Color
For the first time a massive volume of 2500+ rare plates from the Trianon Press Illuminated Book series enters the collector market
Additional proofs and personal archives from legendary Trianon producer, Arnold Fawcus are also made publicly available
William Blake, Jerusalem, Trianon Press facsimile, 1951
Exhibition Dates: April 22 – July 28, 2017
Opening Reception: Friday, April 21, 4 – 7 pm
Exhibition Hours: Tuesday – Saturday, 11 am – 5 pm
William Blake Gallery, 49 Geary, San Francisco, CA | www.williamblakegallery.com
The William Blake Gallery presents William Blake In Color, a selection of plates from the Illuminated Books of William Blake (1951 – 1987) by the Trianon Press for the William Blake Trust. The exhibition reinvigorates the current William Blake market, entering over 2500 plates into the forum, as well as never-before-seen personal archives by Arnold Fawcus, the renowned founder of Trianon Press. Each plate is priced between $50 and $500, and in doing so, The William Blake Gallery seeks to accommodate the widespread and multi-generational interest in Blake—countering the notion that Blake’s work is predominantly reserved for museums, institutions or established collectors. Approximately 50 plates will be on view with access to an additional 2000 in the gallery’s extensive library.
In 1949 the William Blake Trust commissioned the Trianon Press to create facsimiles of the Illuminated Books of William Blake as a means to create deeper public awareness of the artist. Under the direction of Arnold Fawcus, the founder of Trianon Press, the craftsmanship of the books drew critical acclaim. Fawcus assembled a crew of elderly skilled craftsmen in Paris to perform laborious antiquated printing processes involving collotype and pochoir—a stencil-based technique used to hand-color prints, characterized by crisp lines and brilliant colors; the resulting images have a freshly printed or wet appearance. The near indistinguishable facsimiles mirror Blake’s original printing processes between 1789 and 1826. By the late 1980’s the Trianon Press facsimiles had themselves become rare books.
In 2016 San Francisco-based antiquarian bookseller John Windle seized the rare opportunity of acquiring every single Blake Trust Trianon Press book as well as a collection of personal notes and proofs by Fawcus created during the monumental printing initiative. As the holder of the largest collection of available Blake work in North America, Windle creates a new opportunity in the Blake market by introducing the massive influx of prints to the public. The William Blake Gallery celebrates this release with William Blake in Color, and continues the Blake Trust’s mission of broadening awareness among new generations of Blake enthusiasts.
John Windle, founder of The William Blake Gallery says:
“Recently I was fortunate enough to acquire every Blake Trust Trianon Press book. Now, with the acquisition of some 2500 loose plates deriving from virtually all of Blake’s major works, we can offer a greater accessibility to the new enthusiasts of Blake’s iconography. We hope that bringing this opportunity to the public at large will help spread the passion we have for William Blake, the most iconic poet, printer, and prophet in the history of British art.”
Highlighted works include:
- Frontispiece and Title Page from Songs of Innocence and of Experience
- Plates selected from Jerusalem
- Plates selected from The Book of Urizen
- Colored Plates selected from The Book of Job
- Plates selected from Blake’s Water-Colour
- Designs for the Poems of Thomas Gray
About the William Blake Gallery
The William Blake Gallery, a new exhibition space in San Francisco dedicated to works created by the massively influential 19th century poet, artist, and engraver. The gallery is the largest of its kind devoted solely to the artist, as well as the largest collection in the world of pieces by Blake available for purchase.
After 50 years in the book trade and 43 years operating John Windle Antiquarian Bookseller, longtime rare book dealer, John Windle, opened William Blake Gallery in October, 2016, within San Francisco’s historic 49 Geary building. The first physical space exclusively dedicated to Blake’s work in over two hundred years, The William Blake Gallery houses hundreds of original Blake pieces alongside thousands of reproductions of the artist’s own writings and artwork.
For more information about the gallery, visit: www.williamblakegallery.com
Amber is the marketing coordinator at Biblio. A lifelong love of the written word brought her to Biblio and she happily spends her days talking about books and delving into the wide world of antiquarian books.