The Grave. A Poem by Blake, William. Blair, Robert - 1808

New York:: James Miller, Publisher,, no date.. publisher's rust cloth lettered and stamped in gold, black and blind. . Slight dust-soiling and very slight use to cloth. . Folio,. Frontispiece; added engraved title page; and illustrations from Designed by William Blake. .

London: R. Ackermann, 1813. Original half brown morocco over pebbled boards, five raised bands, gilt title and decorated compartments, marbled endpapers, (14" x 11 1/2"). Dedication to the Queen by Blake, List of Subscribers (from 1808 issue), Advertisement signed Cromak, Remarks signed Fuseli, Biographical sketch of Robert Blair, Biographical sketch of Lewis Schiavonetti, Biographical sketch of Robert Hartley Cromek, Text of poem (37 pages), Of the Designs; Engraved Blake portrait, engraved titlepage of 1808, plus 11 full-page plates engraved by Schiavonetti after William Blake at rear. Some general exterior wear, bumped corners, and rubbing; typical light foxing, heaviest on Blake portrait and engraved title page, else internally clean. Provenance: Armorial bookplate of George Baird Stichill. Size: Folio. Leather. Very Good. Illus. by William Blake.

London: T. Bensley for R. H. Cromek, 1808. First Edition. Hardcover. Very good. William Blake. 1st edition, quarto, (xiv), 36, [4]. of Blake's illustrations for Blair's 1743 poem. Portrait frontispiece after Phillips, etched title page, 11 plates by Luigi Schiavonetti engraved after Blake's designs. One of about 590 copies published by subscription. Some foxing, particularly concentrated at the portrait and etched title page, else very good in 20th century ¾ calf and marbled boards. In October 1805, Blake was commissioned by the publisher Cromek to prepare 40 drawings for the poem. Disagreements between Blake and Comek about the artistic direction led to hiring Schiavonetti for the engraving. Bentley, Blake Books, 435B. Bindman, Complete Graphic Works of Blake, 465-476. Keynes 81. Ray 6.

4to. London: Bensley for Cromek, 1808. 4to, xiv, 36, (4) pp. With a portrait frontispiece after Phillips, etched title page, and 11 plates engraved by Luigi Schiavonetti after Blake’s designs. Original drab gray boards, printed paper label on upper cover, preserved in a red cloth box (worn). The finest copy we have ever seen. § First quarto edition, of exceptional rarity in boards as issued. A completely untrimmed copy, thus with the title-page uncropped. Bentley, BB, 435B. Bindman, Complete Graphic Works of Blake, 465-476. “In October 1805, Blake was commissioned by the engraver and would-be publisher Robert H. Cromek to prepare forty drawings illustrating Robert Blair’s The Grave, a popular “Graveyard” school poem first published in 1743. Cromek planned to select twenty of these designs for a deluxe edition of the poem. In Cromek’s first prospectus of November 1805, Blake is named as both the designer and engraver of fifteen designs. Blake etched one image, Death’s Door, in… Read More