Title: William Blake : the creation of the songs : from manuscript to illuminated printing /
Authors: Phillips, Michael, 1940-; Blake, William, 1757-1827
Publisher: Princeton University Press,
Year: 2000
Subjects: Blake, William,; Blake, William,; Blake, William, Illustrations.; Blake, William, Illustrations.; Blake, William, Criticism, Textual.; Blake, William, Manuscripts.; Illumination of books and manuscripts, English.
Abstract: "The only manuscripts to survive that led to the production of one of William Blake's published illuminated books are those of the Songs of Innocence and of Experience, his most accessible and best-loved work. Here, one of tbe world's foremost authorities on Blake's manuscripts and illuminated printing details the evolution of this masterwork and its entire production process." "In the manuscript known as An Island in the Moon are found the beginnings of Songs of Innocence and in the Manuscript Notebook, a treasure of the British Library, over fifty poems in draft leading to Songs of Experience. All of the pages in manuscript of Songs of Innocence and Songs of Experience are reproduced in color facsimile, including many of the drawings used in illustration, granting the reader a singular view of the artist's mind at work. Michael Phillips details the stages of Blake's composition and his remarkable technique of relief etching text and design on a single copperplate. For the first time, he demonstrates Blake's development of selective color printing of the design in opaque pigments over the original monochrome impression. Used in producing the first copies of Songs of Experience, this second step accounts for their dramatic contrast with the first issues of Songs of Innocence, which were hand-colored in transparent watercolors."--Jacket.