Songs of innocence
By: the author & printer W Blake
Contributors: Blake, William, 1757-1827, illustrator, etcher, printer; Blake, Catherine Boucher, printer; Wise, Thomas James, 1859-1937, former owner; Lowell, Amy, 1874-1925, former owner
Publisher: William Blake]
Published: 1789
Place of publication: [London
Language: eng
Notes: Unique copy.

Wholly engraved.

Plates produced through Blake's own process of relief etching in 1789. Date of printing confrimed by the The William Blake archive.

Owned by Thomas J. Wise and Amy Lowell. For complete provenance, see Bentley.

27 plates on 15 leaves. First three leaves printed and paginated on rectos only; all others printed and paginated on both sides.

Watermark: E & P [Edmead & Pine], on 2 leaves.

According to The William Blake archive, this is one of 12 copies printed in yellow ochre or raw sienna ink. In this copy, the first three plates appear to be printed in raw sienna, and the rest in yellow ochre ink.

Penned pagination, I-XXVII, in black ink, perhaps by the binder according to Bentley (see Bentley, p. 373, note 6).

Plates hand-colored.

"Probably pl. (6-7) (19, 24) went to Songs [of innocence and of experience] [copy] T before 1836 when [this copy] was bound [by C. Lewis]."-- Bentley. The plates in question (lacking in this copy) are The ecchoing green (6-7), Holy Thursday [for Songs of innocence] (19), and Nurses song [for Songs of innocence] (24). See Bentley, Identification of plates, p. 375.

Cf. William Blake archive (online, viewed July 11, 2014): Songs of innocence (1789): electronic edition.

Keynes, G. Bib. of William Blake, 34, copy G

Keynes & Wolf. William Blake's illuminated books, Songs of innocence, copy F [g]

Bentley, G.E. Blake books, 139 (p. 364-432), Songs of innocence, copy F
Table of contents: title: I. Frontispiece for Songs of innocence; title: II. t.p. for Songs of innocence; title: III. Introduction to Songs of innocence; title: IV. The shephard; title: V. Infant joy; title: VI. The lamb; title: VII. The blossom; title: VIII. Laughing song; title: IX. & X. The little black boy; title: XI. The voice of the ancient bard; title: XII. The little boy lost; title: XIII. The little boy found; title: XIV. The divine image; title: XV. The chimney sweeper [for Songs of innocence]; title: XVI & XVII. A cradle song; title: XVIII & XIX. Night; title: XX. Another's sorrow; title: XXI & XXII. Spring; title: XXIII. The school boy; title: XXIV. A dream; title: XXV & XXVI. The little girl lost; title: XXVI & XXVII. The little girl found.