This work has a complex publication history. Songs of Innocence was composed in 1789 and Songs of Experience in 1794, after which the two were often combined, sometimes with an additional, unified title page. The order of poems within the combined publication varies considerably, as does the number of poems selected for it (and for later reproductions). Thus not all of the poems in the series are included in all versions. The coloration also varies from copy to copy. The 1955 version by the Trianon Press was made from copy Z. Union College holds two copies of this facsimile, which were donated by Hans Rozendaal and Walter Tower.
The Song of Los, composed in 1795, was color-printed rather than watercolored later. This technique was more efficient and subject to less variation, but it produced thicker, denser areas of color than when watercolor was added later. The Trianon Press facsimile was made from copy B. It was purchased for Union College by the Friends of the Library.
The Book of Thel, composed in 1789, was the first of Blake's illuminated books to be written in lines of fourteen syllables, a style he would use consistently in future works. This book exists in many copies; the Trianon Press facsimile is based on copy O. It was purchased by the library at Union College with annual funds.
The original work was created in 1790; this facsimile was made from copy D, produced in 1795. Union College holds two copies of this work, which were donated by Hans Rozendaal and Walter Tower.
This work is one of Blake's earliest experiments with illuminated printing. He began working on it in 1788 and returned to it again in 1795. The facsimile is made from a composite of two different copies and was purchased by the Friends of the Union College Library in 1971.
The original work was composed in 1793; this facsimile was made from copy M, dating from around 1807. Union College holds two copies of this work, which were donated by Hans Rozendaal and Walter Tower. Copy 2 is a special edition demonstrating the methodology used by the Trianon Press in creating its facsimiles. It includes a set of 25 hand-colored plates showing progressive stages in the stencil work used to color the plates; seven color collotype proofs; and one original guide sheet and stencil.
This work was composed in 1794; copies B and G, from which this facsimile was made, were produced in the same year. It was purchased by the Friends of the Union College Library in 1969.
The Trianon Press produced four different versions of Jerusalem. Blake only finished one colored copy of the work, which never sold. A few uncolored versions, or tinted only in black and gray, also exist. This facsimile is of the fully colored version, copy E. Published in 1951, it was not only the first of Trianon’s four versions of Jerusalem, but the first of its reproductions of Blake, which the Press would continue to make over a period of nearly forty years. Trianon produced two different colored versions of Jerusalem in 1951, one in five paper-bound parts and one in a version with all of the plates bound together in a single volume. Union College holds copies of both versions. The version in parts was purchased by the Friends of the Library in 1974; the bound version was the gift of Hans Rozendaal. Union also holds two copies of an introduction to and commentary on Jerusalem, written by Joseph Wicksteed, and published by the Trianon Press in 1953. These copies were donated to the library by Hans Rozendaal and Walter Tower.
Milton was composed by Blake between the years 1804 and 1811; this facsimile was made from copy D in 1967. Union College holds two copies of this work, one of which was purchased with general library funds and the other of which was donated by Hans Rozendaal.
The book of Ahania, composed in 1795, is related to The Book of Los. Blake made one copy of each, then set them aside. The two works represent bits and pieces of Blake’s thought while he was developing his mythology. They also represent his experimentation with printing techniques. For both works he etched the plates with a fine pen, rather than using the relief etching method, which involved the application of acid. Trianon’s facsimile is based on copy A. The Union College copy was purchased by the Friends of the Library.
The book of Los, composed in 1795, is related to The Book of Ahania. Blake made one copy of each, then set them aside. The two works represent bits and pieces of Blake’s thought while he was developing his mythology. They also represent his experimentation with printing techniques. For both works he etched the plates with a fine pen, rather than using the relief etching method, which involved the application of acid. Trianon’s facsimile is based on copy A. The Union College copy was purchased by the Friends of the Library.
Although The Book of Urizen was composed in 1794, the copy chosen for reproduction by the Trianon Press in 1958 (copy G) is a later watercolored print. Union College holds two copies of this work, which were donated by Hans Rozendaal and Walter Tower. Copy 2 includes the Trianon Press prospectus for their project.
This work by Blake was first produced in 1793 with the words “For Children” above the title. Around 1820, Blake revised it and replaced “For Children” with “For the Sexes.” Most of the images were repeated, with some revisions and added text in the later edition. For its facsimile in 1968, the Trianon Press chose to reproduce both versions. For Children was reproduced in volume 2, and For the Sexes was reproduced in volume 3. (Volume 1 contains introductory material by Geoffrey Keynes.) Samples from both volumes are included on this website. Union College holds two copies of this work from the Trianon Press. Copy 1, donated by Hans Rozendaal, is a special edition that includes various states of the facsimile work; a negative of the type used in producing it; and a copper plate that reproduces the style of the title page of Blake’s work but is not a replica of it, and which includes an inscription for the copy in hand (number 27). The library’s copy 2 is a regular edition from Trianon and was purchased with annual funds.
This work is one of Blake's earliest experiments with illuminated printing. It also presents early versions of some of his figures and ideas, such as the notion of scientific or rational thought as an enclosing, limiting force. Blake gathered this material into what is now considered two distinct series, A and B, begun in 1788 and amended in 1795. He also later (circa 1820) made minor changes to way this work was printed. The Trianon Press facsimile includes plates from both series held in various collections, including copy C (for series A) and copy L (for series B). Union College holds two copies of this work. The first, labeled 1971, was purchased by the Friends of the Library. The second, labeled 1971a, was donated by Hans Rozendaal and is a special edition demonstrating the methodology used by the Trianon Press in creating its facsimiles. It includes collotype states of all the plates with a hand-stencil plate inside the back cover.
The original work was composed in 1793; this facsimile was made from copy C, dating from the same year. The Union College facsimile from 1959 was donated by Walter Tower.
Blake’s works entered the library’s collections in 1795 at the founding of Union College. Among the first set of books acquired for the College that year was Lavater’s Essays on Physiognomy, which included four engravings by Blake. The five volume set in Special Collections, part of the First Purchase collection, is a replacement for the original copy. Not available at the William Blake Archive. Consult the book in Schaffer Library for more information.
Union College holds two copies of this compilation from the Trianon Press of works from various stages of Blake’s life. One was purchased by the library on its Rice fund; the other was donated by Hans Rozendaal.
Not available in this form at the William Blake Archive. Consult the book in Schaffer Library for more information.
Though Laocoon is not an illuminated book, the Trianon Press included its reproduction of this late engraving by Blake in a volume with other miscellaneous pieces in a belief that it was appropriate for them “to be placed in their proper relation to Blake's other works." The Laocoon is a single plate, with notes that are believed to have been added late in Blake’s life, but the Trianon edition includes related material of interest as well.
Songs of Innocence, composed in 1789, has a complex publication history, especially after Blake began combining it with Songs of Experience five years later. The order of poems within it, and the number selected for publication or reproduction, varies considerably. Thus not all of the poems in the series are included in all versions. The ink used for printing and the watercolors (or lack thereof) also vary from copy to copy. The 1926 version by E. Benn was made from a copy in the British Museum. Its coloring is most similar to copy A of The Songs of Innocence and of Experience held by that institution.
Songs of Innocence, composed in 1789, has a complex publication history, especially after Blake began combining it with Songs of Experience five years later. The order of poems within it, and the number selected for publication or reproduction, varies considerably. Thus not all of the poems in the series are included in all versions. The ink used for printing and the watercolors (or lack thereof) also vary from copy to copy. The 1927 facsimile, made by Joseph Patrick Trumble, Sophia Elizabeth Muir, and William Muir, was a further printing of reproductions that the Muir team had made in the late 19th century from a combination of copies in the British Museum. Its coloring is most similar to copy A of The Songs of Innocence and of Experience held by that institution. The Muirs also did a companion reproduction of Songs of Experience in 1927. That volume is also held by the Union College library.
Songs of Innocence, composed in 1789, has a complex publication history, especially after Blake began combining it with Songs of Experience five years later. The order of poems within it, and the number selected for publication or reproduction, varies considerably. Thus not all of the poems in the series are included in all versions. The ink used for printing and the watercolors (or lack thereof) also vary from copy to copy. The 1954 version by the Trianon Press was made from copy B. Union College holds two copies of this facsimile, each with a different binding. They were donated by Hans Rozendaal and Walter Tower.
This work has a complex publication history. Songs of Innocence was composed in 1789 and Songs of Experience in 1794, after which the two were often combined, sometimes with an additional, unified title page. The order of poems within the combined publication varies considerably, as does the number of poems selected for it (and for later reproductions). Thus not all of the poems in the series are included in all versions. The coloration also varies from copy to copy.
This particular facsimile of Songs of Innocence and of Experience, produced by the Manchester Etching Workshop in an edition of 40 copies, was an attempt to reproduce Blake’s techniques as closely as possible. The Workshop used a more modern chemical method, electrotyping, to create its printing plates, but it employed techniques similar to Blake’s in mixing watercolors, and its staff colored each plate in a free-hand style in direct imitation of Blake’s copy B. Additional uncolored or even uninked pages were included in the Workshop edition to demonstrate the techniques they used. The pages are mounted in a leather-bound and stamped album, housed in a cloth-covered box. The Union College copy was purchased by the Friends of the Library.
This work has a complex publication history. Songs of Innocence was composed in 1789 and Songs of Experience in 1794, after which the two were often combined, sometimes with an additional, unified title page. The order of poems within the combined publication varies considerably, as does the number of poems selected for it (and for later reproductions). Thus not all of the poems in the series are included in all versions. The coloration also varies from copy to copy.
This particular facsimile of Songs of Innocence and of Experience was produced by Princeton University Press in a series of reproductions of Blake’s illuminated works. It includes transcriptions of the text. It used as its model copy X at King’s College, Cambridge, which, as of early 2018, had not yet been digitized at the William Blake Archive. Copy X is particularly interesting because it was made late in Blake’s career and was still in his possession when he died. Consult the book in Schaffer Library for a detailed view of the material it contains.
This work has a complex publication history. Songs of Innocence was composed in 1789 and Songs of Experience in 1794, after which the two were often combined, sometimes with an additional, unified title page. The order of poems within the combined publication varies considerably, as does the number of poems selected for it (and for later reproductions). Thus not all of the poems in the series are included in all versions. The coloration also varies from copy to copy.
This particular facsimile of selected poems from Songs of Innocence and of Experience was printed in an edition of 16 copies by Michael Phillips, using a replica of Blake's rolling-press at Oxford University and paper hand-made by W.S. Hodgkinson and Co. around 1927 (the centennial of Blake’s death). The Phillips edition is not colored, but instead is focused on reproducing Blake’s inking and printmaking techniques. Included with the Union College copy are test proofs that Phillips made using various colored inks and strategies; a reproduction of a copper plate used for The Lamb; and other related items. Material like that included in this edition is not available at the William Blake Archive. Consult the book in Schaffer Library for more information. The Union College copy was purchased by the Friends of the Library.
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