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.
This study by Geoffrey Keynes, published by the Trianon Press, was intended as a showcase, catalog, and chronology of Blake’s work as well as of the Trianon Press reproductions. It provides commentary and sample plates from Songs of Innocence and of Experience; Visions of the Daughters of Albion; The Marriage of Heaven and Hell; Europe, a Prophecy; America, a Prophecy; The Book of Urizen; Milton; and Jerusalem. Commentary by Keynes, a Blake scholar, was also featured in many of Trianon’s reproductions of individual works by Blake. Union College has a limited edition of this work in the library’s Special Collections, donated by Hans Rozendaal. A commercial edition, published in cooperation with The Orion Press, is also in the library’s collections. Not available in this form at the William Blake Archive; consult the book in the library for more information.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
This work by the Trianon Press is a facsimile of a unique copy made by Blake between 1797 and 1798. Its reproduction in three volumes was purchased for Union College by the Friends of the Library.
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.
The title page for The Triumphs of Temper names the artist behind the “new original designs” for the illustrations, Maria Flaxman, as prominently as the poem’s author, William Hayley. Blake’s engravings for these designs caused friction within his circle of friends, but they remain one of the chief interests of this edition. The copy in the Union College library was donated by Hans Rozendaal.
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