LAVISH TRIANON PRESS LIMITED EDITION FACSIMILE OF ALTERNATIVE COLORED VERSIONS OF THE FIRST 25 PLATES OF BLAKE'S JERUSALEM

BLAKE, William. Jerusalem: The Emanation of the Great Albion [facsimile]. (London: Trianon Press for the William Blake Trust, 1974.). Large quarto, original half tan morocco, marbled boards, original marbled slipcase. $1500.

Fine Trianon Press limited edition facsimile, number 199 of only 500 copies (from a total edition of only 558), of alternative colored versions of the first 25 plates of Blake's Jerusalem. A fine copy, with publisher's prospectus (two copies) laid in.

Blake's epic poem Jerusalem, labeled by Robert Southey as "a perfectly mad poem," calls the people of Albion [England] back to the true message of Christ; with its 100 engraved plates, it is the most extensive of Blake's illuminated books. Although Blake's engraved title page is dated 1804, the only extant copies of the work are on paper watermarked 1818-24. Only five complete copies of Jerusalem exist, and only one, the Stirling copy now at the Yale Center for British Art, is in color. "There was another colored version of the first 25 plates, owned by Lord Cunliffe. These, printed in a light red-brown ink, were painted in delicate water-color washes, less brilliant than in the Stirling copy, but are quite as beautiful, and a few have variations of significance. There are six pages with Whatman's watermark dated 1818, whereas the only date appearing in the watermark on the pages of the Stirling copy is 1820, indicating that the Cunliffe set is almost certainly an earlier version" (Commentary). Also included are facsimiles of proofs of four prints from Jerusalem from the collection of Kerrison Preston. The Commentary includes a history of the Cunliffe copy, a discussion of the variations therein, and notes on the Preston proofs. From a total edition of 558. A facsimile of the complete Stirling copy was issued in 1950. With two copies of the publisher's prospectus laid in. Bookplate.

Fine condition.