William Blake, 1839

BLAKE, William (1757-1827). Songs of Innocence and of Experience. London: W. Pickering and W. Newbery, 1839.

Very rare first letterpress edition of one of the finest collections of lyric poetry in English, first issue, with “The Little Vagabond” present on p.74, in the original plum cloth. Preceded only by a small number of engraved and illustrated copies, this edition was likely published in a small print run. Copies are known to have been present in the libraries of important writers such as Ralph Waldo Emerson and Robert Browning. Edited by John James Garth Wilkinson based on a copy of the engraved publication lent to him by Charles Augustus Tulk, it is introduced by a lengthy essay on Blake’s life and writing in which comparisons are made to contemporaries such as Byron and Shelley. Keynes 134.

Octavo (189 x 115mm). (A few trivial thumb marks.) Original blindstamped plum cloth, lettered in gilt on upper board (spine a little faded, a few minor stains, spine ends expertly restored). Modern cloth box. Provenance: "Miss Fores, June 18th 1840" (inscription on front endpaper).