FOLIO SOCIETY NIGHT THOUGHTS Limited Edition Edward Young William Blake

  

Folio Society Limited Edition - The Complaint: or NIGHT THOUGHTS on Life, Death, and Immortality by Edward Young. In 1795 William Blake received a commission from a London bookseller to provide illustrations for an engraved edition of Edward Young's The Complaint: or Night Thoughts on Life, Death, and Immortality. It was by far the most notable undertaking of Blake's artistic career. The prodigious number of watercolours Blake produced - 537 in all, one for approximately every 20 lines of verse - was an extraordinary achievement in itself.

Yet the beauty of the work is what truly astonishes. Blake's watercolours do not ornament the panels of text, they dominate and envelop them: the divine and the damned, arresting in their conception, captivating in their execution.

Page after page, one cannot help but be moved by the passion and sweep of Blake's imagination. Such an enormous endeavour had to be abandoned because of financial constraints. Only 43 of Blake's designs were ever engraved. These were printed in a single volume in 1797.

The remaining, unpublished paintings, nearly 500 in number, became a treasure of the British Museum. They included some of Blake's most dramatic and vibrant work, but very rarely seen. This Folio Society edition was the first to publish all 537 of Blake's watercolours together in colour.

They provide an unparalleled insight into Blake's artistic genius as well as forming one of the most glorious of all illustrated books. William Blake's illustrations for the poem are dazzling. This is one of the great marriages between words and pictures; certainly no poem in English has ever been illustrated with such splendour' - Philip Pullman, President of the Blake Society.

DESCRIPTION: Limited to 1000 copies. Quarter-bound in Nigerian goatskin leather with cloth sides printed and blocked with William Blake designs redrawn by David Eccles. Accompanied by a commentary volume by Robin Hamlyn. Presented in a solander box. CONDITION: Both books appear UNREAD and are in VERY GOOD condition with the exception of a tiny imperfection in the leather of vol 1 just under the letter'H' in the title (see photo 6) and a slight touch of rubbing to the bottom front panel of vol 2 (see photo 5). Internally the pages are clean and bright throughout. Commentary volume also appears UNREAD and in VERY GOOD condition. Solander box is STURDY and in VERY GOOD condition with very light shelf wear including light marks and very small dents (see photos). All items are sent at cost price whether purchasing a single or multiple items.