Blake, William, 1757-1827 Gaisford, Thomas, 1779-1855 former owner Newton, A. Edward (Alfred Edward), 1864-1940 former owner Bedford, Francis, 1799-1883 binder Lessing J. Rosenwald Collection (Library of Congress) text enk monographic Lambeth Printed by Will. Blake 1794 eng

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18 plates : col. ill. ; 38 cm. The English poet, illustrator, and engraver William Blake (1757-1827) first published Europe, A Prophecy in 1794, one year after the appearance of his America, A Prophecy. In both books, Blake attempted to discern the pattern behind human history, and in particular in the momentous events occurring on both sides of Atlantic between the end of the American Revolution in 1783 and the outbreak of war between France and Great Britain in 1793. At first an enthusiast for the French Revolution, Blake saw a world of deprivation and misery emerging in Europe, as depicted in "Famine" (plate 9) and "Plague" (plate 10). The frontispiece (plate 1) includes one of Blake's best-known works of art, "The Ancient of Days," which depicts God the Father as a powerful figure, striking the Earth with a pair of compasses. Most of Blake's books were not published in the traditional sense but were printed for special commissions by private collectors or London booksellers. As a consequence, they are extremely rare. This copy, from the Lessing J. Rosenwald Collection at the Library of Congress, is one of only nine surviving copies of the work. World Digital Library. LC copy printed in green, blue or brown on 10 leaves, from engraved plates containing both text and illustrations. Hand-colored. Leaves numbered in manuscript: 1-17. Imperfect: Plate iii (as described in Keynes) lacking. DLC Also available in digital form on the Library of Congress Web site. LC copy: Provenance: Bookplates of Thos. Gaisford and A. Edward Newton. DLC England London PR4144 .E8 1794 http://hdl.loc.gov/loc.rbc/Rosenwald.1806 1806 41E copy E 48031341 18249672 hdl:loc.rbc/Rosenwald.1806 aacr DLC 880721 20250608020250.0 7886170 Converted from MARCXML to MODS version 3.8 using MARC21slim2MODS3-8_XSLT1-0.xsl (Revision 1.172 20230208) eng