William Blake's Water-Colour Designs for the Poems of Thomas Gray.
London: The Trianon Press, For the William Blake Trust, 1972 Stock Code: 145352
The Garden copy
First edition thus, first impression, number 90 of 352 copies, from an edition limited to 518, all printed on Arches pure rag paper made specially to match that used by Blake.In this extravagant tour de force Blake used Gray's poems, the printed text mounted on a large sheet, as the jumping off point for characteristically epic and imaginative watercolours. The Trianon Press reproductions are recognized as the finest facsimiles - each leaf is hand-coloured through stencils, working from the originals in Paul Mellon's collection. The Times Literary Supplement stated at the time that nothing like these books had been printed before, and that it was unlikely that they could ever be printed again.
The set is from the Garden collection of Haven O'More, with his black morocco monogram book label to the front pastedown. One of the greatest book collectors of the latter part of the 20th century, O'More's collection focused both on the finest specimens of printing, and the great moments in the development of literature and thought.
Description
3 volumes, folio. Original brown quarter morocco, spines lettered in gilt, marbled sides. Housed in original leather entry marbled slipcases.
Condition
Very light rubbing at extremities; a near-fine set.
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