The esoteric and mythical works of William Blake went largely unrecognised during Blake’s own lifetime, but through the collaboration of poet and painter Edwin John Ellis, and notable poet William Butler Yeats, a fully collected edition of his works was brought forth in 1893. This edition of The Works of William Blake was one of five hundred sets in light green cloth, with golden gilt titling and pictorial illustrations on the cover, and is an in-depth commentary and explanation of Blake’s writings.
Ellis and Yeats sought to interpret Blake’s oeuvre, accompanying the printing of his poetry with a memoir, annotations, and a decoding of ‘The Symbolic System’ - Blake’s idiosyncratic mythology that enriched his works.
This edition was printed in 1893 by Bernard Quaritch in London in three volumes. It includes numerous lithographic (drawings on stone or metal that are transferred to the paper) illustrations, and facsimiles of ‘The Prophetic Books’, as Blake wrote and drew them. It is also the first ever publication of ‘Vala, or the Four Zoas’ which was an unfinished and previously unheard of work of Blake’s.
Volume one is entitled, ‘The System’ and begins with a memoir of Blake, before exploring his literary period, and then tackling his ‘Symbolic System’, which was laced through his series of lengthy and interrelated poems called the prophetic books.
The second volume, ‘The Meaning’, includes excerpts of a wide collection of Blake’s poems with explanations, interpretations and paraphrasing from Ellis and Yeats, and line by line references for some works.
The final volume, called ‘The Books’, includes Blake’s own writing from ‘Songs of Innocence’, ‘Songs of Experience’, and other poems and fragments. The latter end of this volume includes probably the most interesting part of this work: facsimiles and reproductions of Blake’s own drawings and writings, concluded by the exclusive printing of ‘Vala’. This work is truly a labour of love, particularly for Ellis, yet a huge accomplishment in the appreciation of Blake's own literary world.
At the heart of this work is the wonder of Blake’s own poetic mastery: the preface to the first volume states that, ‘The reader must not expect to find in this account of Blake’s myth, or this explanation of his symbolic writing, a substitute for Blake’s own works. […] Every line, whether written for the “understanding” or the “intellect,” is based on a line of Blake’s own.’ (p. vii-viii).
We consider ourselves very lucky that we have come across such a fabulous copy of this edition, but where did the originals end up?
'Of the 650 sets printed (150 of them large paper), Quaritch gave 40 to Ellis (30 on large paper), 13 to Linnell, who had made Vala available to Ellis and Yeats, 1 to the British Museum Print Room, at least 11 as review copies (though his agreement with Ellis called for only 6), and an unknown number to Yeats. Not counting the sets for Yeats, which may have been included in the 40 to Ellis, Quaritch gave away ten percent of the press run.' (Bently)
Our one out of five hundred copies in large 8vo is a fantastic first edition, in green cloth covering and gilt on the cover and spine. The spine on each volume has been bumped, with some slight rubbing to the gilt of the second volume. There is also some minor foxing on the leaves of each book. It is being sold for £1,500.
If you are interested in purchasing these books, or would like more information on other items we sell, then please get in contact with us by calling us on 01753 855534, emailing us at sales@mainlybooks.co.uk, or come visit us in store in Eton! Please refer to our Contact Us page for more information on how to reach us.
Referenced in his post:
G.E. Bently, Jr., ‘The Publication of Ellis and Yeats, The Works of William Blake (1893)’, Blake: An Illustrated Quarterly, 42 (2008), 109-110 (p. 110). <https://bq.blakearchive.org/42.3.bentley>
