first edition
1794 · London
by Lavater, John Caspar. Blake, William.
Small 8vo. London: J. Johnson, 1794. Small 8vo, viii, 224 pp., with the frontispiece designed by Fuseli and engraved by Blake, here in the uncommon third state. Contemporary marbled calf, red morocco label, old ink inscriptions at front, recent reproduction of a Blake print pasted to the front free endpaper. A very good copy. § Third edition (first printed in 1788), third state of the plate. The frontispiece is after a drawing by Fuseli (see Essick, Blake and His Contemporaries…, 43 for the original drawing) and is a powerful image. The text notes “End of Vol. I” but no further volumes appeared as a fire destroyed Lavater’s manuscript at the printer. The Huntington Library has Blake’s own copy, extensively annotated throughout. Bentley, BB, 480. Essick and Easson 2, XXXII, 1c. Essick, William Blake’s Commercial Book Illustrations, XVIII. The ink inscription at the front is by John Kirkpatrick Escott dated Bristol 1798 and then to Mrs. James Bell of Camberwell. (Inventory #: 124562)