1784–1785 · London
by [Blake, William.]
2 vols. London: Harrison and Co., 1784–1785. 2 vols. 8vo, (2), 485, (1); 193, (1) pp. With a folding frontispiece (second version) and numerous folding engraved plates including five by Blake, one after Stothard and four after Samuel Collings. Contemporary calf, somewhat worn and vol. I lacking backstrip label. Withal a good set, rare. § Only edition. “These are the only caricature prints engraved by Blake. The graphic style is appropriately broad and rugged, particularly in the barnyard scene... ‘Fun I love but too much fun is of all things most loathsom’ (Blake to Trusler 1799). Blake may have felt that the great rage for caricature prints in the 1790s was a hindrance to the sale of his own original graphic works.” Bentley, BB, 513. Essick, CBI, XVI. (Inventory #: 101708)