William Blake | Illustrations of the Book of Job, 1825

William Blake.

Illustrations of the Book of Job. Invented and engraved by William Blake. Published as the Act Directs... by William Blake, 8 March 1825 [but 1826]

Folio (280 x 220mm), one of 100 copies on Whatman "drawing paper" with the word "proof" removed from the plates, engraved pictorial title and 21 numbered plates designed and engraved by Blake, two watermarks (plates 3, 4, 5, 7, 9, 10, and 19 on paper watermarked "J. WHATMAN | TURKEY MILL 1825"; plates 13 and 16 on paper watermarked "J. WHATMAN | 1825"), plate no. 1 (Job and his family praising God) misdated "1828", contemporary blind-tooled calf, spine lettered "Illustrations of the Book of Job", binding worn, hinges weakened

BLAKE'S RENOWNED ENGRAVINGS FOR THE BOOK OF JOB; A LINNELL FAMILY COPY. These illustrations of the Biblical story of Job was the last series of engravings completed by Blake before his death, and are generally considered to be Blake's masterpiece as an intaglio printer.

Blake had completed the designs for what would become his Illustrations for the Book of Job around 1805-1806 for Thomas Butts, a clerk to the commissary general of musters who was at that time Blake's major patron. Some years later the artist John Linnell (1792-1882), Blake's friend and latter-day patron, became interested in the series. The watercolours were borrowed back from Butts in 1821 and were traced by Linnell and coloured by Blake. Then in 1823 Linnell, hoping to provide his ageing friend with a much-needed income, offered to finance the engraving and printing of the drawings. Producing the engravings was an ardurous process; Blake had Linnell's set of drawings to work from but added border designs and a title page to the series. Although the title-page is dated 1825, publication was delayed until 1826 and the date amended on a label pasted to the boards in which the plates were issued.

According to Linnell's Job accounts, there were 150 "Proof" copies printed on india paper, 65 French paper "Proofs," and 100 plain copies on "drawing paper" printed after the word "Proof" had been burnished out of the lower right corner of each plate. 

Linnell sold copies of the book sporadically. He also retained the original plates and issued a posthumous edition of the Illustrations in 1874. A number of copies of the original edition remained in his possession at the time of his death in 1884. No less than 68 copies of the "proof" issue on india paper were sold by the family at auction in 1918, but this copy appears to have remained in the family for four generations.

PROVENANCE:

L.G. Bennett (neé Linnell), great-granddaughter of John Linnell (1792-1882), ownership inscription on inside upper cover; Bonhams, 12 March 2002, lot 31

LITERATURE:

Binyon 105-126; Bindman 625-646; Bentley 421A; https://blakearchive.org/work/bb421