BLAKE, WILLIAM. Illustrations to Dante's Divine Comedy (Bentley 448; Bindman 647-53), the complete set of 7 line engravings [London 1838?, c. 1892?], on india paper mounted on wove paper with a trace of a watermark (a letter?) on the first mounting sheet (Bindman 647), the full sheets 400 x 540mm. (15 3/4 x 21 1/4in.), two small fox-marks on second engraving (Bindman 648). With a small grey-blue printed slip of contents, 130 x 156mm. (5 1/6 x 6 1/8in.). Loose in a green levant morocco folding case. Blake's Illustrations to Dante remained unfinished at the time of his death in 1827. The work had been commissioned by John Linnell who thus received Blake's drawings and the seven plates in that year. With the exception of a few proofs, an edition of 120 (according to Keynes) was printed for Linnell by Dixon and Ross in 1838. Bentley quotes the printers' daybook indicating that the total was 384/7, or about 55 sets. Linnell's son reprinted the plates in an edition of 50 in 1892. Both editions are comparable in quality and difficult to distinguish. Provenance (according to folding case) : Philip Hofer, bookplate and pencilled notes: "A set of proofs bought direct from the Linnell Heirs" and "Bot. of Wm. H. Robinson (1940) #36-0s-0d = $150.
BLAKE, WILLIAM. Illustrations to Dante's Divine Comedy (Bentley 448; Bindman 647-53), the complete set of 7 line engravings [London 1838?, c. 1892?], on india paper mounted on wove paper with a trace of a watermark (a letter?) on the first mounting sheet (Bindman 647), the full sheets 400 x 540mm. (15 3/4 x 21 1/4in.), two small fox-marks on second engraving (Bindman 648). With a small grey-blue printed slip of contents, 130 x 156mm. (5 1/6 x 6 1/8in.). Loose in a green levant morocco folding case. Blake's Illustrations to Dante remained unfinished at the time of his death in 1827. The work had been commissioned by John Linnell who thus received Blake's drawings and the seven plates in that year. With the exception of a few proofs, an edition of 120 (according to Keynes) was printed for Linnell by Dixon and Ross in 1838. Bentley quotes the printers' daybook indicating that the total was 384/7, or about 55 sets. Linnell's son reprinted the plates in an edition of 50 in 1892. Both editions are comparable in quality and difficult to distinguish. Provenance (according to folding case) : Philip Hofer, bookplate and pencilled notes: "A set of proofs bought direct from the Linnell Heirs" and "Bot. of Wm. H. Robinson (1940) #36-0s-0d = $150.
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.jpg "Source: Christie's")
.jpg "Source: Christie's")
