Grosvenor Prints

Basso Relievo Basso-relievo round a Capital in the Cathedral of Carrara; Basso-relievo of Zethus Antiope & Amphion; Altars
Blake sc.
[Published by Longman, Hurst, Rees, Orme & Brown, London, Novemr. 11th 1818]
Stipple and line engraving, sheet 265 x 215mm (10½ x 8½"). Trimmed, losing publication line.
Plate from Abraham Rees' 'The Cyclopaedia; or, Universal Dictionary of Arts, Sciences, and Literature', engraved by the visionary artist and poet William Blake (1757-1827) to illustrate a text by sculptor John Flaxman. After a period of coolness, Blake and Flaxman were on good terms again at this time, and the sculptor intervened to secure Blake several engraving commissions (including this one) in the 1810s. Without these commissions, Blake might well have fallen into dire poverty at this time.
Russell 105.ii
[Ref: 40867] £110.00 (£132.00 incl.VAT)

Mrs Cowper Mother of the Poet
D. Heins Pinx / W Blake sculp
Publish'd Novemb.r 5. 1802 by J. Johnson St Pauls Church Yard
Engraving, sheet 280 x 220mm (11 x 8½"). Slight foxing off image.
Portrait of Ann Cowper (d.1737), mother of poet William Cowper (1731-1800) and engraved by William Blake after a painting by Norwich portrait painter Heins. Published as an illustration in William Hayley's Life of Cowper (1802). Hayley was a patron of Blake and employed him to provide a series of engravings for this project.
O'D 1
[Ref: 31335] £190.00 (£228.00 incl.VAT)

Mrs Cowper Mother of the Poet.
D. Heins Pinx. W Blake sculp.
Publish'd Novemb.r 5. 1802 by J. Johnson St Pauls Church Yard.
Engraving, sheet 205 x 185mm (10 x 7¼"). Some creasing.
Portrait of Ann Cowper (d.1737), mother of poet William Cowper (1731-1800), engraved by William Blake after a painting by Norwich portrait painter Heins. Published as an illustration in William Hayley's Life of Cowper (1802). Hayley was a patron of Blake and employed him to provide a series of engravings for this project.
O'D 1.
[Ref: 53535] £220.00 (£264.00 incl.VAT)

William Cowper. Carmine Nobilem. Hor.
From a Portrait in Crayons Drawn from the Life by Romney in 1792. Engravd by W Blake 1802.
Publish'd Novemb.r 5. 1802 by J. Johnson St Pauls Church Yard
Engraving, sheet 280 x 220mm (11 x 8½"). Very slight foxing.
Portrait of poet William Cowper (1731-1800), engraved by William Blake from a famous sketch by Romney (London, National Portrait Gallery) and published as the frontispiece to volume one of William Hayley's Life of Cowper (1802). Hayley was a patron of Blake and employed him to provide a series of engravings for this project. Unfortunately Cowper's cousin Lady Harriet Hesketh criticized Blake's engraving of her beloved relation, contributing to the breakdown in the relationship between Hayley and Blake.
O'D 7.
[Ref: 31333] £220.00 (£264.00 incl.VAT)

William Cowper - Author of "The Task"
T. Lawrence R.A. ad vivum del: 1793 / W. Blake sculp. 1802
Publish'd Nov.r 5 1802 by J Johnson St. Pauls Church Yard
Stipple engraving, sheet 285 x 220mm (11¼ x 8½").
Portrait of poet William Cowper (1731-1800), engraved by William Blake from a drawing by Thomas Lawrence (Olney, Cowper Museum) and published as the frontispiece to volume two of William Hayley's Life of Cowper (1802). Hayley was a patron of Blake and employed him to provide a series of engravings for this project. Cowper's poem 'The Task' (1784) was an immediate success, condemning slavery and advocating the humane treatment of animals in a way slightly ahead of public opinion.
O'D 4
[Ref: 31329] £140.00 (£168.00 incl.VAT)

A View of St Edmund's Chapel, in the Church of East Dereham, Containing the Grave of William Cowper Esq
Francis Stone del. / W. Blake sculp
Publish'd by J. Johnson St Pauls 25 March 1804
Engraving, sheet 280 x 220mm (11 x 8½"). Paper watermarked 1803;
The tomb of the poet William Cowper (1731-1800) in East Dereham, Norfolk, with memorial inscription by William Hayley. This print was the frontispiece to the third volume of Hayley's Life of Cowper, engraved by William Blake. Hayley was a patron of Blake and employed him to provide a series of engravings for this project.
[Ref: 31331] £90.00 (£108.00 incl.VAT)

A Sketch of the Monument Erected in the Church of East Dereham in Norfolk in Memory of William Cowper Es.re
Etch'd by W Blake from the original Model by John Flaxman Esq Sculptor to his Majesty
Publish'd by J. Johnson St Pauls 25 March 1804
Engraving, sheet 280 x 220mm (11 x 8½"). Paper watermarked John Hayes 1803.
Memorial inscription on the tomb of the poet William Cowper (1731-1800) in East Dereham, Norfolk, writen by William Hayley. This print was published as an illustration to the third volume of Hayley's Life of Cowper, engraved by William Blake. Hayley was a patron of Blake and employed him to provide a series of engravings for this project.
[Ref: 31332] £90.00 (£108.00 incl.VAT)

[Sir Launcelot enjoying the Humours of a General Election] Launcelot Greaves
[Stothard del Blake sculp]
[Published as the Act directs by Harrison & Co. Sep. 21, 1782]
Engraving, sheet 135 x 75mm (5¼ x 3"). Trimmed to image, losing text.
Illustration to Tobias Smollett's novel 'The Adventures of Launcelot Greaves' (first published 1760-62), a picaresque novel reminiscent of 'Don Quixote' (which Smollett had translated), published for the 'Novelist's Magazine'. This scene is strongly reminiscent of William Hogarth's 'Chairing the Member', from his set of paintings (and prints), 'Humours of an Election' (paintings c.1754-5, now in the John Soane Museum). Engraving by William Blake (1757-1827), visionary artist and poet who also worked as a journeyman engraver. This early work was one of many Blake engraved from designs by his friend Thomas Stothard, Britain's most prolific book illustrator. While establishing himself as a copy engraver in the early 1780s, Blake was also studying at the Royal Academy and developing the highly personal approach he used in his original watercolours.
Russell 49D; for Hogarth's election series see ref. 37493
[Ref: 40830] £75.00 (£90.00 incl.VAT)

[Illustration to Ariosto's 'Orlando Furioso']
Stothard del Blake sculp
[London, 1783]
Engraving, sheet 160 x 110mm (6½ x 4"). Trimmed. 'Vol 3 Page 164' effaced from top corners.
Illustration to 'Orlando Furioso: Translated from the Italian of Ludovico Ariosto; with Notes: by John Hoole' (1783). The translator Hoole (1727-1803) benefited from Samuel Johnson's interest in his literary career (Johnson was involved in some way in almost all of Hoole's publications). In the poem, first published in 1516, the eponymous Orlando rampages through Europe and Africa destroying everything in his path after his love, Angelica, elopes to China with a Saracen kinght. Early engraving by the visionary poet and artist William Blake (1757-1827), one of many he engraved from designs by his friend Thomas Stothard, Britain's most prolific book illustrator. While establishing himself as a copy engraver in the early 1780s, Blake was also studying at the Royal Academy and developing the highly personal approach he used in his original watercolours.
Russell 58
[Ref: 40837] £95.00 (£114.00 incl.VAT)

[Illustration to Ariosto's 'Orlando Furioso']
Stothard del Blake sculp
[London, 1783]
Engraving, sheet 180 x 135mm (7 x 5¼"). Trimmed.
Illustration to 'Orlando Furioso: Translated from the Italian of Ludovico Ariosto; with Notes: by John Hoole' (1783). The translator Hoole (1727-1803) benefited from Samuel Johnson's interest in his literary career (Johnson was involved in some way in almost all of Hoole's publications). In the poem, first published in 1516, the eponymous Orlando rampages through Europe and Africa destroying everything in his path after his love, Angelica, elopes to China with a Saracen kinght. Early engraving by the visionary poet and artist William Blake (1757-1827), one of many he engraved from designs by his friend Thomas Stothard, Britain's most prolific book illustrator. While establishing himself as a copy engraver in the early 1780s, Blake was also studying at the Royal Academy and developing the highly personal approach he used in his original watercolours.
Russell 58
[Ref: 40838] £130.00 (£156.00 incl.VAT)

Harriet Quentin & Lady Conyngham] Mrs Q. [&] Windsor Castle.
Drawn by Huet Villiers. Engraved by W.Blake. [&] Drawn by J.B. Engraved by G.Maile.
[n.d., c.1820.]
Pair of colour printed stipples. Ea. c.340 x 245mm. Both plates trimmed just within platemark, some creasing on "Mrs Q". Very fine colour.
Half length portrait of Harriet Quentin, with Eton College in the background and Lady Conyngham playing a piano, with Windsor in the background. A fine and scarce pair, these examples from a scrapbook. While William Blake experimented with both his poetry and printing he had to continue to engrave the work of others to stave off abject poverty. 'Mrs Q' was the Marquise of Connynham, best known as George IV's mistress.
[Ref: 675] £1,650.00 view all images for this item

[The Decision of the Doubts Concerning Mambrino's Helmet] Don Quixote
Stothard del Blake sculp
[Published as the Act directs, by Harrison & Co., May 4, 1782]
Engraving, sheet 165 x 105mm (6½ x 4"). Trimmed.
Scene from 'Don Quixote', in which Quixote gets the barber's basin that he believes to be the helmet of the fictional Moorish king Mabrino. Illustration to 'The History and Adventures of the Renowned Don Quixote, Translated from the Spanish of Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra, by Dr Smollett'. Smollett's translation was first published in 1755 but was republished along with other of his works in the 1780s, with engravings by the poet and artist William Blake (1757-1827). This early work was one of many Blake engraved from designs by his friend Thomas Stothard, Britain's most prolific book illustrator. While establishing himself as a copy engraver in the early 1780s, Blake was also studying at the Royal Academy and developing the highly personal approach he used in his original watercolours.
Russell 49A.i; for other illustrations from the same publication see refs 15430, 15431 and 27017.
[Ref: 40833] £95.00 (£114.00 incl.VAT)

[Tailpiece to 'The Poetical Works of John Scott']
Stothard d. Blake sc
[London. Printed for J. Buckland, MDCCLXXXVII]
Rare engraving, platemark 95 x 85mm (3¾ x 3¼"). Thread margins.
Young lady laying a scroll upon a wreathed altar inscribed 'Sacred to Simplicity'. One of four engravings made by the artist and poet William Blake for John Scott's (1730-83) 'Poetical Works'. This early work was one of many Blake engraved from designs by his friend Thomas Stothard, Britain's most prolific book illustrator. While establishing himself as a copy engraver in the early 1780s, Blake was also studying at the Royal Academy and developing the highly personal approach he used in his original watercolours.
Russell 48.iv
[Ref: 40831] £160.00 (£192.00 incl.VAT)

A private Marine of Col. Fourgeouds' Corps.
Blake Sculp.t.
[n.d., c.1793.]
Engraving. Sheet size: 260 x 210mm (10¼ x 8¼"). Trimmed inside plate.
A soldier holding a gun, facing the viewer, with a fort in the distance to the left, and a ship at sea to the right. A plate from the first volume of J.G.Stedman's 'Narrative of a five years' expedition against the revolted slaves of Surinam' (London 1796). 'Blake's sixteen engravings are ranked among his "most interesting and important book illustrations". (Ryskamp, p.10)
[Ref: 38909] £120.00 (£144.00 incl.VAT)

A private Marine of Col. Fourgeoud's Corps.
Blake Sculp.t
[London, Published Dec.r 2d. 1793 by J. Johnson, St. Paul's Church Yard.]
Etching and engraving. 260 x 210mm. 10¼ x 8¼".
Colonel Fourgeoud was Stedman’s commanding officer. Stedman found him an incompetent and callous leader but passages expressing his anger and contempt towards Fourgeoud were edited out of the Narrative. Published in "Narrative, of a Five Years’ Expedition, Against the Revolted Negroes of Surinam, in Guiana, on the Wild Coast of South America", by Captain John Gabriel Stedman. The Dutch captured the British colony of Suriname during the Second Anglo-Dutch War (1667). Under the West India Company it was developed as a plantation slave society and became a primary destination for the Dutch slave trade. The brutal regime caused high mortality; despite the import of 300,000 slaves between 1668 and 1823, the population never grew beyond 50,000. ‘Maroonage’ became the major form of resistance. Fugitive slaves, or ‘maroons’, escaped inland to form permanent communities from where they waged a campaign of guerrilla warfare against the Dutch. In 1774 the Scottish-Dutch soldier John Gabriel Stedman witnessed the brutal oppression of slaves during a campaign against the maroons, which he described in this book. The work contained 80 engravings by various hands which are generally acknowledged to have been based on drawings made by Captain J.G. Stedman, although only two of the plates bear his name. Stedman was a personal friend of William Blake’s and it is likely that William Blake modified Stedman’s designs, being those of an amateur artist. From the sole surviving watercolour by Stedman for this work, it is known that the engravers involved were allowed considerable liberty in adapting Stedman’s designs. The book was adopted by those who advocated the abolition of the slave trade, though Stedman was thought to support reform rather than abolition.
In the Victoria and Albert Museum.
[Ref: 25886] £90.00 (£108.00 incl.VAT)

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