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)

Democritus.
Rubens delin. Blake sculp.
[Plate from Johann Caspar Lavater, Essays on Physiognomy (London, 1789), p.159].
Engraving. Sheet 225 x 175mm (9 x 7"). Trimmed to plate.
Portrait of Democritus (c. 46 c. 370 BC) who was an Ancient Greek pre-Socratic philosopher from Abdera, primarily remembered today for his formulation of an atomic theory of the universe, engraved by William Blake. Democritus wrote extensively on a wide variety of topics. None of Democritus' original work has survived, except through second-hand references. Many of these references come from Aristotle, who viewed him as an important rival in the field of natural philosophy. He was known in antiquity as the ‘laughing philosopher’ because of his emphasis on the value of cheerfulness.
From Vol I of Lavater, pg. 159.
[Ref: 64221] £180.00 (£216.00 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)

[Robert Cocking's parachute]. The Ascent of the Royal Nassau Balloon from Vauxhall, with the Parachute attached. [&] The fatal Descent of the Parachute by which Mr Cocking lost his life.
W. Lake litho 50 Old Bailey.
[n.d., c.1837.]
Two coloured lithographs. Sheets (at most) 230 x 165mm (9 x 6½"). Trimmed as scraps. Fine repairs in ascent.
Two scenes of Robert Cocking's attempt at a parachute descent from a balloon on 24th July 1837: the successful ascent in the Royal Nassau, piloted by Charles Green and Edward Spencer; and the disastrous descent, in which the flimsy design broke up before it even hit the ground.
[Ref: 57018] £380.00

The Banquet at Guildhall. The Royal Table. Taken at the moment of the Queen's drinking the Health of the Citizens of London.
W. Lake. lith. 50, Old Bailey.
Pub.d by E. Davies, 437. Oxford St [n.d., but 1837].
Fine rare lithograph, sheet 230 x 310mm. 9" x 12¼".
A banquet for the young Queen Victoria in the City of London, from a series of prints celebrating her accession to the throne.
Guildhall Library Record 3495.
[Ref: 26822] £160.00 (£192.00 incl.VAT)

[Georgiana Quentin & Elizabeth Henrietta Conyngham] Mrs Q. [&] Windsor Castle.
Drawn by Huet Villiers. Engraved by W.Blake. [&] Drawn by J.B. [John Barrow] Engraved by G.Maile.
[London: c.1822.]
Pair of colour printed stipples. Ea. c.340 x 245mm (13½ x 9¾"). Both plates trimmed just within platemark, some creasing on "Mrs Q". Very fine colour.
Half length portrait of Georgiana Quentin, with Eton College in the background, and Elizabeth Henrietta Conyngham playing a pianoforte, with Windsor in the background. A fine and scarce pair: from a scrapbook. Georgiana Quentin (d.1853) was the wife of Lieutenant-Colonel George Augustus Quentin, aide-de-camp to the Prince Regent 1811-25, when he was appointed Equerry to the Crown Stables. She was widely believed to be the Prince's mistress, and was referred to as 'Harriet Quentin' or 'Mrs Quentin'. This portrait is coppied from one that appeared in an 1822 pamphlet, ''Memoirs of the Celebrated Mrs Q---' by "Edward Eglantine", a pseudonym of Radical publisher William Benbow (1787-1864). Elizabeth Henrietta Conyngham (d.1839) was the daughter of Elizabeth Conyngham, Marchioness Conyngham, George IV's mistress. 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.
See BM 1852,1009.580 for 'Windsor Castle'.
[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)

The Shade of Napoleon Visiting his Tomb. In this Print may be traced a full length Figure of Napoleon.
Printed by E. Lake 5, Sherbourne Lane, Lombard St.
Pub.d at 6 Albany Place, York Road Lambeth [n.d., c.1840].
Lithographic puzzle print, sheet 275 x 375mm (10¾ x 14¾"). Slight crease off image.
The trunks of the two trees to left, together with their branches and other foliage, form the outline profile of Napoleon Bonaparte (1769 - 1821), beside his simple grave in the Valley of Willows on the Atlantic island of Saint Helena. This one of several prints showing the same scene.
For similar puzzle prints of Napoleon at his tomb see also refs. 20925 and 19762.
[Ref: 23473] £140.00 (£168.00 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)

To John Goodford Esq. of Yeovil, this first attempt at Engraving from an Original Painting of Prince Charles Edward Stuart done by Alexander at Rome, and now in the Possession of Dr. Macdonald of Taunton, is most humbly Inscribed by his Obedient Servant Frederick Lake.
Taunton, Oct. 1820.
A very rare etching. 340 x 250mm (13¼ x 9¾"). Sheet is trimmed to plate.
Prince Charles Edward Stuart (1720 - 1788), grandson of James II; 'Bonnie Prince Charlie'. He is remembered as the instigator of the unsuccessful Jacobite uprising of 1745, where he led an insurrection, which ended in defeat at the Battle of Culloden that effectively ended the Jacobite cause.
Sharpe: Not in.
[Ref: 53619] £350.00

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)

The Queen's Visit to the City. No.v.r 9.th 1837. Drawn on the Spot from the corner of Chancery Lane.
W. Lake. lith. 50. Old Bailey.
[Pub.d by E. Davies, 437. Oxford St.] [n.d., c.1837]
Lithograph with fine hand colour. Sheet: 210 x 300mm (8¼ x 12''). Trimmed, losing publication line.
A scene of Queen Victoria's first official visit to the City of London, on Lord Mayor's Day 1837, five months after her coronation. She is shown arriving in the Royal Carriage.
[Ref: 48909] £240.00 (£288.00 incl.VAT)

The Queen's Visit to the City. No.v.r 9.th 1837. Drawn on the Spot from the corner of Chancery Lane.
W. Lake. lith. 50. Old Bailey.
Pub.d by E. Davies, 437. Oxford St. [n.d., c.1837]
Lithograph with fine hand colour. Sheet 275 x 380mm (14¾ x 15"). Paper toned
A scene of Queen Victoria's first official visit to the City of London, on Lord Mayor's Day 1837, five months after her coronation. She is shown arriving in the Royal Carriage.
[Ref: 55488] £240.00 (£288.00 incl.VAT)

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