Related Books:  Poetry, Nature and Art

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In 1797 or 1798, Blake completed a series of 116 spectacular large-format (13" x 16 1/2") watercolors to illustrate 13 poems of Thomas Gray, including such favorites as "Elegy in a Country Churchyard" and "Ode on the Death of a Favourite Cat". The series was commissioned by Blake's friend, the artist John Flaxman, for his wife's library. For various reasons, some of an intriguing political nature, the watercolors were rarely exhibited; for many years they remained the very special treasures of a handful of collectors. In 1966, the watercolors were acquired by Paul Mellon, who allowed them to be reproduced in a beautiful facsimile edition by the famed Trianon Press in Paris. The production was very elaborate -- requiring four years -- and employed the processes of collotype and hand-coloring. Only 518 copies were printed. The Trianon Press edition now sells on the rare-book market for upwards of $2,000. The Dover edition will be the first to reproduce this entire work in full color (slightly reduced in size) at a moderate price, with the complete texts of Gray's poems. Our previous editions of Blake's illustrated poems remain perennial best-sellers (Songs of Innocence and Songs of Experience, for example, are in their 19th and 11th printings respectively!). This handsomely produced, inexpensive edition of one of Blake's rarest, most beautiful works is certain to find a wide and enthusiastic audience among Blake enthusiasts, who have long been unable to acquire a copy. However, the meticulous reproductions and modest cost of the Dover edition are sure to appeal as well to a broad spectrum of scholars, students and lovers of fine art and literature.

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