Books

large 4to. publisher's illustrated wrappers. 100 plates. Printed in black and white, with black framing lines. Tape repair to rear cover. Some wear to the spine ends, else a near fine copy of this scarce reproduction. A wonderful facsimile of copy D (now at Harvard), limited to 100 copies per Bentley and Keynes but an old Quaritch catalogue stated 250 (an unlikely number). This copy numbered 57 on the upper cover. Bentley attributed the publication to Chatto but revised it to Pearson in his Blake Books Supplement. The Rinder copy reproduced by the Trianon Press is in a smaller format and this large quarto has a much more imposing and appealing presence and seems to be a better facsimile - certainly this copy is clearer and more striking than copy C. Bentley, BB, 76, and BBS, p. 88. "Blakes final and longest epic in illuminated printing constitutes a recapitulation and summation of his multiple interests, ranging from his own mythology to biblical history, from sexuality to epistemology, and from the Druids to Newton. The cast of characters is vast, but Los (the artists imagination at work in the material world), Jerusalem and Albion (the female and male portions of divided humanity who must be reunited), the nature goddess Vala, and Jesus play major roles." (The Blake Archive) Blake made five copies of Jerusalem but only colored one. A suite of 25 plates was also colored by Blake, and a few posthumous copies were printed in tints. The one-hundred plates of Jerusalem were etched in relief, with many designs in white-line etching, between c. 1804 (the date on the title page) and 1820. publisher's illustrated wrappers.

Considered Blake's masterpiece, it is a prophetic book addressing themes of visionary spirituality and social change.