Cumulative Supplement Of The Preston Blake Library

Blake Books Supplement is a continuation of Blake Books (1977), a bibliographical record of publications covering all aspects of William Blake's life and work - his writings, drawings, and engravings - and works of criticism on them. Most of the information in the Supplement was published inthe period 1972-1992, but there are items newly recorded here which appeared as early as the 1790s. The mass of new material is enormous - the last 20 years have produced almost as many items for inclusion as the preceding 200 years covered in the original Blake Books. Some of the most important discoveries concern newly identified writings and engravings by Blake himself. The work is organizedlike Blake Books, enabling the two volumes to be used side by side.

This revised edition lists approximately 1200 libraries in the UK and the Republic of Ireland, some included for the first time, with details of their rare and special book collections. It covers mainly those printed before 1850, but includes manuscript and modern material where related.

This study is informed by a knowledge of Blake seen against the background of the long 18th century. Throughout, the reader is reminded that the Blake of Songs of Innocence and Experience shared a century with Fielding, Hogarth and Sterne; the classification of Blake as a romantic too often overlooks the form and content of satirical modes with which he was familiar. The study places Blake's Songs of Innocence in their historical context, and sites the poet within an historical work that bridges traditional, canonical categories of high culture versus popular culture. The author's aim was to return innocence to its original literary-historical context. Songs of Innocence and other early writings are included in the text.