Rosenbach and Blake

By G. E. Bentley, Jr.

Editors’ note: G. E. Bentley, Jr., died on 31 August 2017. This article, published with the blessing of his daughters, Sarah and Julia, is his final contribution to a journal to which he contributed so much.

Introduction

Abbreviations and Symbols
New Sources of Information

Rosenbach’s Blake Dealings Arranged in Alphabetical Order

Printed Books, Prints, and Manuscripts
Paintings and Drawings

Rosenbach’s Blake Dealings Arranged by Date

William Blake’sI am deeply indebted for advice and assistance to Kathy Haas, associate curator of the Rosenbach of the Free Library of Philadelphia at the time of my inquiries, and to Robert N. Essick. [Editors’ note: The editors would also like to thank Robert N. Essick, for his invaluable help with outstanding questions.] works have always been rare. The most common of them is Songs of Innocence and of Experience, for which we have records of twenty-nine copies produced during Blake’s lifetime, each of them distinctly different from the others. For ten of Blake’s printed writings only one or two complete copies have been traced.These printed Blake rarissima are “Blake’s Chaucer: The Canterbury Pilgrims” (1809); The Book of Ahania (1795); The Book of Los (1795); “A Descriptive Catalogue” advertisement (1809); “Exhibition of Paintings in Fresco” (1809); The French Revolution (1791); “Laocoön” (1826?); Large Book of Designs (1796); “Mirth” (1820?); and Small Book of Designs (1796). Indeed, no complete copy of There is No Natural Religion has ever been recorded, and “To the Public,” Blake’s prospectus (1793), has not been traced since 1863.

To give some context, note that forty-eight substantially complete copies of the Gutenberg Bible are known, while some two hundred and thirty copies of the Shakespeare first folio (1623) have been traced, fourteen in the collection of W. A. WhiteAnon. (“Our London Correspondent”), “A Great Bibliophile,” Glasgow Herald 4 June 1927: 10, an obituary of White recounting a visit to him in 1923. and eighty-two in the Folger Library.See <https://​www.​folger.​edu/​what-​is-​a-​first-​folio>.

The person who dealt with more copies of Blake’s works than any other was Dr. A. S. W. Rosenbach (1876–1952),For Rosenbach’s own account of his career, see A. S. W. Rosenbach, Books and Bidders: The Adventures of a Bibliophile (Boston: Little, Brown, and Company, 1927).The Rosenbach business was continued by John Fleming. the famously successful dealer in Philadelphia and New York. He handled forty-two of Blake’s works in illuminated printing, eighty-seven drawings and paintings, “The Everlasting Gospel,” and the Pickering [Ballads] Manuscript, a large proportion of them from W. A. White. Most of those he handled went to Lessing J. Rosenwald (1891–1979). Note that all Rosenbach’s customers for Blake were in the United States.

1. A. S. W. Rosenbach between c. 1915 and c. 1920. George Grantham Bain Collection. Library of Congress, Prints and Photographs Division, LC-DIG-ggbain-30661.tif.

Rosenbach was willing to spend very substantial sums of money on acquiring Blakes. At the Parke-Bernet sale of George C. Smith, Jr., on 2 November 1938 he paid nearly $30,000 for Blakes, and at the Parke-Bernet sale of A. E. Newton on 16 April 1941 he paid $45,750 for Blakes.

The only dealerW. A. White owned 28 copies of Blake’s writings in print and in manuscript and 598 drawings (plus more drawings in Blake’s Notebook). who is even close to Rosenbach is Bernard Quaritch (1819–99), who established his bookshop in London in 1847. He handled twenty-six copies of Blake’s works in illuminated printing, and after his death his firm, which still flourishes, sold thirty-two more.

By far the most important Blake transaction ever made by Rosenbach—or by anyone else for that matter—was from the estate of William Augustus White (1843–1927). This included eleven works in illuminated printing, two works in conventional typography, twenty-four commercial books with Blake engravings, eleven separate prints, two manuscripts (including the Pickering Manuscript), and eleven drawings.The only works of Blake scholarship included in the lists below are those that appear in Rosenbach’s 1927 inventory of the Blakes of W. A. White.

Rosenbach is such an important figure in Blake studies that it is worth recording in detail his handling of Blake’s original works. The two lists below include every contemporary Blake that Rosenbach is known to have dealt with. The first list comprehends all the Rosenbach Blakes arranged in alphabetical order, and the second list gives the same Blakes organized by date. It is only in the second list that the extraordinary importance of his handling of the Blakes from the W. A. White collection is made plain.

Abbreviations and Symbols

* Signifies not previously published
** Contains information not in hard-copy authorities, defined as:
G. E. Bentley, Jr., Blake Books (1977), Blake Books Supplement (1995)
Martin Butlin, The Paintings and Drawings of William Blake (1981)
Robert N. Essick, The Separate Plates of William Blake (1983)
<Butlin> Martin Butlin, The Paintings and Drawings of William Blake (1981). References are to catalogue numbers, e.g., <Butlin #458>
<Essick> Robert N. Essick, The Separate Plates of William Blake: A Catalogue (1983). References are to state/impression numbers, e.g., <Essick 2C>

New Sources of Information

Grolier Club, undated, unsigned list
“Given to F. W. Emerson by W. A. White. Works of Wm Blake.”
Rosenbach acquisition cards, 1922–52 <the Rosenbach of the Free Library of Philadelphia> *
Rosenbach’s own acquisition cards. Prices in brackets derive from Rosenbach’s price code
H O V E R Z A C K S [1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0] plus “ns”, which I take to mean “no cents” or “.00”. N is used as an alternate 0. In a string of zeroes it will alternate with S. X stands for a repeat of the previous non-zero digit. In the bottom left corner, opposite the purchase code price, is a price that I take to be the sale price. I omit the Rosenbach inventory numbers.
Rosenbach typescript list headed “WILLIAM BLAKE,” 1927 <the Rosenbach of the Free Library of Philadelphia>
A Rosenbach inventory of the Blakes in W. A. White’s estate, with valuations.
Rosenbach typescript list of “The W. A. White Collection of the Works of William Blake,” 1 May 1929 <the Rosenbach of the Free Library of Philadelphia>
An Rosenbach invoice (total $115,000) for works by Blake from White’s estate purchased by Rosenwald.
Rosenbach typescript list of “BOOKS FROM THE LIBRARY OF THE LATE MR. W. A. WHITE,” 1929 <the Rosenbach of the Free Library of Philadelphia>
A want-list of works not restricted to Blake, organized by prospective purchaser (e.g., “DESIRED BY J. W. F. [John W. Frothingham]”), with two sets of prices or valuations, one headed “Swann” and the other presumably by Rosenbach.
Mrs. Thorne’s catalogue cards *
Mrs. Thorne committed her Blakes to the Morgan by 1971, but some were not delivered until 1975. I first saw the collection in August 1965 in her flat at 740 Park Avenue, New York. Her own catalogue cards, perhaps provided by Rosenbach, mostly give no information about where, when, and for how much she acquired them. I was given reproductions of the cards in 1971. On her collection, see G. E. Bentley, Jr., The Blake Collection of Mrs. Landon K. Thorne (New York: Pierpont Morgan Library, 1971).
W. A. White’s own accession list <Houghton Library, Harvard University> *

Rosenbach’s Blake Dealings

Arranged in Alphabetical Order

Links in this section to Blake’s works are to images online. Links to exhibition numbers and auction lots are to scans of the catalogues online.

Printed Books, Prints, and Manuscripts

“The Accusers of Theft Adultery Murder” <Essick 2C; Butlin #285> Sold anonymously at Hodgson’s, 14 January 1904, lot 227, for £15.15.0 to Quaritch; acquired by W. A. White by 1905; sold from White’s estate with “Joseph of Arimathea Preaching” <Essick 1B; Butlin #286> on 1 May 1929 for $3000 through Rosenbach to Rosenwald <now National Gallery of Art, Washington, DC>.

“The Accusers of Theft Adultery Murder” <Essick 3G>, “Albion Rose” <Essick 2D>, “The Chaining of Orc” <Essick 1A>, and “The Man Sweeping the Interpreter’s Parlour” <Essick 2K> Acquired by George C. Smith, Jr.; sold posthumously with his collection at Parke-Bernet, 2 November 1938, lot 42, for $450 to Rosenbach for Rosenwald <now National Gallery of Art, Washington, DC>.

Aeschylus, Tragedies (1779), Blake’s copy Acquired by Gabriel Wells, from whose estate it was acquired in 1947 by Rosenbach, who offered it in his catalogue (1947), lot 105, at $345; his successor, John Fleming, offered it in his catalogue (1961), lot 182, for $345, from which it was bought by Mrs. Landon K. Thorne <now Morgan Library and Museum>.

“Albion Rose” <Essick 2D> See “The Accusers” <Essick 3G>.

Charles Allen, Roman History (1798) Acquired by W. A. White, for whose estate it was valued at $15 in 1927 by Rosenbach. *

America (B) Acquired by George C. Smith, Jr.; sold posthumously with his collection at Parke-Bernet, 2 November 1938, lot 22, for $2600 to Rosenbach; acquired by 1939 by Mrs. Landon K. Thorne <now Morgan Library and Museum>.

America (C) Offered in Rosenbach, Catalogue of an Exhibition of Manuscripts and Rare Books (January–February 1931), no lot number or price, and Five Centuries of Bookmaking: An Exhibition (30 Nov. 1931–16 Jan. 1932), no lot number or price; “This copy [was] bot of Jas. F. Drake ca. 1924 by Rosenbach” and “I bot of Rosenbach, March. 1936” (according to Philip Hofer’s notes with it) <now Houghton Library, Harvard University>.

America (D) Acquired by W. A. White, probably in 1891; possibly the “Uncolored. Morocco” copy from White’s collection valued at $1500 by Rosenbach in 1927; acquired by Cortlandt F. Bishop between 1926 and probably 1929; sold from Bishop's collection at American Art Association-Anderson Galleries, 5 April 1938, lot 281, possibly to Rosenbach; Rosenbach’s successor, John Fleming, sold it in 1965 to Caroline Newton <now Princeton University Library>. **

America (E) Bought on 21 December 1896 from the dealer Pearson for £33 by W. A. White; possibly the “Uncolored. Morocco” copy from White’s collection valued at $1500 by Rosenbach in 1927; sold from White’s estate on 1 May 1929 through Rosenbach to Rosenwald <now Library of Congress>.

America (M) Acquired by W. A. White; valued for White’s estate (“Colored. Morocco,” “family”) at $7500 by Rosenbach in 1927; acquired by White’s daughter Frances White Emerson <now Yale Center for British Art>.

America (Q) Sold by Herschel V. Jones at Anderson Galleries, 2 December 1918, lot 183, for $3600 to Rosenbach; acquired by A. E. Newton by 1924 <now Princeton University Library>.

America (a) Acquired by George C. Smith, Jr.; sold posthumously with his collection at Parke-Bernet, 2 November 1938, lot 23, for $500, possibly to Rosenbach, for Rosenwald[Editors’ note: Lots 23, 27, 31, and 40 from the Smith sale are not linked to Rosenbach in Blake Books pp. 340-41. They are listed on a remittance slip from Rosenwald among copies of Rosenbach records concerning sales to Rosenwald, supplied to Robert N. Essick by Ruth Fine, who was curator of the Rosenwald Collection. The slip does not, however, name Rosenbach explicitly as the payee.] <now Library of Congress>.

America pl. 1 <Butlin #266> Acquired by W. A. White? by 1905; acquired by Rosenbach,The Rosenbach slip for it says Hodgson’s (1913) for £2.10.0, a sale of which I have no record. * who bequeathed it to the Rosenbach Foundation <now the Rosenbach of the Free Library of Philadelphia>. **

America pl. a, copperplate Acquired by W. E. Moss, who sold it at Sotheby’s, 2 March 1937, lot 171, for £50 to Rosenbach for Rosenwald <now Library of Congress>.

America pl. d (“A Dream of Thiralatha”) <Essick 1B> Sold by Mr. and Mrs. Anton G. Hardy at Parke-Bernet, 14 January 1942, lot 20, for $575 to Rosenbach for Rosenwald <now National Gallery of Art, Washington, DC>.

“The Battle of Ai” [for Maynard’s Josephus] <Essick 1A> and “The Morning Amusements of Her Royal Highness” and “A Lady in the Full Dress” [for The Ladies New and Polite Pocket Memorandum-Book, for the Year of Our Lord 1783 (1782)] <Essick 2C> Probably acquired by W. E. Moss and sold at Sotheby’s, 2 March 1937, lot 218 (a large collection of Blake prints), for £11 to Rosenbach for Rosenwald <“The Battle of Ai” now in the Library of Congress; “The Morning Amusements …” now in the National Gallery of Art, Washington, DC> **

Bible, Job (1825) “Proofs Unbound.” Acquired by W. A. White, for whose estate they were valued at $250 in 1927 by Rosenbach <probably the set now in the National Gallery of Art, Washington, DC (B4286-B4307)>.

Bible, Job (“1825”) “Half Russia.” Acquired by W. A. White, for whose estate it was valued at $150 in 1927 by Rosenbach <untraced>. **

Bible, Job (“1825”) “Calf.” Acquired by W. A. White, for whose estate it was valued at $150 in 1927 by Rosenbach <untraced>. **

Bible, Job (1826) “21 plates … Folio, original boards, with label, having on it an Ms. note: ‘---’s copy of proofs presented to G. Wyther, Esqr. by John Linnell, Dec. 2 1863”, “260.00”, “Horns [$125.00]”, “Mrs. L. B.[?] Preston 13/11/22”, “Sold to Mrs. Landon K Thorne 2|25|63” <Rosenbach card> <now Morgan Library and Museum>. * **

Bible, Job (1826) Purchased by Rosenbach for $150 at the American Art Association sale of Charles Eliot Norton (2 May 1923), lot 14, described as with a clipping of lot “14”, “Proof … Folio, loose sheets laid in blue cloth … No watermark appears in this set … Brilliant Early Impressions”, “Sold Hofer 7/24/23 Norton Sale Amer. art 5/2/23”, “Hrsns [$150.00]”, “22500”, “sold [John J.] Emery 11/9/25” <Rosenbach card>. * **

Bible, Job (1826) “All brilliant impressions. Folio, original limp boards. Paper label”, acquired at Anderson Galleries, 12 November 1923, The Library of John Quinn, Part One, lot 717 [$145], priced at $225 and “sold to A. Van SinderenMrs. Adrian Van Sinderen was the niece of W. A. White. 10, 1930” <Rosenbach card>. * **

Bible, Job (1826) “A BEAUTIFUL ‘PROOF’ COPY OF BLAKE’S FINEST WORK”, “sold 448/4”, “ORIGINAL BOARDS. With the original label on the front cover dated March 1826. Engraved title and 21 plates, each marked [sic] ‘Proof’ … Fredrick Locker* Lampson [sic] copy with bookplate. 6/30 Felix Isman OCSNS [$280.00]”, “[$]675-” <Rosenbach card>. * **

Bible, Job (1826) “9/11/52 N.Y[?]”, “Large-paper proofs, title-page and 21 plates, printed on India Paper watermarked ‘J. Whatman 1825’ and marked ‘Proof’ on lower right-hand corner. Large 4to, totally uncut in the original sheets. Enclosed in a blue cloth case. | 581/15 | HRSNS [$150.00]”, “sold 9/18/52” <Rosenbach card> <untraced>. * **

Bible, Job (1826) “21 plates. Folio, green morocco. Inscribed on fly ‘Milton Riviere. This book came to me at my Father’s death in 1876.David Valentine Riviere subscribed to Job (BR[2] 784). He had it from Blake, having subscribed for it on its publication.’” “[fr. P. Hofer, on exchg.]”, “200-- Phila- 11/11/25”. “off. to F. S. Meara 12/22/26 | Sent to Phila. 1929” <Rosenbach card> <untraced>. * **

Bible, Job (1826) Offered in Rosenbach catalogue 28, Five Hundred Rare Books … (1936), lot 41, “folio, gray calf, blind tooled sides,” “proofs on India paper,” $235 <untraced>.

Bible, Job (1826) Offered in Rosenbach’s The World of Yesterday (1939), lot 47, published proof copy on india paper, inscribed “To Marian—Mrs. John Linnell Senr. Decr. 1868”, $200 <untraced>.

Laurence Binyon, Little Engravings (1902) “Boards.” Acquired by W. A. White, for whose estate it was valued at $3.50 in 1927 by Rosenbach <untraced>.

Robert Blair, The Grave (1808) Folio, “Brown calf, gilt tooled borders, gauffred edges. Armorial bookplate of Cholmeley Charles William Dering $50.00 Osns [$20.00]”, “Phila 11/11/25”. Another card, apparently a continuation of this one, reads, “Inserted are two original sketches by Blake drawn on both sides of a sheet of paper. The more complete one is in ink and the one on the verso is in pencil. This one has a small part cut off and lacking. It is probably a tentative drawing of plate VI [“The Soul Hovering”] in the book as the idea differs very slightly. Also inserted is an engraving by Blake extracted from another book. … 12/29 OSRNS[Editors’ note: The entry in “William Blake and His Circle” for 2014 gives the Rosenbach code as OXRNS ($225.00).] [$205.00]”These drawings are apparently not in Butlin, and I know nothing further of them. <Rosenbach card> <untraced>. * ** See illus. 2.

2. Rosenbach Company Archive, stock card RCo IX-b:03. 10.2 x 15.2 cm. (4" x 6"). The Rosenbach of the Free Library of Philadelphia.

Robert Blair, The Grave (1808) “Large paper. Half morocco” [with the signature and bookplate of Marsden J. Perry and signature of W. A. White]. Acquired by W. A. White, for whose estate it was valued in 1927 at $50 by Rosenbach; Rosenbach’s successor, John Fleming, sold it for $1250 in 1972 to Robert N. Essick <now Essick collection>. **

Robert Blair, The Grave (1808) “Boards.” Acquired by W. A. White, for whose estate it was valued at $20 in 1927 by Rosenbach <untraced>. **

Robert Blair, The Grave (1808) Offered in Rosenbach catalogue 28, Five Hundred Rare Books … (1936), lot 40, “Original boards, with paper label, rebacked, uncut, in half red morocco case. … Inserted is a portrait of Schiavonetti, the engraver,” $175 <untraced>.

Robert Blair, The Grave (1813) “Royal 4o, old half morocco. extra illustrated with about 60 other engravings of Blake’s designs,The insertions are from Young’s Night Thoughts (1797); see “William Blake and His Circle: A Checklist of Publications and Discoveries in 2013,” Blake 48.1 (summer 2014). cut out and pasted on fly-leaves and blank portions of pages pasted [sic] throughout the book. According to a note on the front-end-leaf, this interesting copy was obtained in its present condition from William Thane, an artist and picture restorer, who knew Blake. It is probable that these extra illustrations were early or trial proofs given by Blake to Thane, as it is unlikely the latter would have cut up valuable books to embellish his copy of ‘the Grave.’ If that be the case these engravings should be of particular interest.This is more or less word for word (except for the ungrammatical duplication of “pasted”) from the sale catalogue of Anderson Galleries, 12-14 Nov. 1923, The Library of John Quinn, Part One [A-C], lot 716. | Quinn Sale, 11/23. krsn [$950?],[Editors’ note: The entry in “William Blake and His Circle” for 2013 gives the sale price as $95.] $1,250”. “Dr Frank D. Meara | App. Geo C. Smith Jr. Ret 10/28/24” <Rosenbach card>. Acquired by Rosenwald <now Library of Congress>. * **

Robert Blair, The Grave “New York, undated.” Acquired by W. A. White, for whose estate it was valued at $2.50 in 1927 by Rosenbach <untraced>. **

Robert Blair, The Grave Copperplates for Blake’s designs, offered in Rosenbach Catalogue of an Exhibition of Rare Books, Autograph Manuscripts, and Literary Documents (28 November–23 December 1921), no lot number or price; acquired by George C. Smith, Jr.; sold for $750 to Rosenbach for Rosenwald at the Parke-Bernet sale of George C. Smith, Jr., 2 November 1938, lot 38 <now National Gallery of Art, Washington, DC>.

The Book of Ahania (A) pls. 2-6 Sold by the Earl of Crewe at Sotheby’s, 30 March 1903, lot 7, for £103 to Quaritch, presumably for W. A. White; sold from his estate on 1 May 1929 through Rosenbach to Rosenwald <now Library of Congress>.

The Book of Thel (C) Acquired on 20 March 1891 by W. A. White; valued for White’s estate (designated “family”) at $4500 by Rosenbach in 1927; acquired by White’s relative John W. Frothingham; Frothingham’s daughter gave it in 1940 to White’s daughter Frances White Emerson, for whom it was sold posthumously at Sotheby’s, 19 May 1958, lot 1, for £1900 to Rosenbach’s successor, John Fleming; acquired by Mrs. Landon K. Thorne <now Morgan Library and Museum>.

The Book of Thel (E) Sold by Herschel V. Jones at Anderson Galleries, 2 December 1918, lot 182, for $79 to Rosenbach <now Beinecke Library, Yale University>.

The Book of Thel (F) Sold with the collection of George C. Smith, Jr., at Parke-Bernet, 2 November 1938, lot 14, for $2200 to Rosenbach for Rosenwald <now Library of Congress>.

The Book of Thel (H) Sold for Major W. Van R. Whitall at the American Art Association, 14 February 1927, lot 111, for $5000 to Rosenbach for Rosenwald[Editors’ note: The list of works from the collection of W. A. White sold through Rosenbach to Rosenwald in May 1929 includes a copy of Thel, “Blue morocco,” which suggests copy H. Perhaps Rosenbach bought it in the February 1927 auction for White, not Rosenwald, and then sold it to Rosenwald in 1929.] <now Library of Congress>.

The Book of Thel (L) Acquired by E. D. Church; found after 1909 by Rosenbach “on Dodd & Livingston’s shelves priced at $280”;Edwin Wolf 2nd and John F. Fleming, Rosenbach: A Biography (Cleveland: World Publishing Company, 1960) 74. sold in May 1911 to Henry E. Huntington, who bequeathed it in 1927 to the Huntington Library. **

The Book of Thel (O) Acquired by Frank Bemis; after his death it was sold through Rosenbach on 18 September 1939 to Rosenwald <now Library of Congress>.

John Brown, Elements of Medicine (1795) “2 vols, 8vo., original blue cloth, uncut”, “Coleridge’s copy, with his initials on half-title of Vol. I”, “From the H. B. Forman collection, with bookplate”,This copy was sold with the H. B. Forman library at Anderson Galleries, 15 March 1920, lot 39. “$150.00”, “Csns [$80.00]”, “Phila 5/4/26”, “off Omera [and] to Smith” <Rosenbach card>. Sold to Rosenwald <now Library of Congress> * **

Gottfried Augustus Bürger, Leonora, trans. Stanley (1796) Acquired by W. A. White, for whose estate it was valued at $50 in 1927 by Rosenbach; sold from White’s estate on 1 May 1929 to Rosenwald <now Library of Congress>. **

“The Chaining of Orc” <Essick 1A> See “The Accusers” <Essick 3G>.

Geoffrey Chaucer, Prologue (1812) Acquired by W. A. White, for whose estate it was valued at $100 in 1927 by Rosenbach; sold from White’s estate on 1 May 1929 to Rosenwald <now Library of Congress>.

Geoffrey Chaucer, Prologue (1812) Acquired by W. E. Moss, from whose collection it was sold through Sotheby’s, 2 March 1937, lot 225, for £45 to Rosenbach, probably for Rosenwald.

“Chaucers Canterbury Pilgrims” <Essick untraced impression 23> Acquired by W. A. White, for whose estate it was valued at $100 in 1927 by Rosenbach; perhaps the same as <Essick 3U>, acquired in 1953 from the Rosenbach Foundation by the Philadelphia Museum of Art.

George Cumberland’s card <Essick 1H> See Poetical Sketches (D).

George Cumberland’s card <Essick 1X, 1Y> Acquired by W. E. Moss, from whose collection they were sold through Sotheby’s, 2 March 1937, lot 208, for £12 to Rosenbach, from whom they passed to Rosenwald <now National Gallery of Art, Washington, DC>.

George Cumberland’s card <Essick untraced impression 2> Acquired by W. A. White, who loaned it to the exhibition of the Grolier Club (1919–20), no. 35, and that of the Fogg (1924); valued at $20 in 1927 by Rosenbach; probably sold from White’s estate in 1929 to Rosenbach <perhaps the one in now the Rosenbach of the Free Library of Philadelphia>.

Dante prints (“1839”) “Half morocco.” Acquired by W. A. White, for whose estate they were valued at $30 in 1927 by Rosenbach; probably sold from White’s estate to Rosenbach, who bequeathed them to the Rosenbach Foundation <now the Rosenbach of the Free Library of Philadelphia>.

Dante prints “Imperial Folio, 1/2 green ^red morocco^, gold lettering on back. (lacks paper label, giving list of plates) india proof impressions [sic] of the 7 plates. ONRSN [$205.00] Isman 6/30”Further notes indicate that it was offered in Rosenbach’s The World of Yesterday (1939), lot 40, for $385. <Rosenbach card>. * **

Descriptive Catalogue (F) Felix Isman sold it in 1932 to Rosenbach, who sold it the same year to Chauncey Brewster Tinker <now Beinecke Library, Yale University>.

Descriptive Catalogue (L) Sold anonymously at Sotheby’s, 4 July 1895, lot 1129, for £3.3.0 to Quaritch for W. A. White; valued at $75 in 1927 by Rosenbach; sold from White’s estate on 1 May 1929 through Rosenbach to Rosenwald <now Library of Congress>.

Descriptive Catalogue (M) Sold from the collection of W. E. Moss at Sotheby’s, 2 March 1937, lot 196, for £50 to Rosenbach; listed in Rosenbach’s The World of Yesterday (1939), lot 41, $375, and The March of Books through the Ages (1944/45), lot 45, $375; bequeathed to the Rosenbach Foundation <now the Rosenbach of the Free Library of Philadelphia>. **

Descriptive Catalogue (P) Sold to Rosenbach for £95 at the Sotheby’s sale of Arthur Randle, 11 October 1948, lot 34 <now Morgan Library and Museum>.

“Edmund Pitts” <Essick 2E> See “Rev. John Caspar Lavater” <Essick 3Q>.

William Enfield, The Speaker (1795) “12mo., old sheep, hinges weak. Bookplate: H*B* Forman.”, “$20.00”, “ons. [$2.00]”, “Phila 2/4/26” <Rosenbach card>. Sold to Rosenwald <now Library of Congress>. * **

Europe (C) Acquired in 1903 by W. A. White; valued for White’s estate (designated “family”) at $9000 by Rosenbach in 1927; acquired by White’s son-in-law F. M. Weld, Jr. <now Houghton Library, Harvard University>.

Europe (E) Sold posthumously for A. E. Newton at Parke-Bernet, 16 April 1941, lot 129, for $8000 to Rosenbach for Rosenwald <now Library of Congress>.

Europe (G) See Visions of the Daughters of Albion (H).

Europe (c) pl. 2[Editors’ note: Europe pl. 2 is in the final published state, not a “proof” as described in the Smith auction catalogue. Thanks to Robert N. Essick and Joseph Viscomi for their help on this point.] (with Jerusalem pl. 8 on the verso) Acquired by George C. Smith, Jr.; sold posthumously with his collection at Parke-Bernet, 2 November 1938, lot 27, for $150, possibly to Rosenbach, for Rosenwald[Editors’ note: See note 7.] <now Library of Congress>.

Europe (c) pls. 5b, 9a, 10, 11a, and 12 Acquired by George C. Smith, Jr.; sold posthumously with his collection at Parke-Bernet, 2 November 1938, lot 31, for $280, possibly to Rosenbach, for Rosenwald[Editors’ note: See note 7.] <now Library of Congress>.

Europe (c) pls. 18a-b See Jerusalem, proofs of pls. 9, 19-20, 38a-b, 48, 50, 58, 78.

Europe pl. 1 (with Jerusalem pl. 30 on the verso) Acquired by W. A. White by 1905; sold from his estate in 1929 to Rosenbach, who sold it in November 1952 to Mr. Rabinowitz <now Yale Center for British Art>.

Europe pl. 1 (Blake Books #10A, “Ancient of Days”) Acquired by Rosenbach; probably the copy loaned to the Philadelphia exhibition (1939), no. 72; bequeathed to the Rosenbach Foundation <now the Rosenbach of the Free Library of Philadelphia>.

Europe pl. 18 On 29 July 1942 Percy E. Lawler of the Rosenbach Company offered the print to Joseph Holland for $58.50According to the letter now in the collection of Robert N. Essick—see his “Blake in the Marketplace, 1995,” Blake 29.4 (spring 1996): 121. before the firm sold it on 7 April 1947 to the Museum of Art, Rhode Island School of Design. **

“The Everlasting Gospel,” manuscript fragment Acquired by W. A. White; acquired from his estate by Rosenbach, who bequeathed it to the Rosenbach Foundation <now the Rosenbach of the Free Library of Philadelphia>.

The First Book of Urizen (B) A. E. Newton sold it posthumously at Parke-Bernet, 16 April 1941, lot 131, for $8250 to Rosenbach; acquired by 1971 by Mrs. Landon K. Thorne <now Morgan Library and Museum >.

The First Book of Urizen (G) Sold by the Earl of Crewe at Sotheby’s, 30 March 1903, lot 6, for £307 to Quaritch for W. A. White, from whose estate it was “Delivered Mar. 2, 29” for $27,500 through Rosenbach to Rosenwald <now Library of Congress>.

The First Book of Urizen pl. 1 <Butlin #276> Probably acquired by W. A. White by 1905, from whose estate it was acquired by Rosenbach, who bequeathed it to the Rosenbach Foundation <now the Rosenbach of the Free Library of Philadelphia>. **

The First Book of Urizen pl. 22, perhaps once part of the Small Book of Designs (B) <Butlin #261 11> Sold for H. Buxton Forman at Anderson Galleries, 15 March 1920, lot 66, for $1060 to Rosenbach <now Essick collection>. See illus. 3.

3. The First Book of Urizen pl. 22. <Butlin #261 11> Leaf 26.2 x 18.5 cm., watermark 1794, color-printed relief etching finished in pen and watercolor, inscribed “‘Frozen doors to mock’ | ‘The world: while they within torments up lock’”. Perhaps it was once part of the Small Book of Designs (B). Essick collection.

John Flaxman, Naval Pillar (1799) Acquired by W. A. White, for whose estate it was valued at $20 in 1927 by Rosenbach; sold from White’s estate on 1 May 1929 to Rosenwald <now Library of Congress>.

For Children: The Gates of Paradise (A) Sold from the collection of W. E. Moss at Sotheby’s, 2 March 1937, lot 176, for £460 to Rosenbach for Rosenwald <now Library of Congress>.

For Children: The Gates of Paradise (C), with four drawings <Butlin #201A 1-4> Acquired by Herschel V. Jones, who sold it at Anderson Galleries, 2 December 1918, lot 185, for $610 to Rosenbach; sold to A. E. Newton by 1941 <now in an anonymous collection>. **

For Children: The Gates of Paradise (D) Sold posthumously for Frederick Locker through Dodd, Mead & Co. on 27 April 1905 to W. A. White, for whose estate it was valued at $1000 in 1927 by Rosenbach; sold from White’s estate on 1 May 1929 to Rosenwald <now Library of Congress>.

For the Sexes: The Gates of Paradise (D) Acquired by Thomas Boddington and sold posthumously for him at Sotheby’s, 4 November 1895, lot 94, for £21 through Quaritch to W. A. White, from whose estate it was probably sold in 1929 to Rosenbach; offered in Rosenbach, Catalogue of an Exhibition of Manuscripts and Rare Books (January–February 1931), no lot number or price; in A Catalogue of Rare Books of Six Centuries (1935), lot 148, for $2465; in The World of Yesterday (1939), lot 43, for $2750; in A Bibliophile’s Miscellany (1941), lot 56, for $2750; and in The March of Books through the Ages (1944/45), lot 47, for $2750; acquired by 1971 by Mrs. Landon K. Thorne <now Morgan Library and Museum>. **

For the Sexes: The Gates of Paradise (E) Acquired by Frederick Locker, who sold it through Dodd, Mead & Co. to W. A. White; it was sold from his estate to Rosenbach, who bequeathed it to the Rosenbach Foundation <now the Rosenbach of the Free Library of Philadelphia>.

For the Sexes: The Gates of Paradise (H) Bought by Rosenbach for $750 at the Parke-Bernet sale of George C. Smith, Jr., 2 November 1938, lot 52 <now Princeton University Library>.

Henry Fuseli, Lectures on Painting (1801) Acquired by W. A. White, for whose estate it was valued in 1927 by Rosenbach at $15 <untraced>.

“Genesis: The Seven Days of the Created World” [by Tasso] Sold for H. Buxton Forman at Anderson Galleries, 15 March 1920, lot 68, for $1350 to Rosenbach; offered in Rosenbach catalogue 20 (October 1920), lot 8, $2500, and in his Catalogue of an Exhibition of Rare Books, Autograph Manuscripts, and Literary Documents (28 November–23 December 1921), no lot number or price <now Princeton University Library>.

The Ghost of Abel (A), On Homer (A), and “The Man Sweeping the Interpreter’s Parlour” <Essick 2J> Sold by the Earl of Crewe at Sotheby’s, 30 March 1903, lot 8, for £43 to Quaritch; acquired by 1905 by W. A. White; The Ghost of Abel (A) and On Homer (A) were acquired from White’s estate on 1 May 1929 by Rosenwald <now Library of Congress> and “The Man Sweeping the Interpreter’s Parlour” <Essick 2J> was acquired in 1938 by Mrs. Landon K. ThorneMrs. Thorne’s “Man Sweeping” catalogue card has a manuscript note: “Dr. R. | 1938 | $100 | Bought from Phila— | shop”. * <now Morgan Library and Museum>.

Thomas Gray, Designs for Gray’s Poems, ed. Grierson (1922) Acquired by W. A. White, for whose estate it was valued at $10 in 1927 by Rosenbach <untraced>. *

William Hayley, Ballads (1805) Acquired by W. A. White, for whose estate it was valued at $30 in 1927 by Rosenbach <untraced>.Perhaps this is the copy of Mrs. Thorne. Her catalogue card for it has a manuscript note: “B.K.L— | 1941 | $325”. * *

William Hayley, Designs to a Series of Ballads (1802), all four parts Acquired by W. A. White, for whose estate it was valued at $500 in 1927 by Rosenbach; sold from White’s estate on 1 May 1929 to Rosenwald <now Library of Congress, with the pencil signature of W. A. White>.

William Hayley, Designs to a Series of Ballads (1802) “Royal 4to., full green levant morocco binding. FIRST EDITION. The contents consist of four ballads … THERE ARE ONLY THREE OTHER PERFECT COPIES KNOWN: H.E.H; B. B. MacGeorge and W. A. White.Robert N. Essick, “Blake in the Marketplace, 1999,” Blake 33.4 (spring 2000): 125-27, traces complete copies in Cambridge, the Essick collection, the Huntington (2 sets), the Library of Congress, Princeton, and Trinity College (Hartford, Connecticut), and records an untraced copy that belonged to Macgeorge and W. E. Moss. Over.” “$275.00 $975.00”, “Phila 2/29/26” <Rosenbach card>. Offered in Rosenbach, Five Hundred Rare Books … (1936), lot 44 (with “two designs of Blake on two sides of a leaf” <Butlin #361> and “an engraving by Blake extracted from another book” [Hayley, Life of Cowper, pl. 4], both inserted by a previous owner, Frederick Locker-Lampson, the drawing and probably the print acquired by Rosenwald by 1939), $975; in his The World of Yesterday (1939), lot 42 (the drawing and print no longer present), $185; and in his The March of Books through the Ages (1944/45), lot 46, $185 <now Essick collection>. * **

William Hayley, Life of Cowper, 3 vols. (“1803”) Acquired by W. A. White, for whose estate it was valued at $10 in 1927 by Rosenbach <probably the copy now in the Library of Congress>.

Jerusalem (I) Sold by the Earl of Crewe at Sotheby’s, 30 March 1903, lot 15, for £83 to Quaritch for W. A. White, after whose death it was sold on 1 May 1929 through Rosenbach to Rosenwald <now Library of Congress>.

Jerusalem pl. 8 See Europe (c) pl. 2.

Jerusalem, proofs of pls. 9, 19-20, 38a-b, 48, 50, 58, 78, plus Europe (c) pls. 18a-b Acquired by George C. Smith, Jr.; sold posthumously with his collection at Parke-Bernet, 2 November 1938, lot 40, for $500, possibly to Rosenbach, for Rosenwald[Editors’ note: See note 7.] <now Library of Congress>.

Jerusalem pl. 28 (with pl. 35 on the verso) Acquired by W. A. White by 1905, from whose estate it was acquired by Rosenbach, from whose firm it was purchased in 1952 by Mr. Rabinowitz <now Yale Center for British Art>.

Jerusalem pl. 30 See Europe pl. 1.

“Joseph of Arimathea among the Rocks of Albion” <Essick 2H> Acquired by 1905 by W. A. White, for whose estate it was valued at $25 in 1927 by Rosenbach; sold by Rosenbach on 7 December 1938 for $135 to Rosenwald <now National Gallery of Art, Washington, DC>.

“Joseph of Arimathea Preaching to the Inhabitants of Britain” <Essick 1B; Butlin #286> Sold anonymously at Hodgson’s, 14 January 1904, lot 228, for £26.10.0.to Quaritch, who sold it in February 1904 to W. A. White, from whose estate it was sold with “The Accusers of Theft Adultery Murder” <Essick 2C; Butlin #285> on 1 May 1929 for $3000 through Rosenbach to Rosenwald <now National Gallery of Art, Washington, DC>.

“Joseph of Arimathea Preaching to the Inhabitants of Britain” <Butlin #780> (not in Essick) Owned by W. A. White by 1905; owned by Rosenbach by 1939 <now the Rosenbach of the Free Library of Philadelphia>.

John Caspar Lavater, Aphorisms (1794) Acquired by 1905 by W. A. White, for whose estate it was valued at $10 in 1927 by Rosenbach <perhaps the copy now in the Library of Congress>.

“Lear and Cordelia” <Essick 1A, 2B, 3D, 4F, and 4G> Acquired by 1919 by W. A. White, for whose estate they were valued at $50 in 1927 by Rosenbach; acquired by Rosenwald <now National Gallery of Art, Washington, DC>.

“Let Him Look Up” [“Experimental Relief Plate”] <Essick 1A> Acquired by George C. Smith, Jr., with whose collection it was sold posthumously at Parke-Bernet, 2 November 1938, lot 24, for $800 to Rosenbach for Rosenwald <now National Gallery of Art, Washington, DC>. See illus. 4.

4. “Let Him Look Up,” relief and white-line etching, perhaps with engraving, c. 1805–22. <Essick 1A> Plate 16.2 x 9.5 cm. Rosenwald Collection, 1964.8.1777. National Gallery of Art, Washington, DC.

Letter of 2 July 1800 Sold at American Art Association-Anderson Galleries, 25 May 1938, lot 73, for $280, possibly to Rosenbach, for Rosenwald[Editors’ note: A remittance slip from Rosenwald for this sale is among copies of Rosenbach records concerning sales to Rosenwald, supplied to Robert N. Essick by Ruth Fine, who was curator of the Rosenwald Collection. The slip does not, however, name Rosenbach explicitly as the payee.] <now Library of Congress>.

Letter of 19 October 1801 Sold from the collection of William Harris Arnold at Anderson Galleries, 10 November 1924, lot 53 [$150 to Rosenbach] <Rosenbach card>; sold by Rosenbach in 1926 to Mrs. Alice Bemis Taylor <now Morgan Library and Museum>. * **

Letter of 30 January 1803 Sold from the collection of W. E. Moss at Sotheby’s, 2 March 1937, lot 281, for £150 to Rosenbach for Rosenwald <now Library of Congress>.

Letter of 28 September 1804 Sold posthumously for George C. Smith, Jr., at Parke-Bernet, 2 November 1938, lot 6, for $325 to Rosenbach for Rosenwald <now Library of Congress>.

Letter of 9 June 1818 Acquired by W. A. White by 1905, from whose estate it was acquired by Rosenbach, who bequeathed it to the Rosenbach Foundation <now the Rosenbach of the Free Library of Philadelphia>.

Letter of 31 March 1826 “A.L.S. to John Linnell; [London], 31 March 1826. 1 page, 12mo; with address portion of cover preserved; mounted”. Quotes three paragraphs. “$575.00” “12/26/50 | G. Wells EstateThe letter was offered by Charles Boesen, Rare Books, Manuscripts, First Editions, Autograph Letters from the Estate of the Late Gabriel Wells Catalogue 1 (New York, 1948), lot 28, $350. Blake Books says nothing of Rosenbach’s ownership of the letter. | OEARS [$247.50?]” <Rosenbach card>. Acquired by 1971 by Mrs. Landon K. Thorne <now Morgan Library and Museum>. * **

Letter of February 1827 Sold at American Art Association-Anderson Galleries, 25 May 1938, lot 74, for $140, possibly to Rosenbach, for Rosenwald[Editors’ note: See note 28.] <now Library of Congress>.

Benjamin Heath Malkin, A Father’s Memoirs of His Child (1806) Acquired by W. A. White, for whose estate it was valued at $20 in 1927 by Rosenbach <perhaps the copy now in the Library of Congress or the one now in the Rosenbach of the Free Library of Philadelphia>.

“The Man Sweeping the Interpreter’s Parlour” <Essick 2D> See Poetical Sketches (D).

“The Man Sweeping the Interpreter’s Parlour” <Essick 2I> Acquired by W. E. Moss; sold from his collection at Sotheby’s, 2 March 1937, lot 202, for £75 to Rosenbach for Rosenwald <now Library of Congress>.

“The Man Sweeping the Interpreter’s Parlour” <Essick 2J> See The Ghost of Abel (A).

“The Man Sweeping the Interpreter’s Parlour” <Essick 2K> See “The Accusers” <Essick 3G>.

The Marriage of Heaven and Hell (D) Sold from the collection of George C. Smith, Jr., at Parke-Bernet, 2 November 1938, lot 35, for $8800 to Rosenbach for Rosenwald <now Library of Congress>.

The Marriage of Heaven and Hell (E) Acquired in April 1896 by W. A. White; valued for White’s estate (designated “family”) at $5000 by Rosenbach in 1927; acquired by White’s daughter Frances White Emerson <now Fitzwilliam Museum>.

The Marriage of Heaven and Hell (F) Sold from the collection of A. E. Newton at Parke-Bernet, 16 April 1941, lot 135, for $6300 to Rosenbach; owned by 1969 by Mrs. Landon K. Thorne <now Morgan Library and Museum>.

“The Morning Amusements of Her Royal Highness …” <Essick 2C> See “The Battle of Ai” <Essick 1A>.

“Mrs Q” <Essick 2J> Sold from the collection of C. F. Bishop at Anderson Galleries, 19-20 November 1935; sold 7 December 1938 by Rosenbach to Rosenwald for $365 <now National Gallery of Art, Washington, DC>.

Notebook (called “Blake’s Scrap Book”) Acquired by W. A. White in 1887; it passed from his estate, probably in 1929 through Rosenbach, to White’s daughter Frances White Emerson,“Ros[s]etti (Blake’s) manuscript notebook” was “bought from estate by F. W. E.”, according to an anonymous undated note in the Grolier Club, of unknown authority. * ** who gave it in 1957 to the British Museum Department of Manuscripts <now British Library>.

On Homer (A) See The Ghost of Abel (A).

“Order” of the Songs of Innocence and of Experience Bought by Rosenbach for Rosenwald for $550 (with nine plates from Songs) at the sale by Parke-Bernet of George C. Smith, Jr., 2 November 1938, lot 18 <now Library of Congress>.

Pickering Manuscript (called “Poems Original Manuscript”) Acquired by W. A. White, for whose estate it was valued at $1500 in 1927 by Rosenbach, who loaned it to the Philadelphia exhibition (1939), no. 105; acquired by 1971 by Mrs. Landon K. Thorne <now Morgan Library and Museum>.

Poetical Sketches (D) Sold from the collection of Beverly Chew at Anderson Galleries, 8 December 1924, lot 28 (with “The Man Sweeping the Interpreter’s Parlour” <Essick 2D> and George Cumberland’s card <Essick 1H> laid in), for $900 to Rosenbach; acquired by John J. Emery, who loaned it to the Blake exhibition of the Philadelphia Museum of Art (1939), no. 1 <now Cincinnati Art Museum>.

Poetical Sketches (R) Acquired by W. A. White, from whose estate it was probably sold in 1929 to Rosenbach, who bequeathed it to the Rosenbach Foundation <now the Rosenbach of the Free Library of Philadelphia>.

“Rev. John Caspar Lavater” <Essick 3Q>, “Edmund Pitts” <Essick 2E>, “Rev.d Robert Hawker” <Essick 1B, 1C>, and “Wilson Lowry” <Essick 4K>“Wilson Lowry” could be copy 4L in the National Gallery of Art, Washington, DC. Sold from the collection of W. E. Moss at Sotheby’s, 2 March 1937, lot 218 (a large collection of Blake prints), for £11 to Rosenbach for Rosenwald <“Edmund Pitts,” “Rev.d Robert Hawker” <Essick 1B>, and “Wilson Lowry” <Essick 4K> now Library of Congress; “Rev. John Caspar Lavater” and “Rev.d Robert Hawker” <Essick 1C> now National Gallery of Art, Washington, DC>.

“Rev. John Caspar Lavater” <Essick untraced impression 3> Acquired by 1905 by W. A. White, for whose estate it was valued at $10 in 1927 by Rosenbach <untraced, though perhaps the same as Essick 3M, now Library of Congress>.

“Rev.d Robert Hawker” <Essick 1B, 1C> See “Rev. John Caspar Lavater” <Essick 3Q>.

Joseph Ritson, ed., A Select Collection of English Songs (1783) Acquired by the Rosenbach Foundation <now the Rosenbach of the Free Library of Philadelphia>.

C. G. Salzmann, Elements of Morality (1791) Acquired by W. A. White, for whose estate it was valued at $50 in 1927 by Rosenbach <perhaps the copy now in the Library of Congress>.

John Scott, Poetical Works (1782) Acquired by W. A. White, for whose estate it was valued at $15 in 1927 by Rosenbach <perhaps one of the two copies now in the Library of Congress>.

John Scott, Poetical Works (1782), “proofs before letters printed on India paper” Sold by W. E. Moss at Sotheby’s, 2 March 1937, lot 218 (a large collection of Blake prints), for £11 to Rosenbach <untraced>.

William Bell Scott, William Blake: Etchings from His Works (1878) Acquired by W. A. White, for whose estate it was valued at $5 in 1927 by Rosenbach <untraced>.

The Song of Los (B) Acquired by W. A. White, from whose estate it was sold on 1 May 1929 through Rosenbach to Rosenwald <now Library of Congress>.

The Song of Los (C) See Visions of the Daughters of Albion (H).

Songs of Innocence (B) Acquired by W. E. Moss, from whose collection it was sold at Sotheby’s, 2 March 1937, lot 143, for £750 to Rosenbach for Rosenwald <now Library of Congress>.

Songs of Innocence (P) Bought through Rosenbach in 1940 by Chauncey Brewster Tinker <now Beinecke Library, Yale University>.

Songs of Innocence and of Experience (C) Acquired by W. E. Moss, from whose collection it was sold at Sotheby’s, 2 March 1937, lot 144, for £1400 to Rosenbach for Rosenwald <now Library of Congress>.

Songs of Innocence and of Experience (D) Acquired by A. E. Newton, from whose collection it was sold at Parke-Bernet, 16 April 1941, lot 136, for $6100 to Rosenbach; acquired by A. A. Houghton <now in an anonymous collection>.

Songs of Innocence and of Experience (I) Acquired by Rosenbach by 1911; offered in his catalogue (December 1911), lot 74, no price; sold by 1918 to the library of Harry Elkins Widener <now Widener Library, Harvard University>.

Songs of Innocence and of Experience (S) Sold from the collection of Beverly Chew at Anderson Galleries, 8 December 1924, lot 29, for $5500 to Rosenbach; acquired by John J. Emery, who loaned it to the Blake exhibition of the Philadelphia Museum of Art (1939), no. 42 <now Cincinnati Art Museum>.

Songs of Innocence and of Experience (U) Acquired in 1895 by W. A. White; valued for White’s estate (designated “family”) at $12,000 by Rosenbach in 1927; acquired by White’s daughter Mrs. Hugh D. Marshall <now Princeton University Library>.

Songs of Innocence and of Experience (V) Sold from the collection of Algernon Methuen at Sotheby’s, 19 February 1936, lot 499, for £1050 to Rosenbach; acquired by Mrs. Landon K. Thorne, who loaned it to the Blake exhibition of the Philadelphia Museum of Art (1939), no. 46 <now Morgan Library and Museum>.

Songs of Innocence and of Experience (Z) Sold from the collection of Willis Vickery at American Art Association-Anderson Galleries, 1 March 1933, lot 16, for $6000 to Rosenbach; acquired by Frank Bemis; sold posthumously on 4 November 1938 through Rosenbach to Rosenwald <now Library of Congress>.

Songs of Innocence and of Experience (g1) Sold at the H. Buxton Forman sale, Anderson Galleries, 15 March 1920, lot 51, for $60 to Rosenbach; acquired by A. E. Newton by 1941 <now Princeton University Library>.

Songs of Innocence and of Experience (g2) Sold at the H. Buxton Forman sale, Anderson Galleries, 15 March 1920, lot 52, for $65 to Rosenbach; possibly the copy offered in Rosenbach’s Catalogue of an Exhibition of Rare Books, Autograph Manuscripts, and Literary Documents (28 November–23 December 1921), no lot number or price; acquired by R. B. Adam, who sold it at Anderson Galleries, 15 February 1926, lot 36, for $50 to Rosenbach, who gave it in the autumn of 1938 to Rosenwald <now Library of Congress>.

Songs of Innocence and of Experience (h) Acquired by H. Buxton Forman; sold from his collection at Anderson Galleries, 15 March 1920, lot 53, for $90 to Rosenbach; possibly the copy offered in Rosenbach’s Catalogue of an Exhibition of Rare Books, Autograph Manuscripts, and Literary Documents (28 November–23 December 1921), no lot number or price; acquired from Mr. Reid (a dealer of Chesterton, South Carolina) by Charlton M. Theus, Jr. <now Essick collection>. **

Songs of Innocence and of Experience pl. 42 [“The Tyger”] and pl. 51 [“A Little Girl Lost”] Acquired by George C. Smith, Jr., from whose collection they were sold at Parke-Bernet, 2 November 1938, lot 19, for $160 to Rosenbach <untraced>.

Songs of Innocence [and of Experience] (1839) Acquired by W. A. White, for whose estate it was valued at $5 in 1927 by Rosenbach <untraced>. **

There is No Natural Religion (B) Acquired by W. A. White and obtained by his daughter “F. W. Emerson | Mch. 11. 1929. From W. A. W’s heirs | $1600” and “offered by Rosenbach | at that date | £200” (according to notes on the fly-leaf) <now Yale Center for British Art>.

There is No Natural Religion (C) Acquired by W. A. White, from whose estate it was sold on 1 May 1929 through Rosenbach to Rosenwald <now Library of Congress>.

There is No Natural Religion (F)[Editors’ note: Copies F and I consist mainly of nineteenth-century facsimiles, although this was not known at the time that Rosenbach handled them; see Joseph Viscomi, Blake and the Idea of the Book (Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1993) 198-216.] Acquired by A. E. Newton, from whose collection it was sold at Parke-Bernet, 16 April 1941, lot 153, for $1500 to Rosenbach for Rosenwald <now Library of Congress>.

There is No Natural Religion (I) Acquired by H. Buxton Forman, from whose collection it was sold at Anderson Galleries, 15 March 1920, lot 48, for $625 to Rosenbach; offered in Rosenbach catalogue 20 (October 1920), lot 9, for $1800, and in his Catalogue of an Exhibition of Rare Books, Autograph Manuscripts, and Literary Documents (28 November–23 December 1921), no lot number or price; acquired by George C. Smith, Jr., by 1930; sold at Parke-Bernet, 2 November 1938, lot 13, for $1000 to Rosenbach; acquired by Mrs. Landon K. Thorne, who loaned it to the Blake exhibition of the Philadelphia Museum of Art (1939), no. 8 <now Morgan Library and Museum>. **

“Tornado,” Fuseli-Blake (1795) for Darwin, Botanic Garden Acquired by W. A. White, for whose estate it was valued at $10 in 1927 by Rosenbach <untraced>. **

Visions of the Daughters of Albion (F) and pls. 1-3 <Butlin #263 for pl. 1> Acquired by Paul Hyde Bonner, who sold them at American Art Association-Anderson Galleries, 15 February 1934, lot 11, for $5200 to Rosenbach; sold by 1971 to Mrs. Landon K. Thorne <now Morgan Library and Museum>.

Visions of the Daughters of Albion (H), Europe (G), The Song of Los (C), and three watercolors Acquired 2 March 1908 by W. A. White, who gave them in 1917 to his daughter Frances White Emerson, for whom they were sold posthumously (without the drawings) at Sotheby’s, 19 May 1958, lot 4, for £23,000 to Rosenbach’s successor, John Fleming, who sold Europe (G) and The Song of Los (C) to Mrs. Landon K. Thorne <now Morgan Library and Museum>; Visions (H) went to the Rosenbach Foundation <now the Rosenbach of the Free Library of Philadelphia>.

Visions of the Daughters of Albion (I) Acquired in July 1904 by W. A. White; valued for White’s estate (designated “family”) at $3500 by Rosenbach in 1927; acquired by White’s niece Mrs. Adrian Van Sinderen <now Yale Center for British Art>.

Visions of the Daughters of Albion (J) Purchased for $3700 by Rosenbach for Rosenwald at the sale by Parke-Bernet of the collection of George C. Smith, Jr., 2 November 1938, lot 20 <now Library of Congress>.

Visions of the Daughters of Albion (L) Purchased by Rosenbach[Editors’ note: Blake Books p. 476 gives Gannon as the buyer, though Sale Catalogues of William Blake’s Works (updated May 2017) <http://​library.​vicu.​utoronto.​ca/​collections/​special_collections/​bentley_blake_collection/​pdf/​May_2017/​may_2017_sale_catalogue_blake.​pdf> gives Rosenbach.] for $2500 at the sale by Parke-Bernet of the collection of George C. Smith, Jr., 2 November 1938, lot 21 <now Princeton University Library>.

Visions of the Daughters of Albion pls. 1-3 See Visions of the Daughters of Albion (F).

“Wilson Lowry” <Essick 4K> See “Rev. John Caspar Lavater” <Essick 3Q>.

“Wilson Lowry” <Essick untraced impression 4> Acquired by W. A. White, for whose estate it was valued at $10 in 1927 by Rosenbach; acquired by Caroline Newton by 1968 <probably one of the two copies now in Princeton University Library>.

Wit’s Magazine (1784) Acquired by W. A. White, for whose estate it was valued at $30 in 1927 by Rosenbach <perhaps one of the three copies now in the Library of Congress>.

Mary Wollstonecraft, Original Stories from Real Life (1791) Acquired by the Rosenbach Foundation <now the Rosenbach of the Free Library of Philadelphia>.

Edward Young, Night Thoughts (1797) Acquired by W. A. White, for whose estate it was valued in 1927 by Rosenbach, who bequeathed it to the Rosenbach Foundation <now the Rosenbach of the Free Library of Philadelphia>.

Edward Young, Night Thoughts (1797) Acquired by W. A. White, for whose estate it was valued in 1927 by Rosenbach <untraced>. **

Edward Young, Night Thoughts (1797), colored copy (B) Acquired by W. E. Moss, from whose collection it was sold at Sotheby’s, 2 March 1937, lot 261, for £800 to Rosenbach for Rosenwald <now Library of Congress>.

Edward Young, Night Thoughts (1797), colored copy (J) Acquired by W. A. White, from whose estate it was sold on 1 May 1929 through Rosenbach to Rosenwald <now Library of Congress>.

Edward Young, Night Thoughts (1797), colored copy (K) Acquired by George C. Smith, Jr., by 1927; sold at Parke-Bernet, 2 November 1938, lot 45, for $675 to Rosenbach for Mrs. Landon K. ThorneMrs. Thorne’s catalogue card for colored copy (K) has a manuscript note: “Parke-Bernet | Smith Sale— | 1938 | Dr. R— | $675”. <now Morgan Library and Museum>.

Edward Young, Night Thoughts (1797), colored copy (M) Acquired by W. A. White; given in 1913 to his daughter Frances White Emerson, for whom it was sold posthumously at Sotheby’s, 19 May 1958, lot 6, for £850 to Rosenbach’s successor, John Fleming <now Bibliotheca Bodmeriana, Cologny-Geneva, Switzerland>.

Edward Young, Night Thoughts (1797), colored copy (N?) Offered in Rosenbach catalogue (December 1911), lot 75 (no price).

Paintings and Drawings

Affection and Love <Butlin #797> Acquired by W. A. White by 1905, from whose estate it was probably acquired in 1929 by Rosenbach; acquired by Chauncey B. Tinker <now Beinecke Library, Yale University>.

Albion and the Letter That Killeth <Butlin #568> Acquired by W. A. White by 1905; probably sold from his estate in 1929 through Rosenbach to Rosenwald <now Library of Congress>.

America and Other Books, sketches <Butlin #226> Acquired by W. A. White by 1905, from whose estate it was probably acquired by Rosenbach, who loaned it to the Philadelphia exhibition (1939), no. 194 <now Essick collection>.

Anatomical Sketches <Butlin #594> Acquired by W. A. White by 1905, from whose estate it was probably sold in 1929 to Rosenbach, who bequeathed it to the Rosenbach Foundation <now the Rosenbach of the Free Library of Philadelphia>.

An Armed Man Spurning a Woman <Butlin #239>, The Descent of Peace <Butlin #539>, Two Legs <Butlin #606>, A Figure Ascending in a Glory of Clouds <Butlin #619>, An Ascending Spiral of Figures <Butlin #771> Acquired by George C. Smith, Jr., from whose collection they were sold at Parke-Bernet, 2 November 1938, lot 108, for $120 to Rosenbach for Rosenwald, who loaned The Descent of Peace to the Blake exhibition of the Philadelphia Museum of Art (1939), no. 202 <now National Gallery of Art, Washington, DC>.

An Ascending Spiral of Figures <Butlin #771> See An Armed Man Spurning a Woman.

An Ass with a Long Sword and Other Sketches <Butlin #213> Acquired by W. A. White by 1905, from whose estate it was probably sold in 1929 to Rosenbach; sold to Caroline Newton <now Princeton University Library>.

Canute <Butlin #721, Visionary Head> Acquired by George C. Smith, Jr., from whose collection it was sold at Parke-Bernet, 2 November 1938, lot 104, for $300 to Rosenbach for Rosenwald, who loaned it to the Blake exhibition of the Philadelphia Museum of Art (1939), no. 207 <now National Gallery of Art, Washington, DC>.

The Children of Israel Receiving the Ten Commandments from Moses <Butlin #114> Acquired by W. A. White, from whose estate it was probably sold in 1929 to Rosenbach, who sold it to George C. Smith, Jr., by 1938 <now Israel Museum, Jerusalem>.

Christ Appearing to the Apostles after the Resurrection, color print <Butlin #326> Acquired by 1919 by W. A. White, for whose estate it was valued at $2500 in 1927 by Rosenbach; sold through Rosenbach as an “Original drawing in colors” in 1929 to Rosenwald <now National Gallery of Art, Washington, DC>. ** See illus. 5.

5. Christ Appearing to the Apostles after the Resurrection, color print, c. 1795. <Butlin #326> 43.2 x 57.5 cm. Rosenwald Collection, 1943.3.8995. National Gallery of Art, Washington, DC.

Christ Raising the Son of the Widow of Nain <Butlin #483> Acquired by F. P. Osmaston; sold at Sotheby’s, 26-28 July 1926, lot 763, to Gabriel Wells; ?Rosenbach; acquired by A. E. Newton, who loaned it to the Blake exhibition of the Philadelphia Museum of Art (1939), no. 167 <now Carnegie Museum of Art, Pittsburgh>.

Dante, Sketch for the Engraving of “The Six-Footed Serpent Attacking Agnolo Brunelleschi” <Butlin #822> Offered in Rosenbach catalogue 18 (1916), lot 17 (with Milton, Comus, etc.), and his catalogue 24 (1916); sold in 1916 to Henry E. Huntington, who bequeathed it in 1927 to the Huntington Library.

The Day of Judgment <Butlin #645, The Last Judgment> Acquired by W. A. White, for whose estate it was valued at $750 in 1927 by Rosenbach; it was probably sold from the estate in 1929 to Rosenwald <now National Gallery of Art, Washington, DC>.

The Descent of Peace <Butlin #539> See An Armed Man Spurning a Woman.

Diana and Actaeon? <Butlin #781> Acquired by W. A. White by 1905, from whose estate it was probably sold in 1929 to Rosenbach, who loaned it to the Blake exhibition of the Philadelphia Museum of Art (1939), no. 201 <now Princeton University Library>.

Donald the Hammerer: Copy after Blake <Butlin #783> Acquired by George C. Smith, Jr., from whose collection it was sold at Parke-Bernet, 2 November 1938, lot 100, for $150 [Anon., i.e., Rosenbach]; sold by 1974 to Mrs. Landon K. Thorne <now Morgan Library and Museum>.

The Eagle <Butlin #363> Acquired by W. Graham Robertson, for whom it was sold posthumously at Christie’s, 22 July 1949, lot 56, for £78.15.0 to Rosenbach, who sold it to Mrs. Landon K. ThorneMrs. Thorne’s catalogue card for The Eagle bears a manuscript note saying it was in the Graham Robertson sale, 22 July 1949, bought by Rosenbach for [$]318. * <now Morgan Library and Museum>.

Edward I (or III) <Butlin #735, Visionary Head> Acquired by George C. Smith, Jr., from whose collection it was sold at Parke-Bernet, 2 November 1938, lot 107, for $175 to Rosenbach for Rosenwald <now National Gallery of Art, Washington, DC>.

A Female Figure Crouching in a Cave <Butlin #134> Sold by Miss Thena Clough at Sotheby’s, 5-6 March 1934, lot 338, for £18 to Dulau; sold to Rosenbach; acquired by Edwin Wolf 2nd <now Anthony Wolf>.

A Figure Ascending in a Glory of Clouds <Butlin #619> See An Armed Man Spurning a Woman.

Fire <Butlin #194> Acquired by W. Graham Robertson, for whom it was sold posthumously at Christie’s, 22 July 1949, lot 8, for £1050 to Rosenbach; sold to Mrs. Landon K. ThorneMrs. Thorne’s catalogue card for Fire has a manuscript note: “Christie—July 22 1948 [i.e., 1949] Robertson Sale—4,242”. * <now Morgan Library and Museum>.

Full-Face Head of a Young Woman <Butlin #686> Acquired by Rosenbach; sold by his successor, John Fleming, to Lawrence Lande by 1953 <now McGill University Library>.

The Ghost of Samuel Appearing to Saul <Butlin #458> Acquired by A. E. Newton, from whose collection it was sold at Parke-Bernet, 16 April 1941, lot 116, for $4000 to Rosenbach for Rosenwald <now National Gallery of Art, Washington, DC>.

The Good Farmer <Butlin #122> Acquired by W. A. White by 1905, from whose estate it was probably acquired in 1929 by Rosenbach; acquired by George C. Smith, Jr. (sold 1938) <now Essick collection>.

The Great Red Dragon and the Beast from the Sea <Butlin #521> Acquired by Marsden J. Perry, who loaned it to the Blake exhibition of the Grolier Club (1905), no. 90c; sold in 1908 to W. A. White, from whose estate it was sold in 1929 through Rosenbach to Rosenwald <now National Gallery of Art, Washington, DC>. See illus. 6.

6. The Great Red Dragon and the Beast from the Sea, pen and watercolor, c. 1803–05. <Butlin #521> 40.1 x 35.6 cm. Rosenwald Collection, 1943.3.8997. National Gallery of Art, Washington, DC.

The Great Red Dragon and the Woman Clothed with the Sun <Butlin #520> Acquired by A. E. Newton, from whose collection it was sold at Parke-Bernet, 16 April 1941, lot 118, for $10,100 to Rosenbach for Rosenwald <now National Gallery of Art, Washington, DC>.

Group of Men Seated in a Circle <Butlin #148> “Sold at an unidentified sale 22 December 1938” (Butlin) to Rosenbach; sold to Rosenwald <now National Gallery of Art, Washington, DC>.

Job and His Daughters <Butlin #394, tempera> Acquired by George C. Smith, Jr., from whose collection it was sold at Parke-Bernet, 2 November 1938, lot 109, for $1200 to Rosenbach for Rosenwald <now National Gallery of Art, Washington, DC>.

Job and His Daughters <Butlin #555> Acquired by H. H. Gilchrist, for whom it was sold at Sotheby’s, 24 June 1903, lot 26, for £3 to Quaritch for W. A. White, from whose estate it was probably sold in 1929 through Rosenbach to Rosenwald <now National Gallery of Art, Washington, DC>.

A Man Seen from Behind, Rising on Clouds <Butlin #230> Probably acquired by W. A. White by 1905 and probably sold from his estate in 1929 through Rosenbach to Rosenwald, who loaned it to the Blake exhibition of the Philadelphia Museum of Art (1939), no. 197 <now National Gallery of Art, Washington, DC>.

“Marriage of Heaven and Hell,” “Original drawing,” “Damaged” <not in Butlin> Acquired by W. A. White, for whose estate it was valued at $250 in 1927 by Rosenbach; it may have been sold from the estate in 1929 to Rosenbach <untraced>. **

“Mercury and Argus,” “In the manner of Blake” <not in Butlin> Acquired by W. A. White, for whose estate it was valued at $50 in 1927 by Rosenbach; it may have been sold from the estate in 1929 to Rosenbach <untraced>. *

Milton, Comus, the Thomas set <Butlin #527 1-8> Acquired by F. T. Sabin (1913); offered in Rosenbach catalogue 18 (1916), lot 17 (with other drawings), and in his catalogue 24 (1916); sold in 1916 to Henry E. Huntington, who bequeathed it in 1927 to the Huntington Library.

Milton, On the Morning of Christ’s Nativity, the Butts set <Butlin #542 1-6> Offered in Rosenbach’s catalogue (December 1912), lot 11 (no price), and his catalogue 17 (November 1913), lot 61, $9500; sold in 1916 to Henry E. Huntington, who bequeathed it in 1927 to the Huntington Library.

Milton, Paradise Lost, ten of the watercolors for the Thomas set: Satan Calling Up His Legions; Satan, Sin, and Death: Satan Comes to the Gates of Hell; Christ Offers to Redeem Man; Satan Spying on Adam and Eve and Raphael’s Descent into Paradise; The Rout of the Rebel Angels; The Creation of Eve; The Temptation and Fall of Eve; The Judgment of Adam and Eve: “So Judged He Man”; Michael Foretells the Crucifixion; and The Expulsion <Butlin #529 1-4, 7-12> Acquired 1906 by F. T. Sabin; sold by Rosenbach in 1911 to Henry E. Huntington, who bequeathed it in 1927 to the Huntington Library.

Milton, Paradise Lost, one of the watercolors for the Butts set: Satan, Sin, and Death: Satan Comes to the Gates of Hell <Butlin #536 2> Acquired by F. T. Sabin in 1907; Rosenbach, 1911; sold in 1916 to Henry E. Huntington, who bequeathed it in 1927 to the Huntington Library.

Milton, Paradise Lost, one of the watercolors for the Butts set: The Judgment of Adam and Eve: “So Judged He Man” <Butlin #536 10> Acquired by W. A. White, for whose estate it was valued at $1500 in 1927 by Rosenbach; acquired by Harold T. White, probably by inheritance <now Houghton Library, Harvard University>.

Moses and Aaron(?) Flanked by Angels <Butlin #112> Acquired by W. A. White by 1905, from whose estate it was probably sold in 1929 to Rosenbach; sold by Rosenbach’s successor, John Fleming, in 1957 to Caroline Newton <now Princeton University Library>.

Moses Staying the Plague(?) <Butlin #115> Acquired by W. A. White by 1905; “sold at an unidentified sale 22 December 1938” (Butlin) to Rosenbach; sold to Rosenwald <now National Gallery of Art, Washington, DC>.

Nebuchadnezzar, “Visionary Head” <Butlin #704?> Acquired by W. A. White, for whose estate it was valued at $200 in 1927 by Rosenbach; it was probably sold from the estate in 1929 to Rosenbach <untraced>. * **

Nude Male Figures <Butlin #593> Acquired by W. A. White by 1905, from whose estate it was probably sold in 1929 to Rosenbach, who bequeathed it to the Rosenbach Foundation <now the Rosenbach of the Free Library of Philadelphia>.

The Number of the Beast Is 666 <Butlin #522> Acquired by 1905 by Marsden J. Perry, who sold it in 1908 to W. A. White; his son Harold T. White sold it in 1950 to Rosenbach, who bequeathed it to the Rosenbach Foundation <now the Rosenbach of the Free Library of Philadelphia>.

An Old Man Seated Leaning on a Pile of Books; A Young Man Approaches <Butlin #235> Acquired by W. A. White by 1905, from whose estate it was probably sold in 1929 to Rosenbach, who bequeathed it to the Rosenbach Foundation <now the Rosenbach of the Free Library of Philadelphia>.

An Old Man Standing, Another Kneeling <Butlin #75A, “Probably not by Blake”> Acquired by W. A. White, from whose estate it was probably sold in 1929 to Rosenbach, whose firm sold it in 1953 to an anonymous collector.

“One male Three female figures,” “in pencil” Acquired by W. A. White, for whose estate it was valued at $100 in 1927 by Rosenbach; it may have been sold from the estate in 1929 to Rosenbach.The design of “One male Three female figures” does not correspond to any recorded in Butlin that passed from White to Rosenbach.

Rees, Cyclopaedia, sketches <Butlin #678A> Acquired by W. E. Moss, for whom it was sold at Sotheby’s, 2 March 1937, lot 199 (with Blake’s seven engravings for Rees), for £100 to Rosenbach for Rosenwald <now Library of Congress>.

A Resurrection Scene <Butlin #600> Acquired by W. A. White by 1905, from whose estate it was probably sold in 1929 through Rosenbach to Rosenwald <now National Gallery of Art, Washington, DC>.

Samson Breaking His Bonds <Butlin #453> Sold by J. L. Field at Sotheby’s, 30 July 1946, lot 464, for £1100 to Rosenbach, who sold it to Mrs. Landon K. ThorneMrs. Thorne’s catalogue card for Samson Breaking His Bonds has a manuscript note: Sotheby 29-30 July 1946, lot 464 (property of J. L. Field) to Rosenbach for £4,500. * [Editors’ note: £4500 may be a mistake for $4500; see, for comparison, the notes to The Eagle and Fire.] <now Morgan Library and Museum>.

Saul and David <Butlin #118> “Sold at an unidentified sale 22 December 1938” (Butlin) to Rosenbach, who sold it to Rosenwald <now National Gallery of Art, Washington, DC>.

A Shepherd with His Dog on the Edge of a Precipice <Butlin #333> Acquired by 1905 by W. A. White, from whose estate it was probably sold in 1929 to Rosenbach; given by the Print Club of Cleveland in 1932 to the Cleveland Museum [of Art].

Solomon <Butlin #701, Visionary Head> Acquired by George C. Smith, Jr., from whose collection it was sold at Parke-Bernet, 2 November 1938, lot 105, for $250 to Rosenbach; acquired by Morris Wolf <owned by Edwin Wolf 2nd in 1980, now presumably with one or more descendants>.

St. Augustine Converting King Ethelbert of Kent <Butlin #58> Acquired (by 1905?) by W. A. White, from whose estate it was probably sold in 1929 through Rosenbach to Rosenwald <now National Gallery of Art, Washington, DC>.

Three Compositions <Butlin #212> Acquired by 1905 by W. A. White, from whose estate it was probably sold in 1929 to Rosenbach, whose firm sold it to Caroline Newton by 1975 <now Princeton University Library>.

Time’s Triple Bow <Butlin #567> Acquired by 1905 by W. A. White, from whose estate it was probably sold in 1929 through Rosenbach to Rosenwald <now National Gallery of Art, Washington, DC>.

Two Legs <Butlin #606> See An Armed Man Spurning a Woman.

Two Swans <Butlin #332A> Acquired by 1905 by W. A. White, from whose estate it was probably sold in 1929 to Rosenbach, who bequeathed it to the Rosenbach Foundation <now the Rosenbach of the Free Library of Philadelphia>.

A Warring Angel <Butlin #78> Probably acquired by 1905 by W. A. White, from whose estate it was probably sold in 1929 to Rosenbach, who sold it to Rosenwald, who loaned it to the Blake exhibition of the Philadelphia Museum of Art (1939), no. 193; acquired by Rosenwald <now National Gallery of Art, Washington, DC>.

Wat Tyler <Butlin #737, Visionary Head> Acquired by George C. Smith, Jr., from whose collection it was sold at Parke-Bernet, 2 November 1938, lot 101, for $100 to Rosenbach, from whom it passed to Morris Wolf, who loaned it to the Blake exhibition of the Philadelphia Museum of Art (1939), no. 213 <on sale by Bauman Rare Books (New York)>.

Wat Tyler’s Daughter <Butlin #741, Visionary Head> Acquired by W. A. White, for whose estate it was valued at $200 in 1927 by Rosenbach; sold by Rosenbach by 1939 to Rosenwald <now National Gallery of Art, Washington, DC>.

William Cowper after Romney <Butlin #351> Acquired by George C. Smith, Jr., from whose collection it was sold at Parke-Bernet, 2 November 1938, lot 102 (with three engravings of Cowper), for $350 to Rosenbach for Rosenwald <now Library of Congress>.

Wollstonecraft, Mary, Original Stories from Real Life (1791), ten designs <Butlin #244 1-10> Acquired by A. E. Newton, from whose collection they were sold at Parke-Bernet, 16 April 1941, lot 120, for $1500 to Rosenbach for Rosenwald <now Library of Congress>.

A Woman Bewailing over a Figure Stretched along the Ground <Butlin #203> Acquired by 1905? by W. A. White, from whose estate it was probably sold in 1929 through Rosenbach to Rosenwald <now Library of Congress>.

A Woman with Snaky Locks <Butlin #202, inscribed on the verso “Father & Mother I return …”> Acquired by 1905 by W. A. White, for whose estate it was valued at $100 in 1927 by Rosenbach; it was probably sold in 1929 through Rosenbach to Rosenwald <now Library of Congress>.

Rosenbach’s Blake Dealings

Arranged by Date

Links in this section to catalogue titles and lot numbers are to scans of the catalogues online. Links to Blake’s works are to the detailed listings in the section above.

1910?

The Book of Thel (L)

1911 December

Rosenbach catalogue

74 Songs of Innocence and of Experience (I), no price
75 Young, Night Thoughts (1797), colored copy (N?), no price

1911

Milton, Paradise Lost, ten of the watercolors for the Thomas set <Butlin #529 1-4, 7-12> Milton, Paradise Lost, one of the watercolors for the Butts set<Butlin #536 2>

1912 December

Rosenbach catalogue

11 Milton, On the Morning of Christ’s Nativity, the Butts set <Butlin #542 1-6>, no price

1913 November

Rosenbach catalogue 17

61 Milton, On the Morning of Christ’s Nativity, the Butts set <Butlin #542 1-6>, $9500

1916

Rosenbach catalogue 18

17 Milton, Comus, the Thomas set <Butlin #527 1-8>, plus “the original designs for ‘America,’ Dante’s ‘Inferno,’ Blair’s ‘Grave,’ etc., etc.”, $29,000

1916

Rosenbach catalogue 24

As in Rosenbach catalogue 18 (1916).

1918 December 2

Anderson Galleries, Catalogue of the Library of Herschel V. Jones [A-H]

182 The Book of Thel (E), $79 to Rosenbach
183 America (Q), $3600 to Rosenbach
185 For Children: The Gates of Paradise (C), with four drawings <Butlin #201A 1-4>, $610 to Rosenbach

1920 March 15

Anderson Galleries, The Library of the Late H. Buxton Forman [Part I]

39 John Brown, Elements of Medicine (1795), $80 to Rosenbach
48 There is No Natural Religion (I), $625 to Rosenbach
51 Songs of Innocence and of Experience (g1), $60 to Rosenbach
52 Songs of Innocence and of Experience (g2), $65 to Rosenbach
53 Songs of Innocence and of Experience (h), $90 to Rosenbach
66 The First Book of Urizen pl. 22, $1060 to Rosenbach
68 “Genesis: The Seven Days of the Created World,” $1350 to Rosenbach

1920 October

Rosenbach catalogue 20

8 “Genesis: The Seven Days of the Created World,” $2500
9 There is No Natural Religion (I), $1800

1921 November 28–December 23

Rosenbach, Catalogue of an Exhibition of Rare Books, Autograph Manuscripts,
and Literary Documents

  Songs of Innocence and of Experience (g2) or (h)
  There is No Natural Religion (I)
  “Genesis: The Seven Days of the Created World”
  Robert Blair, The Grave, copperplates for Blake’s designs

1922 November 13

Bible, Job (1826)

1923 May 2

American Art Association, Illustrated Catalogue of American and English “Men of Letters” … Mainly from the Library of the Late Charles Eliot Norton

14 Bible, Job (1826), $150 to Rosenbach

1923 November 12

Anderson Galleries, The Library of John Quinn, Part One [A-C]

716 Robert Blair, The Grave (1813), $950[?][Editors’ note: See note 15.] to Rosenbach
717 Bible, Job (1826), $145 to Rosenbach

1924 November 10

Anderson Galleries, Catalogue of the William Harris Arnold Collection of Manuscripts, Books, and Autograph Letters

53 Letter of 19 October 1801, $150 to Rosenbach

1924 December 8

Anderson Galleries, The Library of the Late Beverly Chew [Part One]

28 Poetical Sketches (D) (with “The Man Sweeping the Interpreter’s Parlour” <Essick 2D> and George Cumberland’s card <Essick 1H> laid in), $900 to Rosenbach
29 Songs of Innocence and of Experience (S), $5500 to Rosenbach

1925 November 11

Bible, Job (1826)
Robert Blair, The Grave (1808)

1926 February 15

Anderson Galleries, English Literature from the Library of Mr R. B. Adam

36 Songs of Innocence and of Experience (g2), $50 to Rosenbach

1926 February 29

William Hayley, Designs to a Series of Ballads (1802)

1926 April 2

William Enfield, The Speaker (1795)

1926 April 3

Mylius, “The Junior Class-Book … 6 plates engraved by Blake. 12mo., contemporary marbled calf. London … [sic] for Godwin ..[.] 1809. Bookplate: Forman [Not in Keynes] KNS [$9.00]”, “$25.00”, “see also Lamb (C) Phila 3/4/26”Plainly this comes from the Anderson Galleries sale of H. Buxton Forman, 26 April 1920, lot 53: William Frederic Mylius, The Junior Class-Book; or, Reading Lessons for Every Day in the Year (London, 1809), “illustrated with six plates by Blake.” It is very unlikely that the prints are by Blake. See “William Blake and His Circle: A Checklist of Publications and Discoveries in 2014,” Blake 49.1 (summer 2015). <Rosenbach card> <untraced>. *

1926 April 5

John Brown, Elements of Medicine (1795)

1927 February 14

American Art Association, The Notable Library of Major W. Van R. Whitall

111 The Book of Thel (H), $5000 to Rosenbach

1927

“WILLIAM BLAKE” (collection of W. A. White valued by Rosenbach)Some Blakes that White gave away to his family are not included in Rosenbach’s 1927 list, such as the letter of April? 1826, given to his brother Alfred T. White; Songs of Innocence (G), given on 10 Aug. 1895 to his daughter Frances; and Songs of Innocence (Q), given to Alfred.

Printed Books, Prints, and Manuscripts

Charles Allen, Roman History (1798) *$15
America (D) or (E), “Uncolored. Morocco” **$1500
America (M), “Colored. Morocco,” “family”$7500
Bible, Job (1825), “Proofs Unbound” **$250
Bible, Job (“1825”), “Half Russia” **$150
Bible, Job (“1825”), “Calf” **$150
Laurence Binyon, Little Engravings (1902), “Boards” **$3.50
Robert Blair, The Grave (1808), “Large paper. Half morocco” **$50
Robert Blair, The Grave (1808), “Boards” **$20
Robert Blair, The Grave, “New York, undated” **$2.50
The Book of Ahania (A) pls. 2-6 **$2000
The Book of Thel (C), “Morocco,” “family” **$4500
Gottfried Augustus Bürger, Leonora (1796) **$50
“Chaucers Canterbury Pilgrims” <Essick untraced impression 23> **$100
Geoffrey Chaucer, Prologue (1812) **$100
George “Cumberland Message Card” <Essick untraced impression 2> **$20
Dante (“1839”), “Half morocco” **$30
Erasmus Darwin, Botanic Garden (1795), print of “Tornado” **$10
Descriptive Catalogue (L) **$75
Europe (C), “Plates loose in portfolio,” “family” **$9000
“The Everlasting Gospel” **$1000
The First Book of Urizen (G), “Morocco” **$5000
John Flaxman, Naval Pillar (1799) **$20
For Children: The Gates of Paradise (D), “Morocco” **$1000
For the Sexes: The Gates of Paradise (D), “Large paper proofs. Half calf” **$1500
For the Sexes: The Gates of Paradise (E), “Morocco” **$1000
Henry Fuseli, Lectures on Painting (1801) **$15
The Ghost of Abel (A) **$500
Thomas Gray, Designs for Gray’s Poems, ed. Grierson (1922) **$10
William Hayley, Ballads (1805) **$30
William Hayley, Designs to a Series of Ballads (1802), “Four parts” **$500
William Hayley, Life of Cowper, 3 vols. (“1803”) **$10
Jerusalem (I), “Morocco” **$5000
“Joseph of Arimathea among the Rocks of Albion” <Essick 2H> **$25
John Caspar Lavater, Aphorisms (1794) **$10
“Lear and Cordelia” <Essick 1A, 2B, 3D, 4F, 4G> **$50
Letter of 9 June 1818 **$300
Benjamin Heath Malkin, A Father’s Memoirs (1806) **$20
The Marriage of Heaven and Hell (E), “Half roan,” “family” **$5000
Notebook, “Blake’s Scrap Book. Containing many pages in Blake’s autograph and a number of original sketches. Old half calf” **$6500
Pickering Manuscript **$1500
Poetical Sketches (R), “Sheets, unbound and unstitched” **$750
“Rev. John Caspar Lavater” <Essick untraced impression 3> **$10
C. G. Salzmann, Elements of Morality, 3 vols. (1791) **$50
John Scott, Poetical Works (1782) **$15
William Bell Scott, William Blake: Etchings from His Works (1878) **$5
The Song of Los (B) **$3000
Songs of Innocence and of Experience (U), “Morocco,” “family” **$12,000
Songs of Innocence [and of Experience] (1839) **$5
There is No Natural Religion (B), “Russia” **$1000
There is No Natural Religion (C), “Morocco” **$1250
Visions of the Daughters of Albion (H), “Loose plates,” “family” **$3000
Vision of the Daughters of Albion (I), “Half morocco,” “family” **$3500
“Wilson Lowry” <Essick untraced impression 4> **$10
Wit’s Magazine (1784) **$30
Edward Young, The Complaint (1797), “Half calf” **$300
Edward Young, The Complaint (1797), colored copy (J), “Plates colored by Mrs. Blake,” “Half morocco” **$600
Edward Young, The Complaint (1797), “Large paper,” “Half morocco” **$100

Paintings and Drawings

Robert Blair, The Grave, “Original drawing” **$400
Robert Blair, The Grave, “Original drawing” **$300
Christ Appearing to the Apostles after the Resurrection <Butlin #326> **$2500
The Day of Judgment <Butlin #645, The Last Judgment>, “Original drawing” **$750
The Judgment of Adam and Eve: “So Judged He Man” <Butlin #536 10> **$1500
“Marriage of Heaven and Hell,” “Original drawing,” “Damaged” <not in Butlin> **$250
“Mercury and Argus,” “In the manner of Blake” <not in Butlin> **$50
Nebuchadnezzar, “Visionary Head” <Butlin #704?> **$200
“One male Three female figures,” “in pencil” **$100
“Original drawing from ‘America’” <in margin is “in book”> **$1500
“Original drawing,” “Uncolored” **$750
“Three draped figures,” “Original drawing” **$750
Wat Tyler’s Daughter <Butlin #741, Visionary Head> **$200
A Woman with Snaky Locks <Butlin #202, inscribed on the verso “Father & Mother I return …”> **$100

1929 May 1

“The W. A. White Collection of the Works of William Blake”
(purchased by Rosenwald through Rosenbach)Works from White’s estate other than those explicitly listed here were acquired by Rosenwald probably around this time; others were acquired by Rosenbach. See the entries under Rosenbach’s Blake Dealings Arranged in Alphabetical Order.

America (E), “With original drawing. Brown morocco, uncut”$11,500
The Book of Ahania (A) pls. 2-6, “Unbound, in half green morocco case”$21,500
The Book of Thel (H?), “Blue morocco”$9000
Gottfried Augustus Bürger, Leonora, trans. Stanley (1796), “Green morocco”$100
Geoffrey Chaucer, Prologue (1812), “Original half calf”$1250
Descriptive Catalogue (L), “Green morocco, uncut, by Zaehnsdorf”$1250
The First Book of Urizen (G), “Full levant (Delivered Mar. 2, 29)”$27,500
John Flaxman, Naval Pillar (1799), “wrappers uncut. in half morocco case”$100
For Children: The Gates of Paradise (D), “Green morocco”$4000
The Ghost of Abel (A), “Unbound in half morocco case”$1500
William Hayley, Designs to a Series of Ballads (1802), “4 parts. Wrappers in slip case”$1500
Jerusalem (I), “Red morocco”$9000
A Large Book of Designs, “Unbound, in half green morocco case” [i.e., “The Accusers of Theft Adultery Murder” <Essick 2C> and “Joseph of Arimathea Preaching” <Essick 1B>]$3000
On Homer (A), “Unbound in half morocco slip case”$1500
The Song of Los (B), “Unbound, in cloth portfolio”$17,500
There is No Natural Religion (C), “Green morocco”$4000
Edward Young, Night Thoughts (1797), colored copy (J), “Half morocco, uncut”$800
Price for the collection …………$115,000

1930 June

Bible, Job (1826)
Dante engravings

1931 January–February

Rosenbach, Catalogue of an Exhibition of Manuscripts and Rare Books

  America (C)
  For the Sexes: The Gates of Paradise (D)

1931 November 30–1932 January 16

Rosenbach, Five Centuries of Bookmaking

  America (C)
  For the Sexes: The Gates of Paradise (D)

1932

Descriptive Catalogue (F)

1933 March 1

American Art Association-Anderson Galleries,
Rare Books from the Library of the Late Willis Vickery

16 Songs of Innocence and of Experience (Z), $6000 to Rosenbach

1934 February 15

American Art Association-Anderson Galleries, Collection of Paul Hyde Bonner

11 Visions of the Daughters of Albion (F) and pls. 1-3, $5200 to Rosenbach

1934?

A Female Figure Crouching in a Cave

1935

Rosenbach, A Catalogue of Rare Books of Six Centuries

48 For the Sexes: The Gates of Paradise (D), $2465

1936 February 19

Sotheby’s, Catalogue of Valuable Printed Books … Comprising the Library of Sir Algernon Methuen

499 Songs of Innocence and of Experience (V), £1050 to Rosenbach

1936

Rosenbach catalogue 28, Five Hundred Rare Books …

40 Robert Blair, The Grave (1808), $175
41 Bible, Job (1826), $235
44 William Hayley, Designs to a Series of Ballads (1802) (with “two designs of Blake on two sides of a leaf” <Butlin #361> and “an engraving by Blake extracted from another book” [pl. 4 of Hayley, Life of Cowper]), $975

1937 March 2

Sotheby’s, Catalogue of the Very Well-Known and Valuable Library, the Property of Lt. Col. W. E. Moss

143 Songs of Innocence (B), £750 to Rosenbach for Rosenwald
144 Songs of Innocence and of Experience (C), £1400 to Rosenbach for Rosenwald
171 America pl. a, copperplate, £50 to Rosenbach for Rosenwald
176 For Children: The Gates of Paradise (A), £460 to Rosenbach for Rosenwald
196 Descriptive Catalogue (M), £50 to Rosenbach
199 Abraham Rees, Cyclopaedia, sketches <Butlin #678A> (with Blake’s seven engravings for Rees), £100 to Rosenbach for Rosenwald
202 “The Man Sweeping the Interpreter’s Parlour” <Essick 2I>, £75 to Rosenbach for Rosenwald
208 George Cumberland’s card <Essick 1X, 1Y>, £12 to Rosenbach
218 “The Battle of Ai” <Essick 1A>, “The Morning Amusements of Her Royal Highness” and “A Lady in the Full Dress” <Essick 2C>, “Rev. John Caspar Lavater” <Essick 3Q>, “Edmund Pitts” <Essick 2E>, “Rev.d Robert Hawker” <Essick 1B, 1C>, John Scott, Poetical Works (1782), “proofs before letters printed on India paper,” and “Wilson Lowry” <Essick 4K/4L>, £11 to Rosenbach for Rosenwald
225 Geoffrey Chaucer, Prologue (1812), £45 to Rosenbach, probably for Rosenwald
261 Edward Young, Night Thoughts (1797), colored copy (B), £800 to Rosenbach for Rosenwald
281 Letter of 30 January 1803, £150 to Rosenbach for Rosenwald

1938 April 5

American Art Association-Anderson Galleries,
The Cortlandt F. Bishop Library Part One [A-H]

281 America (D), possibly to Rosenbach

1938 May 25

American Art Association-Anderson Galleries, Americana, Autographs, Library Sets, First Editions … Two Important Letters by William Blake

73 Letter of 2 July 1800, $280, possibly to Rosenbach, for Rosenwald
74 Letter of February 1827, $140, possibly to Rosenbach, for Rosenwald

1938 November 2

Parke-Bernet, William Blake: The Renowned Collection … Collected by the Late George C. Smith, Jr.

6 Letter of 28 September 1804, $325 to Rosenbach for Rosenwald
13 There is No Natural Religion (I), $1000 to Rosenbach
14 The Book of Thel (F), $2200 to Rosenbach for Rosenwald
18 Index to the Songs (with nine plates from Songs), $550 to Rosenbach for Rosenwald
19 Songs of Innocence and of Experience pl. 42 [“The Tyger”], 51 [“A Little Girl Lost”], $160 to Rosenbach
20 Visions of the Daughters of Albion (J), $3700 to Rosenbach for Rosenwald
21 Visions of the Daughters of Albion (L), $2500 to Rosenbach
22 America (B), $2600 to Rosenbach
23 America (a), $500, possibly to Rosenbach, for Rosenwald
24 “Let Him Look Up” [“Experimental Relief Plate”] <Essick 1A>, $800 to Rosenbach for Rosenwald
27 Europe (c) pl. 2 (with Jerusalem pl. 8 on the verso), $150, possibly to Rosenbach, for Rosenwald
31 Europe (c) pls. 5b, 9a, 10, 11a, and 12, $280, possibly to Rosenbach, for Rosenwald
35 The Marriage of Heaven and Hell (D), $8800 to Rosenbach for Rosenwald
38 Robert Blair, The Grave, copperplates, $750 to Rosenbach for Rosenwald
40 Jerusalem, proofs of pls. 9, 19-20, 38a-b, 48, 50, 58, 78, plus Europe (c) pls. 18a-b, $500, possibly to Rosenbach, for Rosenwald
42 “The Accusers” <Essick 3G>, “The Chaining of Orc” <Essick 1A>, “Albion Rose” <Essick 2D>, and “The Man Sweeping the Interpreter’s Parlour” <Essick 2K>, $450 to Rosenbach for Rosenwald
45 Edward Young, Night Thoughts (1797), colored copy (K), $675 to Rosenbach
52 For the Sexes: The Gates of Paradise (H), $750 to Rosenbach
100 Donald the Hammerer: Copy after Blake <Butlin #783>, $150 [Anon., i.e., Rosenbach]
101 Wat Tyler <Butlin #737, Visionary Head>, $100 to Rosenbach
102 William Cowper after Romney <Butlin #351> (with three engravings of Cowper), $350 to Rosenbach for Rosenwald
104 Canute <Butlin #721, Visionary Head>, $300 to Rosenbach for Rosenwald
105 Solomon <Butlin #701>, $250 to Rosenbach
107 Edward I (or III) <Butlin #735, Visionary Head>, $175 to Rosenbach for Rosenwald
108 An Armed Man Spurning a Woman <Butlin #239>, The Descent of Peace <Butlin #539>, Two Legs <Butlin #606>, A Figure Ascending in a Glory of Clouds <Butlin #619>, An Ascending Spiral of Figures <Butlin #771>, $120 to Rosenbach for Rosenwald
109 Job and His Daughters <Butlin #394>, $1200 to Rosenbach for Rosenwald

1938 December 22

Auctioneer unidentified

  Moses Staying the Plague(?) <Butlin #115> [to Rosenbach]
  Saul and David <Butlin #118> [to Rosenbach]
  Group of Men Seated in a Circle <Butlin #148> [to Rosenbach]

1938 December

“Mrs Q” <Essick 2J>

1939 September 18

The Book of Thel (O)

1939

Rosenbach, The World of Yesterday

40 Dante, india proofs, $385
41 Descriptive Catalogue (M), $375
42 William Hayley, Designs to a Series of Ballads (1802), $185
43 For the Sexes: The Gates of Paradise (D), $2750
47 Bible, Job (1826), published proof copy on india paper, inscribed “To Marian—Mrs. John Linnell Senr. Decr. 1868”, $200

1940

Songs of Innocence (P)

1941 April 16–17

Parke-Bernet, Rare Books, Original Drawings, Autograph Letters and Manuscripts Collected by the Late A. Edward Newton

116 The Ghost of Samuel Appearing to Saul <Butlin #458>, $4000 to Rosenbach for Rosenwald
118 The Great Red Dragon and the Woman Clothed with the Sun <Butlin #520>, $10,100 to Rosenbach for Rosenwald
120 Mary Wollstonecraft, Original Stories from Real Life (1791), ten designs <Butlin #244 1-10>, $1500 to Rosenbach for Rosenwald
129 Europe (E), $8000 to Rosenbach for Rosenwald
131 The First Book of Urizen (B), $8250 to Rosenbach
135 The Marriage of Heaven and Hell (F), $6300 to Rosenbach
136 Songs of Innocence and of Experience (D), $6100 to Rosenbach
153 There is No Natural Religion (F), $1500 to Rosenbach for Rosenwald

1941

Rosenbach, A Bibliophile’s Miscellany

56 For the Sexes: The Gates of Paradise (D), $2750

1942 January 14

Parke-Bernet, The Splendid Library of Mr. and Mrs. Anton G. Hardy

20 America pl. d (“A Dream of Thiralatha”) <Essick 1B>, $575 to Rosenbach for Rosenwald

1942 July 29

Europe pl. 18

1944/45

Rosenbach, The March of Books through the Ages

45 Descriptive Catalogue (M), $375
46 William Hayley, Designs to a Series of Ballads (1802), $185
47 For the Sexes: The Gates of Paradise (D), $2750

1946 July 30

Sotheby’s catalogue, J. L. Field

464 Samson Breaking His Bonds <Butlin #453>, £1100 to Rosenbach

1947

Rosenbach catalogue

105 Aeschylus, Tragedies (1779), Blake’s copy, $345

1948 October 11

Sotheby’s catalogue, Arthur Randle

34 Descriptive Catalogue (P), £95 to Rosenbach

1949 July 22

Christie’s, Catalogue of Original Works by William Blake, the Property of the Late Graham Robertson

8 Fire <Butlin #194>, £1050 to Rosenbach
56 The Eagle <Butlin #363>, £78.15.0 to Rosenbach

1950 December 26

Letter of 31 March 1826

1952 September 18

Bible, Job (1826)

1958 May 19

Sotheby’s, Catalogue of the Celebrated Collection of Books Illuminated and Illustrated by William Blake, the Property of the Late Mrs. William Emerson [Frances White Emerson]

1 The Book of Thel (C), £1900 to Rosenbach’s successor, John Fleming
4 Visions of the Daughters of Albion (H), Europe (G), The Song of Los (C), £23,000 to Fleming
6 Edward Young, Night Thoughts, colored copy (M), £850 to Fleming