In a “Minute Particular” in a recent Blake, Wayne Ripley published two examples of newspaper classified advertising from which he derived new biographical data relating to the Blake family (Wayne C. Ripley, “Two Newly Discovered Advertisements Posted by William Blake’s Father,” Blake 51.1 [summer 2017]). Of course, I accept that the two advertisements that he has discovered are of genuine interest, and he has my congratulations for finding them. But the house of cards he has chosen to erect on these slight foundations is entirely mistaken. It distresses me to say so, because I think Ripley and I are working on very similar projects.