Jerusalem (The Illuminated Books of William Blake, Volume 1) [Hardcover]

William Blake (Author), Morton D. Paley (Editor)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 7, 1991 | Series: Blake's Illuminated Books (Book 1)

The nature of William Blake's genius and of his art is most completely expressed in his Illuminated books. In order to give full and free expression to his vision Blake invented a method of printing that enabled him to create works in which words and images combine to form pages uniquely rich in content and beautiful in form. It is only through the pages as originally conceived and published by the poet himself that Blake's meaning can be fully experienced. "^IJerusalem^N represents a publishing event. Because it was finished at the very end of his life, Blake colored only one copy; this is the first time a full-color reproduction is available to the general public.... Elaborate notes and commentary distinguish [the] volume, and the color printing is exceptional."--Lewis Segal, The Los Angeles Times Book Review "A triumph. The exquisite images and a lucid text of each volume endow not just Blake's work, but the relationships between work and image with crystalline clarity.... To read, to study, or simply to admire, these books are invaluable."--Eric Gibson, The Washington Times

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal

The publisher and the Blake Trust deserve thanks for making Blake's illuminated books of poetry widely available as they were originally published. These two volumes, to be joined by three others, will reproduce all the illustrated poems. Jerusalem is especially welcome, since no reasonably priced color version has ever been issued previously. Songs of Innocence and Experience has been reprinted inexpensively by others, but the Princeton edition offers an especially fine copy and includes 12 additional plates to show how Blake colored individual volumes differently. Even seasoned Blake scholars will benefit from the introduction and notes, which constantly draw the reader back to the poems for a closer reading. Editor Lincoln's annotations are especially full, explicating text, illustrations, and coloring and showing how much one misses when one encounters Blake in an unilluminated edition. Essential.
- Joseph Rosenblum, Univ. of North Carolina at Greensboro
Copyright 1991 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Review

"A triumph. The exquisite images and a lucid text of each volume endow not just Blake's work, but the relationships between work and image with crystalline clarity.... To read, to study, or simply to admire, these books are invaluable." -- Eric Gibson, The Washington Times

"Jerusalem represents a publishing event. Because it was finished at the very end of his life, Blake colored only one copy; this is the first time a full-color reproduction is available to the general public.... Elaborate notes and commentary distinguish. -- The Los Angeles Times Book Review

Product Details

• Hardcover: 304 pages
• Publisher: Princeton Univ Pr; Facsimile Reprint edition (October 7, 1991)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0691069352
• ISBN-13: 978-0691069357
• Product Dimensions: 11.7 x 8.2 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 3.5 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,666,052 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

13 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A must have!, September 27, 2000

By 

Joseph J. Thiebes (Portland, OR United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Jerusalem (The Illuminated Books of William Blake, Volume 1) (Hardcover)

I recommend that any fan of William Blake buy this volume and the other 5 in the series. The books are beautiful, large, and handsomely bound. Each book is reproduced in full color, using a six-color printing process rather than the standard four. The pages are heavy, opaque and have a gorgous lustre indicating very high quality paper. The text of each book accompanies the color reproductions in standard typeface with very competent commentary to boot.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A stunning work - a fine reproduction - ENJOY, January 28, 2004

By 

Craig Matteson (Saline, MI) - See all my reviews
(TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Jerusalem (The Illuminated Books of William Blake, Volume 1) (Paperback)

I am drawn to this work. When the British Museum at Yale held a special Blake exhibition my family and I were lucky enough to attend and see all 100 plates of this book on display. They were breathtaking. This edition is a very fine reproduction and deserves the highest praise. It isn't the real thing, but amazingly close for the price. It is so good that it rewards study with a magnifying glass. Obviously, the real gold Blake put into the original (at what must have been staggering expense for a man that was so poor there were times he couldn't afford food) doesn't duplicate its brilliant sheen, but this is pretty good.

Not only are there the 100 plates of copy E (the one in the Mellon collection in the British Museum at Yale), there are some sample plates from other version and all of the text in printed form with commentary.

This is an incredible work that is bewildering in scope in a joy to lose yourself in. Extremely recommended if you love Blake at all.

10 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars At last, quality reproductions of Blake..., March 24, 1999

By 

Kelly Brennan - See all my reviews

This review is from: Jerusalem (The Illuminated Books of William Blake, Volume 1) (Paperback)

Why is it that on every bargain table in America you can find countless decent reproductions of The Impressionists and Picasso and Dali etc etc, but Blake's vast body of work is only available in esoteric and expensive editions? Princeton University Press has filled this void more or less affordably with a beautifully recreated series of the Prophetic Books. Now if we can just get someone to do The Illustrations to Gray and Edward Young and The Bible and Milton and Dante and and and!!!