William Blake: The Complete Illuminated Books (Paperback)

~ (Author), David Bindman (Introduction)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Editions of Blake's poetry which as an artist and printer he frequently engraved and published himself most often fail to reproduce his integral illustrations, or do so in poor enough quality as to negate the effort. This Complete edition from the Blake Trust, published last year in a Thames and Hudson hardback edition that is now out of print, should replace the b&w-only Dover edition (but not David V. Erdman's commentary therein, or his reading text The Complete Poetry and Prose of William Blake) for any reader. The 366 crisp color and 30 b&w reproductions here, culled from the scholarly Princeton University Press six-volume annotated set, are little short of a revelation, giving us Songs of Innocence, Songs of Experience, America, Milton, Jerusalem and the rest of the Blake canon in a form acceptably close, as Binder's introduction makes clear, to the way Blake wanted us to see them. Many of these works are currently hanging in a special Blake exhibition the largest ever at the Met in New York, for which the Abrams book serves as an informative and revealing catalogue. Hamlyn, a senior curator at London's Tate (where the exhibition originated), and the University of York's Phillips present prints, drawings, paintings, selections from Blake's own illuminated books and other relevant materials, such as snapshots from Blake's marvelous editions of Edward Young's Night Thoughts and Thomas Gray's Poems. Introductory essays from novelist and biographer Peter Ackroyd (Blake; T.S. Eliot) and Marilyn Butler, rector of Oxford's Exeter College, synopsize Blake's life and times, while extensive "label copy" situates each work as presented. While the visual overview is useful and some of the detail shots of larger works are compelling, poetry readers who have to choose will take the Complete.

Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

Review

This book makes a strong case that if you know Blake's poems you're getting only half—or rather none of—the picture. -- The New York Times, Christopher Benfey, 3 December 2000 --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 480 pages
• Publisher: Thames & Hudson (April 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0500282455
• ISBN-13: 978-0500282458
• Product Dimensions: 11.6 x 8.3 x 1.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4.4 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (11 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #31,915 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

77 of 82 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Beautiful and powerful, October 25, 2000

By	Matt "matthewmatera" (Pittsburgh, PA United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: William Blake: The Complete Illuminated Books (Hardcover)

This book brings the words and images of Blake to brilliant life. The volume is gorgeous, and the colors extremely rich. Having read Blake's poetry in un-illuminated format before, I now am even more appreciative of the value of seeing the work as Blake originally intended. Blake is a marvelous poet and artist, and this collection of his illuminated work is a marvelous book.

22 of 23 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Both the words & vision of a prophetic soul on fire, February 6, 2007

By	William Timothy Lukeman - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

While many people are familiar with William Blake's poetry, if only through the handful of commonly anthologized short poems from grade school & high school English classes, this is how his work was meant to be experienced: the poetry in union with the art, creating a vision far greater & more deeply moving than the sum of its already impressive parts. The words literally flow, twine, blossom in vivid & startling color, woven into the intricate, symbolic artwork. There aren't enough superlatives for this edition, which enables everyone to finally see & feel the Universe as Blake did: ablaze with power, wonder, beauty, horrors, and the godlike beings of the human psyche, titantic aspects transcending any neat, pre-packaged psychological or symbolic labels. For anyone wanting insight into the soul of Western civilization over the past few centuries, the soul in which we all struggle to find meaning & purpose now, this volume is absolutely essential. Most highly recommended!

15 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Blake's Illuminated Works, November 12, 2008

By	Mr. Johansen Quijano Cruz "Lemuria" (San Juan, PR USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

I'm currently working on a graduate thesis on Blake, so it was with great eagerness that I hunted down this Illuminated Works compilation. I love Blake's poetry and it's hard to say anything bad about it, and I thought that if I could see the poems in the way Blake meant for them to be seen I would gain some sort of deeper insight into his words. However, as I eagerly opened this volume I was greatly disappointed. Certainly, the color of the images is breathtaking and the artistic detail put into each image is outstanding. The transcript of the poems at the end was a nice addition. Still, none of the pros could outweight the enormous con - the illuminated works were printed in small sizes, sometimes taking only 1/4th of the page, sometimes taking 1/8th of the page, and sometimes taking less. It's sad to see paper wasted in such a manner.

If you're looking for a Blake anthology look for his complete poetry and prose with Harold Bloom's introduction. If you're looking for his Illuminated Works in print, go elsewhere.