Blake, William

folio, engraved pictorial title-page and 21 plates designed and engraved by William Blake, one of 65 sets of proof impressions on French paper, each sheet interleaved, late nineteenth-century full morocco gilt by Zaehnsdorf, gilt armorial device for Stirling of Keir within wreath on each cover, binding rubbed at corners, joints and raised bands on spine, some scuffs to covers

John Linnell; Bernard Quaritch; General Archibald Stirling of Keir; thence by descent

'Blake's Engravings to the Book of Job. An Essay on their Graphic Ford with a Catalogue of their States and Printings' by Robert Essick in  William Blake's Illustrations to the Book of Job, edited David Bindman, 3 volumes, 1987; Bentley 421

Condition is described in the main body of the cataloguing, where appropriate.
"In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective, qualified opinion. Prospective buyers should also refer to any Important Notices regarding this sale, which are printed in the Sale Catalogue.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS PRINTED IN THE SALE CATALOGUE."

This copy has a typed resume of the states of the plates signed and dated with initials A.S. [General Archibald Stirling] Keir May 9 1928 tipped in to a preliminary blank and a loosely inserted autograph letter signed by Laurence Binyon to General Stirling, likewise discussing the states. General Stirling states that this present copy was purchased from Bernard Quaritch around 1895. Essick refers to a letter sent by John Linnell to Bernard Quaritch on 6 May 1892 in which Linnell refers to the six sets of 1874 Linnell pulls on India paper and thirteen unbound sets of 1826 'Proof' pulls forwarded to the London bookdealers: "At the time of publication of the Job a certain number of copies of the 'proofs' were stuck into books of paper in boards - these copies have become more or less spotted through damp. The unbound sets however in our possession have been kept well wrapped up since 1826 - and are as good as when - finished. It was from these that I took the 13 sets which we have forwarded to you." It would seem highly probable that this present set was one of those thirteen sets, hence there is a clear and direct line of provenance from John Linnell - Bernard Quaritch - General Archibald Stirling of Keir.

There has been some confusion over the states of the plates with most bibliographical sources, including Keynes and Bentley, listing '150 'Proof' sets on India paper (watermarked J Whatman Turkey Mill 1825) and 65 'Proof' sets on French paper (watermarked J Whatman 1825) with 100 sets subsequently printed on Drawing paper with the word 'proof' removed. Essick states however that he "has not been able to identify any set as definitely printed on a French paper but this description probably refers to impressions with the 'Proof' inscription (State A) printed directly on an ivory-coloured wove paper without watermark. At about .26 to .32mm., this paper is a little thicker than the Whatman papers used for Job (.18 to .23mm.) Some leaves have a rather mottled appearance when viewed through a backing light." Essick claims that the "choicest pulls are the India proofs and French paper proofs". Although Bentley states that the the French paper shows a Whatman watermark Essick feels that it is unlikely that such a clearly English paper used for the Drawing paper impressions of state B, would be referred to as 'French' in Linnell's account books. Linnell states that he had sold all the Drawing paper sets by the close of 1863 but that some India paper and French paper proofs remained. Essick gives the untrimmed leaf size as around 40.5 by 27.5cm with the Houghton copy [the only copy to date identified by Essick as one of 65 on French paper] being 40.9 by 27.3cm. This copy has untrimmed leaves slightly taller, averaging between 41and 41.5cm.

Given these comments by Essick, it seems HIGHLY PROBABLE THAT THIS PRESENT STIRLING OF KEIR COPY IS ONE OF THE RARE 65 SETS ON FRENCH PAPER. THE CONDITION OF THE PLATES IS EXCEPTIONALLY GOOD. Of the 25 sets of proofs which have been sold at auction since 1976 it would appear that possibly only 2 sets were on French paper, the remainder being mounted on India paper.