William Blake was born in London in 1757. Even from a young age he created works in multiple media, combining his interests in writing and drawing. He began work as an apprentice engraver at age 14, later attending the Royal Academy of Art. In 1782 Blake married Catherine Boucher, who would be an anchor for Blake ever afterwards and help him with his sales and printmaking. The same decade saw Blake’s deepening involvement with radical thinkers, the publication of his first book of poems, the opening of a print shop, and his first experiments with “illuminated printing” via relief etching. Blake would continue to develop and use this technique to combine text with imagery in the works for which he is now principally remembered.
Largely unrecognized in his own lifetime and always struggling to make ends meet, some of Blake’s works were based on commissions. But his passionate response to political, social, and religious constructs that he considered oppressive and misguided led to the formation of a personal mythology presented vividly in his illuminated books. Hand printed and colored, each copy is unique and exceptionally rare. It was only long after Blake’s death in 1827 that his reputation as a printmaker and artist began to grow along with his reputation as a writer, and the effort began to make his work more widely available through the production of facsimiles of the types seen in this exhibit.
This exhibit is a companion to a research website showcasing the works of author, artist, and printmaker William Blake to be released on the Schaffer Library website in late April, 2018. The development of the website would not have been possible without Union College’s extensive collection of print facsimiles of Blake’s illuminated books and commercial works. The presentation online of an enhanced catalog of this collection and the digitization of selected images, undertaken to inspire and promote student creativity, forever intertwines the digital with the print. Our goal is to use the advantages of digitization to create a greater awareness of the physical collection, draw researchers to it, and perpetuate conversations among students for years to come.
Digitized works are accessible from anywhere, which increases their exposure and also gives researchers additional functionality, such as the ability to enhance an image for more detail. Our website also allows for the archiving of student commentary on Blake, only some of which could be included in this physical exhibit. However, even in a digital world, print remains a vital resource with irreplaceable and tangible benefits. Prints of William Blake’s works are breathtaking in any form, but especially stimulating and vibrant on the page. Holding a reproduction of one of his books in your hands, flipping over each individual page, provides an intimate experience between the reader and the text and visuals that cannot be replicated by technology. It is also one step closer to the works that Blake actually produced, vividly demonstrating what the work would have looked like, how big it was, and the overall physical and visual impact that Blake intended.
Together, the website and the print collections allow students to explore and experience Blake@Union as fully as possible.
- Caitlin Williams, Curator '18
In this image from Jerusalem (1951 facsimile) the figure of the creative spirit Los is shown at his forge, in conflict with opposing energies. The "Spectre" that oppresses him is not, however, necessarily external to him, but part of him. The imagery is one of fire and the poem on the page refers to the “terrible wrath” of Los when confronted with the divisive force of the Spectre. He stamps his feet and throws down his hammer in fury. In the image, however, Los himself appears to be calm and relaxed, perhaps suggesting that he is also “unterrified” by the Spectre, as the next page of the poem reports.