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Title
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Mary Wollstonecraft, Original Stories from Real Life (1791)
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Original Date:
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1791
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Publisher:
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Joseph Johnson
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Physical Description:
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177 pages, 6 plates ; 18 cm.
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Background Information:
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Unlike many of Blake’s other early commissions, for the second edition of this work (which was first published in 1788), he was contracted to submit the designs as well as engrave those selected for the final publication. The six images in the 1791 edition are thus entirely Blake’s. Comparing them to commercial engravings that Blake based on designs by others, it is possible to see very clearly how Blake’s personal style and outlook differed, even when he was doing commercial work. Some of Blake’s designs for Original Stories from Real Life also relate to imagery in his illuminated works, which suggests that he detected rigidity even in the thinking of fellow radicals such as Mary Wollstonecraft. The copy in the Union College library was donated by Hans Rozendaal.
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Student Commentary:
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Overview: Mary Wollstonecraft was an English writer, philosopher, and advocate for women’s equality. Her most famous work is Vindication of the Rights of Women, first published in 1792. She got her start in the publishing world by becoming a translator and literary advisor for Joseph Johnson, a London publisher and bookseller. Both of them were part of a radical circle that included William Blake as well. Johnson, who published Blake’s first book of poetry and arranged other commercial work for him, commissioned Blake to create the engravings for the second edition of this work, Original Stories from Real Life. It is essentially a conduct book. The story is about two young girls, Mary and Caroline, who now live with a woman named Mrs. Mason. Through Mrs. Mason’s stories and guidance the girls learn the proper ways to behave. – Caitlin Williams ‘18
