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ACKROYD**, PETER: : BLAKE

LONDON.SINCLAIR-STEVENSON,1995.

ISBN 9781856192781.

UK,thick 8vo HB+dw/dj,1st edn.FINE+/FINE.Owner inscrptn but no price-clip to dw/dj.Bright, crisp,clean,glossy laminated,colour photographic painting ('The Good and Evil Angels Struggling for Possession of a Child') illustrated dw/dj, with gilt+white lettering; with negligible shelf-wear and creasing to edges and corners - no nicks or tears present.Some light,superficial scoring to rear panel of dw/dj,but without affecting bd beneath.Top edges slightly aged - due to light dust-soiling(?) and lightly, sporadically foxed/spotted,fore-edges brighter and cleaner and without foxing or spotting; contents bright,tight,clean - near pristine - no dog-ear reading creases to any pages' corner tips,appears unread - apart from my own collation.Bright,crisp,clean,sharp-cornered, publisher's original,plain black cloth boards with bright,crisp,blockeded gilt letters to spine/backstrip and immaculate plain dark green endpapers.UK,thick 8vo HB+dw/dj,1st edn,10-399pp [paginated] includes illus list/table,28 chapters,profuse contemporary b/w illus/sketches/diagrams etc,throughout the text and the book, 16pp b/w plates in 2 blocks of 8pp apiece, between pp64/5 and pp336/7 respectively,24pp colour plates,between pp192/3,source notes,a bibliography and an index.Plus [unpaginated],b/w drawing illustrated half-title page,similar title page,similar dedication,an epigram also with a b/w illustration,to it's recto. Four years after his innovative masterpiece, 'Dickens',Peter Ackroyd present us with his imaginative and eagerly awaited biography of William Blake. Born in 1757,the son of a London hosier,Blake was one of England's most fascinating and original sons. Poet,painter,engraver and visionary,his was a radical spirit fired by genius.Yet his life has remained an enigma,with much of his poetry unknown to the general reader and his art only properly studied by scholars and art historians. Now,Peter Ackroyd discloses the true nature of Blake's life and art. He traces his progression from early childhood in a Dissenting household,through his apprenticeship as an engraver and his studies at the newly formed Royal Academy Schools,to his full maturity when he produced the masterpieces upon which his reputation rests - works such as 'Jerusalem','Milton' and 'Songs of Innocence and of Experience',works that were as neglected during his lifetime as they are celebrated today. But we also see Blake in the context of his period; we see him caught up in the Gordon Riots,excited by the French Revolution,being tried for sedition during the Napoleonic Wars, attracted to various forms of spiritual radicalism and sexual magic.He was a man whose faith in the eternal world of the spirit was fiercely mocked and attacked by those who were attracted to the prevailing belief in scientific rationalism.Yet he remained true to his own vision of the world,a vision that is wonderfully confirmed in all of his work. This is the first biography to reveal the true affinities between Blake's art and his poetry; in the magnificent biographical narrative we see Blake as a Cockney visionary and a London tradesman,as a prophet and an artisan.In the course of Blake's history,Peter Ackroyd brilliantly recreates 18thC London in a manner of which only he is capable.'Blake' is the work of a major writer at the height of his powers. Please contact seller,because of the weight and value of this item,for correct,insured shipping/P+p quotes - particularly ALL overseas buyers - BEFORE ordering through the order page! N.B. ALL buyers please note,that stocks' actual shipping/P+p costs are adjusted and any difference is refunded,after order's receipt and before the order's despatch,especially if the item(s) are offered either P+p included/FREE. ** This item offered P+p included. Offer available UK only, unless indicated otherwise. ** ** N.B. US/Canada customers please be aware: Standard AIRMAIL postage from UK to these destinations can now cost more than the price of any inexpensive book! If speed is not of the essence,then Economy rate is recommended - at approx. anything from a 1/3rd to 1/2 of the standard AIR quote/rate - sometimes arriving sooner than the 42 days - but not always. ** N.B. ALL buyers please note,that stocks' actual shipping/P+p costs are adjusted and any difference is refunded,after order's receipt and before the order's despatch,especially if the item(s) are offered either P+p included/FREE. ** N.B. US/Canada customers please be aware: Standard AIRMAIL postage from UK to these destinations can now cost more than the price of any inexpensive book! If speed is not of the essence,then Economy rate is recommended - at approx. anything from a 1/3rd to 1/2 of the standard US AIR quote/rate - sometimes arriving sooner than the 42 days - but not always. **

UK,thick 8vo HB+dw/dj,1st edn.
Not SIGNED.

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