Autograph document signed, being a receipt made out by Butts and signed by Blake for Blake's greatest paintings.
by Blake, William
- Used
- Signed
- Condition
- See description
- Seller
-
San Francisco, California, United States
Payment Methods Accepted
About This Item
[London]: 1805. Document Signed, one page, oblong small octavo, July 5, 1805. “Received of Mr. Butts five Pounds seven Shillings on further account.” Paper browned, small abrasions on back from having been mounted in a book. § A receipt signed by Blake documenting payment from one of his most important patrons for four of his greatest masterpieces -- the great color prints of 1795, The Good and Evil Angels, The House of Death, Elohim Creating Adam, and God Judging Adam. The year 1805 was a hard one for Blake. His works were filled with visions of death and, when several of his patrons drifted away, his financial situation darkened, bringing him to a self-described state of “despair.” “But there was one patron who never seemed to doubt his genius and... Thomas Butts... took over the role of Blake’s principal employer; for the next five years he gave him regular payments that allowed him to maintain a steady if modest income” [Peter Ackroyd, Blake]. Butts’s support and confidence gave Blake new hope and a new artistic vision and he suddenly produced works for Butts that showed “an exultant spirituality that is quite new in Blake’s art. There is also more splendour and nobility in the conception of the human figures, who seem touched by some mystery, a mystery that Blake characteristically suggests through the powerful use of light” [Ackroyd]. Essick noted of this very receipt: “the receipt you just acquired covers very important material. According to Bentley, Blake Records, 2nd ed., p. 764, your receipt (mistakenly) repeats another of the same date and amount specifying that the payment was for 4 of Blake’s great color prints of 1795, The Good and Evil Angels, The House of Death, Elohim Creating Adam, and God Judging Adam. Thus, the receipt is for what are often considered Blake’s greatest masterpieces as a pictorial artist.” Bentley, BB, 134.4.” This is confirmed by Keynes: The Letters of William Blake (1980), p. 113: “5 July 4 prints viz. 1 Good and Evil Angel 2 House of Death 3 God Judging Adam 4 Lamech.” Also: Essick states that Butts was the first person to collect Blake and was single-handedly responsible for keeping Blake going while other buyers came and went. See Essick: “Collecting Blake” in Blake in Our Time, Toronto: UT Press, 2010.
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Details
- Bookseller
- John Windle Antiquarian Bookseller (US)
- Bookseller's Inventory #
- 123009
- Title
- Autograph document signed, being a receipt made out by Butts and signed by Blake for Blake's greatest paintings.
- Author
- Blake, William
- Book Condition
- Used
- Publisher
- 1805. Document Signed
- Place of Publication
- [London]
Terms of Sale
John Windle Antiquarian Bookseller
5 day return guarantee, with full refund not including shipping costs for up to 5 days after delivery if an item arrives misdescribed or damaged.
About the Seller
John Windle Antiquarian Bookseller
Biblio member since 2005
San Francisco, California
About John Windle Antiquarian Bookseller
John Windle Antiquarian Bookseller offers an exceptional selection of rare books and manuscripts from medieval times through the twentieth century; we specialize in illustrated material, particularly the work of William Blake and his circle. Located in downtown San Francisco, we have served an international clientele of private collectors, libraries, and institutions for 35 years. We are actively purchasing books and manuscripts in all fields, especially medieval illuminated and text manuscripts; material on California, Hawaii, and Pacific voyages; illustrated books and fine bindings from the 15th through the 20th century; and fine press printing. William Blake, Mary Wollstonecraft, and Thomas Frognall Dibdin remain special interests. We are members of the ABAA, ILAB, and PBFA, and we subscribe to the code of ethics endorsed by reputable antiquarian booksellers worldwide.
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