William Blake was better known during his lifetime for his work as an engraver and printer. While he never attained the renown of William Hogarth, his illustrated editions of Milton’s Paradise Lost have long been prized by collectors.
Blake self-published his poetry in lavishly illustrated editions. Because each page had to be separately colored by the artist after printing, these were never produced in large numbers. Songs of Innocence was first published in 1789; Songs of Experience followed in 1794. The two were later republished as a single volume, titled Songs of Innocence and of Experience.
Due to the coloring process, each copy of these books is unique; all but one of the images below derive from a copy in the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art.
Songs of Innocence
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- Title Page
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- Frontispiece
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- Introduction
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- The Lamb
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- Little Black Boy
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- Holy Thursday
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- The Chimney Sweeper
Songs of Experience
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- Title Page
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- Frontispiece
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- Introduction
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- Earth’s Answer
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- The Tyger
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- The Sick Rose
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- London
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- The Chimney Sweeper
