Fables By John Gay : John Gay 1793 [ William Blake ]
$950
In stock
Description
Second Printing of the Second Commercial Illustration Project by William Blake, Gay’s Fables
Gay, John. Blake, William, et al. Fables By John Gay With a Life of the Author and Embellished with Seventy Plates. John Stockdale. London. 1793.
An excellently preserved copy of Gay’s Fables featuring illustrations from William Blake rebound in modern marbled boards.
Fables, sometimes titled Fifty-One Fables in Verse or Fables of John Gay, was first published in two volumes in 1727 and 1738, respectively, and was written as a gift by English poet John Gay (1685-1732) for Prince William, Duke of Cumberland, the then-six-year-old son of King George II.
The present Stockdale edition of 1793 is particularly noted for employing William Blake in his second commercial illustration project, contributing 12 of the 70 plates, including the famous frontispiece to Vol 1, “The Shepherd and the Philosopher”.
An example of the unstated second printing, this copy is one of those published by Stockdale in 1810 utilizing the original plates, identifiable by its watermarks and lack of the long ‘s’ as well as the final list of Subscribers and Advertisement for Stockdale’s forthcoming edition of Aesop’s Fables from Vol II.
Keynes, 106.
225pp + 178pp. 2 vol. 8vo, modern calf-backed boards, gilt-lettered spine-labels; scattered foxing, a few narrow margin tears. Illustrated with 70 plates. Very good.
If you liked this book, you might also enjoy this illustrated set of the Comic History of Rome and England featuring the work of Punch artist John Leech. You might also enjoy this signed limited edition of La Chat Botte (Puss In Boots) illustrated by Hans Fischer.
