Compositions From The Works Days And Theogony Of Hesiod. Designed By John Flaxman, R.A. P.S. Engraved By William Blake.
RA Collection: Book
Record number
Variant Title
Works and Days
Theogony Works & Days & Days Of Hesiod
Imprint
Physical Description
General Note
Responsibility Note
Each carries the publishers' imprint of Longman, Hurst, Rees, Orme and Brown, and the date.
References
G.E. Bentley, 'Blake's Hesiod', in The Library, 5th ser. 20 (1965), p.315-20; D. and E. Panofsky, Pandora's box (1965), p.92-105; G.E. Bentley, 'Blake's engravings and his friendship with Flaxman', in Studies in bibliography, 12 (1959), p.161-88.
On Flaxman's outline illustrations generally see the bibliographic note on Compositions From The Tragedies of Aeschylus Designed By Iohn Flaxman (1795).
Summary Note
(The Academy's second copy is preceded by a leaf of letter-press reading 'The Theogony Works & Days & Days Of Hesiod Engraved From The Compositions Of John Flaxman R.A. Sculptor, London'. As this has the appearance of a divisional title-page and the second copy is bound with Compositions From The Tragedies Of Aeschylus, Designed By Iohn Flaxman ... (London, 1831), perhaps this second copy is an 1831 reprint.)
Plates 1-4, 6-20 represent passages from Hesiod's Works and Days; plates 5, 21-37, passages from his Theogony. All are captioned with a quotation from Elton's English translation, and usually with a title also.
For the engravings Blake employs a stipple technique; which gives them a softer appearance on the page than the earlier engravings by Piroli of Flaxman's designs for Homer and Aeschylus.
Provenance
[Second copy:]
Binding Note
[Second copy:] 19th-century marbled-papered boards, rebacked and recornered in calf in 1988; black morocco spine-label lettered 'Compositions From The Tragedies Of Aeschylus', spine lettered '1831'. [Bound with one other.]
Name as Subject
Subject
Agriculture - Greece
Drawings - Great Britain - 19th century - Neoclassical
Greek poetry
Pictorial works - Illustrated books - Stipple engravings - Great Britain - 19th century
Contributors
William Blake, 1757-1827., engraver.
Charles Abraham Elton, 1778-1853., translator.
Hesiod
Longman, Hurst, Rees, Orme and Brown, publisher.
Images from this book
35 results
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Hesiod
Title-page, 1817
Stipple engraving and etching
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Hesiod
Hesiod admonishing Perses., 1817
Stipple engraving and etching
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Hesiod
Pandora gifted., 1817
Stipple engraving and etching
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Hesiod
Pandora attired., 1817
Stipple engraving and etching
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Hesiod
Pandora shewn to the gods., 1817
Stipple engraving and etching
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Hesiod
Pandora brought to earth., 1817
Stipple engraving and etching
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Hesiod
Pandora brought to Epimetheus., 1817
Stipple engraving and etching
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Hesiod
Pandora opening the vase., 1817
Stipple engraving and etching
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Hesiod
Golden age., 1817
Stipple engraving and etching
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Hesiod
Good daemons., 1817
Stipple engraving and etching
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Hesiod
Brazen age., 1817
Stipple engraving and etching
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Hesiod
Modesty and Justice returning to heaven., 1817
Stipple engraving and etching
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Hesiod
Iron age., 1817
Stipple engraving and etching
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Hesiod
The evil race., 1817
Stipple engraving and etching
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Hesiod
The evil race., 1817
Stipple engraving and etching
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Hesiod
The good race., 1817
Stipple engraving and etching
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Hesiod
Pleiades., 1817
Stipple engraving and etching
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Hesiod
Pleiades., 1817
Stipple engraving and etching
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Hesiod
The happy man., 1817
Stipple engraving and etching
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Hesiod
Theogony., 1817
Stipple engraving and etching
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Hesiod
Hesiod and the muses., 1817
Stipple engraving and etching
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Hesiod
Jupiter and the muses., 1817
Stipple engraving and etching
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Hesiod
Night Love Erebus Chaos., 1817
Stipple engraving and etching
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Hesiod
Venus., 1817
Stipple engraving and etching
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Hesiod
Venus., 1817
Stipple engraving and etching
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Hesiod
Sea divinities., 1817
Stipple engraving and etching
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Hesiod
Typhaon Echidna Geryon., 1817
Stipple engraving and etching
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Hesiod
Astraeus and Aurora., 1817
Stipple engraving and etching
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Hesiod
Saturn and his children., 1817
Stipple engraving and etching
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Hesiod
Infant Jupiter., 1817
Stipple engraving and etching
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Hesiod
The brethren of Saturn delivered., 1817
Stipple engraving and etching
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Hesiod
Gods and Titans., 1817
Stipple engraving and etching
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Hesiod
Giants and Titans., 1817
Stipple engraving and etching
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Hesiod
Furies, Cerberus, Pluto, Proserpine, Harpies, Death., 1817
Stipple engraving and etching
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Hesiod
Iris., 1817
Stipple engraving and etching