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BLAKE’S PUBLIC ADDRESSES
Da id Du
DOI: h ps://doi.o g/10.14712/2571452X.2024.68.9
Abs ac : Blake ne e deli e ed a public speech bu he p oduced se e al w i en
add esses “To he Public.” These include his p ospec us o 1793 lis ing o sale his
“illumina ed books;” he ad e ising ma e ial he c ea ed o his 1809 exhibi ion and his
eng a ing o Chauce ’s Can e bu y Pilg ims; and his unpublished “Public Add ess”
(c.1810), which expands his Chauce p ospec uses in o an a is ic mission s a emen . This
a icle explains how p ospec us-w i ing augh Blake he language o p oclama ion ha
became a key pa o his c ea i e epe oi e. This shaped no only his p omo ional
w i ings bu also li e a y wo ks like The Ma iage o Hea en and Hell and Je usalem,
discussed b ie ly he e. The a icle ends by sugges ing ha Blake’s ans o ma ion o his
now la gely o go en gen e mi o s ha o o he Roman ic w i e s, no ably
Wo dswo h, whose “P ospec us” o The Recluse Blake copied ou by hand. His
de elopmen o he “public add ess” elemen o he p ospec us is also a powe ul
example o he e alua ion o public u e ance which his special issue explo es.
Keywo ds: William Blake, public, p ospec us, p oclama ion, exhibi ion, subsc ip ion,
ad e ising, eng a ing, p in ing
The imes equi e ha e e y one should speak ou boldly
William Blake, A Desc ip i e Ca alogue (1809)
As a as we know, Blake ne e deli e ed a public lec u e o speech, bu as a sel -
published poe , eng a e and a is he had equen occasion o add ess he public
in w i ing, in o de o p omo e, explain o de end his wo k.1 A no able ea u e o
his c ea i e pe sonali y, indeed, is his endency o add ess he public e en in he
mos seemingly p i a e o his w i ings, such as his pe sonal co espondence
1 Resea ch o his a icle was acili a ed by a Resea ch Fellowship om The Le e hulme
T us . I am g a e ul o Luisa Calè o commen s on an ea lie d a .
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132
(which o en eaches ou beyond he add essee o he public a la ge) o his
ma ginalia, whe e his comba i e anno a ion is ypically di ec ed a bo h he
au ho he is eading and an imagined public. His li e a y wo k, oo, is in ensely
dialogic, o ien ed o a public audience he imagines himsel add essing aloud (as
“The Voice o he Ba d,” “The Voice o he De il,” o some o he s ongly ocal
pe sona). Many commen a o s ha e no ed he pa adox ha his mos publicly-
o ien ed o au ho s – in whom he enascence o o ali y and public u e ance
explo ed in his special issue ook mul iple o ms – was i ually unknown as a w i e
in his li e ime, gaining only a iny eade ship. As a comme cial eng a e and book
illus a o he enjoyed g ea e public ecogni ion, bu his success was empo a y
and he ading o i a e 1805 c ea ed se e e complica ions in his ela ionship o
he public, whom he ne e s opped add essing – o imagining himsel add essing –
bu in inc easingly augh and, a imes, despe a e ways.
This a icle will examine an aspec o his opic which has no , hus a ,
ecei ed p ope a en ion, namely Blake’s use o one pa icula o m o w i en
public add ess: he p ospec us. This gen e, associa ed wi h his li e a y and a is ic
wo k and wi h his ac i i ies as a p in e , makes isible his comme cial mo i a ions
while also gi ing insigh in o his c ea i e ambi ions and wo king p ac ices a
di e en s ages in his ca ee . His i s and bes -known p ospec us is he one he
w o e and p in ed himsel in 1793 o ad e ise se e al o his “Illumina ed Books”
and o he sel -published wo ks. Many yea s la e , in 1809-1810, he issued
p ospec uses o his la ge eng a ing o his pain ing o Chauce ’s Can e bu y
Pilg ims. Two e sions o his p ospec us su i e, p in ed by di e en p in e s
and wi h di e en wo ding; he e is also a manusc ip d a . Ano he , much
longe , desc ip ion o he Chauce pain ing, oge he wi h a b ie announcemen
o he subsc ip ion o he eng a ing, is con ained in his Desc ip i e Ca alogue o
he 1809 exhibi ion a which he pain ing was i s exhibi ed. The ac ha Blake
de o es se e al pages o his desc ip ion o a poin -by-poin ebu al o a “ i al’s
p ospec us”2 – Robe C omek’s, o an eng a ing o Thomas S o ha d’s pain ing
o he same subjec – is a u he eason o including he Desc ip i e Ca alogue
among he co pus o Blake’s p ospec uses (i s polemical quali y is pa o i s public
engagemen , e en i he qua el wi h C omek was a la gely pe sonal one). The
same may be said o Blake’s p in ed ad e isemen o he exhibi ion, in which he
exho s he “Noblemen and Gen lemen” o he a es ablishmen , and he public
a la ge, o suppo his wo k, announcing he exhibi ion as “ he g ea es o Du ies
o my Coun y” (K 561). The inclusion on he i s page o he ad e isemen o he
2 Blake: Comple e W i ings, ed. Geo ey Keynes (London: Ox o d Uni e si y P ess, 1969), 573.
Subsequen e e ences o his edi ion a e gi en in pa en heses as K ollowed by a page
numbe .
Blake’s Public Add esses
133
Mil onic mo o “Fi audience ind ho’ ew” unde lines he epic scale o his ambi ion
while also sugges ing ha he did no an icipa e a huge public esponse – a p edic ion
which u ned ou o be all oo accu a e.
I include as a inal example o he gen e, hough an un ypical and ex ually
p oblema ic one, Blake’s so-called “Public Ad ess,” an un inished, unpublished
ex ( ound in Blake’s manusc ip No ebook) which appea s o be ano he ewo king
o his Can e bu y Pilg ims p ospec us, hough i also add esses he sho -li ed
Chalcog aphic Socie y, o e ing a coun e -s a emen o i s con o e sial plans o
p omo ing he a o eng a ing in B i ain. The shi ing audience o whom his
inchoa e ex is add essed, and he pe sonal in ec i e wi h which he public
a gumen is in e spe sed, a e pa o wha makes i p oblema ic, bu hese ea u es
also show why he gen e o he p ospec us was such a e ile medium o Blake,
elici ing deep e lec ion on his a is ic mo i a ions and belie s as well as ehemen
commen on his compe i o s and c i ics.
In acing Blake’s a ious deploymen s and adap a ions o he p ospec us, my
in e es is in he exp essi e possibili ies o he gen e as much as i s ad e ising
unc ion: i s endency ( e y ma ked in Blake’s case, as in ce ain o he Roman ic
w i e s) o spill o e om comme cial discou se in o au obiog aphical and
c ea i e w i ing, and o become a o m o a is ic mani es o o mission s a emen .
I is pa ly h ough w i ing p ospec uses, I will a gue, ha Blake lea ned he
language o p oclama ion ( ha is, o public announcemen on ma e s o g ea
impo ) which is so dis inc i e and powe ul a ea u e o his s yle, e iden no only
in p omo ional w i ings bu also in isiona y wo ks such as The Ma iage o Hea en
and Hell and Je usalem, on which I will ouch b ie ly. I begin, hough, by explaining
wha a p ospec us was, and in wha o ms Blake would ha e encoun e ed his
e sa ile and widely used de ice.
I
Al hough now mos ly o go en, p ospec uses we e a e y amilia pa o he
Roman ic book wo ld, p oduced in la ge numbe s and used o ad e ise a wide
ange o subsc ip ion p ojec s, om expensi e illus a ed books, p emium edi ions
and encyclopaedias o p i a ely published olumes o poe y.3 Eng a ings, oo,
we e equen ly sold by subsc ip ion, he e ms o which would be announced in
3 Fo an o e iew, see Da id Du , “The Book o Come: Li e a y Ad e ising and he Poe ics
o he P ospec us,” in Fo ms, Fo ma s and he Ci cula ion o Knowledge: B i ish P in scape’s
Inno a ions, 1688-1832, ed. Louisiane Fe lie and Bénédic e Miyamo o (Leiden: B ill,
2020), 229-52.
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134
a p in ed p ospec us (o “p oposals o publish,” he olde e m). New jou nals and
newspape s, which p oli e a ed in he la e eigh een h cen u y, would also
ypically announce hemsel es by means o a p ospec us, seeking subsc ibe s o
simply ad e ising hei p esence. O he common uses o p ospec uses we e o
public lec u es and lec u e se ies, o new cul u al ins i u ions such as he pic u e
galle ies o he 1780s and 90s (mos o which we e linked o la ge-scale publishing
p ojec s, each wi h i s own ad e ising campaign, o which p ospec uses we e
pa ), and o he ashionable lec u ing ins i u ions ha sp ung up in London and
o he ci ies a e he ounding o he Royal Ins i u ion in 1799. In he inc easingly
compe i i e cul u al ma ke place, e e y new a is ic associa ion o educa ional
es ablishmen would issue i s own p ospec us, o de ine i s aims, explain i s
inancial and o he a angemen s and a ac subsc ibe s. Some o hese had a e y
wide ci cula ion, e en i ew copies su i e oday.
Se ing such a a ie y o pu poses, p ospec uses ook many o ms and could
ange om a single p in ed page o ou , eigh , wel e o mo e pages, w i en by
he au ho , p op ie o o publishe , o a combina ion o hese. Whiche e “ oice”
was speaking, public add ess was a he hea o he gen e, and, along wi h
numbe ed “Condi ions” o sale, a na a i e sec ion en i led “To he Public” was
a common ea u e. He e he au ho o publishe would explain he a ionale o
publica ion, d aw a en ion o he me i s o he p ojec ed wo k and compa e i
a ou ably o compe i o s. In he case o a cul u al ins i u ion o educa ional
es ablishmen , he add ess o he public would become a mission s a emen ,
explaining why he ins i u ion ma e ed and wha i could o e o subsc ibe s.
A ypical example o a p ospec us – and one ha p obably passed h ough
Blake’s hands – is ha o he New-Je usalem Magazine, launched in Janua y 1790
by he London Uni e sal Socie y, a splin e g oup o he Swedenbo gian “New
Chu ch” wi h which Blake was b ie ly in ol ed.4 W i en in he hi d pe son by
“a Socie y o Gen lemen” (a con en ional o mula ound on many p ospec uses),
his opens wi h an add ess “To he Public” which explains he “Mo i e and
Design” o he magazine, highligh ing i s unique ea u es (including he p in ing
o ex ac s om p e iously un ansla ed wo k by Swedenbo g) and appealing o
“public Encou agemen ” o he en u e.5 Like o he publica ion announcemen s,
he p ospec us emphasizes he ma e ial quali ies o he magazine ( o be “Elegan ly
4 Fo Blake’s Swedenbo gian connec ions and p obable knowledge o he New-Je usalem
Magazine, see Robe Rix, William Blake and he Cul u es o Radical Ch is iani y (Fa nham:
Ashga e, 2007); and Leslie Chambe s, “The Swedenbo gian In luence on William Blake”
(PhD diss., The Open Uni e si y, 1995), 86-92.
5 P oposals o Publishing on he Fi s o Janua y […] The New-Je usalem Magazine; o , A T easu y
o Celes ial, Spi i ual, and Na u al, Knowledge. By a Socie y o Gen lemen, Membe s o he New
Chu ch (London, 1789), 1-2. B i ish Lib a y copy.
Blake’s Public Add esses
135
p in ed on supe ine Pape ”) as well as i s in ellec ual alue, and goes on o
p oclaim he his o ical signi icance o he publica ion by e e ing o he “ e y
impo an Re olu ions now aking Place in he Wo ld.” These, i says, a e e idence
ha he “g ea E en s” p ophesied in he sac ed sc ip u es (i.e., he Book o
Re ela ion, he seminal ex o he Swedenbo gian mo emen ) “a e absolu ely
ul illing a he p esen Pe iod.” Al hough he one is es ained compa ed wi h
mo e “en husias ic” millena ian w i ing o he ime, he implica ion is ha he new
publica ion will cap u e hese apocalyp ic ene gies and connec he Swedenbo gian
s uggle o “Spi i ual Libe y” wi h he igh o “Na u al Libe y” in he sphe e o
poli ics.6 In his con ex , he announcemen o he new jou nal became i sel a
p escien “e en .”
The mani es o-like quali y o a pe iodical p ospec us like his, wi h i s
in e mingling o comme cial and poli ical discou se, i s sense o his o ical u gency
and i s usion o ad e ising hype wi h o he g andiose language, is ypical o he
1790s, and such documen s undoub edly helped o shape Blake’s pe cep ion o
wha a p ospec us should o could be.7 Blake, hough, would also ha e been
amilia wi h o he kinds o p ospec us, as a p o essional eng a e and book
illus a o wo king o a ange o p ominen publishe s who made use o his
ma ke ing de ice. Se e al p ospec uses om he 1790s ea u e Blake’s name in
hei lis o eng a e s o an illus a ed book o se ies. These include wo o he
mos ambi ious publishing p ojec s o he ime (bo h linked o specially c ea ed
pic u e galle ies), Robe Bowye ’s olio edi ion o Hume’s His o y o England,
ad e ised om 1792 and e en ually published in 1806, and Joseph Johnson’s
p ojec ed qua o edi ion o Mil on’s Poe ical Wo ks, wi h eng a ings a e Hen y
Fuseli, a p ospec us o which was issued in 1791. In he e en , Blake p oduced
eng a ings o nei he , as he Mil on edi ion was abandoned due o lack o
subsc ibe s and Blake was d opped om he Hume p ojec be o e ecei ing any
commissions (a sou ce o las ing esen men agains Bowye ). A hi d la ge-scale
subsc ip ion p ojec , o Richa d Edwa ds’s illus a ed edi ion o Edwa d Young’s
Nigh Though s (announced in a p ospec us o 17978), saw Blake engaged as bo h
designe and eng a e , bu his en u e oo an in o inancial p oblems, and o o e
i e hund ed wa e colou s Blake pain ed o i , only o y- h ee we e eng a ed and
he edi ion olded a e jus one o he ou olumes had been published.9
6 P oposals o Publishing, 1-2.
7 Fo o he p ospec uses o his kind, see Da id Du , “The P ospec us Wa o he 1790s:
Li e a y Ad e ising in an Age o Re olu ion,” Eigh een h-Cen u y Li e 44, no. 2 (2020): 41-75.
8 Rep oduced in G.E. Ben ley, J ., Blake Reco ds, 2nd ed. (New Ha en, CT: Yale Uni e si y
P ess, 2004), 78-79.
9 See Luisa Calè, “Blake and he Li e a y Galle ies,” in Blake and Con lic , ed. Sa ah Hagga y
and Jon Mee (Basings oke: Palg a e Macmillan, 2008), 185-209.

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Though hese disappoin men s le deep sca s, Blake’s in ol emen wi h such
high-p o ile publishing p ojec s mus ha e augh him much abou he powe o
ad e ising, including he cen al place o he p ospec us in i s epe oi e o
gen es. The Hume edi ion, in pa icula , was ex ensi ely ad e ised o e se e al
yea s, and he many e sions o Bowye ’s p ospec us include one da ed May 1793
which lis s Blake’s name and is explici ly add essed “To he Public.”10 The 35-page
“Desc ip i e Ca alogue” Bowye issued he same yea , which desc ibes he pain ings
and d awings on show in he His o ic Galle y in Pall Mall, wi h Blake again lis ed
as one o he p ospec i e eng a e s,11 may well ha e se ed as a model o Blake’s
Desc ip i e Ca alogue o 1809. Bo h uni e he unc ions o ca alogue aisonné and sales
b ochu e and appeal o public encou agemen o an en e p ise designed o, in
Bowye ’s wo ds, “combine he e ec s o he A s wi h ha o His o ic Eloquence,”12
o poe ic eloquence in Blake’s case (no Hume, bu Chauce , Shakespea e, Mil on,
G ay, he au ho s om whom many o his subjec s a e aken).
Blake meanwhile had been pu suing a mo e comple e syn hesis o isual a
and e bal eloquence in his “Illumina ed Books,” and 1793 was also he yea in
which he issued a p ospec us ad e ising six o hese o sale along wi h wo
“small books o Eng a ings” and wo sepa a e “His o ical Eng a ings” (K 207-8).
No copy o his p ospec us su i es and we know no hing abou i s p in un o
ci cula ion, bu a ansc ip ion o a now los copy appea ed in Alexande Gilch is ’s
Li e o William Blake (1863). This e eals ha i was a single-shee lye con aining
an in oduc o y add ess labelled “To he Public” ollowed by a numbe ed lis o
wo ks, wi h i les, o ma s and p ices. In aluable hough i is as a sou ce o in o ma ion
abou Blake’s ou pu s and publishing ope a ion, he ansc ip ion bea s li le
esemblance o he o iginal p ospec us, which, as Gilch is no es, was p in ed (in
blue ink) in “eng a ed w i ing,” like he illumina ed books hemsel es.13 I was
hus a sample o he wa es i was ad e ising, like many o he p ospec uses o
he ime (p ospec uses we e equen ly p in ed on he same pape and in he same
o ma and ype ace as he wo k hey ad e ised, and some imes con ained
specimen pages). The di e ence was ha in Blake’s case he p in ed le e ing was
c a ed by hand a he han by con en ional ypog aphy – his being one o he
echnical inno a ions which he p ospec us announces.
10 Ci ed in Ben ley, Blake Reco ds, 62.
11 Robe Bowye , His o ic Galle y, Pall Mall. Exhibi ion o Pic u es Pain ed o Bowye ’s
Magni icen Edi ion o he His o y o England … Desc ip i e Ca alogues, 6d. each (London, 1795), 25.
12 Bowye , His o ic Galle y, 23.
13 Alexande Gilch is , Li e o William Blake, “Pic o Igno us.” Wi h Selec ions om his Poems
and O he W i ings, 2 ols. (London: Macmillan, 1863), 262-63. Gilch is no es ha i was
“p in ed in blue on a single shee abou 11 x 7 1/2 inches,” i.e., app oxima ely qua o size.
Blake’s Public Add esses
137
Blake’s di e s, oo, om a egula p ospec us in ha he is no seeking
subsc ip ions, bu a he ad e ising wo ks he has al eady published o ha a e
o be o e ed o sale a a la e poin . The p ospec us does, howe e , ha e o he
s anda d ea u es, including in o ma ion abou book o ma s, numbe o illus a ions,
p ices and place o sale (Blake’s s udio esidence in Lambe h). The add ess “To he
Public” is ano he s anda d ea u e, w i en in he hi d pe son bu clea ly in
Blake’s own oice, as au ho , eng a e , p in e and dis ibu o . Tha unique
combina ion o oles unde pins he i s o he s iking claims Blake makes in his
p ospec us: ha his me hod o wo king has gi en him o al a is ic independence
and made possible a new, di ec ela ionship wi h “ he Public” (a wo d capi alized
h oughou and used epea edly), unmedia ed by a con en ional publishe .
As so o en in p ospec uses, he e is a compe i i e edge o his claim. In ema king
ha e en men o genius like Shakespea e and Mil on “could no publish hei own
wo ks” (K 207), he alludes o con empo a y edi o ial p ojec s such as Boydell’s
Shakespea e and Johnson’s Mil on, implying ha publishe s a e he exploi e s o
o he men’s alen s and ha he “Labou s o he A is , he Poe , he Musician,
ha e been p o e bially a ended by po e y and obscu i y” (K 207) no because
he public neglec hem ( he usual cha ge) bu because hey lack he means o
eaching he public wi hou he aid o middlemen. Blake, by con as , is publishing
his wo k himsel . He has no need o pic u e galle ies and bookselle s because his
“illumina ed books” con ain hei own illus a ions, designed and execu ed by
himsel . The lis o wo ks he ad e ises o sale con i ms his s a us as an
independen publishe o e ing o iginal, inexpensi e al e na i es o he g and
publishing schemes o Boydell, Bowye and Macklin: ins ead o a deluxe edi ion
o Hume, he e is his own “His o y o England, a small book o Eng a ings. P ice 3s.”
(K 208); and, o a di e en kind o his o y, ”Ame ica, a P ophecy, in Illumina ed
P in ing. Folio, wi h 18 designs: p ice 10s. 6d.” (K 207) Blake’s insis ence ha he is
no seeking subsc ip ions o hese “g ea wo ks now in hand” (K 208) is ano he
compe i i e signal, di e en ia ing his book-selling me hods om hose o egula
publishe s o illus a ed books.
I is, hough, Blake’s new me hod o “Illumina ed P in ing” ha is he cen al
heme o he p ospec us and he one on which mos commen a y has ocused: his
in en ion o an e ching and p in ing echnique ha allows him o combine
le e p ess and eng a ing in a single p in ed design, and he eby p oduce
illus a ed books “in a s yle mo e o namen al, uni o m, and g and, han any be o e
disco e ed,” and “a less han on ou h o he expense” (K 207). Blake’s
ocabula y he e is s anda d p ospec us-speak: “o namen al,” “uni o m,” and
“g and” a e clichés o he book ade, as is his boas o ha e exceeded “in elegance
all o me me hods” and o ha e unde sold his compe i o s. Bu his p in ing echnique
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138
was a genuine inno a ion which can jus ly claim o be “a phenomenon wo hy o
public a en ion” (K 207). Announcing his disco e y, comme cial hype yields o
he heigh ened language o a is ic ambi ion as – inally naming himsel – he
p oclaims “M . Blake’s powe s o in en ion” and his eco d in b inging be o e he
public “wo ks (he is no a aid o say) o equal magni ude and consequence wi h
he p oduc ions o any age o coun y” (K 207). The disa ming pa en hesis unde lines
he ea nes ness o his p oud claim.
Blake’s 1793 p ospec us, hen, is bo h an ad e isemen and a mani es o: a public
add ess which equisi ions and hen mo es beyond ma ke ing clichés o announce
a majo echnical disco e y and a s a lingly o iginal body o c ea i e wo k.
Whe he o no he da e ha appea s a he op o he p ospec us, “Oc obe 10,
1793,” has he p ecise poli ical signi icance a ibu ed o i by Michael Phillips,14
who eads i as a coun e -s a emen o a p in ed add ess om a “Socie y o Loyal
B i ons” launched ha same day in he icini y o Blake’s home, he polemical
quali y o his announcemen is unmis akeable. Howe e many o ew people
ac ually saw i , he p ospec us is a bold in e en ion in he li e a y and a is ic
ma ke place and he con iden sel -asse ion o a e olu iona y a is a he heigh
o his powe s.
II
Blake’s 1793 p ospec us can be con as ed wi h he p omo ional documen s he
p oduced in 1809-1810 o his eng a ing o Chauce ’s Can e bu y Pilg ims. The
in e al is a long one, and i he p oduced any p ospec uses in be ween (as is qui e
possible) hey ha e no su i ed. His wo k had ea u ed, howe e , in
p ospec uses issued in 1805 by Robe C omek o an illus a ed edi ion o Robe
Blai ’s The G a e. This p ojec was o ha e been a highligh o Blake’s ca ee , since
C omek, an eng a e and en ep eneu , had o e ed Blake a luc a i e commission
o p oduce bo h he designs and he eng a ings o he deluxe edi ion. C omek’s
i s p ospec us, published in No embe 1805, ea u es Blake in bo h capaci ies
and includes a es imonial om Hen y Fuseli p aising he quali y o his designs.
Wi hin a ma e o weeks, howe e , C omek had changed his mind – possibly a e
seeing Blake’s specimen eng a ing o Dea h’s Doo – and eplaced Blake wi h
ano he , mo e con en ional and be e -known eng a e , Louis Schia one i.15
14 Michael Phillips, “Flames in he Nigh Sky: Blake, Paine and he Mee ing o he Socie y
o Loyal B i ons, Oc obe 10 h, 1793,” Bulle in de la Socié é d’E udes Anglo-Amé icaines des
XVIIe e XVIIIe Siècles 44 (1997): 93-110.
15 Bo h p ospec uses a e ep oduced in Ben ley, Blake Reco ds, 210-15.
Blake’s Public Add esses
139
C omek eissued he p ospec us, subs i u ing Schia one i’s name o Blake’s as
he eng a e . Since he eng a ings we e by a he mos luc a i e pa o he
commission, his was a c ushing blow o Blake, no only inancially bu also in
e ms o his epu a ion. As Ben ley no es, “he los he oppo uni y o appea be o e
a eally la ge con empo a y audience in his mos cha ac e is ic way, combining
his wo p ima y a s o designing and eng a ing.”16 The designs we e s ill his and
his name s ill appea s on he amended p ospec us (benea h Schia one i’s) bu he
epu a ional damage was done, and he e was wo se o come when he edi ion
was inally published in 1808. The e iews uni o mly p aised Schia one i’s wo k
a he han Blake’s, and he designs we e widely c i icized, he mos damning
commen s being hose o Robe Hun in he Examine (7 Ap il 1808).17
This pain ul episode – i s he be ayal (as Blake saw i ) by C omek and hen
he hos ile e iews – p o ed o be a u ning poin in Blake’s ca ee . Ins ead o
secu ing his epu a ion, he G a e p ojec compounded he disappoin men s o his
comme cial publishing en u es o he 1790s and aliena ed him u he om he
a is ic es ablishmen and e iewing communi y. The expe ience also se he e ms
o his nex a emp a public engagemen and his nex in ol emen in subsc ip ion
publishing and ad e ising. The occasion o his was his solo exhibi ion o 1809
and he subsc ip ion o his eng a ing o Chauce ’s Can e bu y Pilg ims. These
wo en u es we e closely linked. Blake had comple ed he la ge, ieze-like
pain ing on which he eng a ing was based in 1808 and i was he cen epiece o
his exhibi ion he ollowing yea , which was in ended o sell his pain ings and
d awings and a ac subsc ip ions o he eng a ing ( ollowing essen ially he
model o he li e a y pic u e galle ies o Boydell and Bowye ). The impo ance o
he Chauce pic u e can be judged om Blake’s Desc ip i e Ca alogue, which
de o es nea ly hal o i s 66 pages18 o his wo k (whose ull i le was Si Je e y
Chauce and he nine and wen y Pilg ims on hei jou ney o Can e bu y; K 566), and
which ca ies a no e unde he “Condi ions o Sale” s a ing ha al hough his
pic u e, like all he o he s, was o sale, he pu chase would ha e o allow Blake
o keep i o wel e mon hs a e he exhibi ion closed, o allow him ime o
eng a e i (K 563).
16 G.E. Ben ley, J ., “A Unique P ospec us o Blake's G a e Designs,” P ince on Uni e si y
Lib a y Ch onicle 35, no. 3 (1974): 323.
17 A ull accoun o his episode is gi en in G.E. Ben ley, J ., “Blake and C omek: The Whea
and he Ta es,” Mode n Philology 71, no. 4 (1974): 366-79. Hun ’s e iew is ep oduced in
Ben ley, Blake Reco ds, 258-61.
18 Page coun in he o iginal p in ing. A digi al acsimile can be ound on The William
Blake A chi e, h ps://www.blakea chi e.o g/.
Da id Du
146
being a e a i ade agains benigh ed English connoisseu s and hei “doll,” Si
Joshua Reynolds:
Can I speak wi h oo g ea Con emp o such Con emp ible ellows? I all
he P inces in Eu ope, like Louis XIV & Cha les he i s , we e o Pa onize
such Blockheads, I, William Blake, a Men al P ince, should decolla e &
Hang hei Souls as Guil y o Men al High T eason.
(K 599)
He e he compe i i e, sel -agg andising language o p ospec uses is gi en a b illian
sa i ical wis as Blake, using he image y o he cou oom and o egicide poli ics,
denounces he man he held esponsible o he ongoing c isis in B i ish a , while
simul aneously p oclaiming himsel as he cleansing o ce ha will b ing him o
jus ice. Blake’s memo able e e ence o himsel as “a Men al P ince” o e s an
i e e en coun e -s a emen o he sycophan ic dedica ions o he P ince o Wales
ha ea u e on so many p ospec uses ( o ins ance, ha o he B i ish School, ci ed
abo e) o indeed he add ess o he King on Reynolds’s own Discou ses, o e
which Blake had sc awled his c i ical anno a ions wo yea s ea lie .28
This mode o public add ess, whe he s aigh o sa i ical, is no unique o
p ospec uses, and Blake’s anno a ions o Reynolds a e hemsel es ull o he wi
and he o ical ene gy o he “Public Add ess.” So, oo, a e many o Blake’s o he
w i ings. Bu he e idence o his a icle is ha p ospec us-w i ing helped o shape
he p oclama o y (and denuncia o y) s yle ha is so cha ac e is ic o his wo k, and
ha p oduced some o his mos powe ul passages. Two inal examples will show
how eadily his p oclama o y s yle, and he pe o ma i e language o
announcemen and p omise-making which also de ine he p ospec us, en e ed
in o his mo e ully li e a y w i ing.
IV
The i s example is om The Ma iage o Hea en and Hell, one o he illumina ed
books ad e ised o sale in his p ospec us o 1793. Comple ed in 1793, his has
a special ela ion o ha p ospec us because one o i s pla es desc ibes a isi o
a p in ing house in Hell which is clea ly a e sion o Blake’s own wo kshop in
28 Blake’s o e lay o his p in ed sec ion can be seen on he B i ish Lib a y copy o Blake’s
anno a ions o Joshua Reynolds, The Wo ks o Si Joshua Reynolds, ed. Edmond Malone, 3 ols.
(London: Cadell and Da ies, 1798). A ailable on Eigh een h Cen u y Collec ions Online.

Blake’s Public Add esses
147
Lambe h.29 This esemblance (inexac bu unmis akable) has o en been no ed, bu
he connec ion wi h he p ospec us is e en s onge , because he Ma iage concludes
wi h a publishing announcemen which is like ha o he p ospec us i sel . In ac ,
he e is a double announcemen : o a o hcoming Bible o be ead “in i s in e nal
o diabolical sense, which he wo ld shall ha e i hey beha e well;” and o “The
Bible o Hell, which he wo ld shall ha e whe he hey will o no” (K 158). The whole
o The Ma iage o Hea en and Hell could in ac be desc ibed as a p ospec us and
specimen o Blake’s “Bible o Hell,” a ph ase which is a coded e e ence o his
en i e isiona y co pus, many pa s o which mimic he “Books” o he Bible. I is
no a coincidence ha Blake announced i a a ime when he e we e o he la ge-
scale illus a ed Bible edi ions being o e ed o sale, no ably Thomas Macklin’s,
a mul i olume subsc ip ion p ojec ea u ing some o he leading pain e s and
eng a e s o he day (bu no Blake). Blake’s illus a ed “Bible o Hell” is, among
o he hings, a sub e si e al e na i e o Macklin’s, and i Blake is no li e ally
seeking subsc ip ions o i , he is ying o pe suade us, as he De il does he Angel,
o join him on his e olu iona y eading p ojec .
My second example is he pla e en i led “To he Public” p e ixed o Je usalem.
P in ed in illumina ed le e ing like he es o he poem, his is one o ou
add esses ha p e ace he ou chap e s o he poem, he h ee o he s being
“To he Jews,” “To he Deis s” and “To he Ch is ians.” This one di e s in being
add essed o he public a la ge a he han a denomina ional g oup, and in
add essing hem as “Reade s,” a wo d used mul iple imes (K 620-21). As such,
his add ess has poin s in common wi h con en ional p e aces o li e a y wo ks,
and he subsec ion “O he Measu e in which he ollowing Poem is w i en”
connec s he poem mo e speci ically wi h epic and he adi ion o Pa adise Los –
a adi ion Blake p omp ly plays o agains by announcing a me ical inno a ion
ha b eaks bo h wi h blank e se and wi h he “mode n bondage o Rhyming”
Mil on himsel had ejec ed (K 621). Blake’s add ess is Mil onic, oo, in i s use o
he de ice o epic in oca ion, o e ing a e y li e al e sion o a con en ional scene
o inspi a ion in which he speaks o how his muse “dic a ed o me” (K 621).
In o he espec s, hough, Blake’s add ess has mo e in common wi h he
pa a ex ual gen e I ha e been acing h oughou his essay, he p ospec us, and
his sec ion i le, “To he Public,” plainly de i es om his. The add ess is
p ospec us-like in he di ec ness o i s appeal o he eade , in i s au obiog aphical
quali y (Blake explains, wi h his amilia candou , his easons o w i ing he poem
and his expec a ions om i ), and in i s emphasis on he ma e ial ex : ha is, on
29 Joseph Viscomi, “The E olu ion o William Blake’s The Ma iage o Hea en and Hell,”
Hun ing on Lib a y Qua e ly 58 (1997): 281-344.
Da id Du
148
he p ocess o publica ion and he ac o book-making. I di ine dic a ion p o ides
he con en o he poem, he published o m o i is supplied by a mo e mundane
p ocess o which Blake had equal expe ience: ypog aphy. Bo h dimensions o his
c ea i i y a e b ough oge he in he en-line poem (in hyming couple s) ha he
embeds wi hin he p ose o his add ess, which begins wi h an apos ophe o he
eade as he “lo e o books,” pays homage o he God who is he gi e o all
books and o “ he wond ous a o w i ing,” and concludes wi h a celeb a ion o
he powe o p in ing, he edemp i e a ha makes hough and w i ing
pe manen and b ings o de o chaos:
The e o e I p in , no ain my ypes shall be:
Hea en, Ea h and Hell hence o h shall li e in Ha mony.
(K 621)
In announcing himsel as bo h au ho and p in e , and making his p omise o
use his win a s o ca y ou his isiona y mission, Blake akes us back o he
in e nal p in ing house o The Ma iage o Hea en and Hell and hus back o his own
wo kshop. The add ess “To he Public” is an in i a ion o eade s o sha e in he
joy o w i ing and eading and book-making, and be pa o his mission. The only
o he Roman ic ex ha announces such a g and plan and p omises o ul il i
h ough he medium o e se is Wo dswo h’s “P ospec us” o The Recluse, a ex
ha in e es ed Blake enough o copy i ou by hand while anno a ing his p in ed
edi ion (K 784). Bo h ex s show how he gen e o he p ospec us – o iginally
simply a mundane “p oposal o publish” – could become a ehicle o a isiona y
mani es o, an a is ic mission s a emen ha in Blake’s case would in ol e he a
o p in ing as well as w i ing.30
In he e en , nei he Wo dswo h no Blake en i ely ul illed hei ambi ious
plan. The philosophical poem announced in he “P ospec us” o The Recluse was
ne e comple ed, and he messianic appeal o “To he Public” in Je usalem was
seen by only a hand ul o eade s, he poem only inally appea ing six een yea s
a e i had been begun. The e is, in ac , e idence ha Blake ampe ed wi h he
coppe pla e o his page a e designing i , sc a ching ou he wo d “dea ” nex o
“Reade ” and emo ing he wo d “lo e ” nex o “o books” (in mos mode n
edi ions, such as Keynes’s, he wo ds a e conjec u ally es o ed bu ma ked as
absen by use o i alics).31 I so, his may indica e a c isis on Blake’s pa wi h
30 Fo Wo dswo h’s a is ic ans o ma ion o he gen e and i s connec ion wi h Roman ic
poe ics, see Da id Du , “Wo dswo h’s ‘P ospec us’: The Gen e,” The Wo dswo h Ci cle
45, no. 2 (2014): 178-84.
31 See Da id V. E dman, “The Supp essed and Al e ed Passages in Blake’s Je usalem,”
S udies in Bibliog aphy 17 (1964): 1-54.
Blake’s Public Add esses
149
ega d o his ai h in he public. When his occu ed, and p ecisely why, we canno
be ce ain, bu he huge men al p essu es e lec ed in he, a imes, ambling and
inchoa e p ose o he “Public Add ess” may ha e led o a u he de e io a ion,
which inally a ec ed Blake’s con idence, i no in himsel , hen in he eading
public. Tha was no he end o he s o y and i emains only conjec u e, bu i
shows how close o he hea o Roman ic c ea i i y he gen e o he p ospec us
was, and how he oppo uni ies and challenges o “public add ess” helped o shape
he cou se o Blake’s ca ee .
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