The Complaint, and The Consolation; or Night Thoughts.

Blake created 537 watercolor drawings to encircle the text of Young’s Night Thoughts, a poem in nine parts. In the end, only this first part containing 4 parts and 43 designs ("in a perfectly new style of decoration") was published. As Bentley notes, "the paper was only marginally larger than the copperplate, and even in untrimmed copies ... parts of the platemark may not appear." Bentley 515; Keynes 200; Ray, The Illustrator and the Book 3.

Large quarto (410 x 314mm). 43 engravings by and after William Blake, forming part-titles and borders to text, "Explanation of Engravings" leaf at end trimmed and inlaid to larger sheet, paper watermarked "1794 J Whatman" (trimmed). Disbound; custom chemise.