3 comments about The Continental Prophecies (The Illuminated Books of William Blake, Volume 4).

1. This wonderful volume contains what are referred to as Blake's Continental Prophecies. They are: "America", "Europe", and "The Song of Los". The last has two sections called "Africa" and "Asia" and is by far the shortest.

   They are all beautifully illustrated and the first plate in "Europe" is probably the most famous image from Blake's illuminated works - the bearded white man kneeling and reaching down out of the sun with the measuring compass. "The Song of Los" is also full of beautifully colored images. The "America" plates are monochrome although a couple of colored plates are shown in the supplementary plates.

   Since "America" has 18 plates and "Europe" 17 and "Los" 8, it follows that most of the volume's 367 pages are filled with commentary, notes, and supplementary material. This helps a lot because these prophecies are part of Blake's rather opaque personal mythology. Scholars have filled shelves with conjecture about what it all means and they do have some good notions, but it is tough sledding without the background material to ease the way. This is a great edition and will be a treasure on the bookshelf of all who love the works of William Blake.




2. Blake's work must be read in reproduction. An engraver by trade, Blake revolutionized book production with his "infernal method" of engraved illumination, hand-crafting each book. In the Continental Prophesies, Blake revolutionizes historiography; _America_'s retelling of the American Revolution, for instance, juxtaposes Washington and Paine with Orc and Urizen, fact with myth, to produce something that powerfully transcends the dull round of history. The accompanying illuminations cannot be omitted-- they do not simply illustrate the text, but ILLUMINATE it, supplementing and counter-pointing. And Blake's art is awesome. The Blake Trust's series is superb, conveniently transcribing the handwritten text of the engraved text on the adjacent page, offering important visual variations between versions of the book, and amply providing comprehensive glosses (in seperate sections, both interpretative and contextual) on each plate/page visually and textually. It is expensive to buy the entire series, but one MUST have Blake's illuminations, and Blake is an author for whom one needs all the notes one can get (Blake's allusions are extremely complex, so one must at least recognize them on the most basic level). One cannot say enough about the the visions of Blake presented in these books, but this is too much; you must SEE.



3. I recommend that any fan of William Blake buy this volume and the other 5 in the series. The books are beautiful, large, and handsomely bound. Each book is reproduced in full color, using a six-color printing process rather than the standard four. The pages are heavy, opaque and have a gorgous lustre indicating very high quality paper. The text of each book accompanies the color reproductions in standard typeface with very competent commentary to boot.

   A must have!

No comments about Delftware at Historic Deerfield.

No comments about American Art Pottery Wall Pockets.

2 comments about Precious Moments Last Forever.

1. It is a well illustrated and informative book of Precious Moments. You won't go wrong on buying this one. Specially if you are starting to get into Precious Moments figurines.



2. I think it is very colourful! And it is beautiful too!

No comments about Breast Duel.

No comments about Comic Angels: And Other Approaches to Greek Drama through Vase-Paintings (Clarendon Paperbacks).

No comments about Chinese Export Porcelain for the American Trade, 1785-1835 (Winterthur Series).

No comments about Printmaking In New Orleans.

No comments about 2004 California Biennial.

2 comments about Contemporary Potter: A Collection of the Best Original Work in Earthenware, Porcelain, and Stoneware.

1. If you're into pottery, you'll love the various designs in this book. However, if you actually make pottery, like myself, this book is only semi-useful in that you can get a few ideas from the pieces photographed. There is very little text, and none of it is really informative on the methods used. This book is for the coffee table, not the art studio.



2. This is a delightful coffee table book featuring an impressive selection of earthenware, porcelain and stoneware. It includes a wonderfully diverse array of styles and techniques masterfully executed by contemporary craftsmen. With over 800 unique pieces, it will provide me with inspiration for years to come.

   I loved a shimmering vessel created by Robert Piepenburg and the teapots by Rimas VisGirda with women smoking. I also enjoyed a thrown jump pot with buffalo and abstract nude male/female teapots. I found a whimsical coil-built stoneware plate called indigo sky with a man hanging on to the moon truly delightful as well.

   The layout is straightforward. Each piece includes a large color photo and brief information on the techniques used to create it, the artist and the dimensions in both English and metric. The photography and overall quality of the book are excellent. There is also an index including the address of all the artists in the book that is helpful if you wish to purchase from one of them.