Songs of Innocence and of Experience

Issued in engraved form in the 1790s, this is a paired collection of short lyrics that Blake illustrated himself. The Innocence poems present shepherds, children, nurses, and a lamb's religion of trust; the Experience poems return to many of the same subjects - the chimney sweeper, the garden, London, the church - in a darker key of restriction, exploitation, and lost simplicity. Speakers include children, adults, animals, and abstract figures such as Earth. There is no narrative through-line. The work is a lyric argument in two contrary states, not a children's picture book and not a theological treatise.

Bound in green Brillianta cloth, blocked on cover in gold foil. Light green cloth-covered clamshell box with inset colour picture label, lined with paper printed with a detail from “The Blossom”. 12⅕x9½in.