Item #108740 A Father's Memoirs to His Child. Benjamin Heath Malkin.

A Father's Memoirs to His Child.

1806. London: Longman, 1806.

8vo, iv, xlviii, 172 pp. With a frontispiece by Blake, engraved by Cromek, and 3 plates (one folding). Very good in original gray boards slightly darkened and worn at corners and with later spine showing wear at edges at rear. Contained in a red morocco gilt slipcase. George Goyder’s copy with his bookplate.

§ First edition, very uncommon in original state. This is possibly a large-paper issue as it is substantially bigger than other untrimmed copies in stock. The text includes the first typographic printing of the poems “Laughing Song,” “The Divine Image,” “Holy Thursday,” “The Tiger,” and “I love the Jocund Dance.” In addition, the preface has a 24-page account of Blake, being the first biographical information on him ever printed. The text of this section was largely obtained from conversations with Blake himself. The child was Malkin’s son, apparently an infant prodigy who died at the age of seven. Bentley, BB, p.18 (a good note on the book) and #482. Item #108740

Price: $3,000.00

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