The Iliad of Homer engraved by Thomas Piroli from the Compositions of John Flaxman Sculptor.
1793. Rome: 1793.
Oblong folio, original plain blue wrappers, upper wrapper almost detached, title-page, 34 plates all dated June 1st 1793 except for plate [24] which is dated June 1 1794, text in Italian at the end. Printed on blue paper with the watermark GLC within an urn-like device (as the Blackmer copy, the only other copy we could locate with that watermark). A very good copy in original condition, of great rarity thus.
§ The true first Piroli printing of these famous plates, much reprinted along with the Aeschylus, the Odyssey, and the Hesiod which William Blake was famously engaged to create the engravings for in 1805. Bentley has written on the various versions; Essick's copy is on white paper, with a different watermark, and with the text at the end in French. In the present copy it appears as "Spiegazioni delle Tavole" followed by 34 descriptions set in three columns. Copies examined online such as Princeton's and the Royal Academy's differ enough to be surely later printings.
"The Iliad of Homer Engraved from the Compositions of John Flaxman", the first of the four Piroli titles, is a strikingly beautiful production especially on the blue paper -- many later versions were printed, with text in French. The influence of Flaxman on Blake is clearly seen in several plates. Item #123231
Price: $4,250.00