2024

William Blake’s earliest engravings

In October 2024, the Bodleian Libraries announced the discovery of previously unknown engravings on the reverse of a series of copper plates attributed to the studio of James Basire. High-resolution recordings using the Selene Photometric Stereo System have revealed a series of engravings that coincide with William Blake’s apprenticeship to Basire from 1772 to 1779 and are now thought to possibly be the earliest engravings by the poet and artist. 

These doodles reveal personal, intimate moments that were not intended to be seen by anyone other than the artist. For the first time since they were made, we can now see the practice work and doodling of the young apprentice responsible for, amongst other things, the tiny visionary face that emerges from the copperplate to return our gaze across two and half centuries.

Mark Crosby, Associate Professor of Literature at Kansas State University

William Blake, Richard II and Queen Anne, verso showing tiny face. Gough copperplate d. 109. ARCHiOx  © Bodleian Libraries, University of Oxford

Attributed to the studio of James Basire, the plates were part of a series engraved during the 1770s, coinciding with William Blake’s apprenticeship to Basire from 1772 to 1779, a period in which Basire only apprenticed two young engravers. The plates were created to illustrate the antiquarian Richard Gough’s self-published book Sepulchral Monuments in Great Britain (1786-1796), with Gough commissioning Basire’s studio to engrave illustrated reproductions of significant mediaeval tombs across the UK, including the royal tombs in Westminster Abbey. These plates were bequeathed to the Bodleian Libraries after Gough’s death in 1809.

Mark Crosby, Associate Professor of Literature at Kansas State University and a fellow of the Society of Antiquaries, worked with ARCHiOx’s Selene Photometric Stereo System to reveal compelling new evidence on the plates alongside consulting materials in the Bodleian’s archives. Collectively, this evidence suggests that these engravings can be attributed to an apprentice at the studio of master engraver James Basire, who would most likely have been the young Blake. If it is indeed the work of William Blake, these engravings reveal previously unknown insights into the artistic and technical development of the artist at the very outset of his career.

Among the engravings discovered on the reverse of the plates are a series of hatching, cross hatching, semi-circles and motifs made with burins and dry point compasses, all of which are suggestive of an apprentice honing their craft and emulating Basire’s house style. These engravings would never have been intended for printing, instead serving as a practice space for an apprentice to learn basic linear markings.

William Blake, Tombs of Three Abbots, verso. Gough Copperplate d. 57. ARCHiOx © Bodleian Libraries, University of Oxford

William Blake, Tombs of Three Abbots, verso showing two rectangular areas of crosshatching. Gough Copperplate d. 57. ARCHiOx © Bodleian Libraries, University of Oxford

Amongst the most remarkable discoveries are engraved drawings which are suggestive of youthful doodles rather than technical exercises. Scans have revealed in incredible detail an engraved miniature face, consisting of two eyes, a partial nose and lips made up of the very pictorial elements practised elsewhere on the plates. The face was impossible to view with the naked eye due to extensive repoussage which has warped the plate. Elsewhere, the O in a plate maker’s mark reading “LONDON” is neatly hatched in a fashion reminiscent of youthful colouring in.

William Blake, Richard II and Queen Anne, verso showing plate maker’s mark. Gough copperplate d. 109. ARCHiOx © Bodleian Libraries, University of Oxford

Another uncovered motif is a short-shafted arrow, approximately 18mm in length and etched into the plate with a burin. Similar arrows or darts frequently occur as pictorial or textual motifs in Blake’s work, appearing significantly in two of his watercolour paintings of Milton’s Paradise Lost, suggesting that even in the work of the young Blake we can find an indication of the art and poetry he would produce later in his career.

William Blake, Richard II and Queen Anne, verso showing arrow. Gough copperplate d. 109. ARCHiOx © Bodleian Libraries, University of Oxford

The discovery was featured on several national and international press articles, including:

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