A Descriptive Catalogue 1809 (Revolution and Romanticism, 1789-1834)

In 1809 Blake was little known, and his exhibition, held in a private house in Soho, attracted few visitors. But Henry Crabb Robinson came, and so did Charles Lamb.<br/>Five of the sixteen pictures exhibited have been lost; but among those that remain are The Spiritual Form of Nelson guiding Leviathan, The Spiritual Form of Pitt guiding Behemoth, and The Canterbury Pilgrims, from Chaucer. Blake's text for the catalogue is both commentary and manifesto, throwing light not just on the pictures but also on the illuminated books.