{"product_id":"william-blake-the-hiding-of-moses-remember-me-a-new-years-gift-or-christmas-present-1825-first-edition-first-issue-publisher-s-original-de-luxe-gilt-binding","title":"William Blake “The Hiding of Moses” - \"Remember Me! A New Years Gift or Christmas Present\" 1825 — First Edition, First Issue — Publisher’s Original De Luxe Gilt Binding","description":"\u003ch1\u003eWilliam Blake — \u003cem\u003eRemember Me!\u003c\/em\u003e A New Year's Gift or Christmas Present. 1825 — First Edition, First Issue — “The Hiding of Moses” — Publisher’s Original De Luxe Gilt Binding\u003c\/h1\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eBLAKE, WILLIAM.\u003c\/strong\u003e \u003cem\u003eRemember Me! A New Year’s Gift or Christmas Present, 1825.\u003c\/em\u003e London: I. Poole, [1824]. First edition, first issue.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eAn exceptional example of one of the scarcest books containing an original engraving designed and engraved by \u003cstrong\u003eWilliam Blake\u003c\/strong\u003e, preserved in its extraordinarily elaborate \u003cstrong\u003epublisher’s original de luxe red leather binding\u003c\/strong\u003e.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe volume contains Blake’s \u003cstrong\u003e“The Hiding of Moses,”\u003c\/strong\u003e signed within the plate \u003cstrong\u003e“Blake del et sculpt.”\u003c\/strong\u003e The engraving is particularly significant as \u003cstrong\u003ethe final plate both designed and engraved by Blake himself for a commercial publication\u003c\/strong\u003e.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe plate is here preserved integral to the book for which it was created, with the engraved title \u003cstrong\u003e“Hiding of Moses”\u003c\/strong\u003ebeneath the image and Blake’s engraved signature at lower right. The impression is strong and detailed, retaining generous margins.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch3\u003eThe Blake Engraving\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e“The Hiding of Moses”\u003c\/strong\u003e is among the rarest of Blake’s commercial book illustrations.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe composition depicts the concealment of the infant Moses among the bulrushes, surrounded by a characteristically Blake conception of Egypt, with monumental architectural forms, pyramids, the Sphinx, and highly expressive human figures.\u003cmeta charset=\"UTF-8\"\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe rarity of \u003cstrong\u003e“The Hiding of Moses”\u003c\/strong\u003e is exceptional even within Blake’s commercial graphic work. Early bibliographical scholarship recorded only a handful of examples, and G. E. Bentley’s later census located just \u003cstrong\u003etwenty-four copies of \u003cem\u003eRemember Me!\u003c\/em\u003e across its various issues and bindings\u003c\/strong\u003e. Its scarcity is compounded by its historical importance: \u003cstrong\u003e“The Hiding of Moses” was the last commercial plate both designed and engraved by Blake himself\u003c\/strong\u003e, and represents the culmination of Blake’s career as a commercial engraver.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch3\u003ePublisher's De Luxe Binding\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eOf particular importance is the remarkable \u003cstrong\u003epublisher’s original de luxe binding\u003c\/strong\u003e: full red leather extensively decorated in gilt, with broad ornamental borders to the covers and an exceptionally rich gilt spine. A contrasting black leather spine label is lettered \u003cstrong\u003eREMEMBER ME\u003c\/strong\u003e, with \u003cstrong\u003eLONDON \/ 1825\u003c\/strong\u003e gilt at the foot.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe volume retains its striking original marbled endpapers and gilt-decorated turn-ins.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe decorative character of these bindings is itself an important feature of the publication. G. E. Bentley’s census recorded only \u003cstrong\u003etwenty-four copies\u003c\/strong\u003e and noted that the surviving examples differ in their combinations of binding pattern, endpapers, fore-edge treatment, and other decorative details—reflecting publisher John Poole’s background as a maker of marbled papers and luxury fancy goods.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch3\u003eThe Volume\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eIn addition to the Blake engraving, \u003cem\u003eRemember Me!\u003c\/em\u003e is an unusually elaborate Regency gift book incorporating an engraved frontispiece and title, additional full-page engravings, botanical illustrations, engraved music, calendar material, and other decorative contents.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe engraved title is dated \u003cstrong\u003e1825\u003c\/strong\u003e, identifying this copy as the \u003cstrong\u003efirst issue\u003c\/strong\u003e, preceding the 1826 reissue.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe binding remains exceptionally handsome, with light rubbing and localized wear consistent with age, particularly at the extremities. Internally, the volume shows some expected toning and occasional spotting. Early pencil notations are present. A period or early collector’s mark consisting of a heraldic bird above the initials \u003cstrong\u003eW.R.H.\u003c\/strong\u003e appears at the rear.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eA particularly desirable copy of a celebrated William Blake rarity, distinguished not only by the presence of \u003cstrong\u003e“The Hiding of Moses”\u003c\/strong\u003e, but by its survival in one of the publisher’s highly decorative original de luxe bindings.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eReferences:\u003c\/strong\u003e Bentley, \u003cem\u003eBlake Books\u003c\/em\u003e, 490B; Easson \u0026amp; Essick, \u003cem\u003eWilliam Blake: Book Illustrator\u003c\/em\u003e, XI; Keynes, \u003cem\u003eBlake Studies\u003c\/em\u003e, XIX; G. E. Bentley Jr., “Remember Me! Customs and Costumes of Blake’s Gift Book,” \u003cem\u003eUniversity of Toronto Quarterly\u003c\/em\u003e, 80.4.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Breething Books","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":48220428206310,"sku":"BB-000038","price":27500.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0733\/7931\/5942\/files\/IMG_5263.jpg?v=1787330069","url":"https:\/\/www.breethingbooks.com\/products\/william-blake-the-hiding-of-moses-remember-me-a-new-years-gift-or-christmas-present-1825-first-edition-first-issue-publisher-s-original-de-luxe-gilt-binding","provider":"Breething Books","version":"1.0","type":"link"}