The importance of the art of the Middle Ages in forming Blake's style has long been recognised; Blake himself saw a connection between Books of Hours and his illustrated pages for he called his works "Illuminated Books". W. B. Yeats referred to the Songs of Innocence and The Book of Thel as "illuminated missals of song" (xvii), and several modern scholars have detected resemblances in design between Blake and his medieval exemplars (Clark, 11; Mellor, 133). Anthony Blunt and Jean Hagstrum, in particular, have described the debt that Blake owes to medieval art. Blunt stresses the importance of Blake's apprenticeship years, exploring & recording the monuments of Westminster Abbey: "It gave him his first contact with medieval art, which was to remain a powerful influence and source of inspiration for the whole of his life" (4). Hagstrum comments on the resemblance between Blake's designs and those of medieval manuscripts, and calls our attention to the illuminated manuscripts in the collection of the bookseller James Edwards, postulating that these would have given William Blake graphic sources of fresh inspiration in the late 1780s. In the pages of, for instance, the Bedford Hours, Hagstrum finds several impressive sources of design, detail and colour in Blake's Illuminated Printing (31-33). To these possibilities must now be added the medieval illuminated manuscripts in the library of Mrs. Bliss as further sources of aesthetic influence on Blake.
I list below the Western manuscripts from Mrs. Bliss's 1826 sale (and additionally some albums of drawings and engravings, and printed books with significant MS additions), altogether representing some 5.4 % of the lots in the sale.
28 Abrégé Historique des Principaux Traits de la Vie de Confucius Célébre Philosophe Chinois, 24 fine engravings by Helman, Paris; Faits memorables des Empereurs de la Chine, with MS. translations in English, 24 fine engravings, Paris 1788, calf extra, gilt leaves, by Staggemeier, in 1 vol.
29 Æsop's Fables, 2 vols in MS with original drawings by Howitt, green morocco, gilt leaves
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83 Ægidus de Roma du Gouvernement des Princes et des Roys [Manuscript of the XIIIth Century, upon vellum, with illuminations, curiously bound in russia, gilt leaves, by Faulkner]
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86 Annales du Regne de Louis le Grand, a MS. with 50 beautiful illuminations, (some of which are unfinished,) bound in crimson velvet, gilt leaves
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119 Chronology from the Creation to A.D. 1473, a MS. on vellum, with illuminated Genealogies and Capitals, brown calf, joints
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128 Conclusiones ex Philosophia Universa dicat et consecrat Victor Meliand, MS. beautifully written on vellum, with fine Paintings and emblematical illuminated borders, and a printed Copy, plain, on vellum, bound in green morocco, gold borders, gilt leaves in 1 vol | Propugnabit in aula Colleg. Clarom. Societ. Jesu die Junii Anno 1647
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267 Lord's Prayer of an Unterwaldener, invented by J. M. Usteri at Zurich, and etched in aquatinta by M. Wocher, with MS. Verses, half bound, red morocco, elegant | Basil 1803
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282 Krieg's Ordenung bin ich genannt, &c. a ms. with 60 magnificent illuminations, by Henry Goltzius, and a portrait of him, calf gilt
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349 Storia Naturale Degli Uccelli trattata con Methodo e Adornata di Figure Intagliate in Rame e Miniate al Naturale (Ital. and Lat.) 5 vols. 599 coloured plates, with MS. description to each in English, green morocco, joints, broad gold borders, gilt leaves, by Staggemeier and Welcher Firenze 1767
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431 Shaw's (Dr. Geo.) Museum Leverianum, containing select Specimens from the Museum of the late Sir Ashton Lever, Lat. and Eng. 60 beautiful coloured plates, with ms. list, calf, half extra 1792
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RICHLY ILLUMINATED MISSALS, BOOKS OF | EMBLEMS, &c.
457 Hore Diuine Virginis Marie secundum usum Romanum, cum aliis multis folio sequenti notatis una cum figuris Apocalipsis et Destructio Hierusalem et multis figuris Biblie insertis, 19 large and 11 small illuminations, with capitals and borders, on vellum, calf, neat
458 A Dutch Missal MS. on vellum, with 9 large and 4 small beautiful painted illuminations, capitals and borders, bound in red morocco, gilt
459 Book of Emblems, on vellum, containing 50 exquisitely coloured emblems, representing the Birth, Life and Death of Christ, the Apostles, Saints, &c. &c. vellum, gilt leaves
460 Hore Beate Marie Virginis secundum usum Romanum, totaliter ad longu sine require, on vellum, with 12 illuminated miniatures and capitals, calf extra, gilt leaves | Impresse Parisius per Germanu Hardouyn.
461 Liber Præcum, MS. on vellum, 14 beautiful illuminations, (2 very curious, John's Head in a Charger and the Cutting off the High Priest's Ear,) with borders and capitals, bound in maroon, coloured morocco, joints, gilt edges, by Hering
462 A Beautiful Dutch Missal MS. on vellum, with 12 large, 6 small, and 10 capital letters and borders, highly coloured, neatly bound in calf
463 Viti Christi, MS. on vellum, with 37 exquisitely finished miniatures, richly painted borders and capitals, bound in red morocco, gilt edges
464 A German Missal MS. on vellum, with 3 exquisite paintings, rich gold borders, and multitude of capitals, bound in velvet, gilt edges
465 Paintings of Saints, &c. 76 most exquisite miniature paintings, representing the Death of Christ, the Apostles, Virgin Mary, Saints, Martyrs, &c. mounted, and splendidly bound in red morocco, gilt leaves, by C. Smith
466 A Missal MS. on vellum, with 15 beautiful, large, and highly finished miniatures, emblematical borders, and capitals, bound in red morocco, gilt edges
467 A Missal MS. on vellum, with 7 large and small paintings, most exquisitely finished, bound in velvet, gilt edges
468 Horæ Romanæ, MS. on vellum, with 12 large and 27 small most exquisitely coloured paintings, borders, and capitals, red morocco, gilt edges
469 A Missal MS. on vellum, 21 large paintings, highly coloured and finished, with borders and capitals, bound in crimson velvet, gilt edges
470 Heures Gothique, MS. on vellum, 15 miniatures, Life of Joseph, and Calendar, with painted capitals, red morocco, gilt edges | [The lot sold for £14. 5s. 0d.]
471 Life and Death of Christ, MS. on Vellum, with 18 illuminations, calf extra, gilt leaves
472 Officinum Beatæ Virginis, MS. on Vellum, 22 large, and 29 small exquisite Miniature Paintings, with a drawing, portrait of Is. Van Deyn inserted, red morocco, gilt edges
473 Heures Gothique, MS. on Vellum, with 22 beautiful Miniatures, emblematical borders, and capitals, morocco, gilt leaves
474 Horæ Beatæ Mariæ Virginis, MS. on Vellum, with 40 exquisite Miniature Paintings, borders and capitals, curiously bound and inlaid, gilt edges
475 Officium Beatæ Mariæ Virginis, on Vellum, 16 large, and 20 small illuminations, with a Drawing, Portrait of S. Arnoldus, morocco, gilt edges |
476 Les sentes Heures a l'usaige de Amies tout au l ōg sans rere onte este faictes pour Simō Vostre, on vellum, with 20 large illuminations, and emblematical borders, curiously bound in morocco
477 A Missal MS. on Vellum, with 26 beautiful Miniatures, exquisitely finished representing Life, Death, and Sufferings of Christ, Interment, Pentecost, the Evangelists, Jewish Ceremonies, &c. with rich broad emblematical borders throughout, bound in velvet, silk inside, &c. by Benedict
478 Le Bien Vivre Litt. Goth, on Vellum, 30 fine coloured paintings and capitals, bound in vellum, gilt edges
479 A Missal MS. on Vellum, with 9 large Paintings, finely executed, richly coloured, and gold borders and capitals, brown calf extra
480 A Missal MS. on Vellum, with 14 large, and 20 small most exquisitely finished Paintings, with rich borders and capitals, bound in vellum, gilt edges
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490 Collection de 26 Miniatures tirées D'Anciens Manuscrits, avec les Explications par M. l'Abbé Rive, most richly coloured gold borders, inlaid and bound in blue morocco, joints, gilt leaves (From the Townley Collection.)
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492 Botanical Drawings, a collection of 44 Botanic drawings by a Lady for Mrs. Bliss, beautifully coloured, half bound, red morocco
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497 Dresses of Augsburgh, 36 beautiful Drawings on Vellum, representing the various Dresses, with 24 engravings, and 4 Drawings added at the end, in old red morocco binding
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507 Bewick's 25 original Drawings of Dogs, neatly mounted, with Portrait of Bewick, red morocco, gold borders, by C. Smith
508 Original Drawings of Birds, a collection of upwards of 200 beautiful coloured original Drawings, illustrating the Ornithology of the Orientals, mounted and superbly bound, in 2 vols, red morocco, joints, gold borders, gilt leaves, by Lewis
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514 Coats of Arms of Foreign Princes and Noblemen, 16 Drawings, chiefly on vellum, highly coloured, neatly bound
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519 Costumes of France, Italy, &c. represented in 42 highly coloured Costumes, on vellum, gold borders, mounted, and bound in morocco
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521 Nine Beautiful Large Paintings on Vellum, of Ancient Tournaments, &c. exhibiting the Banners, Dresses and Costumes of Maximilian, Emperor of Germany, his Grandson, Charles V. &c. and representing two Battle Pieces, with a Castle Besieged, most exquisitely executed, and highly coloured
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531 Emblematical Drawings, 25 beautiful emblematical Drawings, on vellum, with descriptive Verses, very curious
532 Eleven magnificent and richly coloured Drawings, by Michael Angelo, Maestri, on India paper, mounted in a blue morocco portfolio, broad gold border, gilt clasps
Mrs. Bliss would have been a striking addition to the list of connoisseurs featured by A. N. L. Munby in Connoisseurs and medieval miniatures 1750-1850 (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1972). He discusses the changing attitude to Gothic illumination between the reigns of George II and Victoria, and mentions many of the pioneering names (Beckford, Douce, etc.) in the collecting of illuminated manuscripts, but not, of course, Mrs. Bliss. The medieval manuscripts in her Bibliotheca splendidissima include some of quite early date, unfashionable and barely collected by Bliss's contemporaries. Here, as elsewhere, Bliss commands our respect for her recognition of quality in unfamiliar areas of connoisseurship. It's not the easiest task to identify the western manuscripts from the brief entries in the 1826 catalogue. So far, just two of these manuscripts have been identified.
Lot 461
"Liber Præcum, MS. on vellum, 14 beautiful illuminations, (2 very curious, John's Head in a Charger and the Cutting off the High Priest's Ear,) with borders and capitals, bound in maroon, coloured morocco, joints, gilt edges, by Hering"
This can be identified with a Book of Hours, use of Rouen, c. 1460-65, lot 29 in a Christie's sale (Valuable Printed Books and Manuscripts, Wednesday 12 June 2013). It had previously been listed in Quaritch, Catalogue 211 (1902), no 137. My thanks to Peter Kidd for bringing this manuscript to my attention. The lot sold for £40,000 to a US trade buyer.
Lot 470
"Heures Gothique, MS. on vellum, 15 miniatures, Life of Joseph, and Calendar, with painted capitals, red morocco, gilt edges"
This can be identified as a Psalter for Franciscan usage acquired by the Bodleian Library in Oxford with the Francis Douce bequest, and now MS. Douce 48. The lot sold for £14. 5s. 0d. to .... from whom it was purchased by Francis Douce. Bequeathed by Douce to the Bodleian Library. It is a manuscript of the late thirteenth century with fine miniatures and borders, and historiated and other initials by a second hand.
As the books in Bibliotheca splendidissima are identified, we begin to get a sense of the range of the Bliss collection and for the first time Blake's work can be shown in a distinctive contemporary context of Gothic illuminated manuscripts. The crucial question remains, did Rebekah Bliss acquire her Blakes directly from the artist, and if so, did this stem from some closer acquaintanceship? Could William Blake have met Mrs. Bliss, and if so, could he have seen her Bibliotheca splendidissima? I should like to suggest the Bliss collection as a possible vector of influence on Blake's art.
Sources
Anthony Blunt, The art of William Blake. Bampton lectures in America; 12 (London: Oxford University Press, 1959).
Kenneth Clark, Blake and Visionary Art (Glasgow, 1973).
Jean H. Hagstrum, William Blake, poet and painter: an introduction to the illuminated verse (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1964).
Anne Kostelanetz Mellor, Blake's Human Form Divine (Berkeley, 1974).
A.N.L. Munby, Connoisseurs and medieval miniatures, 1750-1850 (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1972).
W.B. Yeats, "Introduction" to The Poems of William Blake. Muses' Library (London, 1905).
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