This book is titled "Selections from the Writings Of William Blake", with an Introductory Essay by Laurence Housman and published in London by Kegan Paul, Trench, Trubner & Co. in 1893 [MDCCCXCIII]. The book has five raised bands, six gilt-ruled compartments with a maroon label, "Blake's Poems" in gilt lettering and gilt tooling on the spine, double gilt-ruled borders with polished calf covers, gilt dentelles and beautiful paisley-marbled endpapers, the book was bound by Morrell in London and Lauriat in Boston, a wonderful frontispiece showing "The Sons of God Appearing Before the Lord" with a protective tissue guard, the title page, four pages of Contents, a twenty-three page Introduction (ix - xxxi), 259 pages of text, and the top edge is gilt. William Blake (1757 - 1827) was an English poet, painter, and printmaker who went largely unrecognized during his life and is now considered a seminal figure in the history of the poetry and visual art of the Romantic Age. He lived in London nearly his entire life and was considered mad by his contemporaries for his idiosyncratic views and the mystical undercurrents within his works; he was also a committed Christian who was hostile to the Church of England and influenced by the ambitions and ideals of the French and American revolutions, and Rossetti characterized him as a "glorious luminary". The book is 8vo. and measures 6 1/2 x 4 1/8 in. wide, with a tight binding, page 137 has a mark on the top margin, there are couple of pages with faint brown spots, and aside from that, a book with very clean pages and and text; there's light wear at the crown and light rubbing on the edges of the spine and at the heel, light scratches and a small spot on the back cover, the gilt on top has a dark edge, and overall an attractive copy of this work about Blake's poetry. #51 #5010