Illustrator and Blake Society Trustee, Tamsin Rosewell, will be talking to Folio Society Art Director, Raquel Leis Allion, Production Director, Kate Grimwade, and Senior Designer, Charlotte Tate – all of whom have worked on the creation of this new Folio Society edition. Songs of Innocence and of Experience is arguably Blake’s defining work – certainly, it is the work through which many discover Blake first. The Folio Society is itself a treasure of British culture: an employee-owned and independent publisher founded in 1947, which itself has gathered a dedicated following of those who appreciate artisan-quality publishing.

This new edition is reproduced from a very fine and richly-coloured surviving copy, known as ‘Copy W’. This edition was printed and hand-coloured by Blake, with the largely unacknowledged help of his wife Catherine, and is now held at King’s College, Cambridge. We’ll be chatting about the behind-the-scenes work of a publisher: the process through which paper is chosen, the challenges of matching pigments, the choice of font for the transcript, and why this particular edition of Songs was chosen. In short – what goes in to creating a Folio Society book? And why is a new edition of Songs needed now?

https://www.foliosociety.com/uk/innocence

Everyone is welcome, this event is free and open to all.