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The Pilgrim’s Progress

John Bunyan

Illustrated by William Blake

Introduced by Nathalie Collé

Limited to 750 hand-numbered copies

Editorial material: Roger Pooley

John Bunyan’s religious masterpiece paired with William Blake’s watercolours in a unique limited edition

US$445.00

Reviews

Average score from 21 Reviews

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Using the complete version of Bunyan’s classic text, and setting it alongside all 28 of William Blake’s stunning illustrations, this lavish new limited edition is quarter-bound in red leather blocked in gold, and housed in an elegant slipcase, as befits a literary and artistic treasure.

Production Details

Limited to 750 hand-numbered copies
Quarter-bound in red leather blocked in gold foil
Cloth sides blocked on front in gold foil and printed with black ink
Binding design by Anne Yvonne Gilbert
Leather titling label blocked in gold inset on front
Set in Poliphilus with Blado as display and printed on Arctic Volume Ivory paper
384 pages
28 watercolour illustrations by William Blake
Gilded top edge
Introduction by Nathalie Collé
Editorial material by Roger Pooley
Cloth-covered slipcase inset with an illustration label
12¾˝ x 9¾˝

John Bunyan’s masterpiece

JOHN BUNYAN (1628–1688)

William Blake (1757–1827)

Unique Pairing

Expert introduction

What makes this limited edition so special

The slipcase, which has curved edges to facilitate easy removal of the book, is covered in beautiful teal cloth perfectly complementing the soft red leather of the spine. A panel has been blind-blocked on the front, inset with an illustration label and outlined with gold-blocking.

Gold-blocking also features on the spine and the cloth front of the book, on which it is overprinted with black ink with a design by renowned artist and illustrator Anne Yvonne Gilbert based on Blake’s watercolour ‘Christian Reading in His Book’. A panel has been blind-blocked to hold the leather titling label which, again, is blocked in gold foil.

The Arctic Volume Ivory paper is certified by the Forest Stewardship Council which ensures that it has been sourced from environmentally appropriate, socially beneficial and economically well-managed forests. The matt surface is the ideal medium for both the text – the definitive version established by Roger Pooley – and the illustrations. Blake’s 28 watercolours now form part of the collection of Sir Alan Parker who generously allowed Folio to remove them from their frames and mounts and photograph them at high resolution. The reproductions in the book are, therefore, the most authentic available of these astonishingly modern images. The visionary artist, the ideal interpreter of Bunyan’s allegorical dream, employed ink, graphite and chalk along with watercolour and the images, some unfinished, reveal the working practice of this artistic genius.

Blake’s illustrations for The Pilgrim’s Progress were never united with Bunyan’s text during his lifetime and were still unfinished when he died in 1827. In the 1940s an edition appeared in America, but all 28 illustrations have not been published with the text since, and this is the only current edition to unite words and images. Finished with red head- and tail-bands, a red ribbon marker and gilded top page edges, this is a unique publication, an exquisite edition of a timeless classic, limited to just 750 hand-numbered copies and available only from The Folio Society.

Reviews Powered By

Average Score for 33 Review(s)

Lovely edition. I am proud to have it on my shelf and hope to study it next year

Review by Mr A J Clarke on 21st July 2021
This is the most gorgeous book in my collection.

Review by MR JOSHUA HAYMES on 29th April 2021
Fantastic product. Very happy.

Review by Dr Travis C Foster on 22nd October 2020
Wonderful print of the Pilgrim's Progress, with William Blake's inimitable illustrations perfectly paired with the text.

Review by Peter on 13th October 2020
Delighted with the book. Top quality

Review by MR MICHAEL COUGHLAN on 8th October 2020

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