Combing through the collection at the University of Manchester’s John Rylands Library, researchers have identified some 350 engraved plates designed by the Romantic poet and artist William Blake, according to an article on Monday in The Independent newspaper.
The researchers, who included students as well as the art historian Colin Todd, spent two years sifting through more than a million books, records and pieces of art. Many of the engravings will be displayed next month at the library, which was already known as the home of some works by Blake, including illustrations for Edward Young’s “Night Thoughts.â€
Blake, a poet and printmaker who went largely unrecognized before his death in 1827, is now considered a leading figure of the Romantic age for his writings, drawings and engravings.
