When and where was William Blake born?
William Blake was born on the 28th of November 1757 at 28 Broad Street (now Broadwick Street) in Soho, London. He was the third of seven children, two of whom died in infancy.
Questions about William Blake
Short answers, pulled from the story.
What is relief etching and how did William Blake invent it?
Relief etching is a printing method Blake invented in 1788 in which he wrote and drew backwards on copper plates using acid-resistant varnish, then used nitric acid to eat away the unprotected metal, leaving text and images raised in relief. He then inked the raised surfaces and printed directly onto paper. The technique allowed words and images to appear together on the same page, as in medieval illuminated manuscripts.
Who was Catherine Boucher and what was her role in William Blake's work?
Catherine Boucher was Blake's wife, whom he married on the 18th of August 1782 at St Mary's Church, Battersea. She worked as an engraver, colourist, and printing assistant throughout their marriage of nearly forty-five years. According to the Tate Gallery, she mixed and applied Blake's paint colours, and the literary scholar Angus Whitehead described her as an artist and printer in her own right.
How many copies of Songs of Innocence and of Experience did William Blake sell during his lifetime?
At the time of Blake's death in 1827, he had sold fewer than 30 copies of Songs of Innocence and of Experience. Despite this limited commercial success, the work became one of the most celebrated texts of the Romantic Age after his death.
How was William Blake's grave rediscovered after being lost for decades?
The exact location of Blake's grave in the Dissenters' burial ground at Bunhill Fields had been lost since 1965, after wartime damage led to the removal of gravestones. A Portuguese couple named Carol and Luis Garrido rediscovered the site after fourteen years of investigatory work, and the Blake Society unveiled a permanent memorial slab there on the 12th of August 2018.
What was the Gordon Riots incident and how was William Blake involved?
The Gordon Riots erupted in June 1780 in response to a parliamentary bill revoking sanctions against Roman Catholicism. Blake was walking toward a shop in Great Queen Street when he was swept up by the mob that stormed Newgate Prison, attacked its gates with shovels and pickaxes, and released the prisoners. Blake was reportedly in the front rank during the attack.