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Frontispiece: What is Man!: P.436-1985

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Current Location: In storage

Titles

Frontispiece: What is Man!
For the Sexes: The Gates of Paradise

Maker(s)

Printmaker: Blake, William
Publisher: Blake, William

Entities

Categories

Notes

History note: William Muir collection sold Sotheby's July 1953 with plate 1 from the collection of the Earl of Crewe.

Acquisition and important dates

Method of acquisition: Bequeathed (1985-04) by Keynes, Geoffrey

Dating

1810s
Production date: circa AD 1818

Note

Frontispiece. Fourth state. Part of 16 plates bound together in a volume.

School or Style

British

Materials used in production

Black carbon ink

Components of the work

Binding composed of leather ( red leather with gold gilding)
Support composed of paper
Sheet Height 312 mm Width 224 mm
Plate Height 93 mm Width 60 mm

Techniques used in production

Engraving
Etching

Inscription or legends present

  • Text: What is Man!
  • Location: Plate lower centre
  • Method of creation: Printed
  • Type: Title
  • Text: The Suns light when he unfolds it/ Depends on the Organ that beholds it.
  • Location: Plate lower centre
  • Method of creation: Printed
  • Type: Verse
  • Text: Published by W Blake 17 May 1793
  • Location: Plate lower centre
  • Method of creation: Printed
  • Type: Signature
  • Text: Frontispiece
  • Location: Upper centre
  • Method of creation: Printed
  • Type: Number
  • Text: 55
  • Location: Sheet upper right
  • Method of creation: Ink
  • Type: Number
  • Text: 1
  • Location: Sheet lower left
  • Method of creation: Graphite
  • Type: Number

References and bibliographic entries

Identification numbers

Accession number: P.436-1985
Primary reference Number: 118227
Bindman: 580
Bentley: 45 L

Audit data

Created: Saturday 6 August 2011 Updated: Wednesday 15 October 2025

Associated departments & institutions

Owner or interested party: The Fitzwilliam Museum
Associated department: Paintings, Drawings and Prints

Citation for print

This record can be cited in the Harvard Bibliographic style using the text below:

The Fitzwilliam Museum (2025) "Frontispiece: What is Man!" Web page available at: https://data.fitzmuseum.cam.ac.uk/id/object/118227 Accessed: 2025-12-05 15:56:18

Citation for Wikipedia

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{{cite web|url=https://data.fitzmuseum.cam.ac.uk/id/object/118227 |title=Frontispiece: What is Man! |author=The Fitzwilliam Museum|accessdate=2025-12-05 15:56:18|publisher=The University of Cambridge}}

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        <figcaption class="figure-caption text-info">Frontispiece: What is Man!</figcaption>
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