The William Blake Archive
URL: http://jefferson.village.virginia.edu/blake/

Begun in 1995, this admirable hypermedia archive electronically records, page by page (with numbers included), different versions of the illuminated books of the much beloved and researched English poet, printmaker, and painter. The overwhelming success of the Blake Archive is due to the cooperation of its sponsors, the U.S. Library of Congress and several supporting institutions and corporations, among them The Getty Grant Program and the Institute for Advanced Technology in the Humanities at the University of Virginia, where the site is located. Editors holding the copyright—who are responsible for the superb quality of its images, commentary, and general scope—are Morris Eaves (Univ. of Rochester), Robert Essick (Univ. of California, Riverside) and Joseph Viscomi (Univ. of North Carolina at Chapel Hill). The archive currently contains electronic editions of ten books, including Visions of the Daughters of Albion; America, a Prophecy; Songs of Innocence and of Experience; Europe, a Prophecy; and two versions of The Song of Los. The home page lists nine large sections; the most useful are Search the Blake Archive, Works in the Archive, and Selected Bibliography and Reference Works. The most important contribution of this truly awe-inspiring effort is the wonderful quality and fidelity of the images. Displayed under ideal conditions—highest color settings, full 64 megabytes of memory, using Explorer rather than Netscape—these remarkable computer images are a must-see for anyone concerned with electronic imaging of art works. The William Blake Archive goes further toward successful technological simulation of the aesthetic experience than any Web site thus far. This accomplishment seems due to the relatively small scale of the illuminated books; highly successful scanning of recent, accurate transparencies; and careful color checking. This site has just one minor drawback: complex state-of-the-art multilayered windows are daunting, and patient searching is demanded to learn the latest functions of the browser. Highest recommendation for all academic collections.

—M. Hamel-Schwulst, Towson University