Item 1 in the catalogue contains a rare Blake autograph. It is a receipt from Thomas Butts for five pounds seven shillings received in 1805. Blake was many things, but wealthy wasn't one of them. He struggled for money throughout his life, but was fortunate enough to have a few patrons, like Thomas Butts, to keep him financially stable. While not wealthy, Blake was always able to pay his bills. Price on request.

Item 68 is Blake's personal copy of Pharmacopoeia Officinales & Extemporanea by John Quincy. It is signed "William Blake his book" on the title page. This was a medical book, and marked passages may give a hint of Blake's health concerns, but that must be said with the caveat that the markings may have been made later by others. There is an underlined cure for itching and skin disease and Blake did suffer from a skin condition. Price on request.

Item 62 carries six plates designed by Blake. The book is Original Stories from Real Life... by Mary Wollstonecraft, published in 1791. Wollstonecraft was an early feminist and otherwise reform-minded woman who was among the circle of Blake's friends. $6,750.

Now, here's that 424th item that we hinted wasn't quite a Blake piece. It is The Ladies Charity School-house Roll of Highgate, by William Blake. The problem? It was published in 1670, some 87 years before Blake was born. Oh, it's by William Blake all right, just not the same one. Item 424. $5,750.

"Tyger! Tyger! burning bright
In the forests of the night,
What immortal hand or eye
Could frame thy fearful symmetry?"

You may locate John Windle Antiquarian Bookseller online at www.johnwindle.com or call 415-986-5826.