[LifeStyle] William Blake's teenage copper plate doodles discovered

[H O L D F I R E 流]

OXFORD, England, Oct 23 (Reuters) - A series of boyhood doodles engraved on copper plates by English poet and painter William Blake around 250 years ago have been discovered by researchers using new technology capable of picking up the almost invisible etchings. Blake, who became one of the greatest poets in the English language, had worked as an apprentice to engraver James Basire, who made pictorial prints, one of the main ways to print illustrated books at the time. Advertisement · Scroll to continue Report this ad Blake's poem "And did those feet in ancient time", better known as "Jerusalem", is often considered England's unofficial national anthem, while "The Tyger" is a staple of English textbooks. One of the previously unknown doodles depicts an arrow, a frequent motif across Blake's works, while another depicts a miniature face. "When I first saw the face, it was a staggering moment. I almost fell off my chair," said Blake expert Mark Crosby who found the engravings. "I was looking back at something that had been made 250-odd years ago that hadn't been seen before."