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In the summer
of 1784, Blake's father died. While the eldest son,
James, took over the hosiery business in number 28,
Blake and his wife moved into the next-door house at
27 Broad Street.
There he set up in business as a print seller in partnership
with James Parker. The partnership lasted only three
years, and in 1787 Blake moved to a house around the
corner in Poland
Street. In the same year his beloved younger brother,
Robert, died. Blake sat by him during his last illness,
and claimed to see his spirit pass through the ceiling
on its way to heaven.
Blake said that
the spirit of Robert came to him 'in a vision in the
night' and revealed the secret technique for combining
poem and picture on a single printing plate. In 1788,
Blake started work on the first of his illuminated books
using this method. His first efforts were in simple,
chapbook style, but by 1789, The
Songs of Innocence had been completed with Blake
and his wife hand-producing the book. In the words of
Blake's first biographer Alexander Gilchrist, they did
everything 'except manufacturing the paper'.
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