In 1805 William Blake was employed by publisher Robert Cromek to design and engrave forty illustrations for Robert Blair's famous Gothic poem The Grave, first published in 1743. Blake actually produced only twelve designs. Cromek, however, disliked the style of Blake's engraving and instead commissioned Louis Schiavonetti to engrave the final plates from Blake's designs. The volume finally appeared to acclaim in 1808. Although Blake supplied the frontispiece, the dedicatory poem and twelve drawings, Schiavonetti's name preceded his on the title page. A later edition from another publisher omitted Blair's verse altogether and gathered Blake's engravings in his preferred order to constitute what essentially was a new publication. Blake's attempt to express his ideas through a series of pictures with only captions as text was preceded by The Gates of Paradise (1793) and followed years later by Illustrations of the Book of Job (1825).

Shown here is one of Schiavonetti's illustrations, "Death's Door," for The Grave after Blake's design.