First published in 1687, this famous religious allegory was interpreted by twenty-eight watercolors by Blake around 1824, a time when he was also illustrating another famous religious text, The Book of Job. Blake never completed this series, many of the twenty-eight designs remaining unfinished; and the illustrations did not appear in any edition of The Pilgrim's Progress during Blake's lifetime. In fact, it was not until 1941 that Blake's watercolors were used to illustrate an edition of the allegory, one published by the Limited Editions Club.

Shown here is "Christian Reading in His Book," one of twelve plates chosen for the Heritage Press printing, a smaller version of the Limited Editions Club publication.