Colinet's Journey: Milestone Marked 'LXII Miles to London', from Thornton's "Pastorals of Virgil"

Colinet's Journey: Milestone Marked 'LXII Miles to London', from Thornton's "Pastorals of Virgil" by William Blake is a remarkable wood engraving created in 1821. This small, yet profound, print is part of a series of twenty illustrations Blake contributed to Dr. Robert John Thornton’s third edition of the Pastorals of Virgil, specifically accompanying Ambrose Philips's imitation of the first Eclogue, titled "The Happier Swain."

Blake utilized the technically challenging medium of wood engraving to achieve stark contrasts and a deeply textured surface, creating an image of immense symbolic intensity. The composition depicts one of the traveling Men, the shepherd Colinet, pausing beside a large, classical milestone clearly inscribed with the distance: "LXII Miles to London." This focus on the specific marker and the necessity of travel emphasizes the theme of the journey inherent in the pastoral narrative, linking the ancient text to contemporary English Roads.

These miniature prints were initially controversial for their unusual, almost raw, aesthetic when compared to the highly finished engravings standard in early 19th-century book illustration. Blake’s editor, Thornton, initially apologized for the images, viewing them as primitive; however, they have since been recognized as a landmark achievement in English printmaking.

This specific impression is identified as the second state of the plate, residing today in the permanent collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art. The entire series of Virgil illustrations represents a pivotal moment in Blake's artistic output, demonstrating his enduring commitment to visionary expression late in his career. As major works of British Romanticism, original prints such as this are highly valued, though digital versions of this classic work are often available through public domain archives, allowing wider access to Blake’s influential interpretations of classical poetry.