This copy, printed in yellow ocher with added watercolor, was assembled for the Blakes' friends John and Anna Flaxman for their return from Italy in late 1794. It is one of the sixteen (or perhaps seventeen) copies from the original printing. The pastoral world represented by children and shepherds evokes the essence of innocence. The double-page design of Spring demonstrates Blake's artistry for combining text and image.
William Blake (1757-1827), Songs of Innocence, 31 illustrations on 17 leaves, Copy D, assembled ca. 1794, PML 58636 fol. 4v