Hammersmith (London, England) -- Imprints; Kelmscott Press; Printing -- Great Britain -- History
The two borders used in this book were almost the last that Mr. Morris
designed. They were intended for an edition of The Hill of Venus, which
was to have been written in prose by him and illustrated by Sir E.
Burne-Jones. The foliage was suggested by the ornament in two Psalters
of the last half of the thirteenth century in the library at Kelmscott
House. The initial A at the beginning of the 3rd book was designed in
March, 1893, for the Froissart, and does not appear elsewhere.
An edition of Sigurd the Volsung, which Mr. Morris justly considered his
masterpiece, was contemplated early in the history of the Kelmscott
Press. An announcement appears in a proof of the first list, dated
April, 1892, but it was excluded from the list as issued in May. It did
not reappear until the list of November 26, 1895, in which, the Chaucer
being near its completion, Sigurd comes under the heading 'in
preparation,' as a folio in Troy type, 'with about twenty-five
illustrations by Sir E. Burne-Jones.' In the list of June 1, 1896, it is
finally announced as 'in the press,' the number of illustrations is
increased to forty, and other particulars are given. Four borders had
then been designed for it, two of which were used on pages 470 and 471
of the Chaucer. The other two have not been used, though one of them has
been engraved. Two pages only were in type, thirty-two copies of which
were struck off on Jan. 11, 1897, and given to friends, with the sixteen
pages of Froissart mentioned above.
51. THE SUNDERING FLOOD WRITTEN BY WILLIAM MORRIS. Overseen for the
press by May Morris. 8vo. Chaucer type. In black and red. Border 10, and
a map. 300 on paper at two guineas. Dated Nov. 15, 1897, issued Feb. 25,
1898. Published at the Kelmscott Press. Bound in half holland.
This was the last romance by William Morris. He began to write it on
Dec. 21, 1895, and dictated the final words on Sept. 8, 1896. The map
pasted into the cover was drawn by H. Cribb for Walker & Boutall, who
prepared the block. In the edition that Longmans are about to issue the
bands of robbers called in the Kelmscott edition Red and Black Skinners
appear correctly as Red and Black Skimmers. The name was probably
suggested by that of the pirates called 'escumours of the sea' on page
154 of Godefrey of Boloyne.
52. LOVE IS ENOUGH, OR THE FREEING OF PHARAMOND: A MORALITY. WRITTEN BY
WILLIAM MORRIS. Large 4to. Troy type, with stage directions in Chaucer
type. In black, red, and blue. Borders 6a and 7, and two illustrations
designed by Sir Edward Burne-Jones. 300 on paper at two guineas, 8 on
vellum at ten guineas. Dated Dec. 11, 1897, issued Mar. 24, 1898.
Published at the Kelmscott Press. Bound in limp vellum.
This was the second book printed in three colours at the Kelmscott
Press. As explained in the colophon, the final picture was not designed
for this edition of Love is Enough, but for the projected edition
referred to above, on page 5.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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