A NOTE BY WILLIAM MORRIS ON HIS AIMS IN FOUNDING THE KELMSCOTT PRESS. TOGETHER WITH A SHORT DESCRIPTION OF THE PRESS BY S. C. COCKERELL, AND AN ANNOTATED LIST OF THE BOOKS PRINTED THEREAT
Published by Kelmscott Press, Hammersmith, 1898
- Used
Seller: Phillip J. Pirages Rare Books (ABAA), McMinnville, OR, U.S.A.Phillip J. Pirages Rare Books (ABAA)
AbeBooks seller since March 21, 2000
Condition: Used
£ 3,134.35
Quantity:Â 1 available
Add to basketItem description from seller
210 x 150 mm. (8 1/4 x 5 3/4"). 4 p.l. (including two blanks), 70 pp., [1] leaf (colophon). Original holland-backed blue paper boards. WOODCUT ILLUSTRATION BY EDWARD BURNE-JONES of "Pysche Borne off by Zephyrus" ENGRAVED BY WILLIAM MORRIS, elaborate borders around this and first page of text designed and cut by Morris, large decorative woodcut initials, device on last page of text, and one full-page woodcut of ornaments used in the Kelmscott edition of "Love is Enough." Printed in red and black in Golden, Troy, and Chaucer types. With errata slip laid in at title page. Front pastedown with Arts & Crafts-style bookplate of Edmund Bulkley dated 1893; a list of the Kelmscott books in E. W. Buckley's collection, listed by the number assigned to them in this book, recorded in pencil on a translucent piece of paper laid in here. Morris & Cockerell 53; Peterson A-53; Ransom 53; Tomkinson, p. 121. Some wear to lower corners, just a hint of soil to covers, otherwise a very fine copy--exceptionally fresh, clean, and bright internally. Owned by two collectors with a special interest in Morris, this is a very pleasing copy of one of the key Kelmscott Press books, and the last one to be issued by the press. Morris tells us here about his admiration for 15th century printed books, saying that "they were always beautiful by force of the mere typography, even without the added ornament, with which many of them are so lavishly supplied." And he says that "it was the essence of [his] undertaking to produce books which it would be a pleasure to look upon as pieces of printing and arrangement of type." This is the most important contemporaneous source of comment on the founding, operation, and publications of the Kelmscott Press. Peterson quotes Newdigate, who says that this is "one of the three books that every student of English book-production ought to read." The original owner here was American private press collector Edmund Bulkley, who, according to the list laid in at the rear of this volume, owned 42 Kelmscott books. Evidently prepared after Bulkley's death, the list also marks with a "0" the books sold before 1950, and notes at the end the books (including this volume) that remained in the possession of "M A B B." (this might refer to a relation, possibly art collector M. A. B. Bulkley, who bequeathed a Pre-Raphaelite-style painting to the Fitzwilliam Museum in 1996). Bulkley's distinctive bookplate, perhaps created by one of the private presses, is found in a number of press books, which when listed at auction, are in notably fine condition. In 1883, Morris & Company took out a full-page ad in the Official Catalogue of the Boston Foreign Exhibition announcing the appointment of Elliott & Bulkley of 42 East 14th Street, New York City, as U.S. agents for the sale of Morris & Co. "Decorative Manufactures," including wallpaper, fabrics, and "the celebrated Hammersmith carpets made only by Morris & Company." It is tempting to speculate that Edmund Bulkley was associated with this firm, and became aware of the Kelmscott Press via this connection with Morris & Company. Although without additional signs of ownership, our book was later sold as part of the library of Clive Wilmer (1945-2025), English poet and scholar of John Ruskin and William Morris. He wrote and lectured extensively on both men, and from 2009 to 2019 served as Master of The Guild of St. George, a charity for arts, crafts, and the rural economy founded by Ruskin in 1871. The Ruskin Society of North America presented him with a Lifetime Achievement Award in 2023. Copies of this work appear with some regularity in the marketplace, but specimens in attractive condition are becoming increasingly difficult to find. ONE OF 525 COPIES on paper (and 12 on vellum).…
Seller Inventory # ST20842
Bibliographic details
- Title
- A NOTE BY WILLIAM MORRIS ON HIS AIMS IN FOUNDING THE KELMSCOTT PRESS. TOGETHER WITH A SHORT DESCRIPTION OF THE PRESS BY S. C. COCKERELL, AND AN ANNOTATED LIST OF THE BOOKS PRINTED THEREAT
- Author
- (KELMSCOTT PRESS). MORRIS, WILLIAM and SYDNEY CARLYLE COCKERELL
- Publisher
- Kelmscott Press, Hammersmith
- Publication year
- 1898
- Dimensions
- 210 x 150 mm. (8 1/4 x 5 3/4").
- Seller catalogs
- Illustrated Books - Woodcuts, Private Press
Phillip J. Pirages Rare Books (ABAA)
McMinnville, OR, U.S.A.
Shipping rates within U.S.A.
| Item | 2 to 7 business days | 2 to 4 business days |
|---|---|---|
| First item | £ 7.50 | £ 11.25 |
Payment methods
- Bank Wire Transfer
- Check
- Money Order
Specialty
Early Printing, Bindings, English Literature, Illuminated Manuscripts, Rare Books, Fine Illustrated Books, American Literature, Press Books, IncunablesAssociation member
Seller's business information
Phillip J. Pirages Rare Books (ABAA)
OR, U.S.A.
Terms of sale
Payment: We accept checks, money orders, Visa, Master Card, American Express and wire transfers. If you are a first time customer, we wait for payment to be received before sending out your order.
Shipping: Shipping and insurance are extra. We usually ship USPS Priority, but other options available to the client including FedEx, or UPS.
Returns: Your satisfaction is unconditionally guaranteed. If you buy an item from us and discover that you are not satisfied with it, you may return it within 10 days of receipt for a refund, so long as the item has not been damaged.
Phillip J. Pirages Rare Books
2205 NW Nut Tree Lane
PO Box 504
McMinnville, OR 97128
Email: info@pirages.com
Ph: 800-962-6666 or 503-472-0476
Fax: 503-472-5029
Tax ID No. 93-1163989
Employees: Cokie Anderson, Michal Alkoff, David Clark, Tammy Opheim
Phillip J. Pirages Rare Books is a sole proprietorship.
Right of withdrawal
If you are a consumer you can withdraw from the contract in accordance with the following. Consumer means any natural person who is acting for purposes which are outside his trade, business, craft or profession.
Information regarding the right of withdrawal
Statutory right to withdraw
You have the right to withdraw from this contract within 14 days without giving any reason.
The withdrawal period will expire after 14 days from the day on which you acquire, or a third party other than the carrier and indicated by you acquires, physical possession of the last good or the last lot or piece.
To exercise the right of withdrawal, electronically fill in and submit a clear statement on our website, under "My Purchases" in "My Account". We will communicate to you an acknowledgement of receipt of such a withdrawal on a durable medium (e.g. by e-mail) without delay.
To meet the withdrawal deadline, it is sufficient for you to send your communication concerning your exercise of the right of withdrawal before the withdrawal period has expired.
Effects of withdrawal
If you withdraw from this contract, we will reimburse to you all payments received from you, including the costs of delivery (except for the supplementary costs arising if you chose a type of delivery other than the least expensive type of standard delivery offered by us).
We may make a deduction from the reimbursement for loss in value of any goods supplied, if the loss is the result of unnecessary handling by you.
We will make the reimbursement without undue delay, and not later than 14 days after the day on which we are informed about your decision to withdraw from this contract.
We will make the reimbursement using the same means of payment as you used for the initial transaction, unless you have expressly agreed otherwise; in any event, you will not incur any fees as a result of such reimbursement.
We may withhold reimbursement until we have received the goods back, or you have supplied evidence of having sent back the goods, whichever is the earliest.
You shall send back the goods or hand them over to Phillip J. Pirages Rare Books (ABAA), McMinnville, Oregon, U.S.A., without undue delay and in any event not later than 14 days from the day on which you communicate your withdrawal from this contract to us. The deadline is met if you send back the goods before the period of 14 days has expired. You will have to bear the direct cost of returning the goods. You are only liable for any diminished value of the goods resulting from the handling other than what is necessary to establish the nature, characteristics and functioning of the goods.
Exceptions to the right of withdrawal
The right of withdrawal does not apply to:
- The delivery of newspapers, journals or magazines with the exception of subscription contracts; and
- The supply of digital content which is not supplied on a tangible medium (e.g. on a CD or DVD) if you accepted when you placed your order that we could start to deliver it, and that you could not withdraw once delivery had started.
Shipping terms
Shipping costs are based on books weighing 2.2 LB, or 1 KG. If your book order is heavy or oversized, we may contact you to let you know extra shipping is required.