William Morris Part 11

8. _The Recuyell of the Historyes of Troye._ By RAOUL LEFEVRE. Translated by William Caxton. Edited by H. Halliday Sparling. 2 vols. Large 4to. Troy type, with table of chapters and glossary in Chaucer type. In black and red. Borders 5a, 5, and 8. Woodcut t.i.tle. 300 paper copies at nine guineas, 5 on vellum at eighty pounds. Dated October 14, issued November 24, 1892. Published by Bernard Quaritch. Bound in limp vellum.

This book, begun in February, 1892, is the first book printed in Troy type, and the first in which Chaucer type appears. It is a reprint of the first book printed in English. It had long been a favourite with William Morris, who designed a great quant.i.ty of initials and ornaments for it, and wrote the following note for Mr. Quaritch's catalogue: "As to the matter of the book, it makes a thoroughly amusing story, instinct with mediaeval thought and manners. For though written at the end of the Middle Ages and dealing with cla.s.sical mythology, it has in it no token of the coming Renaissance, but is purely mediaeval. It is the last issue of that story of Troy which through the whole of the Middle Ages had such a hold on men's imaginations; the story built up from a rumour of the Cyclic Poets, of the heroic City of Troy, defended by Priam and his gallant sons, led by Hector the Preux Chevalier, and beset by the violent and brutal Greeks, who were looked on as the necessary machinery for bringing about the undeniable tragedy of the fall of the City. Surely this is well worth reading, if only as a piece of undiluted mediaevalism." 2000 copies of a 4to announcement, with specimen pages, were printed at the Kelmscott Press in December, 1892, for distribution by the publisher.[11]

9. _Biblia Innocentium: Being the Story of G.o.d's Chosen People before the Coming of Our Lord Jesus Christ upon Earth._ Written anew for children, by J. W. MACKAIL, Sometime Fellow of Balliol College, Oxford. 8vo. Border 2.

200 on paper at a guinea, none on vellum. Dated October 22, issued December 9, 1892. Sold by Reeves & Turner. Bound in stiff vellum.

This was the last book issued in stiff vellum except _Hand and Soul_, and the last with untrimmed edges. It was the first book printed in 8vo.

10. _The History of Reynard the Foxe._ By WILLIAM CAXTON. Reprinted from his edition of 1481. Edited by H. Halliday Sparling. Large 4to. Troy type, with Glossary in Chaucer type. In black and red. Borders 5a and 7. Woodcut t.i.tle. 300 on paper at three guineas, 10 on vellum at fifteen guineas.

Dated December 15, 1892, issued January 25, 1893. Published by Bernard Quaritch. Bound in limp vellum.

About this book, which was first announced as in the press in the list dated July, 1892, William Morris wrote the following note for Mr.

Quaritch's catalogue: "This translation of Caxton's is one of the very best of his works as to style; and being translated from a kindred tongue is delightful as mere language. In its rude joviality, and simple and direct delineation of character, it is a thoroughly good representative of the famous ancient Beast Epic." The edges of this book, and of all subsequent books, were trimmed in accordance with the invariable practice of the early printers. Mr. Morris much preferred the trimmed edges.

11. _The Poems of William Shakespeare_, printed after the original copies of _Venus and Adonis_, 1593. _The Rape of Lucrece_, 1594. _Sonnets_, 1609.

_The Lover's Complaint._ Edited by F. S. Ellis. 8vo. Golden type. In black and red. Borders 1 and 2. 500 paper copies at twenty-five s.h.i.+llings, 10 on vellum at ten guineas. Dated January 17, issued February 13, 1893. Sold by Reeves & Turner. Bound in limp vellum.

A trial page of this book was set up on November 1, 1892. Though the number was large, this has become one of the rarest books issued from the Press.[12]

12. _News from Nowhere: or, An Epoch of Rest, Being Some Chapters from a Utopian Romance._ By WILLIAM MORRIS. 8vo. Golden type. In black and red.

Borders 9a and 4, and a woodcut engraved by W. H. Hooper from a design by C. M. Gere. 300 on paper at two guineas, 10 on vellum at ten guineas.

Dated November 22, 1892, issued March 24, 1893. Sold by Reeves & Turner.

Bound in limp vellum.

The text of this book was printed before Shakespeare's _Poems and Sonnets_, but it was kept back for the frontispiece, which is a picture of the old manor-house in the village of Kelmscott by the upper Thames, from which the Press took its name. It was set up from a copy of one of Reeves & Turner's editions, and in reading it for the press the author made a few slight corrections. It was the last book except the _Savonarola_ (No. 31) in which he used the old paragraph mark [Ill.u.s.tration], which was discarded in favour of the leaves, which had already been used in the two large 4to books printed in the Troy type.

13. _The Order of Chivalry._ Translated from the French by William Caxton and reprinted from his edition of 1484. Edited by F. S. Ellis. And _L'Ordene de Chevalerie_, with translation by William Morris. Small 4to.

Chaucer type, in black and red. Borders 9a and 4, and a woodcut designed by Sir Edward Burne-Jones. 225 on paper at thirty s.h.i.+llings, 10 on vellum at ten guineas. _The Order of Chivalry_ dated November 10, 1892, _L'Ordene de Chevalerie_ dated February 24, 1893, issued April 12, 1893.

Sold by Reeves & Turner. Bound in limp vellum.

This was the last book printed in small 4to. The last section is in 8vo. It was the first book printed in the Chaucer type. The reprint from Caxton was finished while _News from Nowhere_ was in the press, and before Shakespeare's _Poems and Sonnets_ was begun. The French poem and its translation were added as an afterthought, and have a separate colophon. Some of the three-line initials which were designed for _The Well at the World's End_ are used in the French poem, and this is their first appearance. The translation was begun on December 3, 1892, and the border round the frontispiece was designed on February 13, 1893.

14. _The Life of Thomas Woolsey, Cardinal Archbishop of York._ Written by GEORGE CAVENDISH. Edited by F. S. Ellis from the author's autograph MS.

8vo. Golden type. Border 1. 250 on paper at two guineas, 6 on vellum at ten guineas. Dated March 30, issued May 3, 1893. Sold by Reeves & Turner.

Bound in limp vellum.

15. _The History of G.o.defrey of Boloyne and of the Conquest of Iherusalem._ Reprinted from Caxton's edition of 1841. Edited by H.

Halliday Sparling. Large 4to. Troy type, with list of chapter headings and glossary in Chaucer type. In black and red. Borders 5a and 5, and woodcut t.i.tle. 300 on paper at six guineas, 6 on vellum at twenty guineas. Dated April 27, issued May 24, 1893. Published by William Morris at the Kelmscott Press. Bound in limp vellum.

This was the fifth and last of the Caxton reprints, with many new ornaments and initials, and a new printer's mark. It was first announced as in the press in the list dated December, 1892. It was the first book published and sold at the Kelmscott Press. An announcement and order form, with two different specimen pages, was printed at the Press, besides a special invoice. A few copies were bound in half holland, not for sale.

16. _Utopia._ Written by SIR THOMAS MORE. A reprint of the second edition of Ralph Robinson's translation, with a foreword by William Morris.[13]

Edited by F. S. Ellis. 8vo. Chaucer type, with the reprinted t.i.tle in Troy type. In black and red. Borders 4 and 2. 300 on paper at thirty s.h.i.+llings, 8 on vellum at ten guineas. Dated August 4, issued September 8, 1893. Sold by Reeves & Turner. Bound in limp vellum.

This book was first announced as in the press in the list dated May 20, 1893.

17. _Maud, A Monodrama._ By ALFRED, LORD TENNYSON. 8vo. Golden type. In black and red. Borders 10a and 10, and woodcut t.i.tle. 500 on paper at two guineas, 5 on vellum, not for sale. Dated August 11, issued September 30, 1893. Published by Macmillan & Co. Bound in limp vellum.

The borders were specially designed for this book. They were both used again in the Keats, and one of them appears in _The Saundering Flood_.

It is the first of the 8vo books with a woodcut t.i.tle.

18. _Gothic Architecture: A Lecture for the Arts and Crafts Exhibition Society._ By WILLIAM MORRIS. 16mo. Golden type. In black and red. 1500 on paper at two s.h.i.+llings and sixpence, 45 on vellum at ten and fifteen s.h.i.+llings. Bound in half holland.

This lecture was set up at Hammersmith and printed at the New Gallery during the Arts and Crafts Exhibition in October and November, 1893.

The first copies were ready on October 21st and the book was twice reprinted before the Exhibition closed. It was the first book printed in 16mo. The four-line initials used in it appear here for the first time. The vellum copies were sold during the Exhibition at ten s.h.i.+llings, and the price was subsequently raised to fifteen s.h.i.+llings.[14]

19. _Sidonia the Sorceress._ By WILLIAM MEINHOLD. Translated by Francesca Speranza, Lady Wilde. Large 4to. Golden type. In black and red. Border 8.

300 paper copies at four guineas, 10 on vellum at twenty guineas. Dated September 15, issued November 1, 1893. Published by William Morris. Bound in limp vellum.

Before the publication of this book a large 4to announcement and order form was issued, with a specimen page and an interesting description of the book and its author, written and signed by William Morris. Some copies were bound in half holland not for sale.

20. _Ballads and Narrative Poems by Dante Gabriel Rossetti._ 8vo. Golden type. In black and red. Borders 4a and 4, and woodcut t.i.tle. 310 on paper at two guineas, 6 on vellum at ten guineas. Dated October 14, issued in November, 1893. Published by Ellis & Elvey. Bound in limp vellum.

This book was announced as in preparation in the list of August 1, 1893.

21. _The Tale of King Florus and the Fair Jehane._ Translated by William Morris from the French of the 13th century. 16mo. Chaucer type. In black and red. Borders 11a and 11, and woodcut t.i.tle. 350 on paper at seven s.h.i.+llings and sixpence, 15 on vellum at thirty s.h.i.+llings. Dated December 16, issued December 28, 1893. Published by William Morris. Bound in half holland.

This story, like the three other translations with which it is uniform, was taken from a little volume called _Nouvelles Francoises en prose du XIIIe siecle_, Paris, Jannet, 1856. They were first announced as in preparation under the heading _French Tales_ in the list dated May 20, 1893. Eighty-five copies of _King Florus_ were bought by J. & M. L. Tregaskis, who had them bound in all parts of the world. These are now in the Rylands Library at Manchester.

22. _The Story of the Glittering Plain. Which has been also called The Land of Living Men or The Acre of the Undying._ Written by WILLIAM MORRIS.

Large 4to. Troy type, with list of chapters in Chaucer type. In black and red. Borders 12a and 12, 23 designs by Walter Crane, engraved by A.

Leverett, and a woodcut t.i.tle. 250 on paper at five guineas, 7 on vellum at twenty pounds. Dated January 13, issued February 17, 1894. Published by William Morris. Bound in limp vellum. Neither the borders in this book nor six out of the seven frames round the ill.u.s.trations appear in any other book. The seventh is used round the second picture in _Love is Enough_. A few copies were bound in half holland.

23. _Of the Friends.h.i.+p of Amis and Amile._ _Done out of the ancient French by_ WILLIAM MORRIS. 16mo. Chaucer type. In black and red. Borders 11a and 11, and woodcut t.i.tle. 500 on paper at seven s.h.i.+llings and sixpence, 15 on vellum at thirty s.h.i.+llings. Dated March 13th, issued April 4, 1894.

Published by William Morris. Bound in half holland.[15]

A poem ent.i.tled _Amys and Amillion_, founded on this story, was originally to have appeared in the second volume of the _Earthly Paradise_, but, like some other poems announced at the same time, it was not included in the book.

20a. _Sonnets and Lyrical Poems by Dante Gabriel Rossetti._ 8vo. Golden type. In black and red. Borders 1a and 1, and woodcut t.i.tle. 310 on paper at two guineas, 6 on vellum at ten guineas. Dated February 20, issued April 21, 1894. Published by Ellis & Elvey. Bound in limp vellum.

This book is uniform with No. 20, to which it forms a sequel. Both volumes were read for the press by Mr. W. M. Rossetti.

24. _The Poems of John Keats._ Edited by F. S. Ellis. 8vo. Golden type. In black and red. Borders 10a and 10, and woodcut t.i.tle. 300 on paper at thirty s.h.i.+llings, 7 on vellum at nine guineas. Dated March 7, issued May 8, 1894. Published by William Morris. Bound in limp vellum.

This is now (January, 1898) the most sought after of all the smaller Kelmscott Press books. It was announced as in preparation in the lists of May 27 and August 1, 1893, and as in the press in that of March 31, 1894, when the woodcut t.i.tle still remained to be printed.[16]

25. _Atalanta in Calydon: A Tragedy._ By ALGERNON CHARLES SWINBURNE. Large 4to. Troy type, with argument and _dramatis personae_ in Chaucer type; the dedication and quotation from Euripides in Greek type designed by Selwyn Image. In black and red. Borders 5a and 5, and woodcut t.i.tle. 250 on paper at two guineas, 8 on vellum at twelve guineas. Dated May 4, issued July 24, 1894. Published by William Morris. Bound in limp vellum.

In the vellum copies of this book the colophon is not on the eighty-second page as in the paper copies, but on the following page.

26. _The Tale of the Emperor Coustans and of Over Sea._ Done out of ancient French by WILLIAM MORRIS. 16mo. Chaucer type. In black and red.

Borders 11a and 11, both twice, and two woodcut t.i.tles. 525 on paper at seven s.h.i.+llings and sixpence, 20 on vellum at two guineas. Dated August 30, issued September 26, 1894. Published by William Morris. Bound in half holland.

The first of these stories, which was the source of _The Man Born to be King_ in _The Earthly Paradise_, was announced as in preparation in the list of March 31, 1894.

27. _The Wood Beyond the World._ By WILLIAM MORRIS. 8vo. Chaucer type. In black and red. Borders 13a and 13, and a frontispiece designed by Sir E.

Burne-Jones, and engraved on wood by W. Spielmeyer. 350 on paper at two guineas, 8 on vellum at ten guineas. Dated May 30, issued October 16, 1894. Published by William Morris. Bound in limp vellum.