Kelmscott Press ◆
The Works of Geoffrey Chaucer
£60,200
Rare Books, Manuscripts, Maps & Photographs
Auction: 8 February 2023 at 10:00 GMT
Description
Now newly imprinted. Hammersmith: Kelmscott Press, 1896. Folio in eights (42.5 x 29cm), original holland-backed blue paper boards, printed paper spine-label, iv 554 pp., text printed in Chaucer type in red and black, double column, titles in Troy type, woodcut title-page, numerous woodcut initial letters (3, 6 and 10 lines) and words (19 lines), and 14 repeated foliate borders, all from designs by William Morris, 87 woodcut illustrations by William Harcourt Hooper after drawings by R. Catterson-Smith from designs by Edward Burne-Jones. Retaining leaves a1-2 (blank but for signature-marks), spine-label chipped and browned (text intact), light spotting to backstrip and edges, two small holes in linen on front joint, covers slightly discoloured and marked, a few small spots to p. 1 [Peterson A40; Ray, The Illustrator and the Book in England 258]
Footnote
Note: One of 425 copies on paper, a superb copy of the masterpiece of the private press movement, and a work which had an unparalleled influence on book design and typography throughout the following century. Printing began in August 1894 and was not completed until nearly two years later, in May 1896. Morris had been in failing health for some time and died soon after, in October. Copies on paper were advertised at £20, though the price had already been rising among dealers before publication, suitably for a book famous 'long before it came off the press' (Peterson, The Kelmscott Press: A History of William Morris's Typographical Adventure, p. 228). Often compared in stature to the Gutenberg Bible, it is considered 'not only the most important of the Kelmscott Press's productions; it is also one of the great books of the world. Its splendor ... can hardly be matched among the books of its time' (Ray).
Provenance: Private collection, Scotland.