Morris founded the Kelmscott Press in 1891. He wrote in A Note by William Morris on His Aims in Founding the Kelmscott Press, "I began printing books with the hope of producing some which would have a definite claim to beauty, while at the same time they should be easy to read and should not dazzle the eye, or trouble the intellect of the reader by eccentricity of form in the letters."
Running until 1897, the Kelmscott Press produced 53 titles in its seven years of operation, and its most notable work was "The Works of Geoffrey Chaucer: Now Newly Imprinted" (1896). Generally referred to as the "Kelmscott Chaucer," the press utilized handmade paper, traditional dye methods, a typeface designed especially for the work, and handpress printing to create the book. In addition to two original copies, The Huntington holds several leaves from incomplete copies of the work and facsimile reproductions of the complete work. While much of the ephemera in our collection is from the Kelmscott Press era, some, like "Unpublished woodcuts for the Tale of Cupid and Psyche," predates it.
The Sanford and Helen Berger collection contains 2,200 monographs, pamphlets, and other printed material, including Morris' socialist pamphlets and a complete run of Kelmscott Press books. Researchers can retrieve records for these items by conducting a keyword search for the "Sanford and Helen Berger Collection" in the Library Catalog.
Kelmscott Press work is discussed in the correspondence series of the William Morris Papers. Some canceled checks, issued as payment for press services, are included in correspondence boxes 5 and 9. In the pre-Berger holdings—listed in the Library's Manuscripts card catalog—bills for printing equipment, paper and moulds, ink, vellum, wood engravings, binding, and type can be found, along with agreements and discussions with book dealers and many letters to Charles March Gere, illustrator of several books.
The Kelmscott Press ephemera, including illustrations, sketches-in-progress, annotated proofs, blank order forms for specific works, advertising circulars, and other ephemera, is available and cataloged according to its Peterson number where relevant. Please see The Soho Bibliography of the Kelmscott Press by William S. Peterson to find the Peterson number for the work you are researching and consult with the Assistant Curator of Literary Collections to find specific material. In most cases, there are inventories for the various collections of Kelmscott Press ephemera.
The Library also holds a hand press owned by William Morris.
Selected works:
Borders & initials for Love is enough
Designed & cut by William Morris
Call number: 637673
Digital version available online through the Huntington Digital Library.
Unpublished woodcuts for the Tale of Cupid and Psyche
Designed by Sir E. Burne-Jones
Call number: 637674
Digital version available online through the Huntington Digital Library.
[Ephemera, including announcements, order forms, prospectuses, scholarship certificates, etc.]
Hammersmith, England: Kelmscott Press, 1892-1901
Call number: 489081
[Kelmscott Press: trial and proof pages of the larger books, namely, The golden legend...]
Hammersmith, England: Kelmscott Press, [between 1890 and 1899?]
Call number: 492659
[Kelmscott Press: Collection of prospectuses]
Hammersmith, England: Kelmscott Press, 1894-1897
Call number: 224956
The Kelmscott Press by William S. Peterson
Berkeley, CA: University of California Press, 1991
Call number: Z232.M87 P47 1991
Book preview available online in Google Books.
A bibliography of the Kelmscott Press by William S. Peterson
Oxford, England: Clarendon Press, 1984
Call number: Z232.M87 P44
Finding aid for Kelmscott ephemera in the Henry E. Huntington Library
[Electronic Resource]; Consult the Curator of Rare Books for access.