A Definite Claim to Beauty:
William Morris and the Kelmscott Press
by Barbara Ward Grubb
History of Art doctoral candidate Rebecca Hable never knew that by studying
for “prelims” she’d find herself turning into the curator of
an exhibition in the Rare Book Room. But as she prepared for her exam on the
Arts and Crafts movement, she discovered the Kelmscott Press books in the Library’s
rare books collection. A comment about their potential for an exhibition, made
to Associate Director Eric Pumroy, was met with an invitation to organize an
exhibition. (Rebecca passed her prelims in April, 2001)
The Kelmscott Press was started by the English Arts and Crafts artist, William
Morris, in 1891. During its seven years of existence, the firm produced fifty-three
limited edition titles using only hand presses. Morris, an experienced designer
and calligrapher, was involved in all aspects of the books’ production,
from selection of the author and title to the design of the pages. “He
was interested in how content and format could unite,” says Rebecca. “Morris
thought about how the book would ‘feel’ to the reader, considering
everything from the size of the margins to the weight of the paper.”
Working with his Pre-Raphaelite colleagues, including Edward Burne-Jones and
Dante Gabriel Rossetti, Morris produced books by authors such as Chaucer, Coleridge,
Jacobus de Voragine, Keats, Rossetti, Shakespeare, and Shelley, as well as his
own writings. The College Rare Books collection contains all but eleven of the
Kelmscott Press publications.
A Definite Claim to Beauty opened on Tuesday, March 26. William S. Peterson,
University of Maryland, lectured on “The Kelmscott Chaucer: Pocket Cathedral
or Nonbook?” and the opening reception followed in the Class of 1912 Rare
Book Room, Canaday Library. On Monday, April 8, Debra N. Mancoff of the Newberry
Library presented “Friends in Deed: William Morris, Edward Burne-Jones
and the Kelmscott Chaucer“.