Monday, January 23, 2012

William Morris - 'nuff said


Its not often that you will get to see a Kelmscott edition, and when you come across one you are sure to remember, no doubt through a mystic haze. I'm sure every binder has a story or two detailing their discovery of a Kelmscott edition, me included.
So I was happy when a dealer and friend brought in Morris' edition of Beowulf.
Immediately recognisable are the decorative initials and marginalia, the intertwinning floral designs printed from woodblocks. The lettering is a characteristic medieval gothic, and the paper a rich white and well preserved.
The binding is not up to much really, cant see the benefit of pasting down ends onto a limp vellum cover, as you can see.
I remembering studying Beowulf at the beginning of a very short lived career as a student of English in North Wales....couldn't handle the anglo-saxon, but then, what did I know....








William Morris...'nuff said......

1 comment:

DangAndBlast! said...

I've had the joy of handling a Kelmscott Chaucer... Highlight of my archivist career!