The Kelmscott Chaucer (Folio Society Limited Edition)
CHAUCER, Geoffrey. The Kelmscott Chaucer. London: The Folio Society, 2002.
Folio. Full cream goatskin leather, covers profusely decorated in 22-carat gold after the original, redrawn by David Eccles. Six raised bands to spine, compartments decorated in gilt. Lettering to spine in gilt. Upper edge gilt, others uncut. Contents printed on Oxenford twin-wire laid paper. Hand-laid Fabriano paper endpapers. iv, 559 pp., with 87 woodcut illustrations by Sir Edward Burne-Jones, engraved by W.H. Hooper, 26 border initials designed by William Morris, and 18 unique illustration frames. Housed in navy-blue buckram solander case, spine lettered in gilt on leather panel. First Folio Society facsimile edition. Limited to 1,010 numbered copies, this being number 119.
When William Morris founded the Kelmscott Press at Hammersmith in 1891, he had already spent three decades transforming the theory and practice of the decorative arts in Britain. What he produced in those final years, before his death in 1896, was a body of printed books that demonstrated beyond any reasonable argument what the art of the book could be when every element of its production was conceived under a unified vision.
The Kelmscott Chaucer, completed in the year of Morris's death and representing the culmination of everything the Press had been working towards, is the ultimate expression of Morris's vision. Chaucer was Morris's favourite poet and the book he created around Chaucer's works has been called, without serious dissent, the most magnificent volume to emerge from the private press movement. Printed in his own Troy type on handmade paper, with eighty-seven woodcut illustrations by his friend Sir Edward Burne-Jones engraved by W.H. Hooper, enclosed within borders and initials of such intricate beauty that each opening reads as a composed visual object, The Kelmscott Chaucer is definitively one of the most celebrated books ever produced.
This Folio Society facsimile of 2002, produced in a strictly limited edition of 1,010 numbered copies, replicates the original with extraordinary fidelity. The decoration of the cream goatskin binding, redrawn from the original by David Eccles and executed in 22-carat gold, faithfully reproduces the elaborate interlaced vine-work of the Kelmscott cover. The Oxenford twin-wire laid paper and hand-laid Fabriano endpapers give the volume a weight and texture appropriate to the importance of its contents. This facsimile production provides a practicable means of possessing the complete Kelmscott Chaucer in a form that does justice to the original without the six-figure sum the original demands.
Near fine. Some extremely mild rubbing to upper bindings. Otherwise gilt bright throughout. Contents clean, bright, and fresh.
This book is currently on display in our Paddington store. If you would like more information or to arrange a viewing, please contact: [email protected]
Catalogue Number: HH000158
Please note: This item is very large and heavy. Within Australia, it may require additional postage costs. For international shipping, please contact us for a quote.
Original: $1,069.23
-65%$1,069.23
$374.23
Description
CHAUCER, Geoffrey. The Kelmscott Chaucer. London: The Folio Society, 2002.
Folio. Full cream goatskin leather, covers profusely decorated in 22-carat gold after the original, redrawn by David Eccles. Six raised bands to spine, compartments decorated in gilt. Lettering to spine in gilt. Upper edge gilt, others uncut. Contents printed on Oxenford twin-wire laid paper. Hand-laid Fabriano paper endpapers. iv, 559 pp., with 87 woodcut illustrations by Sir Edward Burne-Jones, engraved by W.H. Hooper, 26 border initials designed by William Morris, and 18 unique illustration frames. Housed in navy-blue buckram solander case, spine lettered in gilt on leather panel. First Folio Society facsimile edition. Limited to 1,010 numbered copies, this being number 119.
When William Morris founded the Kelmscott Press at Hammersmith in 1891, he had already spent three decades transforming the theory and practice of the decorative arts in Britain. What he produced in those final years, before his death in 1896, was a body of printed books that demonstrated beyond any reasonable argument what the art of the book could be when every element of its production was conceived under a unified vision.
The Kelmscott Chaucer, completed in the year of Morris's death and representing the culmination of everything the Press had been working towards, is the ultimate expression of Morris's vision. Chaucer was Morris's favourite poet and the book he created around Chaucer's works has been called, without serious dissent, the most magnificent volume to emerge from the private press movement. Printed in his own Troy type on handmade paper, with eighty-seven woodcut illustrations by his friend Sir Edward Burne-Jones engraved by W.H. Hooper, enclosed within borders and initials of such intricate beauty that each opening reads as a composed visual object, The Kelmscott Chaucer is definitively one of the most celebrated books ever produced.
This Folio Society facsimile of 2002, produced in a strictly limited edition of 1,010 numbered copies, replicates the original with extraordinary fidelity. The decoration of the cream goatskin binding, redrawn from the original by David Eccles and executed in 22-carat gold, faithfully reproduces the elaborate interlaced vine-work of the Kelmscott cover. The Oxenford twin-wire laid paper and hand-laid Fabriano endpapers give the volume a weight and texture appropriate to the importance of its contents. This facsimile production provides a practicable means of possessing the complete Kelmscott Chaucer in a form that does justice to the original without the six-figure sum the original demands.
Near fine. Some extremely mild rubbing to upper bindings. Otherwise gilt bright throughout. Contents clean, bright, and fresh.
This book is currently on display in our Paddington store. If you would like more information or to arrange a viewing, please contact: [email protected]
Catalogue Number: HH000158
Please note: This item is very large and heavy. Within Australia, it may require additional postage costs. For international shipping, please contact us for a quote.
