Kelmscott Chaucer
Morris’s masterpiece as a printer: Chaucer’s works in his own Chaucer type with rich borders and woodcuts.
The book took four years to print and appeared a few months before Morris’s death. It inspired the private press movement in Europe and America. Copies are in the British Library and the William Morris Gallery.
Materials: Handmade paper and vellum, letterpress, woodcuts
Manufacture: Printed on a hand press in black and red; borders and initials cut in wood after Morris’s designs.
The dense vine borders round the text – the page treated as a whole.
The heavy gothic Chaucer type.