Kelmscott Press--Two Works | William Morris, The Life and Death of Jason, and Poems ... of Coleridge, 1895-96

Kelmscott Press.

Two works:

i) William Morris. The Life and Death of Jason, A Poem. Hammersmith: Kelmscott Press, 1895.

Large quarto (300 x 225mm), limited to 206 copies of which this is one of 200 on paper, printed in red and black, wood-engraved frontispiece and one illustration after Edward Burne-Jones, ornamental woodcut borders and initials, original limp vellum with gilt-lettered spine and orange silk ties, yapp edges

The Life and Death of Jason was originally intended to be part of The Earthly Paradise (see lot 127). Work began on the book in March 1894 and it was published on 25 May 1895.

ii) Samuel Taylor Coleridge. Poems Chosen out of the Works. Hammersmith: Kelmscott Press, 1896

8vo (212 x 150mm), limited to 308 copies of which this is one of 300 on paper, printed in Red and black, ornamental woodcut borders, title and initials, original limp vellum with gilt-lettered spine and yellow silk ties, yapp edges

Morris was insistent that he was only interesting in publishing a selection of Coleridge, on the grounds that he was "a muddle-brained metaphysician, who by some strange freak of fortune turned out a few real poems amongst the dreary flood of inanity that was his wont" (quoted in Peterson, p.96). This book was published on 12 April 1896.

PROVENANCE:

Edward John Power (1858-1916), collector of oriental works of art, books and paintings; thence by descent

LITERATURE:

i) Peterson A32

ii) Peterson A38