News

Rare Kelmscott books on show at the Baillieu

[ UniNews Vol. 14, No. 11  27 June - 11 July 2005 ]

The ornate results of William Morris’s desire to create the ‘ideal book’ through his iconic Kelmscott Press have been collected in their entirety and form a new exhibition launched at the University of Melbourne recently.

The exhibition, Kelmscott: A Medieval Adventure in the Age of the Machine, is open to the public and on display in the University’s Baillieu Library to 29 July.

William Morris (1834–1896) was one of the “creative giants of the 19th century”, according to exhibition curator, Mr Brian Allison.

Mr Allison says Morris impressively mastered the skills of fabric printing, weaving, dyeing, stained-glass window design, wood cut printing, and calligraphy.

“Towards the end of his life Morris rented a cottage near Kelmscott House in Hammersmith and established the Kelmscott Press. There he drew on his enduring fascination with the medieval manuscript and early printed texts for inspiration. Using historical examples, he designed three Kelmscott typefaces – Golden, Troy and Chaucer. He printed on hand-made paper using a hand press.

Co-curator Ms Astrid Krautschneider says, “Many of the volumes are extravagantly ornamented with decorative letters and borders designed by Morris.

“Works from the Kelmscott Press now constitute one of the milestones in the history of the printed book.”

The exhibition displays all the printed books from the Kelmscott Press, including the Works of Geoffrey Chaucer, borrowed from the Rare Books department of the State Library of Victoria.