William Morris The Kelmscott Chaucer The Golden Legend

William Morris The Kelmscott Chaucer & The Golden Legend

Pre-Raphaelite Art l Characterized by naturalism (love of nature), wealth of detail, deliberate medievalism (choice of subject), morbidity/ melancholy subjects, & ornamental/ decorative function l “A definite, harmonious, conscious, beauty… It ought to be possible for a painting to be a part of a beautiful whole in a room or church or hall. ”

William Morris (1834 -1896) l Poet, artist, printer, typographer, decorator, Socialist--- a man of many talents l Morris always had an affinity for nature, a vital component to pre-Raphaelite art

William Morris (1834 -1896) l Attended Marlborough School and Exter College at Oxford l Worked with Dante Rosetti and Burne-Jones, among others, creating art in 19 th century England l Formed the “Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood” or PRB

William Morris --- Oxford Years l Brotherhood was greatly influenced by the writing of John Ruskin l Like Ruskin, Morris believed in Antimodernism l Believed only great art came before 16 th century, looked to earlier times for inspiration l Saw Modernist thinkers as “servants to the industrial age”

William Morris --- Oxford Years l A creator & contributor of Oxford and Cambridge Magazine l Published “Defense of Guenevere and Other Poems” in 1958

William Morris --- Career Move l When Victorian Architect Philip Webb constructed The Red House in Bexley, he was unable to find any furniture to his liking l As result, Morris and friends (Rossetti, Burne. Jones, Webb) founded Morris, Marshall, Faulkner & Co.

William Morris --- Career Move l M, M, & F created furniture, tapestries, wallpaper, stained glass, and other interior decorative elements l This company sparked Morris’ interest in architecture and established his career in the field l Would later found The Society for the Protection of Ancient Buildings in 1877

William Morris --- Typographer? l Towards the end of his life, Morris became involved in printmaking and book design l Uncertain as to why exactly he took an interest in this field but Morris was thought to have been inspired by a printing lecture given by Emery Walker

William Morris --- Typographer l Founded the Kelmscott Press in spring of 1891, a privately owned printing press dedicated to printing the “ideal book” l Came up with several revolutionary typefaces which he used to print his books --- Golden Roman, Gothic Troy, & Chaucer typfaces

William Morris --- Typographer? l Believed books should be readable and beautiful l To do so, used an iron handpress, unbleachced handmade paper, high-quality vellum, and bindings from Henry Band

William Morris’ Great Works l Printed work characterized by darker, more massive typefaces, less spacing between words and lines, complementary illustrations, ornaments, borders, and initials l Elements can be seen in both The Golden Legend and Chaucer

The Golden Legend l l Printed at Kelmscott Press in 1892, The Golden Legend was the 7 th book Morris printed 13 th manuscript about the lives of saints Was supposed to be the 1 st book published at Kelmscott (named after the typeface Golden) but was actually the 7 th The Golden Legend is a display of the Golden typeface and includes ornamental borders (Morris) and wood-cut illustrations (Burne-Jones)

The Golden Legend

The Kelmscott Chaucer l “Widely regarded as the greatest fine press book ever produced, particularly in its text-onvellum incarnation. ” l Morris’ print of The Works of Geoffrey Chaucer somewhat resembles what Morris had in mind when he strived to create the “ideal book”

The Kelmscott Chaucer l Book includes illustrations, ornamentation, and the Chaucer typeface, appropriately named after the book itself l Produced in 1891 l Morris died in late 1896, just a few months after Burne-Jones completed the illustrations and finished the book

The Kelmscott Chaucer

The Legacy of William Morris l William Morris and His Circle is an exhibit at the Harry Ransom Center on The University of Texas campus l The exhibit contains over 75 pieces --- Morris’ manuscripts and other Kelmscott Press publications l The exhibit also displays the work of other PRB members like Rosetti and Burne-Jones