The Kelmscott Press was founded in 1891 by English author and artist, William Morris (1834-1896) in Hammersmith, a district of London. The Kelmscott Press produced 53 titles during its operation that were modeled after fifteenth-century incunabula. Morris also designed his own typefaces for use at the Kelmscott Press: Golden, Chaucer, and Troy. Morris' 1896 edition of the works of Geoffrey Chaucer, called the Kelmscott Chaucer, is often regarded a pinnacle of book design. Kelmscott Press shut down in 1898, after the death of William Morris.
Notable figures associated with the Kelmscott Press included editor F. S. Ellis, illustrator Edward Burne-Jones, engraver W. H. Hooper, Sydney Cockerell who was also associated with the Ashendene press, bookbinder Thomas James Cobden-Sanderson, and Emery Walker who advised Morris on paper, ink, type design and typography.
If you would like to learn more about our holdings from or related to the Kelmscott Press, please check UMD Discover or contact us.
