Utopia: William Morris and the Kelmscott Press

Feb 2, 2015 | Videos

William Morris’s marked-up copy for printing the Kelmscott Press edition of Utopia, published 1893.

A fascinating insight into the working methods of Morris and the Kelmscott Press.

William Morris’s printer’s copy with pencil notes and markings in his hand throughout and his cut signature in ink mounted on front pastedown, also with annotations in ink by the editor F. S. Ellis and his note at end “Read for the press after the old copy by F. S. Ellis & imprinted &c”. Subsequently Robert Proctor’s copy with his bookplate; his widow’s label “Given by Mrs. Proctor in memory of William Morris & of her son Robert Proctor” on front pastedown; and with manuscript notes in Sir Sydney Cockerell’s hand “The text from which the Kelmscott Press edition of ‘Utopia’ was set up, with pencil directions as to initials etc. in the autograph of William Morris” on the pastedown and “To the Public Library, Chelsea” on front free endpaper.

All our catalogued works by the Kelmscott Press can be viewed online here.

Share this article



Our Latest Catalogue

This spring we bring you a seasonal selection of items fresh to our shelves including spectacular scientific and archaeological discoveries, colourful modern art, political posters, rousing war speeches, and much more.

Recent Articles

Collecting Editioned Prints: Gustav Klimt

Collecting Editioned Prints: Gustav Klimt

Gustav Klimt, one of the most recognizable artists of the 20th century, scandalized the Viennese establishment and awed his contemporaries with his opulent and erotic nudes. He rose to fame as a leading member of the Vienna Secession, a movement closely related to Art...

Drawn Together – The Synergy Between Writer and Artist

Drawn Together – The Synergy Between Writer and Artist

​Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland opens with an arresting illustration of the White Rabbit and the first thought from Alice is “what is the use of a book… without pictures or conversations?” It’s a great joke as Lewis Carroll shows us his book will have both pictures...