At the auction Bonhams for a full set of editions of the famous London publishing house of the XIX century Kelmscott Press received 690 thousand dollars.
Despite the fact that the printing Kelmscott worked only seven years in the late XIX century, its fame as the highest achievement of British book art remains today, writes Artnet columnist Richard Widdington.
The venture was a late project of William Morris, a key figure in the Arts and Crafts movement, who was deeply frustrated by the declining quality of books influenced by the mechanization brought about by the Industrial Revolution. Morris set out to create not just a book, but “the perfect book” – an embodiment of traditional craftsmanship and exceptional aesthetics that would not overwhelm the senses of its audience.
Working from his home on the banks of the River Thames in west London (now occupied by the William Morris Society), Morris reflected on the creation of typesetting in the mid-15th century, which he considered the heyday.
Thus, every detail of the books published by Kelmscott Press was a counterpoint to the mass production of its time. The inks were created without the use of synthetic chemicals, strictly following the recipes of the Middle Ages. The paper was unbleached and produced by hand in limited sizes (although there were variants on velené paper). The Albion Press, an 1820s device that was hand-powered, was used for printing. Today, this approach might be called artisanal.
The business was so successful that a few years later Morris increased the team and purchased two additional printing presses to meet the high demand. Between 1891 and 1898, Kelmscott Publishing produced 53 titles, and on December 17, 2024, a copy of each of these books was offered at a Bonhams auction in New York City. The event raised $690,000, and the entire Kelmscott collection sold out.
“Morris has used his typography to engage with contemporary designers, applying insights from his background in the decorative arts to create exquisite and detailed books,” said Ian Ehling, director of fine books and manuscripts. This collaboration is reflected in the auction’s centerpiece lot, an 1896 edition of Geoffrey Chaucer with illustrations by Edward Burne-Jones.
Often referred to as the Kelmscott Chaucer, this edition was the result of four years of painstaking work and was the last publication completed before Morris’s death. It was also his most successful: the first edition was fully pre-ordered before it went to press, and high demand led Morris to purchase a third Albion Press specifically for this edition. The book sold for $114,800, surpassing the maximum estimate of $90,000.
The Kelmscott Press book collection was established by Joseph Mark Van Horn, a resourceful businessman who became interested in collecting rare editions in the 1960s and 1970s, focusing on Morris-related works. After his death in 1983, the collection was kept by his fiancée until her death in 2023.
Other notable sales include a parchment edition of Of the Friendship of Amis and Amile, a limited edition of only 15 copies. This edition sold for $21,760.
The Van Horne collection included several editions published by Kelmscott Press that William Morris gave to his acquaintances, often accompanied by personal inscriptions. These included The Book of Wisdom and Lies, given to Rudyard Kipling and sold for $7,600, a collection of Percy Shelley’s poems given to his brother’s wife that sold for $2,080, and Ramon Lullius’s The Order of Chivalry, which fetched the same amount, $2,080.
Although much of Kelmscott Press’s fame and lasting influence is attributed to Morris’s name, evident in its designs and gift copies, he himself was eager to share the credit. In his The Ideal Book (1892), Morris noted that the key elements to creating an outstanding result were “the designer of the illustration blocks, the designer of the ornamental blocks, the master wood engraver and the printer, each working with attention to detail and care, all working together effectively to produce a work of art.”