Kelmscott Press

The Kelmscott Press
The Kelmscott Press was a renowned private press founded by William Morris (the influential British designer, poet, and key figure in the Arts and Crafts movement) in collaboration with printer and typographer Emery Walker. Established in 1891 in Hammersmith, London, it operated until 1898, shortly after Morris’s death in 1896.

Named after Morris’s home, Kelmscott Manor in Oxfordshire, the press aimed to revive the beauty and craftsmanship of medieval illuminated manuscripts and early printed books (incunabula from the 15th century). Morris sought to create “the ideal book”—one that was beautiful, readable, and produced with meticulous attention to every detail: handmade paper, custom typefaces he designed (such as Golden, Troy, and Chaucer types), intricate woodcut borders, initials, ornaments (often floral and vine motifs in his signature style), and illustrations primarily by his friend Edward Burne-Jones.

The press produced only 53 books (in 66 volumes) in limited editions, but they are celebrated as masterpieces of fine printing and book design. They profoundly influenced 20th-century typography, private presses, and the broader revival of artisanal book production.

The crowning achievement was The Works of Geoffrey Chaucer (commonly called the Kelmscott Chaucer), published in 1896. This monumental volume featured:
87 woodcut illustrations by Burne-Jones
Elaborate borders and initials by Morris
Over 550 pages printed in black and red ink
A design inspired by medieval manuscripts

These books often featured dense, richly ornamented pages that integrated text, illustration, and decoration into a unified artistic whole—reflecting Morris’s belief that everyday objects (including books) should embody beauty and craftsmanship rather than industrial uniformity.

The best places to find Kelmscott Press books online are:
eBay Books

Popular Kelmscott Press Books
The Story of the Glittering Plain by William Morris (1894)
The History of Reynard the Foxe (1892, after Caxton’s edition)
The Poems of John Keats (1894)
Love is Enough by William Morris (1897)

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A Note by William Morris on His Aims in Founding the Kelmscott Press

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William Morris and the Kelmscott Press an exhibition held in the library 1st ed

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The Wood Beyond The World by William Morris 1972 Dover Facsimile Kelmscott Press

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Syr Perecyvelle of Gales

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Kelmscott Press, J W Mackail / Biblia Innocentium Edward Burne-Jones' copy 1st

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Kelmscott Chaucer EASTON PRESS- Fine ++ Facsimile In Clamshell Box #280/425

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Folio Society Works Of Geoffrey Chaucer - Facsimile of Kelmscott Press Edition

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Kelmscott Press William Morris & His Circle The John J Walsdorf Collection 1st

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Kelmscott Press, Dante Gabriel Rossetti / Sonnets and Lyrical Poems 1st ed 1894

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Utopia ~ SIR THOMAS MORE ~ Kelmscott Press ~ William Morris ~ Limited ~ 1893

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The Private Presses Colin Franklin -Kelmscott -Ashendene -Golden Cockerell +More

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H Halliday Sparling / Kelmscott Press and William Morris master-craftsman 1st ed

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A Bibliography of the Kelmscott Press WILLIAM PETERSON ~ 1st Edition Morris 1984

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The Kelmscott Press and William Morris Master-Craftsman

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The Wood Beyond The World by William Morris 1972 Dover Facsimile Kelmscott Press

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1996 The Ordeal of William Morris Carl P. Rollins Roxburghe Zamorano Keepsake

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The Poetical Works of Percy Bysshe Shelley KELMSCOTT PRESS Limited Edition 1894

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The Kelmscott Chaucer Folio Society Facsimile Edition Slipcase 2008

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The Kelmscott Press and William Morris Master-Craftsman

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Fantasy novels and Icelandic sagas by William Morris and Eirikr Magnusson; 1901

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Hand and Soul ~ by DANTE GABRIEL ROSSETTI ~ First American Edition ~ KELMSCOTT

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WILLIAM MORRIS GOLDEN TYPE 1898-1901 ALICE PATTINSON ARTS CRAFTS BINDINGS

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1983 William Morris's Printing Press Kelmscott Illustrated Limited Ed

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William Morris Kelmscott Press Vintage Ornamental Page Photo Reprint Wall Art

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William Morris "Grapes" Kelmscott Press Arts And Crafts Filigree Picture Frame

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KELMSCOTT PRESS, William Morris / Defence Of Guenevere And Other Poems 1892

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Buch: The Kelmscott Press - William Morris. William S. Peterson, 1991, Clarendon

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The Kelmscott Press's Works of Geoffrey Chaucer, Limited Edition, New

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Books and autographs .. fine bindings .. Kelmscott Press - J Horace Harding 1937

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William Morris's Kelmscott: Landscape and History By Tom Hassall

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Chaucer Works 1958 Facsimile William Morris Kelmscott Press Large From Japan

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A Bibliography of the Kelmscott Press by William S. Peterson (English) Hardcover

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KELMSCOTT PRESS / Poems Chosen Out Of The Works Of Robert Herrick 1895

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H Halliday Sparling / Kelmscott Press and William Morris Master-Craftsman 1st ed

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The Golden Legend of Master William Caxton ~ Kelmscott Press (1892).

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KELMSCOTT PRESS, William Morris / Child Christopher And Goldilind The Fair 1895

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The Kelmscott Press's Works of Geoffrey Chaucer, Limited Edition

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The Kelmscott Press and William Morris Master-craftsman

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William Morris's Kelmscott: Landscape and History,Tom Hassall, P

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Kelmscott Chaucer 1896 Vintage Book Cover Page Glossy Photo Reprint Wall Art

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KELMSCOTT PRESS, William Morris / Tale Of the Emperor Coustans And Of Over Sea

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The Kelmscott Press and William Morris Master-Craftsman

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Easton Press Works Of Geoffrey Chaucer Kelmscott William Morris Facsimile 2009ed

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The Kelmscott Press and William Morris Master-Craftsman

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A Note by William Morris on His Aims in Founding the Kelmscott Press: Together w

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The Kelmscott Press and William Morris Master-Craftsman

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Easton Press Kelmscott Edition Works of Geoffrey Chaucer in box NEW SEALED MM

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Poems of John Keats. Kelmscott Press 1894.

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The Recuyell of the Historyes of Troye LEFEVRE ~ Limited Edition 1892 KELMSCOTT

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KELMSCOTT CHAUCER DELUXE LTD HUGE- Easton Press - RARE

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