Hammersmith: The Kelmscott Press, 1892. First Kelmscott edition. Presentation copy, inscribed by Morris on the first blank one month before publication, “To Edward Burne-Jones from William Morris, Oct. 5th 1892.” Burne-Jones’s book label, printed in Morris’s Golden type, is on the front pastedown. This is one of 500 sets printed on paper.

Three volumes, quarto. Original linen-backed blue boards, paper title label to each spine printed in black, edges untrimmed. Elaborate woodcut title page, large decorated initial letter to each paragraph, woodcut borders, illustrations by Sir Edward Burne-Jones. Text in Golden type. Publisher’s slip loosely inserted. A little fraying to toned spines, paper labels chipped (loss to volume one label affecting a couple of letters), faint discoloration to upper extremities, a touch of foxing to endpapers, contents crisp and clean. Very Good.

Burne-Jones designed books for the Kelmscott Press between 1892 and 1898, including the illustrations in this book. At the end of his life, the artist wrote: “Morris's friendship began everything for me; everything that I afterwards cared for.” Morris and Burne-Jones met in 1853 as undergraduates at Exeter College, Oxford. Bonded by a mutual admiration for medieval culture and a desire to resist industrialization's impact on art, they abandoned their divinity studies and, at the suggestion of their friend Dante Gabriel Rossetti, moved together to London. Their collaboration became one of the most defining creative partnerships of the arts and crafts movement, shaping its ideals through their work in painting, design, and book arts.

The Golden Legend held great appeal for Morris. It was intended to be the first Kelmscott Press title, but its length and problems with the first delivery of paper delayed the release. The woodcut title is the first designed by Morris, who also worked on the initials and borders. Burne-Jones saw some proofs in October 1891 and reported that he “went crazy with pleasure” (Peterson). The text was edited by Morris’s friend Frederick Startridge Ellis (1830 - 1901) on the basis of Caxton’s 1483 edition; Ellis borrowed a copy from the Cambridge University library and his daughter Phillis transcribed it so that the Kelmscott press printers would not have to handle the book itself.

The original publisher's binding slip, printed in Golden type, reads: “If this book be bound the edges of the leaves should only be TRIMMED, not cut. In no case should the book be pressed, as that would destroy the ‘impression’ of the type and thus injure the appearance of the printing. W. Morris.” (Item #6863)