Morris, William | The second, and more elaborate, edition of the first book by the Kelmscott Press

From the Library of Jay Michael Haft

Morris, William

The Story of the Glittering Plain or the Land of the Living Men. Hammersmith: The Kelmscott Press, 1894

4to (292 x 210 mm). Printed in Troy type with chapter headings in red, table in Chaucer type, 23 woodcuts by A. Leverett after designs by Walter Crane, title-page and facing text within full-page woodcut borders, numerous 3-, 5-, and 6-line white-on-black and black-on-white initials, foliated bars and partial borders, printer's ornaments (Peterson nos. 1-2) and device (Peterson no. 2). Limp vellum, yapp edges, green silk ties, spine lettered gilt. Cloth slipcase.

The second, and more elaborate, edition of the first book by the Kelmscott Press — one of 250 copies on Perch paper from total edition of 257.

Richly illustrated with 23 designs by Walter Crane, this edition ranks "second only to the Chaucer in amount of illustration" (Needham William Morris). The Story of the Glittering Plain can be viewed as a precursor to today's fantasy literature, with even Tolkien admitting a debt to Morris. At the time, Morris's melding of an imaginary world with elements of the supernatural was relatively novel, and the environment he created allowed for the exploration of his progressive political philosophies. And in a genre that often gives way to royalist tropes, Morris's Cleveland-by-the-Sea is governed democratically.  

While the origins of science fiction and fantasy literature can, in some respects, be traced back to ancient times, when mythologies were spun and the margins of fact and fiction blurred, there was a proliferation of these works in the 19th century. As authors and readers alike sought to fit the scientific advance that defined the century into everyday life, the space and need for such narratives grew. While Mary Shelley perfected this amalgamation through Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus (1818), Morris, Edgar Allan Poe (see lot 1011), H.G. Wells (see lot 1039), and a host of others continued to expand the genre as they sought to reconcile one's daily existence with the sort of extraordinary possibility modern science offered. 

REFERENCE:

Needham 81; Peterson A22