Happy Birthday William Morris - Still popular and influential at 180

While the UK and Canadian sites are strong on links to pre-Raphaelites and political thought, the US site has a distinctly American tilt with links to Elbert Hubbard, the Roycrofters as well as Frank Lloyd Wright www.morrissociety.org/links.html.

No tribute to Morris would be complete without a mention of his Kelmscott edition of Chaucer. View it on exhibit at the University of Maryland’s site: www.lib.umd.edu/williammorris/exhibition/08chaucer.html together with links to collecting Morris titled “The Joy of the Hunt.” www.lib.umd.edu/williammorris/exhibition/12collector.html

“The appeal of William Morris and his books,” according to the Maryland site, “lies in his reputation as a visionary artist and bookmaker. Some collectors spend years searching for limited Kelmscott Press editions designed by Morris. Collectors seeking a personal connection to Morris often seek association copies inscribed by Morris and members of his inner circle. A collector could build a collection comprised entirely of non-Kelmscott Press editions of Morris's expansive literary output.”

“Many of the books and ephemera on display in the on line exhibit were sold to the University of Maryland Libraries by prominent collector Jack Walsdorf, who has steadily acquired Morris-related materials for nearly fifty years.”

A long Wiki on Morris, his life and many talents can be found at en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Morris. “In January 1891,” notes the Wiki, “William Morris and William Bowden founded the Kelmscott Press at Hammersmith, London, named after Morris’s manor house in the Cotswolds. The Kelmscott Press was founded to refashion Victorian typography and to create beautiful books based on medieval manuscripts.”

This space is too small to cover it all – there are Morris textiles, wall paper, stained glass, calligraphy ….. the list goes on and on.

Susan Halas may be reached at wailukusue@gmail.com