The Collected Letters of William Morris, Volume III: 1889-1892 [Course Book ed.] 9781400864232

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T H E C O L L E C T E D L E T T E R S OF

WILLIAM MORRIS VOLUME III

E D I T E D BY N O R M A N KELVIN ASSISTANT E D I T O R : HOLLY

HARRISON

T H E C O L L E C T E D L E T T E R S OF

tautiam XBorrts VOLUME III 1889-1892

P R I N C E T O N

U N I V E R S I T Y

P R E S S

COPYRIGHT © 1996 BY PRINCETON UNIVERSITY PRESS PUBLISHED BY PRINCETON UNIVERSITY PRESS, 41 WILLIAM STREET, PRINCETON, NEWJERSEY 08540 IN THE UNITED KINGDOM: PRINCETON UNIVERSITY PRESS, CHICHESTER, WEST SUSSEX ALL RIGHTS RESERVED PUBLICATION OF THIS BOOK HAS BEEN AIDED BY A GRANT FROM THE ANDREW W. MELLON FUND OF PRINCETON UNIVERSITY PRESS PREPARATION OF THIS VOLUME WAS MADE POSSIBLE (IN PART) BY A GRANT FROM THE PROGRAM FOR EDITIONS OF THE NATIONAL ENDOWMENT FOR THE HUMANITIES, AN INDEPENDENT FEDERAL AGENCY LIBRARY OF CONGRESS CATALOGING-IN-PUBLICATION DATA MORRIS, WILLIAM, 1834-1896. THE COLLECTED LETTERS OF WILLIAM MORRIS INCLUDES BIBLIOGRAPHICAL REFERENCES AND INDEXES. CONTENTS: V. 1, 1848-1880.—V. 2. 1881-1884: 1885-1888 (2 V)-V. 3. 1889-1892. 1. MORRIS, WILLIAM, 1834-1896—CORRESPONDENCE. 2. AUTHORS, ENGLISH—19TH CENTURY—CORRESPONDENCE. 3. SOCIALISTS—GREAT BRITAIN—CORRESPONDENCE. 4. DESIGNERS—GREAT BRITAIN—CORRESPONDENCE. I. KELVIN, NORMAN. II. TITLE. PR5083.A4 1984 82Γ.8 82-47604 ISBN 0-691-06501-2 (V. 1 : ALK. PAPER) ISBN 0-691-06601-9 (ALK. PAPER) PRINTED IN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA 1 3 5 7 9 10 8 6 4 2

T O THE M E M O R Y OF D I C K

DUFTY

CONTENTS

LIST OF I L L U S T R A T I O N S

IX

E D I T O R I A L PRACTICES

XV

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

XVU

xxvii

INTRODUCTION

xlvii

MORRIS C H R O N O L O G Y A B B R E V I A T I O N S OF M A N U S C R I P T L O C A T I O N S A B B R E V I A T I O N S OF WORKS FREQUENTLY CITED

THE LETTERS · 1889-1892 Statement of Principles ofthe Hammersmith Socialist Society by William Morris

liii lvii

3

A P P E N D I X A.

APPENDIX

489

B. Note by William Morris on His Aims in Founding

the Kelmscott Press A P P E N D I X C.

493

Addenda

497

I N D E X OF C O R R E S P O N D E N T S

499

SUBJECT INDEX

502

[ vii ]

LIST OF I L L U S T R A T I O N S

William Morris, 1889 (William Morris Gallery). Fragments of medieval wall-painting at St. Andrew's Church, Much Hadham (photography by Peter Cormack, 1992). Two views of Clouds: the exterior from the North-West (courtesy of John Brandon-Jones); the Dining Room (William Morris Gallery). Cormell Price, c. 1886? (courtesy of Lorraine Price). Henry S. Salt, c. 1906 (Reproduced by permission of the Provost and Fellows of Eton College). SigriSur and Eirikr Magnusson, c. 1870 (National Museum of Iceland; photographs of original prints by Ivar Brynjolfsson). Jenny Morris, c. 1890, portrait by an unknown artist (William Morris Gallery). Thomas James Cobden-Sanderson, c. 1890 (The British Bookmaker, November 1890, p. 4). May Morris, c. 1889 (National Portrait Gallery, London). Georgiana Burne-Jones, c. 1896 (detail) (National Portrait Gallery, London). Great Coxwell Tithe Barn (William Morris Gallery). Joseph Skipsey, c. 1892 (The Illustrated London News, April 16, 1892). Map of the area around Kelmscott Manor, Oxfordshire and Gloucestershire (illustration by Jim McManus and Holly Harrison). Jane Morris, c. 1889 (National Portrait Gallery, London). William Dobson Reeves, c. 1894 (The Book-Hunter in London, 1895). Sketch by Christopher Whall of Morris and others at the 1889 Edinburgh Congress (William Morris Gallery). Morris and Co. Showrooms, 449 Oxford Street, c. 1910 (William Morris Gallery). [ ix ]

2 4, 5

6, 8 13 20 29 35 37 41 43 56 67 73 79 82 91 110

ILLUSTRATIONS

John Coleman Kenworthy, c. 1895 (Labour Annual, 1895, p. 177).

121

Chintz cover for large-paper special edition of The Roots of the Mountains published by Reeves and Turner in 1890 (The Pierpont Morgan Library).

125

A leaf of the MS. Douce 310 (Bodleian Library, Oxford).

126

William Morris, 1889 (William Morris Gallery).

135

Sideboard designed by George Jack, c. 1890 (Victoria and Albert Museum).

138

Caricature by Edward Burne-Jones of himself and Mary Zambaco, c. 1868 (Picture Library, Sotheby's).

161

Stanmore Hall, two interior views, 1891 (Royal Commission on the Historical Monuments of England).

165-66

Walter James Leighton, c. 1906 (The Bookseller, February 4, 1910, p. 119).

169

Bernard Quaritch, c. 1890 (B. Quaritch).

173

Preliminary designs by Morris for the Golden type (British Library). A leaf of the Huntingfield Psalter (The Pierpont Morgan Library).

176 180

Portrait carving by George Jack of Morris in the Home Mead, on wall of Memorial Cottage built by Philip Webb at Kelmscott (photography by Norman Kelvin, 1992).

182

Edgar Morris, c. 1870 (William Morris Gallery).

183

May Morris, Henry Halliday Sparling, Emery Walker, and George Bernard Shaw, c. 1892 (Cheltenham Art Gallery and Museums).

185

Whitelands College Reredos executed for Morris and Co. by Kate Faulkner (Whitelands College, London).

191

Wolf Wess, c. 1902 (courtesy of Alfred Wess).

193

The Arming and Departure of the Knights and The Attainment, two of the tapestries from the San Graal series, at Stanmore Hall, designed by Edward Burne-Jones for Morris and Co. (City of Birmingham Museums and Art Gallery). Type faces designed by Morris for the Kelmscott Press (Cheltenham Art Gallery and Museums).

[ χ 1

196—97 199

ILLUSTRATIONS A leaf of Phillis Ellis's transcription of The Golden Legend, used by the printers as copytext for the Kelmscott Press edition (British Library).

200

A page of Gunnlaug the Worm-tongue, 1890 (William Morris Gallery).

203

A page from the September 11, 1890, publishing agreement for The Golden Legend, signed by Morris, Frederick Startridge Ellis, and Bernard Quaritch (British Library).

207

The Arts and Crafts Exhibition Society Exhibit, 1890, The New Gallery, Regent Street, London (Royal Commission on the Historical Monuments of England).

212

Edward Philip Prince, c. 1916 (St. Bride Printing Library).

213

Roger de Coverly, c. 1891 {The British Bookmaker, February 1892, p. 179).

216

Morris's "Flower" watermark (courtesy of George Abrams).

224

Design by Walter Crane of emblem for the Hammersmith Socialist Society (British Library).

235

John Bruce Glasier, c. 1919 (National Portrait Gallery, London).

238

One of the Albion presses used at the Kelmscott Press (St. Bride Printing Library). Earliest attempt by Morris to design a floriated initial for the Kelmscott Press (British Library). Two woodcuts, initial and type, from Boccaccio's De claris mulieribus, printed at UIm byjohann Zainer, 1473 (British Library). First trial page printed at the Kelmscott Press, January 31, 1891 (British Library). Title page and frontispiece of the illustrated edition of The Glittering Plain, 1894 (The Pierpont Morgan Library). Walter Crane, c. 1895 (courtesy of Anthony Crane).

246 251

256 266 268-69 271

Illustration by Walter Crane from The Glittering Plain, 1894 (The Pierpont Morgan Library).

303

Alfred Triibner Nutt, c. 1890 (The Bookseller, April 5, 1890). Carpet-weaving looms at Merton Abbey, 1890s (William Morris Gallery). Emery Walker, c. 1891 (National Portrait Gallery, London). [ xi ]

312 325 326

ILLUSTRATIONS Chintz-printing and glass-painting workshops at Merton Abbey, 1890s (William Morris Gallery). Sydney Carlyle Cockerell, 1917 (National Portrait Gallery, London).

331 337

West Front of the Cathedal of Notre Dame at Laon, 1891 (from Erwin Panofsky, Gothic Architecure and Scholasticism [1951], by permission of Saint Vincent Archabbey Press). Colophon for the Kelmscott Press edition of Poems by the Way, 1891 (The Pierpont Morgan Library).

355

Jane Morris, c. 1890 (National Portrait Gallery, London).

359

Mary Giles, c. 1885; and William Giles, c. 1906 (courtesy of Rosemary Winter). Spine of the Kelmscott Press edition of The Defence of Guenevere, 1892, with lettering done by Herbert Ellis (The Pierpont Morgan Library). David J. Nicoll, c. 1900 (The Reformer's Yearbook, 1901, p. 34). The Green Room at Kelmscott Manor (photography by Dennis Anthony; courtesy of the Society of Antiquaries of London). Robert Steele, c. 1895 (National Portrait Gallery, London). Two versions of the frontispiece for the Kelmscott Press edition of A Dream offohn Ball, 1892 (The Pierpont Morgan Library). Blackthorn pattern (Victoria and Albert Museum). William Broadbent, c. 1895 (National Portrait Gallery, London). "Angels Welcoming Saints into Paradise," illustration by Edward Burne-Jones for the Kelmscott Press edition of The Golden Legend, 1892 (The Pierpont Morgan Library). Frederick Startridge Ellis, drawing by E. WyIy Grier, c. 1889 (National Portrait Gallery, London). Edward Burne-Jones and Margaret Mackail, c. 1892 (Hammersmith and Fulham Archives). "Explanations," from Vol. 3 of the Saga Library (The Pierpont Morgan Library). The Newarke House, Leicester, c. 1890 (Leicestershire Museums). "On the Brain" (cartoon commentary on the Laureateship, originally published in Pick-me-up, 1892; reproduced from The Phil May Album, 1900. Courtesy of Lionel Lambourne). [ xii ]

347

377

389 395 404 420 426 428 432

438 441 449 451 459

461

ILLUSTRATIONS Charles March Gere, late 1920s (City of Birmingham Museums and Art Gallery).

465

The Tapestry Room at Kelmscott Manor (photography by Dennis Anthony; courtesy of the Society of Antiquaries of London).

467

Arthur Joseph Gaskin and his family, c. 1905 (City of Birmingham Museums and Art Gallery, private collection). Edward Burne-Jones, c. 1890 (National Portrait Gallery, London).

475 477

Preliminary drawings of Kelmscott Manor by Charles March Gere, for the frontispiece of the Kelmscott Press edition of News from Nowhere, 1892 (courtesy of the estate of the late Alan Thomas).

[ XUi ]

483

EDITORIAL PRACTICES Transcription F O R M O S T of the letters, the text has been taken from the holograph original. In cases where the only extant source is a printed text (notably Mackail's 1899 biography), the letter or whatever part of it was quoted is reprinted here. In a very few instances the copytext used has not been Morris's o w n draft, even w h e n this has been available. This has been the case with letters to newspapers, w h e n it is clear that the rough, heavily canceled surviving draft in Morris's hand was not the one sent; and on one other occasion, w h e n Morris's draft included a note in his own hand addressed to Sydney Carlyle Cockerell, "Please fair copy"; and Cockerell's draft was in fact located among the records of the recipient. T h e decision in these instances has been, in the first case, to use as copytexts the letters as they appear in the newspapers to which they were sent; and, in the second, the draft in Cockerell's hand. Inevitably, the translation of a holographic document to the printed page introduces some distortion of the original. Certain visual cues are lost: in particular, the end of a handwritten line may indicate the completion of a sentence even though a period is not used; space left between sentences may signify the sense of a new paragraph whether or not a new line is started or an indentation appears; a sentence may contain interpolated or canceled material indicating the writer's second thoughts. These features appear often in Morris's letters. M y idea has been to remain c o m pletely faithful to the text, but the realities of putting into print documents that were in n o way intended for posterity have forced me to adopt certain conventions for the sake of readability with which the reader will want to be familiar. Paragraphing, occasionally but not often, presents a problem. In some letters Morris seems to intend the end of a paragraph by concluding a sentence well before the edge of the page and beginning the next sentence on a new line without, however, any indentation. O n the few o c casions w h e n this has in fact been the case, I have introduced an indentation to signify the new paragraph that Morris clearly seemed to intend. Material canceled by Morris, but still readable and representing a variation from what he finally wrote, is given in angle brackets. False starts in spelling, however, are not shown. [ xv ]

EDITORIAL

PRACTICES

O n the very few occasions on which material has been added, it has been enclosed in square brackets. Question marks in square brackets indicate uncertainty in reading the preceding word. Most of the time Morris's handwriting is perfectly legible. Dates and addresses have been placed in the upper right. W h e n a date, or any part of one, has been supplied by the editor, it is given in square brackets. A question mark indicates that the suggested date is a plausible one only. W h e n there is no question mark, the bracketed date is offered with confidence, since it was arrived at through internal evidence, crossreference, or other compelling information, such as entries in Morris's diaries. Letters that could be assigned only approximate dates have been placed in best-guess chronological order. Apart from these liberties, Morris's words stand as they were written. Misspellings, r u n - o n sentences, abbreviated words or names, idiosyncratic punctuation and capitalization, occasional obscure passages or apparent slips of the pen are by and large not the subjects of editorial notation except as noted above, in the belief that the reader will prefer to work things out or ponder the ambiguities as Morris's actual correspondents may have had to do. In the publication of historical evidence there is no reason for the editor to come between the document and the reader except insofar as the translation from the original m e d i u m to print poses problems that must be solved typographically. Annotation A note giving the location of the holograph manuscript, or the published source if the original letter no longer survives, will be found following each letter. Previous—that is, first—publication in biographical or critical works, not including short excerpts, is also recorded. T h e other notes then follow. I try to give useful, and sometimes new information about Morris's correspondents, the people and things he mentions, his work, and his connections with the events of the time, without overwhelming the letters themselves. In the case of well-known figures, for w h o m full biographies and other studies are readily available, a brief identification is given on first appearance, and thereafter such details are added as throw light on the letter at hand. For lesser-known figures, about w h o m information is harder to come by, a somewhat longer biographical account is provided at first mention. Cross-references from later references back to the first note are given w h e n it has seemed useful to do so, but in general readers should use the indexes to locate information. I should also mention that the notes occasionally provide comment on a peculiarity in the text.

[ xvi ]

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

A C K N O W L E D G I N G H E L P is a pleasure limited only by concern someone's name has inadvertently been omitted. So many people have contributed to the making of this edition, and of Volumes III and IV particularly, that I can only—terribly inadequate as this is—offer my thanks to whoever should be listed but is missing. Also, I ask those to w h o m I have expressed my gratitude in earlier volumes but have not named again to k n o w my thanks are undiminished. In addition, because the preparation of Volumes IH and IV was a single endeavor, making it impossible to sort out which of the two was helped by any individual, my gratitude will be expressed here to all w h o contributed to either or both of the volumes. T h e exception will be that the libraries and archives holding Morris's letters will be specified in the volumes that include the letters they have provided. For the generous support that was essential to the progress of Volumes III and IV, I thank the National Endowment for the Humanities, Division of Research Grants and the P S C - C U N Y Research Award Program. For making available to me needed resources within the City University, my sincere thanks go to Dean Martin Tamny and Professors Joseph Wittreich, Paul Sherwin, Joshua Wilner, Martin Stevens, Saul Brody, Jerome Brooks, Karl Malkoff, Steven Urkowitz, and R o b e r t Ghiradella. For making available copies of Morris's letters included in Volume III and for giving me permission to publish them, I wish to thank the following institutions and individuals, indicating as I do, and where appropriate, the names of the collections that contain the letters: George Abrams; Special Collections, Allegheny College Library, Meadville, Pa.; M c M i n n Papers, Society of Antiquaries of London; Paul Avrich; William P. Barlow; Ben Bass; D. R . Bentham; Sanford and Helen Berger; City of Birmingham Museums and Art Gallery, Birmingham, England; Penkill Papers, Special Collections, University of British Columbia Library; T h e British Library; T h e Bodleian Library, Oxford; T h e Bottigelli Collection, Paris; R . R . Bowker Co., Frederic G. Melcher Library; J o h n Brandon-Jones; Brown University Library; T h e Trustees of the British Theatre Museum, Victoria and Albert Museum; Ellen Clark Bertrand Library, Bucknell University; Dr. J . R T Bury; T h e Library, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, O h i o ; T h e Collection of the Cheltenham Art Gallery and [ xvii ]

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

Museums (and in addition the Emery Walker Library, Cheltenham Art Gallery and Museums); William Andrews Clark Memorial Library, University of California at Los Angeles; Department of Special Collections, University of California at Los Angeles; The Library, Special Collections, Colby College Library, Waterville, Maine; Special Collections, The Tutt Library, Colorado College, Colorado Springs, Colo.; The Rare Book and Manuscript Library, Columbia University; Anthony Crane; The Trustees of the Thomas Hardy Memorial Collection, Dorset County Museum, Dorchester, Dorset, England; The Syndics of the Fitzwilliam Museum; Colin Franklin; The Getty Center, Resources Collections; Alfred A. Gimson; Collection of the Glasgow School of Art; The Houghton Library, Harvard University; Castle Howard Archives, Castle Howard, Yorkshire—by kind permission of the Howard family; The Huntington Library, San Marino, Calif; National Library of Iceland; International Institute for Social History, Amsterdam; Iowa State Education Association; Jesus College, Cambridge; Eugene D. LeMire; Walter Leuba; The British Library of Political and Economic Science, London School of Economics; Special Collections, University of Maryland at College Park Libraries; D. J. McWilliams; The John M. Wing Foundation, The Newberry Library, Chicago; The Library, University of New South Wales; The Fales Library, Elmer Bobst Library, New York University; Nottinghamshire Archives; William A. Whitaker Papers, Library of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill; Edward D. Nudelman; The Warden and Fellows of Nuffield College, Oxford; Archives of the October Revolution and Higher State Bodies, Moscow, Russia; Pierpont Morgan Library; Troxell Collection, Princeton University Library; Bernard Quaritch, Ltd.; Hayes Collection, University of Queensland, St. Lucia, Australia; The Harry Ransom Humanities Research Center, University of Texas at Austin; the Philip H. & A.S.W Rosenbach Foundation; John Rylands University Library of Manchester; S. B. Schimmel; The Library, University of Sheffield; Dr. John Shulman; Society for the Protection of Ancient Buildings; St. Bride Printing Institute; Trustees of the National Library of Scotland; The Poetry/Rare Books Collection, University Libraries, State University of New York at Buffalo; George Arents Research Library, Syracuse University, Syracuse, N.Y; Joscelyn V. Charlewood Turner; The Library, Victoria and Albert Museum; John Walsdorf; William Morris Gallery, Walthamstow (The London Borough of Waltham Forest); Rollin/ Wess Papers, Modern Records Centre, University of Warwick Library, courtesy of Dr. Henry Rollin; Special Collections, Wellesley College Library; Whitelands College Archives; Joseph Downs Collection of Manuscripts & Printed Ephemera, The Winterthur Library; The Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library, Yale University; and the late Arnold Yates. [ xviii ]

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS In the day-to-day effort that resulted in the final typescript, and in the many additional efforts required to see this volume through the production processes, particular individuals have contributed so much that they must be acknowledged with some explanation. Holly Harrison, w h o joined the project w h e n I turned my attention fully to preparing Volumes III and IV, has, I am pleased to say, made a contribution so material that I have appointed her assistant editor of these final two volumes. H e r alertness to detail, her perception of the large narratives requiring sorting out in several series of undated, tangled groups of letters, helped bring light—and proper chronological sequence—where they were needed. H e r assiduous work on the large cross-referencing system that binds this edition together helped make it the instrument of intended usefulness to the reader that I hope and believe it is. Moreover, her aptitude, tact, and skill as a style editor have added elegance, grace, and concision to many of the annotations requiring them, improving them in ways that have pleased me and should please the reader. She has in addition done some of the library research, including the search for uncataloged items in local archives. Beyond that, she has also been the office manager for the final two volumes, keeping track of the ever-multiplying files, typing my correspondence, sorting and processing replies, and devising ingenious systems for taking cognizance of every aspect of the research effort that required an overview. This is an additional reason for my gratitude to Holly Harrison, but her contribution in her managerial role was as important to the overall effort that produced these volumes as was her editorial contribution. Deborah Interdonato, who, in the preparation of the final draft of Volu m e III and IV, was the first to help with the needed library research, enabled a solid advance in what was a difficult and frustrating task, given Morris's incessant recording in his letters of political, social, and technical details. Many details n o w in the notes were located by her, and the clear manner of providing information for my use made employment of this material immensely easier, even as it had meant immense care on her part. She has my gratitude, and my admiration for her skills and ability, in the largest measure. Molly Vaux, w h o also joined the project w h e n Volumes III and IV were under way, took up part of the task of finding difficult-to-locate details through library research and thus also enabled to me to develop certain notes that had seemed inadequate. Moreover, she earns my special gratitude for the thorough way in which she undertook and accomplished the monumental task of checking, for accuracy, the quotations and summaries of published material that occur in the annotations, and the bibliographical citations of the published materials. H e r expert organizational

[ xix ]

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

skills and her aptitude made a task that might have been overwhelming, manageable, and enabled me to go forward with the production processes of this book confident the reader will find that indeed a published source has been accurately cited. Some people thanked in previous volumes have at one stage or another been so involved in the making of Volumes III and IV that they must be acknowledged again. Had Gale Sigal, who was assistant editor for Volume II, been able to remain in New York, it would have been my wish that she continue in her role. Her essential contribution to the last stages of Volume I and to all but the very earliest of Volume II, earned thanks that are recorded in Volumes I and II. She also participated in the beginning preparation of Volume III, and only her leaving New York to take up her faculty position in Wake Forest University after receiving her doctorate, made it unfeasible at the time to ask her to continue. For the work she did do on Volume III, my thanks are gladly and warmly given. Steven K. Meyers, also acknowledged in Volume II, rejoined the effort in behalf of Volumes III and IV when the library research was under way but was far from complete, and when much of the most difficult-to-find information was still to be located. Indeed, one discovery he made had proved in the past so elusive that I have thought it only proper to thank him in the note he made possible as well as here in the acknowledgments. Partially because he was able to discover as much as he did, his contribution in total looms so large that the question of chronology, of when he rejoined the project, became unimportant when we finished. It is fair to say that throughout Volumes III and IV, the less obvious and less familiar the source cited for a detail in a note, the more likely it is that the reader, like myself, owes a debt of gratitude to Steven Meyers. To the late A. R. Dufty my gratitude is expressed in the dedication of this volume, as is my sense of being privileged in friendship. Dick Dufty s warmth, and his enthusiasm for this work when it was a work-in-progress, his unfailing courtesy and kindness are among the good memories of the years in which the edition was in progress. The reader should know that -whenever and wherever information, in an annotation, about Kelmscott Manor and its environs, or about Morris's neighbors at Kelmscott, makes sense of an otherwise obscure letter, the debt we both owe is to Dick Dufty. In a beautiful calligraphic hand that Morris would have admired, he sent, over the years, an answer to each and every query about Kelmscott; always graciously, and always in a manner expressing his fine sense of scholarship. He is sorely missed. It is sad to me that this edition, which he helped so much, was still to be completed when he [ xx ]

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS died, but I am gladdened to recall that so much of his learning was made available w h e n the work was indeed at hand. Although most of my correspondence and discussions with the late E. P. T h o m p s o n concerned Volumes I and II, there are also in Volumes III and IV letters of which I first became aware through his help. It was a privilege to discuss Morris with him; one of the truly eminent British historians of his generation, he put all Morris scholars in his debt with his interpretive study of Morris, restoring and developing the political and cultural Morris that had fallen out of view. All Morris scholarship of our period is in part at least indebted to his work and thus, whether done so formally or not, a dedication to his memory. Richard A. Linenthal has made possible much of the information about Morris and Bernard Quaritch, and has shared with me, too, his splendid knowledge of manuscript and early printed books. I gladly record also the warmth of hospitality extended to me by Richard Linenthal and, I am happy to add, by his colleague Nicholas Poole-Wilson, on my many visits to the premises of Bernard Quaritch, Ltd., where the business of the day for both was other than answering endless questions by researchers. T h e patience, the generous giving of time and energy to my concerns, have incurred a debt of gratitude I happily acknowledge. Friendships made are high on the list of whatever rewards my efforts on behalf of this edition have brought me, and I speak of them all with gladness. In addition, with respect to Richard Linenthal, as with Dick Dufty, his contribution has been so particular and material that I have expressed my thanks in the annotations whenever possible: and the reader can assess the weight and value of his assistance simply by noting h o w many times his name appears in the index. Sanford and Helen Berger have done so much for this edition that this must be acknowledged again. Their friendship, hospitality, and cooperation have not only made possible the inclusion of the many letters in their collection, probably the largest private collection of Morris's letters anywhere, but has made available, too, much of the background information and some of the illustrations in this edition. But to stress the help I have received is almost in this case to misrepresent by understatement. Sanford and Helen Berger are among the friends w h o m I was privileged to make w h e n I began this edition, and the many years intervening have been marked always by a warmth and closeness that have meant as much to me as their kind and generous help. T h e staff of the William Morris Gallery have in their help gone beyond anything that their curatorial positions make it reasonable to ask. Norah Gillow, Keeper; Peter Cormack, Deputy Keeper; and Elizabeth Woods,

[ xxi ]

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS assistant, all have my heartfelt thanks for specific instances of help, and again for their warmth of hospitality and for their friendship. To Peter Cormack in particular I am indebted to an extent that these formal acknowledgments cannot measure. A distinguished scholar, thoroughly cognizant of the resources of the William Morris Gallery, learned in the areas of art history that bear on Morris's career, he, too, has offered help, during my visits and through copious correspondence in which each of his letters was a model of elegant scholarship, and has made possible the writing of annotations that otherwise would have remained unwritten. It is a pleasure to say as much here. T h e help I have received from busy and distinguished scholars has provided me with models of generosity and kindness I can only admire and acknowledge with gratitude. N o one stands higher among those of w h o m I think w h e n I say this than does Linda Parry, whose work on Morris textiles established the modern understanding of that field. N o one could be busier, more involved in important projects of her own; yet she has always, in visits and correspondence, been cheerful, expert, and responsive to my queries, taking time often to reach beyond her own department at the Victoria and Albert to hunt down the answer—or the person w h o had the answer—to a question, on the fringes of Morris matters, that I ought not to have troubled her with in the first place. Again, it is a pleasure to say thanks for friendship, help beyond the call of reasonable expectation, and for gracious good cheer w h e n my importunities interrupted an busy schedule. For Peter Faulkner, editor of the Journal of the William Morris Society, good friend, scholar, and critic whose achievements go beyond Morris studies, embracing the larger world of Victorian and modernist studies, the naming of these attributes suggests something of my happily incurred debt. Again my thanks go to someone whose hospitality matched his professional assistance. O n many occasions, discussions that started with q u e ries about Morris ended with forays into the large, contextual matters in which the significance of details is to be sought. This much, and, as well, indefatigable search on my behalf for elusive details w h e n I sought his help, were his kind and generous response to my inquiries at all times. It is a pleasure to say that here. Ray Watkinson, though the true dean of Morris studies bearing on art history, is too young in spirit and mind to be acknowledged by any title that sounds valetudinarian. A scholar of international reputation, author of a book on Morris as designer that continues to inspire and educate beginning students, even as it remains a source of indispensable information to scholars well along in their own work, he has regularly put at my disposal his learning and his vast store of information. Again I speak of a [ xxii ]

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

good friend, and of hospitality, of copious correspondence (inimitable), and of precise and knowing help, when needed, with details. And when wit and knowledge are equally mixed, as they are in Ray Watkinson's case, the work at hand that prompts a query becomes a pleasure in itself; for making it thus, Ray Watkinson has my very special and warm thanks. Jan Marsh deserves special thanks, not only for carrying out meticulous research in behalf of this volume in various libraries and archives in England, but for doing so—as an act of friendship—when she was heavily engaged in research for two major projects of her own. Her generosity with her time, that resource of scholarship always in short supply, was beyond what I might reasonably have expected, and I can, as with so many others, only acknowledge the fact of extraordinary generosity as I record my thanks. This is an appropriate place, to mention as well Frank Sharp, co-editor with Jan Marsh of the letters of Jane Morris (in progress at this writing). In his thorough search for letters of Jane Morris he inevitably came upon letters to William Morris. His regularly informing me of his discoveries has added to the comprehensiveness of this edition, a fact that I am glad to acknowledge. Old friends to be thanked for hospitality and help with illustrations are Lionel and Maureen Lambourne; new friends, happily made during preparation of Volumes III and IV, are Clive and Jane Wainwright, also to be thanked for warm hospitality, as well as for directing me to sources of information concerning Morris and the Arts and Crafts Movement. To both Lionel Lambourne and Clive Wainwright, my gratitude in addition for assistance with collections in their respective departments in the Victoria and Albert Museum. Among old friends, too, I am happy to name Christine Woods, expert on Thomas Wardle and the source of all information here dealing with Wardle, and also with the Whitworth Art Gallery, where she is Curator of Wallpaper. Ronald Briggs also shared with me his extensive knowledge of Morris scholarship, particularly with respect to Morris as printer, and the hospitality of both Ronald and Joan Briggs is in addition remembered here with warm thanks. My thanks again to Bernard Korman, friend of many years, for his wise counsel. Among others whose help has been such it would be inadequate to speak only of their professional assistance, I am pleased to name George Breeze of the Cheltenham Art Gallery and Museums; Martin Kauffmann, of the Bodleian Library; Cecily Y. Greenhill of the Society for the Protection of Ancient Buildings, and her associate Matthew Slocombe as well; Giles Mandelbrote of the National Registry of Archives, James Mosely of the St. Bride Printing Institute; Mark Samuels Lasner and Florence Boos, both Morris scholars of the first order; Bernard Nurse of the Society of Antiquaries of London; Stephen Wildman of the Birmingham Museum [ xxiii ]

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and Art Gallery; and Karin Hofmeester, of the International Institute for Social History, who generously shared with me her knowledge of the career of Wolf Wess. My thanks as well to Fiona MacCarthy, who, absorbed as she was in the writing of her biography of Morris, took time to answer many questions. All have my gratitude for their help. Since this has become a moment for acknowledging those who have helped me in England, it is a pleasure to thank Richard Pearson for assistance with archival research, during periods when I was unable to visit English libraries and archives myself. It is, on that theme, a pleasure mixed with sadness to recall that I was also fortunate for a while to have the help, with archival research, of the late Nina Burgis, a fine Dickens scholar, who generously devoted her research skills to the needs of the Morris letters; it is a matter of gratitude and sadness, both, to think that the work she did for this edition was perhaps one of her last undertakings. My colleague, David Greetham, a textual scholar who is redefining the field of textual scholarship, readily gave answers and informed opinions to many of my questions arising out of textual problems and out of my need, often, for technical definitions; I do not know whether he will feel a strange deprivation or an enormous relief at no longer finding printouts of Morris letters and attached queries in his mailbox, amidst what must be a mountainous pile of incoming correspondence, but I do know I am grateful for his regularly giving to my questions his careful time and thought. Similarly, I want to thank W. Speed Hill, also my colleague and also a distinguished textual scholar, for information about the book arts that illuminated for me several of Morris's references and helped me to put into historical perspective the practice of these arts in Morris's day. There are many more individuals who have contributed: by locating Morris letters or background information and by sending responses to queries (letters in many instances that were virtually scholarly articles in brief). But I have already overrun the space to be allotted for such acknowledgments, and I shall only list these individuals, with the assurance to each of them that I am conscious large debts incurred. My thanks thus to Felicity Ashbee, Paul Avrich, Lady Sally Baldwin of Bewdley, Nicolas Barker, Karl Beckson, Joyce Bellamy, Betty Bennett, Joseph Biancalana, Michael Bott, John Brandon-Jones, Hans Brill, W. Hamilton Bryson, Jerome Buckley, Margaret Campbell, Carla Cappetti, Susan Casteras, Patricia Cockram, John Collins, R. L. Coupe, Anthony Crane, Laurence Davies, Rosalind Depas, Ben Dickinson, John Dreyfus, Kristin L. Erickson, Frank Felsenstein, Richard Finneran, William Fishman, Penelope Fitzgerald, W E. Fredeman, Susan Galassi, John Paul Getty, HI, Suzy Halimi, Christopher and Laura Hampton, Christa F. Harrison, Laura Hen[ xxiv ]

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drickson, Grace Ioppolo, Robert Langbaum, Joan Larkin, Dan H. Laurence, Eugene D. Lemire, Lady Elizabeth Longford, Alan Mackley, Bryan Maggs, Judith May, Jerome McGann, Debra Mendizza, Harold Burton and Jean Ann Meyers, Terry L. Meyers, Pia Mukherji, Christopher MuIvey, Joel Myerson, Paul Needham, Etsuko Ono, William S. Peterson, Renee Philippi, Chrissie Poulson, Jon Press, Lorraine Price, John Redman, Herbert Robinson, John Rosenberg, Mohamed Saad, Carole Silver, Peter Stansky, Virginia Surtees, Mark Swenarton, Susan O. Thompson, Ann Thwaite, Marianne Tidcombe, Helen A. Timo, George Vaux, Meenakshi Venkatasubramanian, Alfred Wess, Glynnis Wild, Carl Woodring, and Rose Zimbardo. This edition would not have been possible without the cooperation, and often immense expenditure of time and effort on my behalf, of librarians, archivists, curators, and keepers at the many libraries and institutions housing Morris letters and related material. I am for this help glad to acknowledge the following: Martin Antonetti (Grolier Club); Robert Ball (Derbyshire Library Service); J. B. Bird (Harry Ransom Humanities R e search Center); Anne Caiger (University of California at Los Angeles); Tom Campbell (S. Frances Tapestry Archive); Margaret Clarke (The Fitzwilliam Museum); I. C. Cunningham (National Library of Scotland); Yolanda C. Courtney (Leicester County Council Museum Arts and R e cords Service); Inge Dupont (Pierpont Morgan Library); Nancy Finlay (New York Public Library); Richard Hamer (Christ Church, Oxford); Eeyan Hartley (Castle Howard Archives); the late Grimur M. Helgason (National Library of Iceland); Sara S. Hodson (the Huntington Library); Kenneth Lohf (Columbia University Library); Elizabeth Leedham-Green (University Library, Cambridge); John Maddicott (Exeter College, Oxford); Jacqueline McComish (The National Gallery, London); David J. McKitterick (Trinity College, Cambridge); Richard Mortimer (Westminster Abbey); Kathy Niblett (City Museum and Art Gallery, Stoke-onTrent); Robert Parke (Pierpont Morgan Library); Terrence Pepper (National Portrait Gallery, London); Judith Priestman (Bodleian Library); Bengt Rur (National Archives, Stockholm); M.WH. Schreuder (International Institute for Social History); Nigel Thorp (Centre for Whistler Studies, University of Glasgow); Lorise Topliffe (Exeter College, Oxford); Peter Trowles (Glasgow School of Art); C. Wittick (County Archivist of East Sussex); and the staff of the following libraries: Brown University Library; The Cheltenham Art Gallery and Museums; The Getty Museum; The Huntington Library; The National Library of Iceland; Liverpool Record Office; The Mitchell Library, Glasgow; The St. Bride Printing Institute; and The Wellcome Institute for the History of Medicine. [ xxv ]

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS My thanks, too, to R o b e r t E. Brown for his sustained interest in this edition throughout its preparation and for his careful and essential copyediting of Volumes III and IV O n c e again my final thanks are reserved for my family. T h e acknowledgments to them over the several volumes of the edition come dangerously close to being signposts in a family history, so many years have been involved. Enough to say, now, that all my thanks to my wife Phyllis in previous volumes are repeated here. As for my daughters Elizabeth and Jane, w h o are n o w established in their own careers but were still at home w h e n Volumes III and IV were begun, they seem happily to have good recollections of it all; rather, than as I once feared, a feeling they had been brought up in an office that had swallowed up their h o m e or on an industrial site that had done the j o b of swallowing even more efficiently. I am as grateful to them, as I am to my wife, for remembering it all both with, and in, tranquillity as I am for their patience and understanding.

[ xxvi ]

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D U R I N G T H E YEARS covered in this volume, 1889 through 1892, M o r ris concluded old activities and relationships, began new ones, and carried on with some destined to end only with himself. T h e Kelmscott Press and book buying dominate over socialism, and the Socialist League is left b e hind altogether. Several political acquaintances disappear from the record and are replaced by friends and coworkers at the Kelmscott Press. Old friends and family members continue as solid presences, and remain, along with work, at the center of Morris's existence. T h e letters of 1889 through 1892 reflect these changes and continuities. They also form, as it were, a continuous text, with its o w n beginning, middle, and end, its own narrative structure. It will be well to begin with what is recorded early in 1889 and continues through much of the year: Jenny's illness. T h e bout of sickness that began in 1888 persisted, and Jenny remained in a nursing h o m e at Malvern until apparently February at least. It is clear from what Morris says to her on January 21 and February 8 that she wanted to go h o m e ; and it is Morris's task to explain why she should stay where she is. Most poignant is the way he creates for her a life out of the materials of his own, as he does in the letter of January 16, 1889—sent, that is, to arrive on her birthday. Providing Jenny with the materials for a life, through letters, began earlier and will continue whenever she is away from h o m e ; and that doing so was often a burden for Morris, even as it was an effort of love, is suggested by the knotted language and desperate effort to find something to say that sometimes in later letters blot his efforts to provide Jenny with information about his activities and about the public world. It is difficult to arrange in anything resembling priority order what absorbed Morris in 1889, but just as Jenny's illness was clearly important, so too was socialism. Socialism is represented by his changing relationship to the Socialist League—i.e., the incipient change for the worse of his role in the League; by the continuing of his strenuous lecturing for the League; and by his readiness to participate in an important event and to take a stand on public issues. Conflict with fellow members of the S.L. is already apparent in his letter to H . B. Samuels of February 22, 1889; and in May 1890 he was to be ousted from the editorship of Commonweal and, by N o v e m b e r 1890, to decide to quit the League altogether. But [ xxvii ]

INTRODUCTION

throughout 1889, as noted, he continued his energetic lecturing for the League. He appeared on the platform more than fifty times during the year, his activity reaching a peak in November, when he gave a dozen talks within the month. Moreover, earlier in the year, in August, he traveled to Paris in behalf of the League as one of the English delegates to the International Socialist Congress, the meeting at which the Second International was formed (Morris at the Congress opposed cooperation with nonsocialists, attending the Marxist Revolutionary Congress and avoiding the Possibilists—the party of cooperative effort). Also important in 1889, though not necessarily connected with the League, is Morris's response to the historic London Dock Workers strike in late August and early September, the outcome of which was not only the securing of "the docker's tanner" but the strengthening of the union movement. Morris's letters of August 30 and 31 to Jenny Morris and Georgiana Burne-Jones, respectively, are a revealing record of this juncture of his socialist career with a national event. He is cautiously approving: the reflexive rejection of unionism is gone. He sees the possibility of strength through numbers. In sorting out what to emphasize in 1889, the absence or scarcity of letters to a particular recipient is sometimes as meaningful as a strong record would be. This is true with respect to letters to Jane Morris. There are indeed few, but she is a felt presence in letters to Jenny and to several others. Moreover, one letter we do have for 1889 is of much interest. Dated October 17, it was meant to arrive on Jane's birthday; and in it Morris, after saying he is at work on a tale (possibly The Glittering Plain), adds, "I must have a story to write now as long as I live." This is a momentary lapse from his usual tone of almost apologetic concern for Jane— the tone suggesting he blames himself for her not loving him. The odd confession here is noteworthy because Morris probably did write his last romances out of need: need to write of young heroes beloved by women descended from natural, kind, and beautiful Ellen of News from Nowhere; descended, that is, from the woman who loved Morris's undisguised alter ego, Guest. It is as if Morris wanted Jane, for a moment, to see inside him, even as he surrounded the moment with the cheerful commonplaces meant to absolve her from all responsibility for what he needed. After Jenny, socialism, and Jane, May Morris deserves emphasis, though again the surviving correspondence is scarce. In 1889, May is an active presence for her father. If he provided Jenny with materials out of his own life to construct one for herself, May, though the letters only glance at this, constructed a life for herself by participating in her father's daily, concrete world. From 1885 on, she was head of the Embroidery Department of Morris and Co. From the early 1880s on, she was also an active socialist, a comrade to Morris. It is to her he writes on March 9, [ xxviii ]

INTRODUCTION

1889, in anticipation of the Paris Conference; it is from her he expects to get a syllabus for Kropotkin's lectures when on February 26, 1889, he sends Kropotkin money in support of a planned lecture series May Morris helped organize. However, through her private life, she was also a troubling presence. She was romantically linked with Bernard Shaw, even while continuing an engagement to Halliday Sparling. These complications were to be preface to marriage with Sparling in 1890 and establishment two years later of a menage a trois with Shaw, the marriage finally ending in 1894. That there are absolutely no references to these events in Morris's surviving letters to May (or to others) in 1889 or later, suggests either that his powerful capacity for reticence on troubling personal matters was at work, or that May, who was generally a conserver of every scrap of paper containing words or drawings by her father, expunged from the record letters addressed to her that did comment on her personal affairs. But tempting as it is to opt for the second, more dramatic, option, the probability is Morris committed to paper few or no words concerning May's relations with Sparling and Shaw. He had hardly in the surviving letters hinted at his feelings when Jane made him the subject-victim of a triangle; it is unlikely he had opinions or advice to give a daughter who seemed about to repeat her mother's life; and less likely, if he knew the facts, that he would openly sympathize with Sparling, a somewhat hapless, devoted follower of himself who had not been regarded with enthusiasm as a prospective son-in-law by either of May's parents. And unlike the reticence in letters to Jane, this reticence—or appearance of reticence resulting from excisions in the record—encourages no assessment of the relationship. Some indirect comment on these years is perhaps provided by May's later devoting herself to publishing Morris's collected works in twenty-four volumes and two supplemental ones: this evidence of loyalty and devotion to her father's memory must have had its roots in her relationship with him in his last years—as well as earlier ones—but what his particular feelings were we cannot know. If closeness to women and ways of expressing himself to them is the theme here, then the letters to Georgiana Burne-Jones should be mentioned right after those to Morris's family, perhaps even before them. It is to Georgiana Burne-Jones he addresses his most brooding reflections on politics (and, when writing to her, he also tries often to write descriptively of nature, as in his letter of July 29, 1891). He does not discuss the details of his daily life as a socialist with her, but rather the large political issues as he sees them, as in the letter to her of August 31, 1889. Later on, in December 1894, she herself will enter politics, and her apparent pragmatism will become something of a difficulty for Morris; but in 1889 she is, rather, the person who, along with her husband, he sees every Sunday; who (it can [ xxix ]

INTRODUCTION

be surmised from some of Morris's comments) urged on him new works of literature to read; who listens to him speak or read from his works. Other friends whose presence is recorded in the letters of 1889 are old companions like Philip Webb; John Bruce Glasier of Glasgow, the Socialist League ally whose allegiance to Morris seems to have been as personal as it was ideological; F. S. Ellis; Emery Walker; and Kate Faulkner. One sees always in Morris's letters to friends that, warm as his feelings sometimes are, especially when writing to Webb, who goes back to the beginning of his career, it is most often as an associate in work or in a public activity that Morris relates to others, indeed conceptualizes others. Letters to friends are thus most often a record of shared activities. Glasier is important to the narrative of Morris's career and life because in letters to him, beginning with the one of April 6, 1889, we can trace the position Morris articulated as he separated himself from the Socialist League but not from socialism, from intramural ideological bickering but not from fellowship with whoever was well disposed toward him. Glasier in fact will fade from the letters after 1890, for despite both his and Morris's determination not to let Morris's leaving the League divide them (Glasier stayed in), they seem to have had less to discuss once the crisis of Morris's departure ended. Or perhaps Morris had less to say to Glasier, for Glasier's devotional book, William Morris and the Early Days of Socialism, makes it clear the friendship was one Glasier cherished. A contrast to Glasier is Emery Walker. Present in earlier letters chiefly as secretary of the Hammersmith Branch of the Socialist League, he will be redefined in letters to him beginning with those of 1889 as Morris's close and necessary adviser on many technical matters concerning the book arts; that is, on the Kelmscott Press, soon to follow. For the Press itself, the most important discussions in 1889 are in letters to F. S. Ellis, who, like Walker, would play a key role in several ventures. It is in a letter to Ellis, dated January 21, that Morris says he is "beginning to learn something about the art of type-setting" and praises the fifteenth- and sixteenth-century printers for the "spacing out" of words and the consequent beauty of their pages. It is to Ellis he writes on November 21, "I really am thinking of turning printer myself in a small way; the first step to that would be getting a new fount cut" (and adds Walker and he "both think Jenson the best model," a conclusion that was to be acted on, since Jenson's Pliny was to be the model for Morris's font, the Golden Type, finished in January 1891). Edward Burne-Jones, in the letters, is, as usual, another felt presence; as Morris turns from the Socialist League, there will be more discussions again with Burne-Jones about joint ventures in making illustrated books, but there are no letters in 1889 to support this. We know, or rather Syd[ xxx ]

INTRODUCTION ney Carlyle Cockerell has told us, that Burne-Jones destroyed Morris's letters to him, among others, but we can also surmise that Morris's regular attendance at Sunday breakfasts at the Grange decreased the number of occasions on which letters might have been written. As for Webb, perhaps the only one along with Burne-Jones who was more than a companion-in-arms, he was Morris's most sympathetic correspondent in matters concerning architecture: those concerning S.P.A.B. defense of old buildings; and those concerning, simply, Morris's impressions of a building encountered and admired when he traveled. Webb inevitably puts us in mind, despite the fact of friendship in the foreground, of the S.P.A.B. itself. The S.P.A.B., let it be said, is the single truly continuous thread in the letters, entering in 1877 and remaining an unflagging commitment until energy itself flagged with failing health. Thus it is no surprise to observe in the letters that S.P.A.B. business is the public activity that will dominate all others, when the references to socialist lecturing begin to drop, as they do soon after 1889. Neither socialism nor the demands of Morris and Co.—and certainly not domestic troubles—ever interfered with Morris's attending meetings, writing letters to newspapers denouncing proposed restorations, or keeping up a correspondence with the key figures in any battle against the restorers. Perhaps most interesting, there is no evidence that Morris and his fellow S.P.A.B. members ever quarreled—i.e., there is no parallel in S.P.A.B. matters to his conflicts in the several socialist bodies to which he successively belonged, or with the earlier breakup of the Firm. That it is when opposing the restorers that he is in his letters most eloquent, least conflicted in what he wants to say, most magnificently ironic or scornful, only underscores his thorough, unreserved commitment to S.P.A.B. business. Finally, not only is the Kelmscott Press anticipated in 1889 in the N o vember 21 letter to Ellis; but the activity that in a subtle way progressively challenges all others for preeminence in the last years of Morris's life— building a library of manuscripts and early printed books—is introduced with a letter to C. F. Murray dated May 23, about an unnamed book (purchased from Ellis) and another, a Bidpay. Building a library is an activity that in itself will be transformed, as acquiring manuscripts first challenges then replaces buying printed books, with implications that will help characterize the final years for Morris. All these interests continue into 1890. However, in that year there is a sharpening and articulation of issues and activities, and the last decade of Morris's life begins to take on definition and substance. The 1889 letter to Jane "I must have a story to write . . ." is echoed early, in 1890, by the letter to Glasse, February 17, 1890, in which Morris expresses frank pleasure in authorship, as he thanks Glasse for kind words about News from [ xxxi ]

INTRODUCTION Nowhere and The Roots of the Mountains. Book buying begins in earnest, as signaled by the letter to Quaritch, February 18, 1890. Indeed, as has been observed by Paul Needham, 1890 is the year in which Morris becomes a more active book buyer than he had ever been before, and October of the year in particular witnesses unusually energetic purchasing. That October was also the month in which Morris finally decided he could no longer abide the bickering and polarization within the League is probably also true, for by November 17 he had formally withdrawn. One wants to walk a careful line between, on the one hand, asserting simple cause and effect between Morris's despair with the Socialist League and his increase in book buying, and, on the other, denying any connection. It is true that he bought early printed books to study as models as he prepared type and ornaments for the Kelmscott Press, and that he loved for their own sake the books of the fifteenth and early sixteenth centuries. And perhaps the success of Morris and Co. made large-scale expenditure possible. But surely we should notice that the public activity which meant most to Morris in the 1880s—socialism—is being displaced as a center of attention by the building of a library, an activity that is, arguably, both intensely private and ultimately public, but which relates to Morris's socialism only through the aesthetic link: i.e., beautifully printed and ornamented early books serve as an iconography for the beauty Morris wanted socialism to nourish in an egalitarian society. What is important is that although in 1890 book buying vies with other interests, it gradually moves to the very center, competing with both the Kelmscott Press and the S.P.A.B., and outlasting even the latter in the sense that the illness making it impossible finally for him to attend S.P.A.B. meetings does not prevent him from desiring and acquiring books. Reference to book buying leads to the observation that a disjointedness in letters to Bernard Quaritch and J. & J. Leighton begins, in 1890, to punctuate Morris's correspondence. With Quaritch, Morris will be involved in publishing ventures and with Leighton, the binding of Kelmscott Press volumes. But often a single letter to either will discuss in one paragraph one of these relationships and, in the next, antiquarian books for sale. This is evident in the letter to Quaritch, dated July 13, 1890, in which Morris, who had recently signed an agreement for Quaritch to publish the Saga Library—translations from the Icelandic by Morris and Magnusson—discusses first the size and kind of type to be used for the Saga Library, and then the thirteenth-century Huntingfield Psalter. Although to be looked at by Burne-Jones (with no indication it will be on Morris's behalf), this Psalter was eventually—five years later—to become the most important manuscript book in Morris's collection. Additionally, 1890 is the year in which substantive preparations for the [ xxxii ]

INTRODUCTION

Kelmscott Press are made, and these preparations become apparent in the letter to Ellis, August 29, 1890, in which Morris, having considered two works for first publication—The Golden Legend and The Recuyell of the Historyes of Troye—opts for the first but indicates he will print the smaller Glittering Plain before either. He speaks also in this letter of his first type, the Golden. Among people connected with the Press, the important new one in 1890 is Joseph Batchelor, who was to supply the paper; he enters the narrative of these letters with Morris's note to him dated October 23, 1890. Among friends, Kate Faulkner reappears with a new emphasis, possibly because she was at work on the decoration of a reredos that was a major part of a decorating scheme for the Whitelands College Chapel undertaken by Morris and Co. Eirikr Magnusson, intermittently present since the 1860s, is also a newly strengthened presence, as the publication of the Saga Library gets under way; the letter to him of November 27, 1890, anticipates many to come, in which tension over the right way to translate an Icelandic word creates a curious blend of politeness, respect, and exasperation. As for socialism, the most important letter of 1890 is the one to Glasier, on December 5, explaining why he, Morris, has left the Socialist League: the break, a long time coming, finally took place on November 27. Morris is considerate and decent to a fault, assuring Glasier that no other branch is obliged to follow the example of the Hammersmith one. The letter—by its very openness—seems to shift the socialist enterprise from polemical action to what Morris wanted all along, a loose federation of groups all devoted to explaining socialism, the day for any united action implicitly set in the far future. The letter, too, though its own tone is consistent with all earlier ones to Glasier, inevitably must have put a strain on the latter, since it obliges him to match Morris's tolerance for loose affiliation without diminishing his own continued commitment to the League. The letter to Glasier was written in December 1890, appropriately a summary month so far as Morris's letters are concerned: it is a month of letters that recapitulates the year and looks forward. Not only is the end of a chapter in Morris's socialist career announced and explained to Glasier early in December, but other correspondence during the month touches on the Saga Library, and on the Arts and Crafts Exhibition Society. The last letter in December, dated the last day of the month, can arguably be said to announce the advent of the Kelmscott Press, for it is in writing at this time to Ellis, who will be much involved in the new activity, that Morris asserts he will take premises for the Press and hire compositors. [ xxxiii ]

INTRODUCTION

The first two months of 1891 elaborate and develop two of the themes established by then: book buying and the Kelmscott Press. Indeed, the year can be said to open with the letter of January 4 telling a bookseller he will take the Lubeck Bible, followed by those to Leighton and an unnamed dealer in February. These are balanced in January and February by letters pertaining to the Kelmscott Press, particularly those to Batchelor, concerning the handmade paper Morris wanted. But also early in the year, in February, the letters begin to record indirectly the strange narrative of W. S. Blunt, Jane Morris, and the Kelmscott Press. The letter to Blunt dated February 23 begins the story and makes clear Morris's extraordinary deference to Blunt. Awaiting copy for the latter's The Love-Lyrics and Songs of Proteus (published as the third Kelmscott Press book—right after his own Poems by the Way), Morris refers almost apologetically to The Glittering Plain as one of his "own little stories." Nearly eight months later—on October 8—another letter to Blunt reveals and conceals what further developed. The letter tells us Blunt had made extensive revisions in his copy, after finally submitting it for printing. The explanation, now well known, is that he had decided to suppress "Natalia's Resurrection" because, as he records in his unpublished diaries, Margaret Talbot (wife of the Military Secretary of the British Embassy in Paris), urgently requested him to do so; convinced the poem described the relations among Blunt, herself, and her husband. Of equal interest, though Morris's letters give us no direct chance to note this, Jane Morris read the manuscript of the book for the Press, offering editorial observations. Perhaps her most memorable comment occurs in her letter to Blunt, dated January 3, 1892, when she says she likes best in his book "A Woman's Sonnets." The comment is memorable because "A Woman's Sonnets" were written by Lady Gregory, with whom Blunt was also having an affair at the time; and though Lady Gregory—who also helped correct proofs—knew he would offer them as his own in the book, apparently Jane Morris was ignorant of their authorship; that is, Blunt allowed her to believe they were written by himself. But since it is William Morris's story with which we are concerned, the aspect of all this to emphasize is his acquiescence in the role assigned him. There is no evidence in the letters to permit saying he sought the role; but no surviving evidence, either in Morris's letters or the observations of others, suggests that he resisted the imposition of his wife's lover and that man's book on his Kelmscott Press publishing plans—and so early in the history of the Press, when he was eager to commence projects dear to him. Perhaps the terms of Blunt's payment were attractive, and Morris, regarding himself as printer only, was content to have a paying client at this time. But it is also true that, as letters of the very period in which [ xxxiv ]

INTRODUCTION

Blunt's book was occupying the Press indicate, Morris was eager to get on with The Golden Legend, which was to have been the first book produced by the Press, and in the event was so delayed as to be the seventh. Paralleling the matter of Blunt and his book in the letters are the events of early August 1891. Signaling them is a letter from Morris to Blunt, dated August 1, 1891, that contains a detail odd and startling because of what we know today rather than because of what is on the surface of Morris's text. The doctors had prescribed a trip to France for Jenny, her father's company being part of the prescription. This was to be a tour of the cathedral towns (producing a series of letters interesting in themselves). To the point here is that Morris, in the letter of August 1, informs Blunt that Jane Morris will be back in London on "Tuesday" (August 4) and that he and Jenny leave for France on "Thursday" (August 6). Morris apologizes for not having done more to advance the production of LoveLyrics (though within the next two months he will be confronted with the large changes requested by Blunt). On August 7, that is, the day after Morris's departure, Blunt in his Diaries recorded that he had lunch at Kelmscott House with Jane. Most striking in the tale is Jane's unexpected (by Morris) decision to return to London at this time—she was to see a dentist—and Morris's obligingly assuming the role of message carrier to Blunt, just as he was himself about to vacate the scene. Whatever this is—passivity, indifference, a notion of good manners, fear of offending Jane, despair of competing with Blunt in the matter of attractiveness to his (Morris's) own wife, the events of August 1891 are a double reprise: of Morris's trip to Iceland in 1871, leaving Jane at Kelmscott Manor with Rossetti; and of the still-in-progress publication at the Press of Blunt's Love-Lyrics. As for the letters from France during August—letters to Jane Morris, Philip Webb, and Emery Walker—they are a mix of many moods, the mix concealed by a heavy overlay of architectural detail that jams the syntax, especially in the letter to Walker. Morris is happy that Jenny seems happy on the trip. He is enjoying buildings he had first seen as a young man and that still embody his ideas about art and history. But, as he wrote frankly to Aglaia Coronio before leaving (his letter of July 29), he would rather have stayed home and worked. During the trip he writes business letters, one to Magnusson concerning progress on Volume 2 of the Saga Library; and one to W. H. Bowden, the Kelmscott Press compositor, enclosing proofs for Poems by the Way. Perhaps we should not make too much of this, but hardly anywhere else in the letters is there such an overlay and intermingling of desires, marked as the texts are by an awkward jumble of Baedeker-like architectural detail. The desire to be at home at work on the Kelmscott Press books, particularly, The Golden Legend, [ xxxv ]

INTRODUCTION seems pressed down and made invisible on the surface as he wills himself into fulfilling his role vis-a-vis Jenny. H e does so in accordance with d o c tor's orders. But awkward, hurried, and compressed as the architectural details are, they also manage finally to register Morris's direct pleasure in what he is seeing. In the letters, the apparent themes of 1891 are, then, clearly these: the Kelmscott Press (1891 is the year in which the Press is actually launched); the building of Morris's library of early printed books; his ongoing concern for Jenny, and the presence of Blunt in his life. Less apparent, b e cause it has to be constructed from stray comments here and there, is that the letters tell of a shift in Morris's attitude toward authorship, that is, toward himself in the role of author. H e is less likely to denigrate his own efforts (which makes his description of The Glittering Plain as one of his "little stories," w h e n writing to Blunt, all the more striking). More characteristic is the letter to Jenny of September 23, 1891, in which he shares his pleasure that it is "rain[ing] books" of his: T h e cheap Glittering Plain is out; Volume 2 of the Saga Library has appeared; and the collection of his poetry he made to publish at the Kelmscott Press, Poems by the Way, is to be issued and also reprinted in a popular edition. T h o u g h the theme is an undercurrent, almost a subtext, in letters that mass the evidence for Morris's preoccupation in this year with beginning the Kelmscott Press and with book buying, there is a continuity in development from the haunting statement in the 1889 letter to Jane—"I must have a story to write n o w as long as I live"—to the letter to Glasse of the following year and, finally, to the fact that in 1891 one of his longest romances, The Well at the World's End, was begun. And as significant as is The Well, both May Morris and Mackail mention several other tales, begun about this time, as well as in later years, and never finished: stories born in the need to write that led only to a closed door. Changing, too, was Morris's role as designer-craftsman, and the c o n trast between the old and the new becomes apparent in 1891. Making patterns for chintzes and wallpapers is no longer a chief enterprise. (J. H . Dearie became the main designer for Morris and Co. in the 1890s, as Linda Parry has shown). Designing type and ornamental letters for the Kelmscott Press becomes the activity through which Morris expresses himself best and that best expresses him, as many of the letters in 1 8 9 1 — those to Ellis and Walker particularly—indicate. Mention of Ellis and Walker reminds us of what is characteristic of Morris's relationships. T h e new and stronger presence of these old friends speaks of their involvement with him in the Kelmscott Press: Ellis as editor of several volumes, beginning with The Golden Legend, and Walker as technical adviser in the making of typeface and ornamental letters. By the end of 1891, Morris [ xxxvi ]

INTRODUCTION had designed and produced two of his Kelmscott Press fonts, the Golden and the Troy, and was about to prepare the third, the Chaucer. At every step of the way Walker, especially, would be involved, appearing now in the letters as the master of photoengraving and other technical processes, indeed, as the chief reason why William Peterson observes that Morris, resister to new technology that he is thought to be, was the first to use photography extensively in printing. The Saga Library, for which the agreement had been signed on N o vember 17, 1890, is part of the story of Morris as author and also part of the story of his relationship with Eirikr Magnusson, his collaborator on Icelandic translations since 1868. A different side of Morris is apparent in the letters to Magnusson concerning the Saga Library, letters beginning with that of April 28, 1891. The economic disparity between the two men—Magnusson was always in need of money—gave Morris a restraint at moments of disagreement; a restraint no doubt caused also by respect for Magnusson's knowledge of Icelandic language and history. On Magnusson's part, there seems to have been deference—an implicit gladness to have the opportunity to work with the better known and wealthier man, combined with a persistence—perhaps stubbornness—in his approach to the effort at hand. Most to the point here is that their relationship, satisfactory but never close, allowed Morris to continue translating from the Icelandic; and it is the act of translation that adds to his image as author. Allowing him in the first place to proselytize for the literature he loved, translation enabled him to interpret and define what literature was to him; and this defining and interpreting was a background condition for his own acts of authorship. It is in discussing translation with Magnusson that Morris expresses how he feels about language. In his insistence on choosing English words rich with connotations for himself, he indicates that it is he—as the poet—who is to have the final word (Morris manages to make Magnusson sound pedantic and unpoetic). In his dilation over meanings in Icelandic and in medieval English usage, Morris reaffirms and re-embraces his lifelong poetic: his association of pleasure in language with historical evocation (to him, achievable) and exactitude as point of departure for the new. If letters of 1889 and 1890 anticipate the founding of the Kelmscott Press and those of 1891 solidly establish its presence as a chief ambition, concern, and pleasure for Morris, the letters of 1892 bring the narrative of the Press to the end of its first phase. Publication of The Golden Legend in October made the reputation of the Press, for the book was widely reviewed and praised in the bibliographical literature and literary journals, as Peterson tells us. Publication of the book also marked the high point of Morris's cordial friendship with Quaritch, as Morris's letter of October 7 [ xxxvii ]

INTRODUCTION

suggests. They shared in the pleasure of completing the project and by implication Morris was pleased that Quaritch had acted as publisher. His own pleasure lay in having been a printer, a craftsperson unconcerned with the business or "commercial" side of book production and distribution. But two other letters require mention. The first, to Gilbert Redgrave July 16, 1892, says in part: "I am (up to the present) not the publisher but the printer only of the Kelmscott Press books." It is the parenthetical "up to the present" that concerns us. The second letter is to Quaritch, dated December 1, and it signals a sharp change to come. The Chaucer, destined to be the masterpiece of the Kelmscott Press, had been regarded as another book Quaritch would publish. But his pricing practices in the sale of The Golden Legend had put an end to the good feeling on Morris's part, and in the letter of December 1 Morris not only insists he receive a good portion of payment in advance for printing the Chaucer but adds Quaritch is free to withdraw from the agreement to publish the book if he wishes. Though Morris may mean he can find another publisher, he may also have been intimating he is ready to turn publisher himself, as in fact he did in 1893; and the letter to Redgrave in the summer of 1892 may indicate how early he had begun to think about doing so. It is impossible to speculate on all the meanings of the willed change of self-image from printer, devoid of business concerns, to publisher, embracing such concerns. No facile connection with socialism will be made here, since Morris's commitment to socialism as a hope neither waxes nor wanes as he begins to think of turning publisher. A parallel with his becoming publisher, however, is his competent self-absorption in Morris and Co. where he fulfilled the double role of designer-craftsman and businessman. It is as if his first impulse in starting any new craft was to reinvent himself as an autonomous maker of things and then, confronted with the fact that what he had made was a commodity, to grow by degrees into self-acceptance as the purveyor of commodities. That he believed what he produced implicitly subverted the equation of commodity with shoddy goods may have helped the acceptance, but it does not explain the eventual comfort with which he took charge and control of the business activity he almost inadvertently generated. Before leaving Quaritch, an observation should be made that partially gives him his due, and partially hints at difficulties Morris had in cooperative efforts in which he was not himself wholly in charge—always excepting his record in the S.P.A.B. Quaritch, a key figure in the history of the Kelmscott Press, is not included in the index to Mackail's two-volume authorized biography of Morris (almost 750 pages in the first edition), which devotes copious space to the Kelmscott Press, and does mention Quaritch several times. Mackail's odd manner of marginalizing Quar[ xxxviii ]

INTRODUCTION

itch—through omission from the index—was most likely caused by Cockerell's account; but whatever Cockerell's own view (probably unfavorable to Quaritch, who in turn called him "sharp"), there is no question of Cockerell's loyalty to Morris, and we can believe the account he gave Mackail reflected Morris's dominant feelings. That Quaritch was thus seen as a foe to be taken on, while Blunt was not, becomes a most complex configuration, all surface to be sure, but inviting psychobiographical conjectures and investigations, though not to be undertaken here. That the Kelmscott Chaucer precipitated the quarrel between Morris and Quaritch in 1892 says as much about this formidable undertaking as it does about the dealings between the two men. Although regarded at the end of 1892 as soon to be published, the printing was not to be completed until a few months before Morris's death in 1896. The book was indeed a dream, an ambition, an enthusiasm, and finally a theme in the last years of Morris's life. Although the surviving letters do not record this, Cockerell tells us that by June 1891 Morris had already begun to speak of producing a Chaucer, printed in a black-letter font to be designed by himself. That font, originally planned as the Troy type, was by the time it was cast deemed too large by Morris, as his letter of December 11, 1891, indirectly suggests. From then on—that is, from January 1892 on—Morris's letters record the many obstacles, frustrations, and indeed pleasures that were to punctuate his working days in London and at Kelmscott until the Chaucer was finished in 1896. The earliest reference in 1892 is a passing one, occurring when he writes to Giacomo Boni, January 28, 1892, becoming expansive about future plans for the Kelmscott Press, and thus mentioning the proposed Chaucer. Other letters during 1892 indirectly cite it by referring to designs for it, but a large part of the story of producing the Chaucer belongs properly to the years 1893 through 1896, though it is a narrative whose conclusion, the issuing of the book, is colored by the changes that had occurred in Morris. But the middle of the story, his break with Quaritch, has an interest all its own in that it was the final impetus for him to become a publisher, to take to himself all the functions of producing this great book. The decision to become publisher speaks, oddly, of Morris's final self-realization as a printer. He was, in a sense, returning to the line of the great printer-booksellers of the beginning of printing, of his own admired Caxton, and this return also has the effect of acting as a conclusion to the first phase of the Kelmscott Press. From this time on, it will become increasingly necessary to separate, as themes in the letters, the Kelmscott Press from book buying, for whereas the Chaucer in 1892 is set on a path to a conclusion—its eventual publication at the end of Morris's activity as a printer—the book buying in 1892 begins to open up and look toward a transformation. For what is observa[ xxxix ]

INTRODUCTION

ble in 1892 is Morris's increased interest in medieval manuscripts. Paul Needham notes that the earliest indication of Morris's "growing involvement with medieval manuscripts" is in April 1891 "at the second Hailstone sale"; but as a theme established through frequency of reference in the letters, their increased purchase by Morris first becomes evident in 1892. It will continue to grow, competing with the purchase of printed books, and will become so strong in the last year of Morris's life as to require and justify extended comment, though for now it suffices simply to take notice of it. As for socialism, anticlimactic from an activist viewpoint in 1892, it begins for Morris to change from a political to a moral concern, though it should be said that it comes to rest on a strong ground as a result. Socialism in the letters of 1892 appears not as ideology (it will return briefly as such in 1893) but as a continuing source of danger of contention between himself and his friend Glasier. That Glasier was as determined as Morris not to let differences over the League divide them may be inferred from the confident tone in which Morris answers him on March 3, 1892, musing, in response to something Glasier had said to him, on the possibility— or impossibility—of a united socialist party. That Morris agreed to lecture for Glasier in Glasgow in November, and then for reasons of Jane's health canceled, has meaning only in that it points up how seldom Morris did lecture on socialism in 1892; indeed, LeMire lists only three occasions out of seven platform appearances for the year, and these three were at Kelmscott House. The contrast with fifty for socialism alone (out of sixtythree) in 1889 has to be noticed. How much ill health had to do with this radical change, how much weariness with contention, and how much absorption in the Kelmscott Press and in book buying, cannot be measured precisely. All these played a part, and the Kelmscott Press staff it should be noted was a working group that on the level of personal relations offered Morris an alternative even to the docile and loyal group who had followed him into the Hammersmith Socialist Society, the successor for him to the League in 1891. Indeed, the building of a great library, requiring attention and the orienting of himself toward still another group of people, the booksellers, had begun. As for Morris as author, the letters of 1892 continue to provide materials out of which to construct the image. One event that produced letters which do so is unique, and warrants first mention, though it occurs in the later part of the year. The event—or events—was the death of Tennyson on October 6 and the search for a new Laureate: a search that brought Morris's name to attention. In the letters, the story begins with his reply to George Bernard Shaw, October 7, declining to be interviewed on the t xl ]

INTRODUCTION subject of Tennyson's poetry and the question of a successor. This introduction gives way, however, to Morris himself being immediately seen as a possible choice. His name was mentioned and indeed championed by the Daily Chronicle and, by W. B. Yeats, among others; James Bryce went so far as to get Gladstone's consent to sound Morris on whether he would accept, were the offer made. Morris's complete reply to Bryce is apparently lost, but a fragment of it remains (quoted by the recipient and given here as a letter to Bryce dated October 27, 1892), which lets us k n o w that Morris declined to be considered. H e wrote: "I am a sincere republican, and therefore could not accept a post which would give me even the appearance of serving a court for complaisance sake." T h o u g h his emphasis on politics is credible and sufficient to explain the refusal, it is worth observing that Poems by the Way was to be his last original poetic production of any magnitude, and except for translation of poetry—which remained important—he was consistently after 1892 to define himself as a writer of prose. T h e prose was poetic in concept, and it is fair to say writing prose romances fulfilled needs that writing long narrative poems had gratified earlier. H e was, in terms of his sensibility and what it required, returning to the vein he had mined in previous years. But the shorter p o e m had n o prose equivalent for Morris, and to say he stopped writing poetry is to say particularly that he put an end to writing lyrical and intimate verse—to writing the poetry at once the most "poetic" and the most conventional. Thus even if the change had no direct bearing on his refusal to be considered for the Laureateship, Bryce's inquiry came w h e n Morris was moving away from poetic form—from poetry in verse—altogether. But poetic verse still had its meaning for Morris: it was for him the locus of the concrete word, and pleasure in the word-in-itself could be obtained by him in another activity: translation. T h e letters of 1892 augment the image of Morris-as-author-as-translator, for not only did collaboration with Magnusson on the Saga Library continue, but in 1892 he also undertook a poetic translation of Beowulf. T h e letter of most interest in the matter is one to A. J. Wyatt, w h o was to provide him with a prose version of Beowulf, which he in turn was to render back into poetry. "[AJs the language [of Beowulf] is a different language from modern English and not merely a different form of it," he wrote to Wyatt on August 28, 1892, "it can, I would hope be translated and not paraphrased merely." These words suggest that for Morris translation combined mimesis—the reproducing in some sense of the original p o e m — w i t h transformation: the act that reproduces the felt presence of the original through words that have their own particularity in their own historical time. As already noted, a

[ xli ]

INTRODUCTION feeling of being rooted in an original text—a feeling that his historical imagination is engaged—is for Morris a precondition for the creative act of transforming the text. Morris-as-translator associates with the image of Morris-as-writer-oftales; for, as the latter he "translated" medieval idiom into one he regarded as particular to his own age. Although the results were satirized by some, as by the anonymous reviewer w h o (brilliantly) parodied The Roots of the Mountains in the Saturday Review in November 1889, it is also a fact these tales were admired by several writers w h o were young in the 1890s and w h o were to become the makers of early modernism. Morris's appeal to this generation through his prose tales—and his poetry and designs, it should be added—introduces a new and important theme: his complicated relationship to early modernism. An opportunity to observe this relationship is provided by a letter he writes to Charles Shannon on April 4, 1892. Shannon was an early m o d ern in his practice of the graphic arts and in his literary sympathies; and at this time he was, with his friend and partner Charles Ricketts, editing The Dial, a journal of the visual and verbal arts. Morris had received from Shannon a copy of the 1892 issue of The Dial and, thanking him, Morris writes he has "mixed feelings" about the art portion and will remain silent about the literary, since this part touches on his own "craft." T h e dichotomy is an odd one for Morris, equally involved as he was in the visual and verbal arts: but perhaps the contents of the issue offer an explanation, if a prosaic one. Included in the "art portion" was a w o o d engraving by Ricketts and a lithograph by Shannon himself: Morris, writing to Shannon, could not of course disapprove of these. Here may be the whole explanation of "mixed" feelings; because the issue also contained engravings by Reginald Savage and Lucien Pissarro, toward neither of w h o m Morris felt any obligation to be polite. Pissarro, it is apposite to note, was in fact a Morris enthusiast, w h o would have liked to work for him; but the record, in Lucien Pissarro's own letters (to his father, Camille Pissarro), indirectly suggests Morris rebuffed him. As for the "literary portion," it included poems such as J o h n Gray's "Parsifal, imitated from the French of Paul Verlaine," and T. Sturge Moore's "To the M e m o r y of Arthur R i m b a u d . " That Morris, the pleased author the previous year of Poems by the Way, wished to remain silent, most certainly means that he had nothing complimentary to say; if he had he would have done so. Silence is indeed eloquent here. All this introduces the question of how to describe Morris's relationship to early modernism. T h e question is raised by the very fact of Shannon s sending Morris a copy of The Dial. Perhaps Shannon did so primarily to show his o w n and Ricketts's work to Morris; but even this, if true, only [ xlii ]

INTRODUCTION

points to the larger issue, that several early moderns saw Morris as a leader—wanted him to be that—and he refused the role. The imbalanced relationship between Morris and many early moderns—their enthusiasm for his designs and writing and his dislike of their work—constitutes a difficult matter, one, like several others, that will best be dealt with at the conclusion of this edition of Morris's letters. For now, however, it can be said that Morris in the letter to Shannon named himself author and chose to pit himself as a writer against the contents of The Dial. To this indeed we must return, noting when we do the esteem in which Morris was held in the 1890s by several writers we regard as makers of early modernism, notably Oscar Wilde, Bernard Shaw, W. B. Yeats, and, if sending Morris an inscribed copy of Tess of the D'Urbervilles means anything, Thomas Hardy. The largest meaning of what has been said here is that with respect to Morris as author, it is necessary to see him not only as the subject of his own intellectual and professional biography, which begins in the 1860s we can recall, but also as someone who becomes a man of the 1890s, of the decade that gave to all art, and in England literature in particular, an historically new degree of seriousness as vocation, profession, and product of genius. It was in the atmosphere thus created that young writers and artists conferred leadership upon Morris. For some, politically radical in their own beliefs, his socialism promised a future for art based on the transformation of society, and they looked in his art for the promise. For others, less committed to politics as instrument of change, he stood for the autonomy of art, for the triumph of the aesthetic sensibility, in his practice of the decorative arts; and for the equal triumph of the imagination in his writing of prose romances. But for all who were young and for whom he was a leader, he stood above all for expected sympathy toward the new; he was seen as one who would approve of what they—his would-be followers or simply admirers—were doing in the arts. In brief, since Morris was eager to bring about change, they saw him as eager to greet the new in art. In fact, he was not. But in the culturally complex way in which "influence" and even "inspiration" work, those who elected Morris leader translated the language of his work—both visual and verbal—into a component of their own: into the language of the early modernism that was to emerge in the 1890s. They conferred upon him the authority that we, in the ongoing transformation of cultural history, have conferred upon them. A final theme here is Morris's desire to see Kelmscott Press volumes illustrated. By 1891 he had already agreed with Walter Crane to produce an illustrated edition of The Glittering Plain, and from the first, the Chaucer was conceived as a joint venture with Burne-Jones, who was to produce [ xliii ]

INTRODUCTION an initially planned sixty drawings, which eventually became eightyseven. But he also encouraged two young illustrators trained at the Birmingham School of Arts, Charles March Gere and Arthur Joseph Gaskin, to participate. Both appear as recipients of letters in 1892, though both will be much more in evidence in the years that follow. Gere is also more fully present, in 1892, in that Morris's letters to him discuss the drawing of Kelmscott Manor Gere was doing as a frontispiece for News from Nowhere. Morris's relations with Gere (and with Gaskin) are defined in the detailed letters of later years, but worth noting now is Morris's insistence that Gere make an accurate drawing of Kelmscott Manor for use as a frontispiece for a work of fiction. This suggests how strongly mimesis was for Morris a part of the creative process, or perhaps suggests how much more Kelmscott Manor was the protagonist of News from Nowhere than even Ellen was. The above returns us indirectly to the role of mimesis in the image of Morris as author and raises further questions about Morris and modernism. A passion for the concrete (though linked for him with history) is consonant with the imperative for the new in painting and poetry. And the question of mimesis, which involves the search for equivalency in concreteness when representation occurs, is a modernist concern. But Morris's insistence on a degree of representation that narrows the definition of mimesis to stark reproduction, changes the genre and makes Kelmscott Manor, already transferred from architecture to literature, into an element of autobiography. The frontispiece for News from Nowhere is to be an icon of his own love rather than a rendering as imaginative as the text it accompanies. This connects with what Gere and Gaskin will be asked to do when, in later letters, Morris will discuss drawings they are making that depict fictive characters set in fictive incidents in his later prose romances. Gere and Gaskin are asked to show fidelity not so much to the words of Morris's texts as to the image in his mind of medieval book illustration, a love of his own almost equal to his love of Kelmscott Manor. These woodcuts had become autobiography for him in that they had become his chief objects of visual delight. As with Kelmscott Manor, it was impossible for him to permit interpretation: to permit Gere and Gaskin, that is, the freedom he permitted himself when it was he who was the translator of Icelandic sagas. That he finally did accept interpretation—Burne-Jones's—only makes more complex the link between autobiography and the visual in his work, for Burne-Jones, too, is "autobiography" in the account of Morris's life and career. In the remaining years of his life—1893 to 1896—the complexity will be demonstrated and to some extent simplified by his decisions; this will occur in a context of his other activities and commitments: authorship, [ xliv ]

INTRODUCTION

taking on the role of publisher, exerting himself in behalf of S.P.A.B. projects, manuscript buying, producing the Chaucer, and planning new Kelmscott Press volumes. But also in these last years, there will be a narrowing of his circle, so that family and a few friends seem to close around him, the friends more than ever engaged in activities shared with him or undertaken in his behalf. That this narrowing took place even as his reputation grew, bringing from Germany, Belgium, Scandinavia, and America acknowledgment of regard and admiration for him and his work, is also true, paradoxically or not, and is recorded in the letters of these last years. Norman Kelvin The City College and the Graduate Center, City University of New York February 1994

[ xlv ]

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on "A Calendar of Principal Events in Morris's Life," May Morris, William Morris: Artist, Writer, Socialist, II (Oxford, 1936), 632-37; and on the letters in the present edition.

BASED

1834

Born, March 24, at Elm House, Walthamstow.

1840

Family moves to Woodford Hall, Walthamstow.

1847

Father dies.

1848

Goes to school at Marlborough. Family moves to Water House, Walthamstow.

1851

Leaves school at Christmas, after school rebellion in November.

1852

Reads with Dr. F. B. Guy, Forest School, Walthamstow. Matriculates at Exeter College, Oxford, in June. Plans to prepare for the Church.

1853

Goes to Oxford in January. Meets Edward Burne-Jones, C. J. Faulkner, R. W. Dixon, Harry Macdonald, and William FuIford. In rooms at Exeter College by December. During this and following year reads Ruskin's Stones of Venice, Carlyle's Past and Present, Thorp's Northern Mythologies, and Charlotte Yonge's The Heir of Redclyffe.

1854

Visits Belgium and Northern France in the summer, seeing the paintings of Memling and Van Eyck, and Amiens, Beauvais, and Rouen Cathedrals. Meets Cormell Price. Reads Ruskin's Edinburgh Lectures and becomes aware of the Pre-Raphaelites. Morris, Burne-Jones, and their circle plan a monastic brotherhood.

1855

Reads Chaucer and Malory. Makes second tour of France, accompanied by Burne-Jones and Fulford. Morris decides not to take orders, and to follow art as a career.

1856

Edits and finances the Oxford and Cambridge Magazine. Articled to G. E. Street, the architect, in whose Oxford office he meets Philip Webb. Takes his B.A. degree. Moves to London with [ xlvii ]

MORRIS CHRONOLOGY Street's office and shares rooms with Burne-Jones. Meets Rossetti and abandons architecture for painting by end of the year. 1857

Decorative work begins at 17 Red Lion Square. Frescoes in the Oxford Union painted, under leadership of Rossetti. Meets Jane Burden. Macmillan rejects The Defence of Guenevere.

1858

The Defence of Guenevere published by Bell and Daldy at Morris's own expense. With Faulkner and Webb, visits France again.

1859

Morris and Jane Burden married on April 26. Tour of France, Belgium, and the Rhineland. Philip Webb builds Red House, at Upton, Kent, for them.

1860

Morrises move into Red House. Edward Burne-Jones and Georgiana Macdonald married on June 9.

1861

Firm of Morris, Marshall, Faulkner and Co. founded. Jane Alice ("Jenny") born January 17. Morris begins writing stories for The Earthly Paradise.

1862

Mary ("May") Morris born March 25. Firm shows work at the Great Exhibition and is awarded two gold medals.

1864

Morris ill with rheumatic fever. The Burne-Joneses decide against sharing Red House, and the plan for a "Palace of Art" there is abandoned.

1865

Red House sold to a retired naval officer and Morris family moves to 26 Queen Square, London, where the Firm also sets up shop.

1866

The Earthly Paradise takes form. Morris visits France again, with Warington Taylor and William Fulford.

1867

The Life and Death ofJason, originally intended as a tale in The Earthly Paradise, published separately in January. Firm begins decoration of dining room at South Kensington Museum.

1868

The Earthly Paradise, Volume I, published in April. Morris begins studying Icelandic with Eirikr Magnusson.

1869

"The Saga of Gunnlaug Worm-tongue" published in the Fortnightly Review (January). The Story of Grettir the Strong published in June. Morris takes his wife to Bad Ems for her health. BurneJones's breakdown, precipitated by affair with Mary Zambaco.

1870

Volumes I and III of The Earthly Paradise published. Translation (with Magnusson) of Volsunga Saga published. Completes first [ xlviii ]

MORRIS CHRONOLOGY illuminated manuscript, A Book of Verse, as gift for Georgiana Burne-Jones. Meets Aglaia Coronio and begins long friendship and correspondence. 1871

Takes Kelmscott Manor, Lechlade, Gloucestershire, in joint tenancy with Rossetti in June. Rossetti and Jane Morris and children take up residence there. In July Morris leaves on first Icelandic trip, accompanied by Faulkner, Magnusson, and W. H. Evans. Makes an illuminated Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam for Edward Burne-Jones. A second (on vellum), a gift for Georgiana Burne-Jones, begun and completed following year.

1872

Morris family leaves Queen Square (Firm continues there) for Horrington House, Turnham Green. Love Is Enough published. Rossetti suffers breakdown and attempts suicide.

1873

With Burne-Jones, visits Florence and Siena in spring. Second trip to Iceland in summer.

1874

Rossetti gives up his share of Kelmscott Manor. Morris takes family on trip to Belgium. In winter of 1874—75, begins illuminated Aeneid on vellum.

1875

Morris, Marshall, Faulkner, and Co. dissolved and reestablished as Morris and Co., with Morris as single owner. Takes M.A. degree at Oxford. Three Northern Love Stories published. Begins experiments with dyeing, staying with Thomas Wardle, at Leek, for the purpose. Morris's translation of the Aeneid published.

1876

Becomes Treasurer of Eastern Question Association and begins first period of political activity. Appointed Examiner at School of Art, South Kensington. Jenny suffers first epileptic attack and becomes semi-invalid for the rest of her life. Sigurd the Volsung published.

1877

Gives first public lecture, "The Decorative Arts." Helps found the Society for the Protection of Ancient Buildings ("AntiScrape") and becomes its first secretary.

1878

Takes family on visit to Venice, Verona, and Padua in spring. Move to Kelmscott House, Hammersmith, on return. Morris begins tapestry weaving. Russo-Turkish war ends with Treaty of San Stefano in March; after Congress of Berlin, June-July, EQA becomes inactive.

1879

Leads protest by S.P.A.B. against proposed restorations at St. Marks, Venice. Becomes treasurer of the National Liberal [ xlix ]

MORRIS

CHRONOLOGY

League. First meeting with H. M. Hyndman, founder in 1881 of the Democractic Federation. 1880

Firm decorates Throne Room at St. James's Palace.

1881

Merton Abbey works of Morris and Co. started.

1882

Hopes and Fears for Art (first collection of essays) published. Death of Rossetti on April 9.

1883

Joins Democratic Federation on January 13. Made Honorary Fellow of Exeter College on same day. Death of Karl Marx, March 14. High warp tapestry started at Merton Abbey works. Lecture, "Art and Democracy," sponsored by Russell Club and delivered in University Hall, Oxford, with Ruskin in chair, in November.

1884

Partially subsidizes Justice, organ of the Democratic Federation. Chants for Socialists and A Summary of the Principles of Socialism (with H. M. Hyndman) published. In dissension with Hyndman at end of year, and along with others resigns from Democratic Federation (renamed Social Democratic Federation in August).

1885

The Socialist League founded and Commonweal started with Morris as editor. Free speech demonstration, Dod Street, on September 20. Morris arrested when protesting sentencing of free speech demonstrators (charge dismissed in court next day). The Pilgrims of Hope published in Commonweal, 1885—86.

1886

Demonstration of unemployed in Trafalgar Square, February 8 ("Black Monday"). A Dream of John Ball appears in Commonweal, 1886—87. A Short Account of the Commune of Paris (with E. Belfort Bax and Victor Dave) published.

1887

Morris's translation of the Odyssey published in April. The Tables Turned; or Nupkins Awakened produced at hall of Socialist League on October 15. Trafalgar Square demonstration attacked by police, November 13 ("Bloody Sunday"). Pall bearer at funeral of Alfred Linnell, who was fatally injured in demonstration.

1888

Signs of Changes, second volume of lectures, published in May. Lectures on tapestry weaving at the first exhibition of the Arts and Crafts Exhibition Society. Attends the first Art Congress, held in Liverpool. The House of the Wolfings published in December. (Takes interest in its design and begins to consider the technique of printing.)

[ 1 1

MORRIS

CHRONOLOGY

1889

Delegate at International Socialist Congress, July, in Paris, at which Second International is founded. London Dock Strike (August 14-September 14). The Roots of the Mountains published in November. Opens series of lectures at second exhibition of the Arts and Crafts Exhibition Society. Attends Art Congress in Edinburgh (November).

1890

Designs type, preparing to start the Kelmscott Press. News from Nowhere appears in Commonweal. Leaves Socialist League at end of year and forms Hammersmith Socialist Society.

1891

The Kelmscott Press begins printing in January; its first book, The Story of the Glittering Plain, issued in May. Poems by the Way and first volume of Saga Library published in October. Serious illness. Takes Jenny to France. Address on Pre-Raphaelites at Municipal Art Gallery, Birmingham, in October.

1892

Death of Tennyson on October 13. Morris mentioned as possible candidate for Laureateship. Reputedly declines to be considered. Elected Master of the Art Workers' Guild for the year. Principal Kelmscott Press books: The Defence of Guenevere, The Golden Legend, The Recuyell of the Historyes of Troye. Second volume of Saga Library published.

1893

Joint Manifesto of English Socialists drawn up by Morris, G. B. Shaw, and H. M. Hyndman. Socialism: Its Growth and Outcome (with E. Belfort Bax) published. Principal Kelmscott Press books: Mores Utopia, News from Nowhere.

1894

Morris's mother dies at age 90. Principal Kelmscott Press books: The Wood beyond the World, Swinburne's Atalanta in Calydon, Keats's Poems, and Rossetti's Sonnets and Lyrical Poems. Sydney Carlyle Cockerell becomes Secretary of the Kelmscott Press.

1895

Morris goes to Rottingdean for his health. Death of Friedrich Engels in August. Kelmscott Press publishes Beowulf (Morris's translation) and The Life and Death of fason. Purchases Huntingfield Psalter and Tiptoft Missal. Speaks at Sergius Stepniak's funeral.

1896

Kelmscott Press publishes Chaucer and The Well at the World's End. Purchases Windmill Psalter (the last manuscript he was to buy). Sea voyage to Norway in attempt to restore health. Death of Morris, October 3. [ H ]

MORRIS

CHRONOLOGY

1898

Death of Burne-Jones, Bernard Quaritch, and Kate Faulkner. Sale of Morris's library at auction by Sotheby's. Final Kelmscott Press volumes are issued, and the Press is closed.

1900

Death of John Ruskin.

1906

Death of Aglaia Coronio. Final volume (6) of the Saga Library completed and published by Eirikr Magnusson. Deaths of the following:

1914

Jane Morris.

1915

Philip Webb.

1920

Georgiana Burne-Jones.

1935

Jenny Morris.

1938

May Morris.

1962

Sydney Carlyle Cockerell.

[ Hi ]

ABBREVIATIONS OF M A N U S C R I P T LOCATIONS

(Printed text locations are included in list of Abbreviations of Works Frequently Cited.) Abrams Coll.

Collection of George Abrams, New York

Allegheny

Allegheny College Library, Meadville, Pennsylvania

Avrich Coll.

Collection of Paul Avrich

Bass Coll.

Collection of Ben Bass

Bentham Coll.

Collection of D. R. Bentham

Berger Coll.

Collection of Sanford and Helen Berger

BL, Add. MSS.

British Library (British Museum), London, Additional Manuscripts

BL, Ashley MSS.

British Library (British Museum), London, Ashley Manuscripts

Bodleian

Bodleian Library, Oxford

Bottigelli Coll.

Collection of E. Bottigelli, Paris

Bowker

Frederick G. Melcher Library, R. R. Bowker Company, New York

Brandon-Jones Coll.

Collection of J. Brandon-Jones

Brown

Brown University Library, Providence, Rhode Island British Theatre Museum

BTM Bucknell

Ellen Clarke Bertrand Library, Bucknell University, Lewisburg, Pennsylvania

Bury Coll.

Collection ofJ.P.T. Bury

Case West. Res.

Department of Special Collections of Case Western Reserve University Libraries, Cleveland, Ohio

[ Hii ]

ABBREVIATIONS/MANUSCRIPT LOCATIONS Cheltenham

Cheltenham Art Gallery and Museums, C h e l tenham, Gloucestershire

Clark Library

William Andrews Clark Memorial Library, Los Angeles, California

Colby

Colby College Library, Waterville, Maine

Colorado

Colorado College Library, Colorado Springs, Colorado

Columbia

Rare B o o k and Manuscript Library, Columbia University, N e w York

Crane Coll.

Collection of Anthony Crane

CUL

Cambridge University Library, Cambridge

Dorset

Trustees of the Thomas Hardy Memorial C o l lection in the Dorset C o u n t y Museum, D o r c h ester, Dorset

Dunlap Coll.

Collection of Joseph Riggs Dunlap

Fitzwilliam

Fitzwilliam Museum, Cambridge

Fitzwilliam, Blunt Archive

Diaries and O t h e r Papers of Wilfrid Scawen Blunt, including Letters from Jane Morris. T h e Department of Manuscripts and Printed Books of the Fitzwilliam Museum, Cambridge U n i versity

Franklin Coll. (Ex)

Formerly in the Collection of Colin Franklin

Getty

T h e Getty Center for the History of Art and the Humanities, Santa Monica, California

Gimson Coll.

Collection of Alfred G. Gimson

Glasgow

T h e Glasgow School of Art, Glasgow

Harvard

H o u g h t o n Library, Harvard University, C a m bridge, Massachusetts

Howard Papers

Castle Howard Archives, Castle Howard, Yorkshire

Huntington

Huntington Library and Art Gallery, San M a r ino, California

Iceland

National Library of Iceland, Reykjavik

Iceland, Einarsson Papers

Stefan Einarsson Papers, National Library of Iceland, Reykjavik

IISH

International Institute for Social History, A m sterdam

[ Hv ]

ABBREVIATIONS/MANUSCRIPT LOCATIONS

Iowa

Iowa State Education Association, Des Moines

Jesus College

Jesus College, Cambridge

LeMire Coll.

Collection of Eugene LeMire

Leuba Coll.

Collection of Walter Leuba

LSE

British Library of Political and Economic Science, London School of Economics

Mackail notebook

William Morris Gallery, Walthamstow, London

McMinn Papers

McMinn Papers, Society of Antiquaries, London

McWilliams Coll.

Collection of David Jackson McWilliams

Newberry

Wing Collection, Newberry Library, Chicago, Illinois

New South Wales

The Mitchell Library, New South Wales, Sydney

NLS

National Library of Scotland, Edinburgh

Nottingham

City of Nottingham Public Libaries

Nuffield

Nuffield College Library, Oxford

NYU

The Fales Library, Elmer Holmes Bobst Library, New York University, New York

October

Archives of the October Revolution Higher State Bodies, Moscow, Russia

PML

J. Pierpont Morgan Library, New York

Princeton

T. Rossetti Collection of Janet Camp Troxell, Princeton University, Princeton, New Jersey

Quaritch

Bernard Quaritch, Ltd., London

B. Quaritch Archives

Bernard Quaritch, Ltd., London

Queensland

Hayes Collection, University of Queensland Library, St. Lucia, Australia

Rosenbach

The Philip H. & A.S.W Rosenbach Foundation, Philadelphia

Rylands

John Rylands University Library of Manchester

Schimmel Coll.

Collection of S. B. Schimmel

Schimmel Coll. (Ex)

Formerly in the Collection of S. B. Schimmel

Shulman Coll.

Collection of John Shulman

Soc. Ant.

Society of Antiquaries, London [ Iv ]

and

ABBREVIATIONS / MANUSCRIPT LOCATIONS

S.P.A.B. Archives St. Bride

Society for the Protection of Ancient Buildings, Archives, London St. Bride Printing Library, London

SUNY, Buffalo

Lockwood Memorial Library, State University of New York

Syracuse

George Arendts Research Library for Special Collections, Syracuse University, Syracuse, New York

Texas

Harry Ransom Humanities Research Center, University of Texas at Austin Collection of Joscelyn V. Charlewood Turner

Turner Coll. UBC UCLA

University of British Columbia, Vancouver

UMaryland

University of Maryland, Special Collections, College Park, Maryland William A. Whitaker Papers, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill

UNC USheffield V&A Walsdorf Coll. Walthamstow Warwick Wellesley

Department of Special Collections, Research Library, University of California, Los Angeles

University of Sheffield Library Victoria and Albert Museum Library, London Collection of John J. Walsdorf William Morris Gallery, Walthamstow, London Modern Records Center, Warwick Wellesley College Library, Wellesley, Massachusetts

Whitelands

Whitelands College Archives, Whitelands College, London

Winterthur

The Library, The Henry Francis Dupont Winterthur Museum, Winterthur, Delaware

YaIeB.

Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Collection, Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut Formerly in the Collection of Arnold Yates

Yates Coll. (Ex)

[ Ivi ]

ABBREVIATIONS OF WORKS FREQUENTLY CITED

ACES Catalogue,

ACES Catalogue, 1889

Arts and Crafts Exhibition Society Catalogue of the First Exhibition (London: The New Gallery, 1888) Arts and Crafts Exhibition Society Catalogue of the Second Exhibition (London: The New Gallery, 1889)

ACES Catalogue, 1890

Arts and Crafts Exhibition Society Catalogue of the Third Exhibition (London: The New Gallery, 1890)

Anscombe

Isabelle Anscombe, A Woman's Touch: Women in Design from 1860 to the Present Day (London: Virago Press, 1984)

Anscombe and Gere

Isabelle Anscombe and Charlotte Gere, Arts and Crafts in Britain and America (London: Academy Editions; New York: Rizzoli, 1978) Arts and Crafts Essays by Members of the Arts and Crafts Exhibition Society (Rivington: Percival and Co., 1893; rpt., London and Bombay: Longmans Green, 1899)

Arts and Crafts Essays

Avrich Bell, "Laureate"

W. Blunt, Cockerell

Blunt, Diaries

Paul Avrich, Anarchist Portraits (Princeton, N.J.: Princeton Univ. Press, 1988) Alan Bell, "Gladstone Looks for a Poet Laureate," Times Literary Supplement, July 21, 1972, 847 Wilfrid Blunt, Cockerell: A Life of Sir Sydney Carlyle Cockerell (New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1965) Wilfrid Scawen Blunt, My Diaries, 2 vols. (London: 1920; rpt., New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1923)

[ IvU ]

ABBREVIATIONS/WORKS

CITED

Blunt, Love-Lyrics

Wilfrid Scawen Blunt, The Love-Lyrics and Songs of Proteus (London: Kelmscott Press, 1892)

Blunt, Unpublished Diaries

Wilfrid Scawen Blunt, Unpublished Diaries, the W S. Blunt Archives, Fitzwilliam Museum, Cambridge

Boos, Diary

"William Morris Socialist Diary," ed. and annotated with introduction and biographical notes by Florence Boos, History Workshop (Spring 1982)

Boos, Juvenilia

Florence S. Boos, The Juvenilia of William Morris (New York and London: William Morris Society, 1983)

Bumpus

T. Francis Bumpus, Summer Holidays Among the Glories of Northern France (London: E.T.W Dennis and Sons, Ltd., 1905)

Buxton Forman

H . Buxton Forman, The Books of William Morris (1897; rpt., N e w York: Burt Franklin, 1969)

Clark

Fiona Clark, William Morris, Wallpapers, and Chintzes (New York: St. Martin's Press, 1973; London: Academy Editions, 1973)

Cobden-Sanderson

T. J. Cobden-Sanderson, The Journals of T J, Cobden-Sanderson, 2 vols. (1926; rpt., N e w York: Burt Franklin, 1969)

Cockerell's Diary

Sydney Carlyle Cockerell, Unpublished Diaries, BL, Add. Mss. 52772

Cockerell, "History' 1

Sydney Carlyle Cockerell, "A Short Description of the Kelmscott Press," in H . Halliday Sparling, The Kelmscott Press and William Morris Master-Craftsman (London: Macmillan, 1924; rpt., Folkstone: William Dawson and Sons, 1975)

Cockerell, "List"

Sydney Carlyle Cockerell, "An Annotated List of the Books Printed at the Kelmscott Press," in H. Halliday Sparling, The Kelmscott Press and William Morris Master-Craftsman (London: Macmillan, 1924; rpt., Folkstone: William Dawson and Sons, 1975)

Cole

Malcolm Cole, Whitelands College: The Chapel (London: Whitelands College, 1985) [ lviii ]

ABBREVIATIONS/WORKS

CITED

Cook and Wedderburn

E. T. Cook and A. Wedderburn, The Works of John Ruskin, 39 vols. (London: G. Allen, 19031912)

Crane

Walter Crane, An Artist's Reminiscences (London: Methuen and Co., 1907)

Crittall

Elizabeth Crittall and R. B. Pugh, eds., A History of Wiltshire (Oxford: Oxford Univ. Press, 1953)

CW

William Morris, Collected Works, ed. May Morris, 24 vols. (1910-1915; rpt., New York: Russell and Russell, 1966). The Introductions to these volumes have been separately reissued as May Morris, The Introductions to the Collected Works of William Morris, 2 vols. (New York: Oriole Editions, 1973)

Ellis, Valuation

Valuation of the Library of William Morris, compiled by F. S. Ellis, 1896 (Berger Coll.)

Fairbank

Alfred Fairbank, "A Note on the Manuscript Work of William Morris," in The Story ofKormak by W Morris and E. Magnusson with an introduction by Grace J. Calder (London: William Morris Society, 1970)

Fairclough and Leary

Oliver Fairclough and Emmeline Leary, Textiles by William Morris and Morris & Co., 1861-1940 (London: Thames and Hudson, 1981)

Fishman

William J. Fishman, East End Jewish Radicals, 1875-1914 (London: Duckworth, 1975)

Fitzgerald

Penelope Fitzgerald, Edward Burnejones (London: Michael Jospeh, 1975)

A&G Gaskin

Arthur and Georgie Gaskin, Exhibition Catalogue (Birmingham: Birmingham Museums and Art Gallery, 1981)

Glasier

John Bruce Glasier, William Morris and the Early Days of the Socialist Movement (London: Longmans Green, 1921)

Goff

Frederick Goff, ed. Incunabula in American Libraries: A Third Census of Fifteenth-Century Books Recorded in North American Collections (New York: The Bibiographical Society, 1964)

[ Hx ]

ABBREVIATIONS/WORKS CITED Ham. Min. Book

Ham. Soc. Rec. Harvey and Press

Harrison and Waters Henderson, Letters

Henderson, Life

JM to WSB JWMS Keates, Album Laurence

Laurence, A Bibliography LeMire

Linenthal

Longford

Hammersmith Minute Book, Socialist League & Hammersmith Socialist Society, BL, Add. MSS. 45891-45893 Hammersmith Socialist Record 1-21 (October 1891 to June 1893) Charles Harvey and Jon Press, Willam Morris: Design and Enterprise in Victorian Britain (Manchester: Manchester Univ. Press, 1991) Martin Harrison and Bill Waters, Burne-Jones (London: Barrie and Jenkins, 1973) Philip Henderson, The Letters of William Morris to His Family and Friends (London: Longmans Green, 1950) Philip Henderson, William Morris: His Life, Work, and Friends (London: Thames and Hudson, 1967) Peter Faulkner, ed.,Jane Morris to Wilfrid Scawen Blunt (Exeter: Univ. of Exeter Press, 1986) Journal of the William Morris Society (London: The Society) Album of Proofs of the Woddcuts of C. E. Keates, Newberry Library, Chicago Dan H. Laurence, ed., Bernard Shaw: Collected Letters 4 vols. (New York: Viking; London: Max Reinhardt, 1965-1988) Dan H. Laurence, Bernard Shaw: A Bibliography, 2 vols. (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1983) Eugene D. LeMire, ed., The Unpublished Lectures of William Morris (Detroit: Wayne State Univ. Press, 1969) Richard A. Linenthal, "William Morris and Bernard Quaritch," the English version of the introduction to the 1991 Japanese facsimile edition of the Sotheby Morris Sale Catalogue (1898). Elizabeth Longford, A Pilgrimage of Passion: The Life of Wilfrid Scawen Blunt (London: Weidenfeld and Nicolson, 1979; New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1980)

[ Ix ]

ABBREVIATIONS/WORKS CITED Mackail

J. W. Mackail, The Life of William Morris, 2 vols. (London: Longmans Green, 1899)

Mackail notebook

William Morris Gallery, Walthamstow (Compiled by Mackail in preparation for writing The Life of William Morris, it consists for the most part of summary statements by Mackail of information about Morris as well as lists of dates, names, and brief summaries of the contents of letters with occassional direct quote of a few of Morris's own words.) When an excerpt from Mackail's notebook is quoted, the words given are the entire extract that Mackail recorded.

Marillier

H. C. Marillier, History of the Merton Abbey Works Founded by William Morris (London: Constable and Co., 1927)

Marsh

Jan Marsh, Jane and May Morris: A Biographical Story 1839-1938 (London and New York: Pandora Press, 1986)

McMinn

Ney Iannes McMinn, "Letters of William Morris to the Press." Ph.D. diss. Northwestern Univ., 1928

McMurtrie

Douglas C. McMurtrie, The Book: The Story of Printing and Bookmaking (1943; rpt., London: Bracken Books, 1989)

Meier

Paul Meier, La Pensee Utopique de William Morris, 2 vols. (Paris: Editions Sociales, 1972); translated by Frank Gubb with the title William Morris: The Marxist Dreamer (Sussex: The Harvester Press, 1978)

Meynell, Friends

Viola Meynell, Friends of a Lifetime: Letters to Sydney Carlyle Cockerell (London: J. Cape, 1940)

Morison

Stanley Morison, Talbot Baines Reed: Author, Bibliographer, Typefounder (Cambridge: Cambridge Univ. Press, 1960)

H. Morris, Hayle Mill

Henry Morris, A Visit to Hayle Mill (North Hills, Pa.: Bird and BuU Press, 1970)

MM

May Morris, ed., William Morris, Artist, Writer, Socialist, 2 vols. (1936; rpt., New York: Russell and Russell, 1966) [ Ixi ]

ABBREVIATIONS / W O R K S CITED

WM, "A Note"

William Morris, "A Note by William Morris on His Aims in Founding the Kelmscott Press," in H. Halliday Sparling, The Kelmscott Press and William Morris Master-Craftsman (London: Macmillan, 1924; rpt., Folkstone: William Dawson and Sons, 1975)

Naylor

Gillian Naylor, The Arts and Crafts Movement: A Study of Its Sources, Ideals and Influence on Design Theory (London: Studio Vista, 1971)

Needham

Paul Needham, "William Morris: Book Collector," William Morris and the Art of the Book (New York: The Pierpont Morgan Library, 1976)

Nicoll

David J. Nicoll, The Greenwich Mystery: Letters from the Dead (Gt. Windmill St. W: David Nicoll, April 19, 1898)

Page Arnot

Robin Page Arnot, William Morris: The Man and the Myth (New York: Monthly Review Press, 1964)

Parry

Linda Parry, William Morris Textiles (London: Weidenfeld and Nicolson; New York: Viking Press, 1983)

Parry, A&C Textiles

Linda Parry, Textiles of the Arts and Crafts Movement (London: Thames and Hudson, 1988)

Patterson, Angela Burdett-Coutts

Clara Burdett Patterson, Angela Burdett-Coutts and the Victorians (London: John Murray, 1953)

Pease, History

Perry Catalogue

Peterson, Bibliog.

E. R. Pease, History of the Fabian Society (London: The Fabian Society, and George Allen and Unwin, 1925) A Chronological List of the Books Printed at the Kelmscott Press, With Illustrative Material from a Collection made by William Morris and Henry C. Marillier Now in the Library of Marsden J. Perry of Providence Rhode Island (Boston: Merrymount Press, 1928) William S. Peterson, A Bibliography of the Kelmscott Press (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1984)

[ Ixu ]

ABBREVIATIONS / W O R K S CITED Peterson, The Golden Legend

William S. Peterson, The Kelmscott Press Golden Legend: A Documentary History of Its Production (College Park, Md.: Univ. of Maryland at C o l lege Park Libraries, 1990)

Peterson, History

William S. Peterson, The Kelmscott Press: A History of William Morris's Typographical Adventure (Berkeley: Univ. of California Press, 1991)

Peterson, Ideal Book

William S. Peterson, ed., The Ideal Book: Essays and Lectures on the Arts of the Book by William Morris (Berkeley: Univ. of California Press, 1982)

Pevsner, Kent

Nikolaus Pevsner, Buildings of England: North East and East Kent (Middlesex: J o h n Murray, 1969)

Pevsner, Northeast Norfolk & Norwich

Nikolaus Pevsner, Buildings of Britain: Northeast Norfolk and Norwich (London: Penguin Books, 1962)

Pevsner and Harris, Lincolnshire

Nikolaus Pevsner and John Harris, Buildings of England: Lincolnshire (Middlesex: Penguin Books, 1964)

Pevsner and Nairn, Sussex

Nikolaus Pevsner and Ian Nairn, Buildings of Britain: Sussex (Middlesex: Penguin Books, 1965)

Pevsner and Newman, West Kent

Nikolaus Pevsner and J o h n N e w m a n , Buildings of England: West Kent and the Weald (London: Penguin Books, 1969)

Pevsner and Verey, Gloucestershire

Nikolaus Pevsner and David Verey, Buildings of England: Gloucestershire I: The Cotswalds (London: Penguin Books, 1970)

Pevsner and Wedgwood, Warwickshire

Nikolaus Pevsner and Alexandra Wedgwood, Buildings of England: Warwickshire (London: Penguin Books, 1966)

P M L Catalogue (PB)

Catalogue of Manuscripts and Early Printed Books from the Libraries of William Morris, Richard Bennett, Bertram Fourth Earl of Ashhurnham, and Other Sources Now Forming Portion of the Library of J. Pierpont Morgan, Vol. I (Printed Books), c o m [ lxiii ]

ABBREVIATIONS/WORKS

CITED

piled by Alfred W. Pollard (London: Chiswick Press, 1907) Printing as Art

Mary C h e n o w e t h Stratton, ed., Printing as Art: William Morris & His Circle of Influence (Lewisburg, Pa.: T h e Press of Appletree Alley, 1994)

Quaritch, Best Books

Bernard Quaritch, The Best Books in the Library of the Late William Morris (London: March 1897) Quaritch Sales Commission Book (October 1890-February 1895), Bernard Quaritch, Ltd., London

Quaritch, Sales Comm. Book R o b i n s o n and Wildman

Duncan R o b i n s o n and Stephen Wildman, Morris and Company Cambridge (Cambridge: Cambridge Univ. Press, 1980)

Sewter

A. Charles Sewter, The Stained Glass of William Morris and His Circle, 2 vols. (New Haven, Conn.: Yale Univ. Press, 1974-1975)

Shaw, Diaries

Bernard Shaw: The Diaries, ed. and annotated by Stanley Weintraub, 2 vols. (University Park, Pa., and London: Pennsylvania State Univ. Press, 1986)

Sherwood and Pevsner, Oxfordshire

Jennifer Sherwood and Nikolaus Pevsner, Buildings of England: Oxfordshire (Harmondsworth: Penguin Books, 1974)

Sotheby Catalogue (1898)

T h e Sotheby Catalogue of the Sale of the Library Catalogue of William Morris (December 5-10, 1898)

Sparling

H . Halliday Sparling, The Kelmscott Press and William Morris Master-Craftsman (London: Macmillan, 1924; rpt., Folkstone: William Dawson and Sons, 1975)

Stansky

Peter Stansky, Redesigning the World (Princeton, N J . : Princeton Univ. Press, 1985)

Steinberg

Saul H . Steinberg, FiVe Hundred Years of Printing (Middlesex, England: Penguin Books, rev. 2d ed. 1961)

Tea, G. Boni

Eva Tea, Giacomo Boni: nella vita del suo tempo (Milan: Ceschina, 1932)

Tea, PW to GB

Eva Tea, ed., "Corrispondenza fra Philip Webb e Giacomo B o n i , " Annales Institutorum, XIII [ lxiv ]

ABBREVIATIONS/WORKS

CITED

(1940-1941), 127-148 and XIV (1941-1942), 135-209. E. P. T h o m p s o n

L. T h o m p s o n

E. P. Thompson, William Morris: Romantic to Revolutionary (1st ed., London: Lawrence and Wishart, 1955; 2d ed., London: Merlin Press, 1977, and N e w York: Pantheon, 1977). References are to the readily available second edition unless otherwise indicated. L. Thompson, The Enthusiasts: A Biography of John and Katherine Bruce Glasier (London: GoIlanz, 1971)

P. T h o m p s o n

Paul Thompson, The Work of William Morris (1st ed., London: Heineman, 1967; 2d ed., London: Quartet Books, 1977; 3d ed., Oxford: Oxford Univ. Press, 1991). References are to the first edition.

Tidcombe

Marianne Tidcombe, The Doves Bindery (London: T h e British Library; N e w Castle, Del.: Oak Knoll Books, 1991)

Tsuzuki, Eleanor Marx

Chushichi Tsuzuki, The Life of Eleanor Marx 1855-1898: A Socialist Tragedy (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1967)

Tsuzuki, Hyndman

Chushichi Tsuzuki, H. M. Hyndman and British Socialism (Oxford: Oxford Univ. Press, 1961)

Vallance

Aymer Vallance, William Morris: His Art, His Writings and His Public Life (London: George Bell and Sons, 1897)

Yeats

The Collected Letters of W B. Yeats, Vol. I, 1 8 6 5 1895, ed. J o h n Kelly and Eric Domville ( O x ford: Clarendon Press, 1986)

[ Ixv ]

T H E C O L L E C T E D L E T T E R S OF

WILLIAM MORRIS VOLUME III

William Morris, 1889.

1889 I L E T T E R 1566 1564 · T o J O H N CARRUTHERS

Merton Abbey,

Surrey January 4, 1889 My dear Carruthers 1 Excuse m e , but you omitted the ceremony of signing the cheque; a thing I have often done myself: I reinclose it, so please sign it & send it back to us; if you don't think better of it. Yours very truly William Morris MS: Getty. 1 See Volume II, letter no. 1007, n. 1.

1565 · T o P E T E R ALEXEIVICH K R O P O T K I N

Kelmscott House,

Upper Mall, Hammersmith January 5 [1889] It is Wednesday week that you 1 lecture for us. 2 You remember that we expect you to sleep here. 3 Looking forward to o u r meeting I am fraternally William Morris Please let us k n o w your subject for bills. MS: October. 1 Peter Kropotkin (see Volume II, letter no. 1227, n. 8). 2 Kropotkin was to lecture on "Socialism and its Modern Tendencies" on January 16, 1889 at Hammersmith for the Socialist League (see letter no. 1568 and notes). For the title of Kropotkin's talk, see letter from Kropotkin to Morris, January 10, 1889 (BL, Add. MSS. 45345). 3 See letter no. 1568, n. 2.

1566 · T o JENNY M O R R I S

Kelmscott House,

Upper Mall, Hammersmith January 101, 1889 Dearest own Jenny 2 I came back yesterday from Hadham; auntie was pretty well, & the Grannie in very good spirits but very deaf. She went a walk with m e to the C h u r c h 3 in the morning: they are 'restoring' the nave; a wanton piece [ 3 ]

LETTERS

OF W I L L I A M

MORRIS

Fragments of medieval wall-painting at St. Andrew's Church, Much Hadham.

of stupidity, as there was really nothing to do to it. However there was no excuse for touching the roof, which is quite sound; so they left that alone: in short the only harm is the new plaister, & the new modern glass, 4 but that is considerable. They have found one or bits of painting which they have left: one a good patch of that imitation of patterned stuff such as we k n o w at Fairford & Burford, but not so elaborate; a rough bold good pattern. 5 I went to see the Berry's with them; and thought the house very nice: it is really a 16th century building much (alt) faced up: but the rooms with that pleasantness of an old house: some of them with that regular old panelling in them where the mouldings are not 'mitred', but the horizontal ones die off before they meet the vertical. I was there two nights & played backgammon both with auntie & Grannie: the latter beat me one night (to her great delight) but they, especially Auntie, played with the utmost recklessness. This is a bad business of the burning of Clouds, 6 isn't it? W h e n I saw it the (Year before last I think) it looked so solid that could not think of its being destroyed. I was at the Grange this morning and aunt Georgie [ 4 ]

Fragments of medieval wall-painting at St. Andrew's Church, Much Hadham.

Two views of Clouds before the fire: the exterior f r o m the N o r t h - W e s t .

1889 / L E T T E R 1566

read me a letter to Margaret from one of the daughters which gave a really good account of the scene. It was touch and go for some of them. I saw Webb yesterday & he made light of it as he would be likely to do. It seems it will be rebuilt, which is a good thing; but there is a certain feeling of weariness in the proceeding, isn't there dear? Webb says that some of the walls may be all right, especially as they are mostly built of sandstone, not limestone: the lower rooms, or some of them, were not burnt. The walls were 3 ft thick: One of Uncle Neds cartoons that he did for the church in Rome 7 was there & was burnt; but that is the only important unreplaceable thing I have heard of. Our long carpet was I imagine saved.8 The weather changed on Tuesday & yesterday (which) was a bright beautiful day: but today is cold rainy sleety, but not frosty. I think I should care mighty little about it (in January) if I were at Kelmscott, but bad weather, especially fog, does make London wretched: indeed I feel very like not going out in it this evening but I think I must, as it is a Ways & Means evening at the League. Well, darling Jenny good bye with this not very brilliant letter. By the way you will be glad to hear that Faulkner shows signs of mending.9 Goodbye my dearest child. Your loving father William Morris MS: BL, Add. MSS. 45340. Published: Mackail, II, 215-17. Extract published: Henderson, Letters, 306-307. 1 In Henderson, Letters, p. 306, the date of this letter is printed as January 1, but this must have been a typographical error since Mackail gives (II, 215) it as January 10 and that date is clearly written by Morris on the holograph. 2 Jenny was at a nursing home in Malvern, where she seems to have been since summer 1888 (see Volume II, letter no. 1512, n. 1). Describing Jenny's health at this time, Jane Morris wrote to Blunt in part (January 16, 1889): "I am cheered . . . by the news of Jenny who is still in Malvern . . . her Doctor . . . said he was more hopeful than ever about her, he expected to cure her entirely in time, she is certainly much better than she was two months ago, the attacks are getting slighter and she does not quite lose consciousness—so you see I have cause to be happier than formerly" (JM to W^SB, p. 25). 3 The Parish Church of Much Hadham, built between ca. 1225 and 1450 and dedicated to St. George, is one of the largest village churches in Hertfordshire. In 1845 the church replaced almost all that remained of its medieval stained glass. The restoration to which Morris refers was begun in 1888, and involved the scraping and replastering of the walls and the uncovering ofsome fragments of medieval painted decoration (see illustrations, pp. 4, 5). I am grateful to Peter Cormack for this information. 4 By "new modern glass" Morris probably refers to the four Victorian stained-glass windows that had been installed in the church (see note 3 above) between 1860 and 1875, and were at the time of this letter already in place. 3 See note 3 above. 6 Built by Philip Webb for Percy and Madeline Wyndham (see Volume I, letter no. 477,

[ 7 ]

LETTERS

OF WILLIAM

MORRIS

T w o views of Clouds before the fire: T h e D i n i n g R o o m .

n. 5) at East Knoyle, Wiltshire. H e n d e r s o n describes ( L i f e , p. 207) Clouds as Webb's masterpiece. T h e designing and building of it t o o k place b e t w e e n 1877 and 1886. In "Philip W e b b " (Victorian Architecture, Peter Ferriday, ed., [London: J o n a t h a n Cape, 1963]), J. B r a n don-Jones writes (p. 258) that "[i]n the Great Hall the elements of construction f o r m e d the

[ 8 1

1889 I L E T T E R 1567 basis of the design. Unstained roof-timbers and gallery panelling were supported on Purbeck Marble shafts and combined with elegant white painted joinery and door-casings. Colour was introduced in limited quantities by the use of Morris tapestry and carpets." The fire occured on January 6, 1889, and was started by a servant leaving a lighted candle in a cupboard. (For an account of the fire, see the Times January 8, 1889, p. 6.) The restoration of Clouds took two years. For a description and photographs of the exterior and the library as they are now, see Mark Girouard, The Victorian Country House, rev. ed. (New Haven: Yale Univ. Press, 1979), pp. 80-82. For a full-scale discussion of Clouds, starting with the planning begun by the Wyndhams in 1876 and carrying the history of the house forward to 1992, see Caroline Dakers, Clouds: The Biography of a Country House (New Haven: Yale Univ. Press, 1993). 7 Morris refers to one of Burne-Jones's drawings for the mosaics he had been asked to design for the apse and choir of St. Paul's, the American Episcopal church in Rome, which G. E. Street (see Volume I, letter no. 13, n. 3) had been commissioned to build. Fitzgerald notes (pp. 185-86) that "even after Street's death in 1881 [Burne-Jones] struggled on with the commission. . . . Although the designs [were] finished by 1884, the scheme was still not complete at Burne-Jones's [own] death." The ACES Catalogue, 1888 lists (items 174-79) several Burne-Jones cartoons for the mosaics. It is not clear why one of them would have been at Clouds in 1889. 8 Henderson describes {Life, p. 207) it as the "Great Clouds carpet" done in "predominantly cloudy blue and white." It is now in the Regent House, Cambridge. See illustration, Volume II, p. 697. 9 See Volume II, letter no. 1551, n. 2.

1567 · T o SYDNEY HALDANE OLIVIER

Kelmscott House,

Upper Mall, Hammersmith January 10 [1889] Dear Olivier 1 Thanks; I shall be very glad lecture (at) to the Fabians o n March 1st. 2 Would ' H o w shall we live then?' do for the title. It would be pretty much my Society of the Future with differences suited to the probable audience. Yours truly William Morris MS: Nuffield. 1 See Volume II, letter no. 1303, n. 1. 2 On March 1, 1889, Morris delivered a lecture at a meeting sponsored by the Fabian Society, in Bloomsbury Hall, London. As indicated in this letter his subject was "How Shall We Live Then?" William Clarke (1852-1901), a Fabian and a journalist on the staff of the Spectator, was chairman of the meeting. See LeMire, p. 278.

[ 9 ]

L E T T E R S OF WILLIAM 1568 · T o P E T E R ALEXEIVICH K R O P O T K I N

MORRIS Kelmscott House,

Upper Mall, Hammersmith January 14 [1889] M y dear Krapotkine I hope never the less you will be able to stop with us o n Wednesday. Everything will be ready for you in case you can. 1 Also, though the lecture is for 8, will you n o t come a little earlier? We shall be having some kind of an evening meal at 7 and shall be only too glad to see you there. 2 Yours faithfully William Morris MS: October. 1 Kropotkin had presumably written to Morris to say that he would be unable to lecture on Wednesday, January 16 (see letter no. 1571), because his daughter was ill. In the event, he did both lecture and visit Morris as planned (see letter no. 1576; and note 2 below). 2 On January 15, 1889, Kropotkin wrote to Morris thanking him for his invitation and agreeing to "be at [his] house at seven and stop for the night" (BL, Add. MSS. 45345).

1569 · T o JAMES M A V O R

Kelmscott House,

Upper Mall, Hammersmith January 14, 1889 M y dear Mavor 1 I dont like to say no, although I have memories of early spring in Glasgow from last year which rather terrify m e . 2 But it is an expensive journey for me, so I will ask first what the Sch. of Art. will do towards meeting my expenses. Second I should n o t care to go merely to lecture about art. 3 I suppose you dont mean that o u r comrades want me to lecture on art also? That would be t o o much of a good thing to my mind. B u t I think I can suit them with a lecture 'Society of the Future' which is n o t mere orthodox Socialism. 4 For your school of art I would try for once to eschew politics; 5 and that all the more as I see something hopeful in the line that Crane and others are on; in a small way I mean. Thank you for telling m e of my business delinquencies I will look into the matter at once of Messrs. Burnet & Campbell. 6 As to the Art Congress; 7 h m well! It was rather a hollow affair I thought: nobody but the Socialists had anything to say except those w h o echoed them. You k n o w that I have promised to preside over the applied art section at Edinburgh this year? 8 That will at least give m e the opportunity of meeting our comrades again, which I shall be very glad of, as I want Scotland to be cultivated socialistically as much as possible.

[ 10 ]

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By the way there is a thirdly, w h i c h is that I mustn't make a long stay of it: 3 days ought to d o m e . I believe I shall have to stop at Macclesfield 9 either c o m i n g or going. Yours very truly William Morris MS: Glasgow. 1 See Volume II, letter no. 1025, n. 1. 2 Mavor had asked Morris to speak in Glasgow in 1888, and though Morris's words suggest that early spring was the season indicated by Mavor, the lecture meetings were in fact held from February 10 through 12, 1889. For Morris's lecture tour of Scotland in 1888, see Volume II, letter no. 1460, n. 2. 3 Morris gave two lectures for the Glasgow School of Art, both arranged by Mavor (see letter no. 1575). The first, titled "Gothic Architecture," was delivered on February 11 at the Corporation Galleries, Glasgow, and was sponsored by the Haldane Trustees. John Veitch (1829-1894) was chairman. The second, "Arts and Crafts," was delivered the following day, February 12, at the Glasgow School of Art. Francis H. Newberry, director (see letter no. 1579, n. 1), was chairman. For a listing of the two lectures, see LeMire, p. 277. 4 On February 10, 1889, Morris did give a lecture titled "The Society of the Future" at a meeting sponsored by the Glasgow Branch, S.L., and held in the Albion Hall, Glasgow. See LeMire, p. 277. 5 See note 3 above. 6 Burnet, Son and Campbell, a Glasgow firm of architects. From 1886 to 1897 the partners were John Burnet (1814-1901), his son John James Burnet (1859-1938), and John Archibald Campbell (1859-1909). 7 See Volume II, letter no. 1556, n. 3. 8 In 1889 the Congress was held in Edinburgh, and Morris did serve as President of the Applied Arts section (see letter no. 1638, notes 3 and 4). 9 Morris stopped at Macclesfield on his return trip (see letter no. 1587 and n. 3).

1570 · T o CHARLES FAIRFAX M U R R A Y

Kelmscott House, Upper Mall, Hammersmith January 14, 1889

M y dear M u r r a y ' T h a n k you for the cheque: I apologize for wholly forgetting the £1 till your n o t e reminded m e : I o u g h t to have sent it to you. I am generally in Sunday afternoons. W h e n shall I see you Yours faithfully William Morris MS: Texas. 1 See Volume I, letter no. 78, n. 1.

[

11 ]

L E T T E R S OF WILLIAM 1571 · T o JENNY M O R R I S

MORRIS Kelmscott House,

Upper Mall, Hammersmith January 16, 1889 Darling Jenny Here is the promised letter such as it may turn out; your birthday letter my dear child, and indeed I wish you many happy returns of it, and hope I shall n o t have to write to you next year. 1 M y dear I have had a parcel sent to you, I fear a large one. Therein is a Keats in 4 vols: 2 I k n o w that this is a great weight (not upon your conscience, but upon your trunk) w h e n you come back; so if you don't like the idea of being b o t h ered by it, just send it back to m e w h e n y o u have looked at it enough, & I will put it o n the shelves of your room. Also, my dear, if you dont like it, let m e know, & I will get you another. I don't mean if you don't like Keats as I am sure you do; but if you dont like that edition: only I wanted you to have a nice parcel o n your birthday, because that's a thing I r e m e m b e r I used to like myself. Well, dear, as to news. N o t much, just at present. I voted for the C o u n t y Council man at Merton yesterday, 3 o n the grounds that he p r o m ises to defend the Wandle and the C o m m o n s about there. Here really there is n o one to vote for only Mr. Arter 4 (the beast!) to vote against Krapotkin is coming here tonight to lecture for us: 5 h e will dine with us and also sleep with us after the lecture, at first he was afraid he could not, because baby was n o t quite well. T h e good man adores baby.6 Last night we had quite a dinner party comprising the (Bill) D e M o r gans C r o m and Walker. Poor C r o m is just on the wing back again to Westward H o . 7 H e was with us on Saturday also. There is n o apparent change in h i m for the last 20 years though he works so hard. Tapestry is getting o n well; 8 we are just about beginning the angel that holds the star: his gown will be white & gold & all over patterns. I was (as you saw) at M e r t o n yesterday: the day was grey and cold, but there was a feeling of spring in the air. Well darling I must n o w say good bye. It is publishing day at the League. By the way I got your 7 / 6 with thanks dear child and will pay it in for you. 9 Good bye dearest Jenny with my very best love. Your loving father William Morris MS: BL, Add. MSS. 45340. 1 Jenny was still at Malvern (see letter no. 1566, n. 2). 2 Probably The Poetical Works and Other Writings ofJohn Keats, ed. H. Buxton Forman, and published in four volumes by Reeves and Turner, 1883. 3 The Local Government Act of 1888 turned all towns having populations of over 50,000 into County Boroughs, and established the elected London County Council to govern all of London except the old City area. Elections under the new Act were held in

[ 12 ]

1889 / L E T T E R

1571

Cormell Price, c. 1886? January 1889. Merton, one of the towns in Surrey incorporated into London, elected a representative. 4 Andrew Arter, the Conservative candidate for the borough of Hammersmith. Balloting was held on January 17, and Arter was elected as one of Hammersmith's two representatives to the London County Council (see note 3 above). He was re-elected in 1892. See The Times, January 19, 1889, p. 12; and March 7, 1892, p. 10. 5 See letter no. 1568 and notes. 6 The Kropotkins' only child, Alexandra, was born in England in 1886. 7 Cormell Price was headmaster of the United Services College, Westward Ho! Devon, the setting for Rudyard Kipling's Stalkey & Co. He inspired the figure of Bates in these tales. See also Volume I, letter no. 4, n. 1 8 The Adoration of the Magi, for Exeter College. See Volume II, letter no. 1271, n. 2.

[ 13 ]

L E T T E R S OF WILLIAM

MORRIS

9

Commonweal, January 19, 1889, lists (p. 23) a J. Morris—presumably Jenny Morris—as one of the guarantors of the Commonweal Printing Fund. The money to which Morris refers was, presumably, Jenny's contribution to the fund, recently established (see Commonweal, January 12, 1889, p. 15) to support continued weekly publication. The guarantors pledged themselves to contribute at least 6d. per week.

1572 · T o F O R D M A D O X B R O W N

Kelmscott House,

Upper Mall, Hammersmith January 21, 1889 My dear Brown 1 Very many thanks for your kind letter; I am pleased above all things w h e n my work gives pleasure to my old friends. 2 I feel somewhat of a criminal in n o t having been to see you since the summer. B u t I was a good deal away in the autumn, and have been very busy multifariously since then; and the plague of it is that it is the evenings and Sundays that the Party takes from me. M y best plan would be to come over some afternoon & have a talk; if that would n o t disturb your work too much; we could then find o u t the best times for seeing each other. W i t h best wishes I am Yours affectionately William Morris MS: Huntington. 1 See Volume I, letter no. 22, n. 1. 2 Presumably Morris had sent Brown a copy of The House of the Wolfings, and Brown had written to Morris thanking him and praising the book.

1573 · F R O M A L E T T E R T O FREDERICK STARTRIDGE ELLIS

[January 21, 1889]1

I am very glad that you like the n e w book. 2 I quite agree with you about the type; they have managed to knock the guts out of it somehow. 3 Also I am beginning to learn something about the art of type-setting; and I n o w see what a lot of difference there is between the work of the conceited numskulls of to-day and that of the 15th and 16th century printers merely in the arrangement of the words, I mean the spacing out: 4 it makes all the difference in the beauty of a page of print. If I ever print another book I shall enter into the conflict on this side also. However this is all

[ 14 ]

1889 / L E T T E R

1574

grief that comes of fresh knowledge and I am pretty well pleased with the b o o k as to its personal appearance. TEXT: Mackail, II, 215. Published: Henderson, Letters, 305. 1 In narrating events at the end of 1888 and beginning of 1889, Mackail, who prints this letter without a date, creates the impression that it might have been written in December of 1888. Henderson apparently read Mackail this way because that is the date he gave the letter. In fact, there is no letter to Ellis (see Volume I, letter no. 55, n. 1) dated December 1888 listed in Mackail's notebook, but there is one for January 21, 1889, and the summary accompanying it clearly refers to this letter: "about H. of Wolfings: beginning of interest in typography [see note 3 below]." 2 The House of the Wolfings (see Volume II, letter no. 1506, n. 2). 3 The type used was Basle Roman. Cast around 1850 for the Chiswick Press by William Howard's foundry, Basle Roman was the only commercially available type in 1889 based on an early design; in this case, a font that had been used by the sixteenth-century Swiss printer Johann Froben (1460-1527); see Peterson, History, p. 67. Glossing the present letter, Peterson writes (History, p. 69): "The moment The House of the Wolfings was off the press, [Morris] saw clearly that his attempt to darken the tone of the page had been subverted by the loose word-spacing which characterized nearly all Victorian typography." 4 By "spacing out" Morris refers to spaces between words in a line of printed text. On this topic, Peterson writes (Ideal Book, p. xxxi): "One of Morris's main complaints about the page of a typical Victorian book was that the text area looked feeble and gray. He believed, on the contrary, that the printed rectangle should be as black as possible and that this could be achieved by designing darker typefaces and by eliminating leads between lines and excessive space between words." For an apposite discussion of Morris's ideas about the proportion of margins, see letter no. 1831 and n. 7.

1574 · T o J O H N B R U C E GLASIER

Kelmscott House, Upper Mall, Hammersmith January 21, 1889

Dear Glasier 1 Your article seems all right, only 'tis so abhominiably geographical that I find it very difficult to read: (b) also I think we had better have more of it before we begin to print. 2 Thanks for your explanation about the testimonial 3 t h o u g h of course I did not want any explanation .

Now—I

am c o m i n g to Glasgow it seems to give t w o lectures on art, 4 and I had better give a Sunday one for you, 5 & see as much of the branch as I can during my stay: please arrange with Mavor. 6 You understand that I would n o t have gone merely for the art g a m m o n and spinach: but it was an opportunity of seeing you chaps free of expense. I have m u c h to say to you.

As to C o m m o n w e a l there is a third course w h i c h we did n o t

think of at the time, w h i c h

the H a m m e r s m i t h

Branch prefer

to a

monthly: this is to reduce the paper to a 4 page sheet but keep it o n weekly; 7 this would nearly halve the direct expenses, and if w e could rub

[ 15 ]

L E T T E R S OF WILLIAM

MORRIS

on a bit so and increase the sale a little we might without further notice go back to the 8 pages O u r branch (and most of us up here) don't look on the monthly issue with favour. (A) Looking at the matter from a wider point of view, I agree in thinking that unless we can get a wider circulation it is hardly worth while to depend on subsidies whatever their source may be. But of course I don't like the idea of dropping an enterprise that once looked hopeful; and there is no doubt that the death of the Weal would be a great discouragement to the party both at h o m e and abroad. I rather imagine that it will come to trying the 4 page sheet for a while 8 but I honestly confess for myself that I don't feel very sanguine about it. T h e truth must be faced, that the 'Communists of the League' are in a very weak position in the Socialist Party at present. We have been much damaged both by parliamentaries & anarchists, and I don't think we are strong enough to run a paper; although numbers apart, there is something to be said for us. You see John Burns has got some of his desire 9 —rather him than me in the position—ugh! Au revoir Yours fraternally William Morris MS: Walthamstow. Published: Glasier, 197—98; Extract published: Henderson, Letters, 307; E. P. Thompson, 557-58. 1 See Volume II, letter no. 1219, n. 1. 2 A note by Glasier reads (p. 197): "The article was never published. It was a long criticism of Belfort Bax's Ethics of the Family, etc." 3 Another note by Glasier reads (p. 197): "In consideration of the fact that I had been for a long time out of employment, the Glasgow branch [of the S.L.] of which I was secretary raised a 'testimonial' for me which I accepted, but handed over to the funds of the branch." 4 See letter no. 1569, n. 3. 5 See letter no. 1569, n. 4. 6 See letter no. 1575 and notes. 7 Commonweal did remain a weekly until the end of November 1890, while retaining also its eight-page format. Its continuing without change was made possible by the League's establishing a guarantee fund (see letter no. 1571, n. 9). 8 See note 7 above. 9 See letter no. 1576, n. 6.

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1889 I L E T T E R 1576 1575 · T o JAMES M A V O R

Kelmscott House,

Upper Mall, Hammersmith January 21 [1889] M y dear Mavor Let us arrange it like that then: Sunday 10th lecture under the auspices of the Glasgow Branch of the S.L. Subject T h e Society of the Future. 1 Monday lecture to the Students of the School of Art. 2 Tuesday to the pupils and their friends. 3 Wednesday I would lecture for the Edinburg Socialists say on 'Equality' 4 and get away on Thursday. As to the fee I don't know what to say: I dont like to be paid for jaw. I dont mind being paid for making or helping to make something—but jaw? T h e travelling expenses are a different thing because I couldn't well come without that. B u t I won't take a fee for saying the very disagreeable things I shall have to say if I tell the truth. Will you communicate with o u r S.L. friends both at Glasgow and E d inburg & ask them to write to me accepting the dates; so that I may k n o w that it is all right. By the way as to writing for your review, 5 that may be; but you must wait till I can do so comfortably & have something short and distinct to say. Yours very truly William Morris MS: Glasgow. 1 See letter no. 1569, n. 4. 2 See letter no. 1569, n. 3. 3 See letter no. 1569, n. 3. 4 On Wednesday, February 13, 1889, Morris gave his talk on "Equality," at a meeting sponsored by the Edinburgh Branch, S.L.L.L., at the Queen Street Hall. L. Melliel was in the chair. See LeMire, p. 277. 5 Mavor was editor of The Scottish Art Review, a monthly published from June 1888 through December 1889. Although no article by Morris appeared in the Review, there were notices of his lectures in February 1889; and "Day Dreams," a drawing by D. G. Rossetti, was reproduced with Morris's permission in the November 1889 issue (18, p. 190).

1576 · T o JENNY M O R R I S

Kelmscott House,

Upper Mall, Hammersmith January 21, 1889 Dearest own Jenny O f course you want to come h o m e and see us my dear child; but I think Mr. Tyrrel 1 is right about your staying on a bit if you can hold out, though you may think h o w much I want to see you and h o w much I

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MORRIS

think of you. You see we might get to (MaIv) Kelmscott for a bit when you leave Malvern: 2 your mother has longings for it as well as me, so that you could have a bit more country air. We have had a frost last night, and as a consequence there is a fog this morning, so it does not look pretty by any means. Yes doesn't it look beautiful to see that mist-sea on a bright morning? But I remember in Iceland seeing another beautiful and curious thing; that was after all the mist was quite cleared from the mountains and everything was as clear as glass, the sky over head cloudless blue, four or five white clouds like bundles of wool rolling about the hollows of the m o u n tains; looking soft but quite solid. That is the great charm of mountainous countries that the whole day is a drama, and the changes are so magical and sudden. Yes Jane Cobden has got on to the C o u n t y Council; 3 though I suppose there will be a fight about whether she and the other lady will be allowed to sit on it. 4 But you are mistaken about Dick Grosvenor; he was just out of it by about 50 votes. 5 That is a pity I think as he would have made a good one. J o h n Burns, as you see has come in at the head of the poll; 6 but the other Socialists did not do well: he is very popular with the working m e n partly I think on account of his personality. O n the whole the London election has been a great blow to the reactionists; though I don't suppose that the C o u n t y Councils can do much directly as they are now constituted; yet they may become Socialist in feeling, and so make a rallying-point for a kind of revolt against the Parliament. In Paris, you know, the tendency of the Municipality is decidedly Socialist, and do such things as voting substantial sums of money to men on strike and so forth. Did I tell you that there is to be a Socialist Congress in Paris this summer? 7 I suppose I shall have to go: in which I ought to try to improve my French—don't you think my dear? T h o u g h mind you if I were ever so much better at it I should not attempt to speak in French. 8 I have made an engagement to go to Glasgow about the 10th of Feb. I don't much relish the idea of Glasgow in Candlemas-tide; but I am to speak to a school of Art 9 and they will pay my expenses, which will give me an opportunity of seeing our branches & speaking for them gratis. 10 Besides, my dear, I am glad to get over it while you are away, so that it may not hinder our Kelmscott visit or other companionship with my dear. Krapotkin was very pleasant last Wednesday, 11 though he was far from well: sitting with us in the dining-room after the lecture he told us many interesting though sad things about our comrades in Siberia & the prisons, and h o w good and self-sacrificing the Nihilists 12 are out there. Also he told us this anecdote which I will tell you, dear. There was a little colony of Russians in the Far West of America right

[ 18 ]

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/ LETTER

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a m o n g the Red-skins; one day the Red-skins fell on t h e m and burnt their fields and lifted their cattle: n o w if they had been Yankees they would have shouldered their rifles and gone after the Indians and shot as many of t h e m as they could, and so have established a regular deadly feud be­ tween t h e m : But the Russians bided their time and watching an oppor­ tunity, got hold of all the (In) w o m e n of the tribe and brought them h o m e to their own block-house where they kept them fast but treated them well. T h e n the Indians came to them, and said: 'have you got our women?' 'Yes.' ' H o w are they?' Ό pretty well thank you.' 'Well give them back to us!' 'Wait a bit.' 'If you don't we will fall on and kill you.' ' N o you won't because then we will kill them first.' 'Well give them back to us.' 'Presently but you must do something first.' 'What?' 'Why you must till our land again that you burned.' 'We don't know how.' 'Never mind we will teach you'. So the Indians turned to, and as they worked between the plough-stilts & otherwise the (Germans) R u s ­ sians stood by and encouraged them; crying out 'There! goodfellow h o w well he works! H o w clever he is! and so on. T h e n , the work done, they got their w o m e n again & they had a feast together, and were very good friends: ever after. Isn't this a pretty little story? Well my darling n o w I must say good-bye with all my love to you Your loving father William Morris MS: BL, Add. MSS. 45340. Published: CW, 23, xvii. Extract published: Henderson, Letters, 307-308. 1 Jenny's doctor (see Volume II, letter no. 1533, n. 1). 2 See letter no. 1566, n. 2. 3 In the elections for the London County Council, Jane Cobden (see Volume II, letter no. 737, n. 1) was returned for the Bow and Bromley division. For the L.C.C, see letter no. 1571, n. 3. 4 The Times, January 18, 1889, wrote (p. 9) that the "question whether or not women can sit on the Council has been directly raised by the election of Miss Cobden." The Annual Register, Ί889, Part I, reported (p. 4) that "[t]wo ladies, Miss Cobden and Dowager Lady Sandhurst, were . . . returned, but their right to sit was subsequently challenged, and after an appeal confirming the ruling of the Queen's Bench, they were forced to resign their seats." 5 The Times, January 18, 1889, reported (p. 9) that in the Popular division R. C. Grosvenor (see Volume I, letter no. 640, n. 3) was beaten by W. P. Bullivant and Sir John Macdougall. 6 The Times, January 19, 1889, reported (p. 12) that John Burns (see Volume II, letter no. 981, n. 3) was elected in Battersea. 7 Morris was one of the English delegates to the International Socialist Congress held in Paris in 1889, from July 14 (the hundredth anniversay of the storming of the Bastille) to July 20. Two rival congresses had been organized. One led by the followers of Jules Guesde is described by JoIl (p. 31) as the "Marxists"; the other was organized by the Possibilist fol­ lowers of Paul Brousse. The "Marxists," generally more militant, opposed cooperation

[ 19 J

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MORRIS

Henry S. Salt, c. 1906. with non-socialists. Morris, along with Eleanor Marx-Aveling, Frank Kitz (see Volume II, letter no. 1052, n. 1), Cunninghame Graham (see Volume II, letter no. 1320, n. 1), John Burns, and Keir Hardie (see Volume II, letter no. 1477, n. 3) attended the Marxist Congress held in the rue Petrelle. H. M. Hyndman (see Volume II, letter no. 904, n. 1), largely because Morris and Eleanor Marx-Aveling were at the rue Petrelle, attended the Possibilist Congress held in the rue de Lancry, despite his Marxist convictions. There was chaos at first, as delegates drifted from one Congress to the other, and for the first two days efforts

[ 20 ]

1889 / L E T T E R 1577 were made to unify the two groups. But these failed, and the Marxist Congress emerged as the stronger, attracting delegates from the Possibilists. A number of motions passed were consequential, but the importance of the Congress was that it broke down the isolation in which socialist leaders had lived after the defeat of the Paris Commune and provided an opportunity for the exchange of information about the state of the socialist movement. One resolution established May 1 as an international worker's day, but no agreement was reached concerning what should be done on May Day. It was during this Congress that a Second International came into being, and it was the Marxists who were to call and dominate the international socialist meetings in the near future. See James JoIl, The Second International 1889-1914 (London: Routledge and Kegan Paul, 1974), pp. 30-55. 8 On July 16, 1889, Morris delivered a speech at the International Socialist WorkingMen's Congress, Salle Horel, 13, rue Au Maire, against the amalgamation of the Possibilist and International Socialist Conferences. On July 18, 1889, he delivered a report at the International Socialist Working-Men's Congress on the progess and condition of English socialism. See LeMire, p. 279. 9 Morris was to lecture at the Glasgow School of Art (see letter no. 1569, n. 3). 10 Morris spoke to the Glasgow and Edinburgh Branches of the S.L. See letters no. 1569, n. 4; and no. 1575, n. 4, respectively. 11 See letter no. 1568 and notes. 12 In his Memoirs of a Revolutionist (1899; New York: Horizon Press, 1968) Kropotkin described (pp. 296-302) the nihilists as a group of idealists, opposed only to the despotism in Russian society and in the Russian family. Nihilism is not terrorism, he insisted. Nihilism (the name given to the movement by Turgenev in Fathers and Sons [1862]) was a refusal to bend to any authority except reason, an insistence upon absolute sincerity. The Nihilist, Kropotkin said (pp. 297-98), "broke . . . with the superstitions of his fathers, and in his philosophical conceptions he was a positivist, an agnostic, a Spencerian evolitionist, or a scientific materialist; and while he never attacked the simple, sincere religious belief which is a psychological necessity of feeling, he . . . fought against the hypocrisy that leads people to assume the outward mask of a religion which they repeatedly throw aside as useless ballast." A more generally used description of Nihilism speaks of it as a movement founded in Russia in the 1850s and advocating the complete overthrow of all existing institutions, as well as annihilation of the idea of God. In this account, Nihilism, under the leadership of Mikhail Bakunin (1814-1876), became in the 187Os equated with the anarchist movement in politics.

1577 · T o H E N R Y STEPHENS SALT

Kelmscott House,

Upper Mall, Hammersmith January 21, 1889 Dear Mr. Salt1 I thank you and the Committee; 2 but I am ashamed to say that I know so little of Shelley that I am the worst man in the world to lecture on the subject; especially as I should be talking to people w h o know a great deal. It really cannot be done. Yours very truly William Morris

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MORRIS

MS: Texas. 1 Henry Stephens Salt (1851-1939). An assistant master at Eton from 1875 to 1884, he had left to join the S.D.F. along with his friend, J. L. Joynes (See Volume II, letter no. 943, n. 6) whose sister, Catherine Leigh Joynes, Salt had married in 1879. The author of biographies of Thoreau (1890), Richard Jeffries (1894), and Shelley (1888), Salt in 1889 was a member of the Shelley Society. 2 Of the Shelley Society.

1578 · T o CHARLES E. HALLE

Kelmscott House,

Upper Mall, Hammersmith January 24 [1889?]1 Dear Mr. Halle 2 I never called in question your right to claim some sort of representation in the arrangement of the expenses of the Arts & Crafts if it could be managed; 3 but believing that we should be very glad of the advice of yourself and Mr. Carr 4 in matters of which you have so much experience I believe a few words from you would often or almost always be enough, and that there would n o need to press the clause as a definite condition: perhaps some sort of assessorship could be managed. B u t of course you will understand I do n o t want to throw any difficulties in the way; much the reverse; I am only thinking of the susceptibilities of Committees in general of which I have some experience; and want everything to b e arranged o n the most friendly footing and (on) with complete mutual confidence. T h e A. & C. Society is n o w somewhat more formally constituted than last year, with a definite executive 5 and outside constituency. I have consented to be on the said C o m m i t t e e 6 in the hopes that I shall be able to give the necessary time to taking an active part in the business. This is answer to your question (ab) about m e in the latter part of your letter H o p i n g everything will go as pleasantly as possible I am Yours faithfully William Morris MS: Schimmel Coll. (Ex). Published: Stansky, 232. 1 The dating of this letter is problematic. Morris's reference to the Arts and Crafts Exhibition Society as more formally constituted than the previous year suggests the letter was written in 1889, since the first exhibit was in 1888 (see Volume II, letter no. 1440, n. 1). And Stansky gives (p. 232) the letter's year as 1889. However, Morris's saying he has consented to be on the executive creates a difficulty. He was a committee member in 1888 and again in 1890 but is not indicated as such in the ACES Catalogue, 1889. Perhaps he was thinking retrospectively and anticipating in January 1889 serving again during the year, though in the event did not. Perhaps too the asterisk that distinguished committee mem-

[ 22 ]

1889 / L E T T E R 1579 bers' names from others in the Society was erroneously omitted after Morris's in the Catalogue listing. 2 Charles E. Halle (1846-1919), painter, and director of the New Gallery when it was established in 1888. The son of the musician Sir Charles Halle (1819-1895), he had assisted Sir Coutts Lindsay in founding the Grosvenor Gallery in 1876 but had resigned its directorship in 1887 to help establish the New Gallery. (For New Gallery and Sir Coutts Lindsay, see Volume II, letter no. 1527, n. 4). 3 Stansky writes (p. 232): "The organization remained rather loose. . . . The financing seemed also to be somewhat ad hoc. At the end of the exhibition [1888], as recorded in the minutes of December 15—the day the exhibition closed—there was £75 on hand. At the next meeting the guarantor fund was discussed, and Morris proposed that guarantors be asked to assure fifteen pounds, which by a vote of six to five was considered too high, and Lethaby's proposal that the sum be five pounds won by the same margin." 4 Joseph William Comyns Carr (1849-1916). Art critic for the Pall Mall Gazette, and in 1883 founder of the English Illustrated Magazine, he also became its first editor. He had in addition been one of the directors of the Grosvenor Gallery, leaving with Charles Halle (see note 2 above) to found the New Gallery. 3 Stansky writes (p. 232), referring to this letter: "At the meeting of January 23 a committee of thirteen was established to plan for the new show. Once involved in something, Morris could not help taking a significant part. . . . Apparently [Halle and Comyns Carr] did not feel that the Society was running itself in a proper financial way, and Morris tried to assure them." 6 See note 5 above (but see also note 1 above).

1579 · T o [FRANCIS H. NEWBERRY?]

Kelmscott House, Upper Mall, Hammersmith January 24 [1889]

Dear Sir1 I will with pleasure agree to the two evenings you propose. M y titles might be for the M o n d a y address 'Arts & Crafts', and for the Tuesday one to Haldane Students ' G o t h i c Architecture': that is about as near a t e c h n i cal subject as it would be w o r t h treating I think. W i t h thanks for your kind letter I am Dear Sir Yours faithfully William Morris MS: Glasgow. 1 Probably Francis H. Newberry (1853-1946) who was at this time director of the Glasgow School of Art. He was trained as a painter at the South Kensington School of Art, but his chief interest was to be the decorative arts. In 1897, the Glasgow School moved into a new building designed by Charles Rennie Mackintosh (1868—1928), who had been Newberry's student; and under Newbery's guidance the school by the end of the century had achieved an international reputation.

[ 23 ]

L E T T E R S OF WILLIAM 1580 · T o JENNY M O R R I S

MORRIS Kelmscott House,

Upper Mall, Hammersmith January 29 [1889] Dearest own Jenny I will write you just a word or two before going to Merton, though I fear I have but little to say. D i d I tell you in my last that I had begun a n e w tale?1 I dont know whether it will come to anything, but I have written about 20 p.p. in the rough. This time I dont think I shall 'drop into p o etry' at least not systematically. 2 For one thing the condition of the people I am telling of is later, (whatever their date may be) than that of the Wolfings 3 They are people living in a place near the great mountains. I don't think it is worthwhile telling you anything more of it till you hear some of it done; as the telling the plot of a story in cold blood falls very flat. Mother is away at Hadham, but I expect her back this evening: I am glad that she has had a good time as to weather. You see M . Baker has got in; 4 and I suppose the reactionary papers are crowing; but without any cause; for it is quite clear that apart from a little Napoleonist-legitimist-Orleanist intriguing, the election is the result of discontent with the stock-jobbing sham republic n o w in power. M . Boule 5 was the candidate of solid socialism and his 16000 votes are worth considering as they are undoubtedly all revolutionist. Probably the socialists w h o voted for M . Baker were the people without due information, socialist in (ab) tendency only. Well, I dont suppose the sky will fall b e cause of this. We are pulling ourselves together somewhat in the League, 6 and I hope shall manage to pull C o m m o n w e a l through its troubles. Well my darling this really is a shabby scrap of writing; but I thought I wouldn't let another day pass without writing something to you. Now goodbye my dear child as I must be off to Merton. Your loving father William Morris MS: BL, Add. MSS. 45340. Published: Mackail, II, 218. Extract published: CW, 15, xi. 1 The Roots of the Mountains, published by Reeves and Turner (see Volume II, letter no. 1157, n. 1) in November 1889. The story concerns the descendants of the eponymous clan in The House of the Wolfings several generations later, who have been enslaved by the Huns and who eventually win freedom through the help of the House of the Face—another Gothic clan—and their allies. Buxton Forman, calling the work "the pendant in many regards of The House of the Wolfings," writes (pp. 142—44): "[It was] set in the same type, with its title page modelled on the same lines, [and] was made and devised, so far as typography is concerned, with an eye to the . . . large-paper copies. The paper, thin and tough, was manufactured especially for this work. . . ." The printing was by Charles Whittingham and Co. [see letter no. 1644, n. 2], and "[t]his volume treads upon the Kelmscott Press in the matter of style. . . . It is a connecting link . . . between the Chiswick and Kelmscott Presses." For the Whatman paper used, see letter no. 1677 and n. 1.

[ 24 ]

1889 I L E T T E R

1581

2

In the event, Morris partially kept to what he anticipated. He had "dropped into poetry" fifty-two times in The House of the Wolfings (see note 1 above); but in The Roots of the Mountains (see note 1 above), a much longer work, he was to do so only twenty-one times. For the origin of dropping into poetry, see Dickens' Our Mutual Friend. 3 See note 1 above. 4 Morris is attempting a joke here. He is referring to Georges Ernest Boulanger (18371891), a French general and conservative politician who defeated the Blanquist and R e publican candidates in the Paris elections ofJanuary, 1889. Boulanger had been instrumental in the suppression of the Paris Commune in 1871. As minister of war in 1886, he had made himself a national hero and had become the popular leader of a nationalist movement, Boulangism, which appealed to French desire for revenge against Germany and attracted elements hostile to the Third Republic. With financial support and encouragement from the monarchists, Boulanger had begun to think of himself as a would-be dictator. Many times elected a deputy but each time refused a seat, he seemed destined to win in the approaching national election in September 1889, after the victory in Paris in January of the same year, to which Morris refers. But threatened with prosecution for treason in April 1889, he fled to Belgium and in 1891 committed suicide. See James Harding, The Astonishing Adventure of General Boulanger (New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, 1971); see also Frederic H. Seager, The Boulanger Affair: Political Crossroad of France 1886-1889 (Ithaca, N.Y.: Cornell Univ. Press, 1969). 5 Boule was the Blanquist (socialist) candidate. He ran far behind Boulanger (see note 4 above) and Andre Jacques, the Republican candidate. 6 See letter no. 1574 and notes.

1581 · T o T H E E D I T O R OF T H E Daily News

Kelmscott H o u s e , U p p e r Mall, H a m m e r s m i t h January 30, 1889

Sir,1 I do not quite understand whether Mr. Shaw Lefevre's scheme implies any meddling with either the Abbey Church, or the interesting remains of the ancient buildings near it; if it does, it cannot be too severely condemned;2 but your own article (of Jan. 26th) on this subject gives a dangerous hint, which I hope will not be taken, for "beautifying, at a comparatively small expense, the cloisters which form part of the ancient chapel." 3 I must say that part of the "expense" would be the destruction of the cloisters themselves, and such an expense is not easily measured in money. As to the general question of monuments in Westminster Abbey you say with truth that it is one of the most beautiful of ancient fanes. I do not think that it is an exaggeration to say that at the beginning of the 16th century it was the most beautiful of Gothic buildings. Everything which has been either taken away from or added to it since then has done more or less to destroy this beauty, until to-day the exterior no longer exists as a work of art, and even in the matchless interior we are forced if we are to receive any impression of beauty from it, to abstract our [ 25 ]

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MORRIS

thoughts from a mass of monuments which, even apart from their incongruity with the delicate loveliness of the ancient architecture, are for the most part the most hideous specimens of false art that can be found in the whole world; mere Cockney nightmares and aberrations of the human intellect. I do not think, Sir, that I am saying too much in asserting that this is generally acknowledged. For what has been done in the past I fear that there is no remedy possible; or at least only a very partial one; since most of these abortions have been built into the very structure of the Church. It is true that if we had any common sense we might at once set to work and remove whatever of these idiocies is removable without interfering with the structure; but with a sinking heart I must admit that we lack the due amount of common sense for that simple purging, that demonstration against a national disgrace. There remains, however, the future: surely, Sir, we might close Westminster Abbey once for all to any more memorials, whatever their form might be: it appears to me a poor reward for a man's past services to privilege him to share in the degradation of a true monument of bygone ages, a record of men who, to judge by the works which they left behind them, were not unworthy, though they have chanced to be nameless to us. If some evil fate does compel us to continue the series of conventional undertakers' lies, of which the above-mentioned brutalities, in all their loathsomeness, are but too fitting an expression, surely now that we have learned that if they are necessary they are still ugly, we need not defile a beautiful building with them. Therefore, sir, I most cordially agree with your suggestion that St. Paul's should be utilised for the stowage of such fatuities:4 and that all the more as it was clearly meant to fulfil that function. Also, properly speaking, it is a modern building, the product of an architect's office, a work conceived and carried out under much the same conditions as such a building would be now, and expressing much the same aspirations and ideals as ours. Whereas between us and the mournful but beautiful ruins of Westminster Abbey, once built by the hands of the people for the hearts of the people, lies a gulf wide, deep, unbridgeable, at least at present. I am, Sir, Yours obediently, William Morris TEXT: Daily /Vow, Jan. 30, 1889, 3. Published: MM, I, 171-73; Henderson, Letters, 309-10. 1 At the time of this letter the editor of the Daily News was Sir John Richard Robinson (1828-1903; knighted in 1893), who joined the paper in 1868 and become editor in 1887, holding the position until 1896, when he resumed an earlier one of manager. For many years too he was a member of the Guild of Literature and Art, a society founded by Charles Dickens and his associates to benefit artists and writers. 2 The Times, January 25, 1889, reported (p. 10) on "The Proposed Monumental Chapel

[ 26 ]

1889 I L E T T E R 1582 at Westminster." Shaw-Lefevre (see Volume II, letter no. 758, n. 6), Commissioner of Works in 1889, had proposed for debate in the coming session of Parliament a bill to provide for the building of a chapel, since all available space in Westminster Abbey was filled. The purpose was to enable the continued interments and erections of monuments "for future generations." 3 See Daily News, January 26, 1889, p. 5. Robinson (see note 1 above), like Morris, was opposed to the building of a momumental chapel and suggested the use of the cloisters for memorials as one possible alternative. 4 Robinson had written (Daily News, January 26, 1889, p. 5) that if the cloisters at Westminster Abbey were deemed unsuitable for memorials (see note 3 above), "we have St. Paul's Cathedral, where Wellington and Nelson are already buried."

1582 · T o J O S E P H LANE

Kelmscott House, Upper Mall, Hammersmith February 4 [1889]

M y dear Lane 1 I reinclose Mowbrays 2 & Sutton's 3 letters. I should n o t have shown the other letter to Kitz, 4 but there was a passage in Mowbray's letter asking you to do so; and I t h o u g h t y o u intended m e so to do, as there was n o message to m e in y o u r (Ie) enclosures. H o w e v e r there is n o h a r m d o n e as Kitz already k n e w all about it. I think o n the w h o l e that you have d o n e the best that could be d o n e : I quite agree that the C o u n c i l could never do any g o o d by a solemn j u d g ing of the matter: and also I see clearly that the N o r w i c h Branch cannot keep Mowbray: 5 so to L o n d o n he had better c o m e ; 6 t h o u g h w h a t he will do here I don't k n o w ; I mean for his livelihood. I suppose he will find it easier to get w o r k here than there. As to any h a r m he may do, we must make the best of it. I believe h i m to be sincere; and we all k n o w the faults of his character, and so I h o p e can guard against t h e m Yours fraternally William Morris MS: BL, Add. MSS. 46345. 1 See Volume II, letter no. 982, n. 7. 2 See Volume II, letter no. 1083, n. 9. 3 See Volume II, letter no. 1514, n. 6. 4 See Volume II, letter no. 1052, n. 1. 5 In Commonweal, February 2, 1889, the Norwich secretary reported (p. 39) under "Branch Notes" that the Sunday (January 27) open-air meeting had adjourned to Gordon Hall to consider whether arrangements could be made for Mowbray to stay in Norwich. In the evening, at a general meeting, a Special Committee was appointed to consider the causes of dissension in the Branch. 6 In Commonweal, February 9, 1889, there was a report of the meeting of the Executive

t 27 ]

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OF WILLIAM

MORRIS

Council of the S.L., which read (p. 47): "At last Council meeting, in answer to invitation from Norwich Branch, it was agreed to send F. Kitz to take part in Mowbray's Farewell Demonstration in Norwich, Feb. 10."

1583 · T o SIGRJ3UR EINARSDOTTIR MAGNUSSON

Kelmscott House,

Upper Mall, Hammersmith February 4 [1889] Dear Mrs Magnusson 1 It would b e rather a long j o b to get u p the dresses I fear: but there must be books in the Cambridge Library which would give you the costume. There is a shop in Covent Garden Burnetts is the name near King Street where they sell stuffs that would do for such things very cheap; but have you time to make them? I am afraid I can be of very little use to you, as I am going away (on a lecturing tour) to Scotland on Saturday, and shall be away for a week, and meantime I have t w o lectures to prepare in addition to my other work: but in any case I should have thought it would take quite a long time to get up proper costumes, including weapons and armour and all. I am very sorry I am so useless in the matter. Yours very truly William Morris Please thank Eirikr 2 for his kind letter to me, & tell h i m I am going to write to him. Ms: Iceland. 1 See Volume I, letter no. 149, n. 1. 2 Eirikr Magnusson. See Volume I, letter no. 64, n. 1.

1584 · T o JAMES M A V O R

Kelmscott House,

Upper Mall, Hammersmith February 6 [1889] M y dear Mavor I shall go by the night train on Saturday; probably the 10 oclock one which gets into Glasgow at 9.17 A M . I f I find I am obliged to go by the earlier one which gets in at 7.5 I will go to the hotel; so that if you dont find m e o n the platform, I shall be in the hotel. I have accepted Professor (Nicol) (Nickolls,) nichols' 1 invitation to stay with h i m on Monday and Tuesday. As to the dinner invitation I suppose I must go to the Arts Club

[ 28 ]

1889 / L E T T E R

1584

Sigri3ur and Eirikr Magnusson, c. 1870.

as it is after the lecture: 2 but you must explain about the other one that I positively will not eat a dinner just before speaking; 3 it is quite ridiculous to expect it; and that especially before the one to the School of Art where I shall only have a few notes I must be quiet before it comes off. About Edinburgh I dont understand: I had a post-card from Glasse 4 two or three days ago fixing the 13 t h for my lecture. 5 W h i c h is all right surely;

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LETTERS

OF WILLIAM

MORRIS

& on the strength of that arranged to go to Macclesfield on the 14 t h . 6 So I can't alter that any how. I don't want to be uncivil to the chairman-man 7 about my Tuesdays dinner and as I see that I d o n t speak till nine, I might manage to sit at table with him. But I've a damned good m i n d to give a lecture on the subject of people asking people to dinner before speaking. Yrs very truly William Morris MS: Glasgow. 1 John Nichol (see Volume II, letter no. 1024, n. 1). 2 "Arts and Crafts." 3 "Gothic Architecture." 4 John Glasse (see Volume II, letter no. 957, n. 3). D Morris did, in fact, lecture in Edinburgh on February 13 (see letter no. 1575, n. 4). 6 See letter no. 1587, n. 3. 7 Francis Newberry (see letter no. 1579, n. 1).

1585

· T o J O H N B R U C E GLASIER

February 7,

1889

DearJ.B.G. I was going to write to you, but am glad of card, I am so driven. I shall probably come by the night train w h i c h gets in at 9 17. A . m . Sunday morning, but I may go by the earlier one: gets in at 7.5. if I do I shall go straight to the Inn for wash & breakfast, so if you don't find m e on the platform come to m e at the inn. 'tis not worth your while to be there by 7. I shall be very happy to come to you. 1 I should think I should have enough of the art people—by blazes. T h e station is the Central isn't it? It is the Euston line. WM MS: Walthamstow. 1 A note by Glasier on the ms. reads: "This was the occasion of his spending the Sunday [February 10] with me in Glasgow described in [chapter XI, p. 95, of William Morris and the Early Days of Socialism]." In his book, Glasier notes (pp. 95-96) that Morris had arranged to stay at the Central Station Hotel, where he felt free to "invite workmen comrades" to chat. Morris had also agreed to be a guest at Glasier's mother's house during that Sunday. Glasier describes (p. 95) the meeting with Morris: "I met him on his arrival . . . in the morning, and after leaving his bag at the hotel . . . we set forth together for breakfast at my mother's house. . . . Looking round the Square at the Post Office, the Merchants' House, and the far-stretching range of elaborate facades of banks and other commercial offices in St. Vincent Place, his face hardened. 'Renaissance and the devil be damned!' was his comment; and addressing me he added, 'Allow me . . . to remark, being as this is the Sabbath day, that your respected city, like most of its commercial kind, is, architecturally speaking,

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/ LETTER

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woefully bad, and I fear impenitently so. . . .' As we were crossing the river he . . . [looked] at the huge unsightly girder-bridge of the railway spanning the river and completely block­ ing from view the western course of the water-way. I thought he was about to explode . . . but he turned away from it with a weary gesture, Ί wonder,' he said . . . 'if the time will ever come—and God! surely it must come—when to do a thing like that will be reckoned as devilish as poisoning wells or burning down churches and museums of Art.'"

1586

· T o JANE STEWART BELL NICHOL

Kelmscott House,

Upper Mall, Hammersmith February 7 [1889] Dear Mrs. N i c h o l 1 It seems on the Monday I lecture at 5 p.m. and am expected to dine at the Arts Club afterwards.2 O n the Tuesday I am asked to dine with the C h a i r m a n 3 at 6.30 & I lecture I believe at 9. p m . This seems to me an awkward arrangement, as I like to be quiet for an h o u r before I speak. But to say the truth I feel a little (md) muddled about the arrangements. I shall hope to be with you sometime in the forenoon on the Monday. With many thanks I am Yours very truly William Morris NLS. 'Jane Stewart (Bell) Nichol (1832?-1894); she and John Nichol were married on April 10, 1861. 2 See letter no. 1584. 3 Francis Newberry (see letter no. 1579, n. 1).

MS:

1587

· T o JENNY MORRIS

Kelmscott House,

Upper Mall, Hammersmith February 8, 1889 M y own dearest Jenny T h a n k you for your dear letter my child. I can quite understand your wanting to be h o m e again, and I don't think you ought to be there very much longer at present; but just see h o w you are at the end of the m o n t h . 1 I go t o m o r r o w (Saturday) by night train to Glasgow, and lecture for the branch on Sunday evening. O n the Monday I lecture to certain art stu­ dents on Gothic Architecture, which I dare to say will be rather a n e w subject to them, and will a good deal surprise them. O n the Tuesday I give an address at the School of Art on Arts and Crafts. O n Wednesday I

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L E T T E R S OF WILLIAM

MORRIS

go to Edinburgh and lecture for the branch there: 2 on Thursday I go to Macclesfield and lecture (Arts & Crafts) to the School of Art there: 3 Friday I come h o m e pretty with well enough of it. My dear as to Boulanger 4 he is by no means at the head of the government; his late success was only to get elected M.R for Paris: the point of it was that there were so many people found to vote for him, which implied discontent with the present Government. Item he wants to get a revision of the Constitution in the hopes that 'something will turn up to his own advantage.' It is likely enough that he may get the dictatorship; 5 but there is a good deal between it & him. If he does some violent disturbance is pretty sure to happen. I tell you all this because many people I find are vague about what has been happening, and I rather thought from what you had said in a letter to Mother that you shared in that uncertainty. N o w my darling I must say good bye having first told you that I shall be till Wednesday morning next at c / o Professor Nichol 14 Montgomerie Crescent Kelvinside Glasgow. and in the evening (of Wednesday) c / o Revd. J. Glasse 16 Tantalton Place Edinburgh. Goodbye my dear child Your loving father William Morris MS: BL, Add. MSS. 45340. 1 Jenny was not to leave Malvern until mid-March. On March 17, Jane Morris wrote to Blunt: "We came back a few days ago bringing Jenny home, but Alas! she is not as well as we had hoped for—still she is very much better than when she left us in the autumn. . . . " (JMto WSB, p. 27). 2 See letter no. 1575, n. 4. 3 On February 14, 1889, Morris spoke "On Art Education" at the annual distribution of prizes of the Macclesfield School of Art and Science. John May (1816—1900), president of the School, was chairman. 4 See letter no. 1580, n. 4. 5 See letter no. 1580, n. 4.

[ 32 ]

1889

/ L E T T E R 1589

1588 · T o WILLIAM BELL S C O T T

Kelmscott House,

Upper Mall, Hammersmith February 8, 1889 M y dear Scott 1 I am very sorry that I shall n o t be able to call in o n you this time; my visit being a very flying one, it is quite impossible. I shall be coming to Edinburgh in the autumn, o n the somewhat fool's errand of attending the Art Congress there in an official Capacity; 2 and I shall hope to come over to you then. I am so driven by lack of time just at present that I cannot even write you a decent note but must shut up. with kindest regards to Miss Boyd 3 I am Yours affectionately William Morris MS: 1 2 3

UBC. See Volume I, letter no. 103, n. 1. See letter no. 1638, n. 3. See Volume I, letter no. 103, n. 5.

1589 · T o JENNY MORRIS

Kelmscott House,

Upper Mall, Hammersmith February 16, 1889 Dearest own Jenny I am back h o m e again, and very glad to be at h o m e I can tell you after having been shuttled about so. I would have written to you from Scotland, dear, only my time was really too much cut up into snippets. I came back about 5 yesterday afternoon. It was cold on Saturday night w h e n I travelled to Glasgow, but I managed to keep myself warm Day dawned with a beautiful many coloured sunrise a little before Glasgow over a dull and dreary country; but what between the haze and the smoke the beauty was gone w h e n I got in at nearly 8 o'clock, and as Glasier and I went through the streets it looked like a city frozen to death; for there was scarce anybody abroad, and all was grey. T h e river too was nearly covered over with ice. It kept on dullish all day, but did n o t snow; and though there was a halo round the m o o n that night, the next day, Monday, was very fine and sunny yet cold still. I spent most of the day with Glazier w h o lives with his mother & sisters in very close quarters: his mother 1 is a Gael and can talk her native tongue. 2 She and the sisters 3 were good sympathetic looking women. I had a long talk with members of the Branch in the afternoon, and in the

[ 33 ]

L E T T E R S OF WILLIAM

MORRIS

evening had a good audience for my lecture. N e x t day I went to Professor Nichol 4 to guest: he is 'a literary man' not with a wooden leg; 3 but there is something crippled about his mind all the same; a very clever and able man, but soured & disappointed; mainly I think because his capacity is (fir) second—and his ambition first-rate. H e is a crony of Watts' & Swinburne 6 and (h) is talkative & amusing, and was very cordial with me. That day I lectured on Gothic Architecture to an institute of students. 7 I am afraid that they did not know much about the subject, so that my matter was rather over their heads. Lecture over I underwent a bore—to wit dining at a solemn dinner at the Arts Club: Lord provost i.e. Mayor 8 (in the) present also professors & big-wigs. T h e business of the evening to make speeches; toasts and thanks for them. I had to return thanks for Music and Literature curious conjuncture! which I turned the flank of by alluding to the Scotch Ballads and their old tunes. Tuesday I had to address the art-school after a sort of private-public dinner; 9 the place was full although J. Chamberlain was (on) speaking to a big meeting elsewhere, 1 0 and the folk seemed pleased. Wednesday I set out about Midday for Edinburgh and got there at 2. We had a good audience in the evening. 1 1 one of the best I have had there. Thursday off I go again for Macclesfield. 12 A very fine day indeed; and I must tell you that we had none of all that snow you have been telling me about. I could not help noticing that even by then we had got to Carlisle h o w much daintier & prettier all the detail of the country was than in Scotland. Indeed ugly Scotland is much uglier than ugly England. Well my dear I got to Macclesfield in due time. It is a very shabby town, but the country about is really beautiful. T h e man at whose house I guested, a kind old gentleman very fond of trees, lives on a ridge between two valleys with quite high & steep hills one of which rejoices in the name of Peg's Nose. I did my speaking duly in the evening. 1 3 & so away the next noon & glad to get away. Mr. Nicholson 1 4 my Macclesfield correspondent gave me 32 handkerchiefs of the manufacture of the town for my women-kind: so yours, my darling, awaits you here; and glad I shall be to give it to you in person. Thank you dearest child for your letter which I was so glad to get. Best love dear from Your loving father William Morris MS: BL, Add. MSS. 45340. Extract published: Mackail, II, 219. 1 Isabella McNicoll Glasier (b. 1836?), daughter of Alexander McNicoU, fisherman, crofter, and Gaelic poet. She caused a scandal in Irvine, Ayr, and Arran when she eloped with John Bruce (1806-1870), a farmer and cattle dealer, in 1857. He was thirty years her senior, married to Elizabeth Lindsay, and father of their three children. Isabella McNicoll and John Bruce lived together until his death, their seven children registered under the

[ 34 ]

1889 I L E T T E R

1589

Jenny Morris, c. 1890, portrait by an unknown artist. surname McNicoll. Sometime after 1870, Isabella McNicoll adopted the surname Glazier in place of McNicoll, later altering the spelling to Glasier. See Laurence Thompson, The Enthusiasts: A Biography of John and Katharine Bruce Glasier (London: Victor Gollancz, 1971), pp. 18-21. 2 Glasier notes (p. 100) that Morris, after learning that his mother knew Gaelic, asked her about the West Highland pronunciation of certain words that had a common Gaelic and Latin root. 3 Glasier had five sisters. The youngest, Kitty (d. 1901), married Samuel Bullock (see letter no. 1828, n. 3), secretary of the Hammersmith Socialist Society. She died giving birth to their second son. Another sister, Jeannie, married Carl Sachs (d. 1907), a naturalized German who had become a prosperous furrier in Glasgow. Glasier notes (p. 100) that Morris entertained his sisters with accounts of the curious domestic customs of Iceland.

[ 35 ]

LETTERS

OF W I L L I A M

MORRIS

4

Glasier describes Nichol (p. 101) as a once "strong Radical and friend of Mazzini . . . now an embittered Unionist." 5 A reference to Silas Wegg, the character with a wooden leg in Dickens' Our Mutual Friend, who proffers his services as a "literary man" to Boffin. 6 Theodore Watts-Dunton (see Volume I, letter no. 222a, n. 1) who by this time had in effect become Swinburne's caretaker at "The Pines." See Philip Henderson, Swinburne: The Portrait of a Poet (London: Routledge and Kegan Paul, 1974), pp. 224-26. 7 The Glasgow School of Art. 8 Sir James King (1830-1911) was Lord Provost of Glasgow from 1886 to 1889. 9 "Arts and Crafts." 10 See Volume I, letter no. 492, n. 7. On February 22, 1889, there were meetings of the Radical and Unionist Associations in Glasgow. In the evening, Joseph Chamberlain spoke at the Scottish National Unionist Association. 11 "Equality." 12 See letter no. 1587, n. 3. 13 "On Art Education." 14 See Volume I, letter no. 304, n. 1.

1590 · T o T H O M A S JAMES

COBDEN-SANDERSON

Kelmscott House, Upper Mall, Hammersmith February 19 [1889]

O n l y possible date March 26th Tuesday

let that be t h e n '

WM MS: Bucknell. 1 In his Journals, March 25, 1889, Cobden-Sanderson noted (volume I, 279) that "Morris spent Tuesday night [presumably March 19] with us, and opened a debate at the institute on Socialism." The Journals record nothing for March 26, 1889. For Cobden-Sanderson, see Volume II, letter no. 934, n. 1.

1591 · T o CATHERINE HOLIDAY

Kelmscott House, Upper Mall, Hammersmith February 20 [1889]

Dear Mrs. Holiday 1 You are very welcome to exhibit whatever of your work we have: 2 but there are only those 2 pieces (named by you) left, and I rather think the others are gone to America. However if I can find o u t w h e r e they are I will try to find t h e m , & get t h e m for the A & C . By the way I fear that all work of that kind should be under glass: the dirt that gathered o u r goods last year d u r i n g the t w o m o n t h s was inconceivable.

[ 36 ]

on to

1889 I L E T T E R

1591

Thomas James Cobden-Sanderson, c. 1890.

I have told my wife about the house: perhaps you had better send her particulars as to size, rent, time &c. I am Dear Mrs. Holiday Yours very truly William Morris MS: Berger Coll. 1 See Volume I, letter no. 385, n. 1. 2 In the Second Arts and Crafts Exhibition Society exhibit, held in 1889 (see letter no. 1657, n. 6). For Catherine Holiday's entry, see ACES Catalogue, 1889.

[ 37 ]

L E T T E R S OF WILLIAM 1592 · T o H E N R Y BENJAMIN SAMUELS

MORRIS Kelmscott House,

Upper Mall, Hammersmith February 22 [1889] M y dear Samuels 1 I am sorry that you are disappointed; but I think in a short conversation I could at least make you see what my point is. I f I am right in my views it would misleading poor folk to allow the passage to be published, 2 since I am responsible for all that is published in C. I am sure that you will agree that I am b o u n d as editor n o t to let anything in which in my judgement would injure the Cause. If the League think me wrong they can always get another Editor, which would not hurt my feelings in the least, or prevent m e doing my best for the propaganda in other ways. But you see I can't help having my o w n opinion, and as Editor I am obliged to express it. Yours fraternally William Morris MS: Dunlap Coll. 1 See Volume II, letter no. 1516, n. 1. 2 A reference, probably, to a passage deleted from Samuels' article, "A Straight Talk to Working-Men," published (p. 60) in Commonweal, February 23, 1889. In "Socialist League Leaflets and Manifestoes," International Review of Social History, XXII, 1977, Part 1, LeMire indicates (p. 26) that Samuels' article was also published as a Socialist League pamphlet (under the same title) on February 7, 1889.

1593 · T o P E T E R ALEXEIVICH K R O P O T K I N

Merton Abbey,

Surrey February 26, 1889 M y dear Kropotkine I am very happy to be able to be of use to y o u in the matter, and enclose a cheque for £25 1 May has shown m e today the syllabus of your proposed lectures: 2 it seemed to m e to promise very well, and I cannot doubt would interest unprejudiced persons—and let us hope some of the prejudiced also. With best wishes Yours very truly William Morris MS: October. 1 To help support a series of lectures to be given by Kropotkin. See note 2 below. 2 Kropotkin had prepared to give a series of six lectures, which were in fact scheduled for six successive Tuesdays from May 28 to July 2, but were never given (for lectures and other

[ 38 ]

1889 / L E T T E R 1595 details see Commonweal, April 27, 1889, p. 133). The background, as given by Woodcock and Avakumovic, explains May's having access to the syllabus but makes puzzling the implied request by Kropotkin for money to which Morris's letter seems to be a response. In 1889, Woodcock and Avakumovic write (p. 120), "illness had prevented [Kropotkin] from doing his usual quota of writing for payment. A group of friends, including May Morris and Cobden-Sanderson, arranged for him to deliver a series of lectures in Kensington Town Hall. They solicited the support of a number of celebrities. . . . Unfortunately, when all the arrangements were complete, some tactless individual showed Kropotkin one of the letters which had been written to ask for support. He immediately smelt charity, felt his dignity attacked, and cancelled the lectures. However . . . he suggested his bad health be made the public reason for the cancellation, and even offered to pay from his scanty means the expenses already incurred." See George Woodcock and Ivan Avakumovic, The Anarchist Prince: A Biographical Study of Peter Kropotkin (London and New York: T. U. Boardman and Co., 1950).

1594 · T o JOHN B U R N S

Kelmscott House, Upper Mall, Hammersmith March 1 [1889]

Dear Burns T h a n k you very much: but the j o b is out of my line and I couldn't undertake it 1

C r a n e is u n d o u b t e d l y your man; 2 (he is) it is just the

kind of thing he would do best. I spoke to h i m about it on Wednesday, & he w o u l d like to do it; so don't let h i m slip through your fmgers. Yours very truly William Morris MS: BL, Add. MSS. 46289. 1 Burns had written to Morris on February 27, 1889 (BL, Add. MSS. 45345), asking if Morris and Crane would design the seal for the new London County Council (see letter no. 1571, n. 3) to which John Burns had been elected for Battersea. 2 Crane did design the seal.

1595 · T o M A Y MORRIS

Kelmscott House, Upper Mall, Hammersmith March 9 [1889]

Dearest May Thanks May for y o u r letter & enclosures. Yes please let Mowbray have the £ 1 . the oxford Street people will pay you. I am writing to Mowbray by this post. 1 I will keep in m i n d the Paris Congress: 2 if they cannot get a united o n e I don't see much use in going or sending: the S.D.F u n d e r Adolphe

[ 39 ]

L E T T E R S OF WILLIAM

MORRIS

Smiths 3 direction will send to the Possibilists. 4 If we do get a united one I certainly think we ought to send. 5 Jenny will give you all the news of the floods; we still have a half delicious dread that we may wake up tomorrow or Sunday with the water in the kitchen. I have been enjoying myself very much, though not quite well, doing as little as I could help: and I could help. Jenny also has been enjoying herself I think and is certainly much better. Yesterday was about the beastliest day I ever remember; but we didn't mind; today has been lovely, and we have made the most of it. I have never k n o w n the floods come up so suddenly. We went into our Church 6 this morning: there are benches there but only a few and those moveable, and made of dark w o o d (teak I think) altogether they have not done much harm, except by building that damned chimney and a damned water-table and finial to the west gable, where the bell box used to be. T h e bellcot with the bells in it looks very pretty. Well goodbye my dear, & good luck all round. Your loving father William Morris MS: BL, Add. MSS. 45341. 1 The letter has not survived. 2 See letter no. 1576, n. 7. 3 Adolph Smith Headingly (see Volume II, letter no. 979, n. 2). A journalist by profession, he actively opposed Marx and Engels in the socialist movement. He participated in the Paris Commune and afterwards sided with the French refugees in opposition to German domination of the International. See Tsuzuki, Eleanor Marx, p. 188; and Tsuzuki, Hyndman, p. 59. 4 The French Possibilists (see letter no. 1576, n. 7) had been successful in the French municipal elections of 1887. Adolph Smith Headingly (see note 3 above) persuaded the British Trades Unionists to support the Possibilists. See Tsuzuki, Hyndman, pp. 114—18. 5 There was no unity, but Morris did go to Paris, in order to attend the rival Marxist Revolutionary Congress. See Tsuzuki, Hyndman, p. 116. 6 See Volume II, letter no. 1551, n. 4.

1596 · RECiprBNT UNKNOWN

Kelmscott House, Upper Mall, Hammersmith March 10 [1889?]

Dear Comrade T h e case is as stated by Mowbray and Nicoll: 1 as a further explanation I may add that we have lost the pecuniary support of two comrades w h o used to give largely: one of them is sick and can no longer give anything the other is poorer than he was & so can't, and this extra(f ) falls upon me

[ 40 ]

1889 / L E T T E R

1596

May Morris, c. 1889.

and I cannot bear it continuously. Besides it never does to depend on one man. The latter part of your letter I confess I don't understand. I cannot see how it can help to unite the party if the best English-written Socialist paper expires. [ 41 ]

L E T T E R S OF WILLIAM

MORRIS

O f course the best way of helping the C o m m o n w e a l is to circulate it by selling it: the sale is going up, but too slowly. 2 Yours fraternally William Morris Ms: Texas. 1 A reference, possibly, to the dissension in the Norwich Branch, S.L. (see letter no. 1582 and notes 5 and 6). For D. Nicoll, see Volume II, letter no. 1267, n. 4. 2 See letter no. 1574 and n. 7.

1597 · F R O M A LETTER T O [GEORGIANA B U R N E - J O N E S ]

[Kelmscott

March 11, 1889]1 the rooks and the lambs both singing around me, I have been writing out my rough copy of my story 2 and have done a good deal of it. I am half inclined not to kill my Bride, but to make her marry the brother: it would be a very good alliance for the Burgdalers and the Silverdalers both, and I don't think sentiment ought to stand in the way. 3 TEXT: Mackail, II, 219-20. Extract published: CW, 15, xi. 1 Mackail in his notebook lists a letter to Georgiana Burne-Jones on this date, and the summary of its contents indicates it is this letter. 2 The Roots of the Mountains (see letter no. 1580, n. 1). 3 By "sentiment" Morris means that The Bride, betrothed to the Burgdaler leader Faceof-God, ought to have killed herself when he breaks their engagement because he has fallen in love with Sun-beam, sister of Folk-might, the leader of the Wolfings (now the Silverdalers). In the end, The Bride falls in love with Folk-might: both couples marry and a double alliance between the two houses is made.

1598 · T o ELEONORE D ' E S T E R R E - K E E L I N G

Kelmscott House,

Upper Mall, Hammersmith March 13, 1889 Dear Madam 1 In answer to your request, I beg to say that I shall be quite willing for you to include in your book the poems in the Earthly Paradise that you consider suitable for the purpose 2 Believe m e Yours faithfully William Morris per M . M . 3

[ 42 ]

1889 I L E T T E R

1598

Georgiana Burne-Jones, c. 1896 (detail).

MS: Berger Coll. 1 Eleonore D'Esterre-Keeling (b. 1858?), a musician, and a teacher of music in London, who had been born in Ireland and educated in Germany. 2 D'Esterre-Keeling was compiling an anthology of poetry about music, The Music of the Poets, arranged as a birthday book, i.e., in diary form with spaces for recording birthdays. In her introduction, dated November 1889, she wrote (p. vii): "My book would have been sadly imperfect if I had not been able to obtain permission from Mr Swinburne and Mr William Morris to make use of selections from their works. . . ." A first edition was published in 1890, and a revised edition in 1897. Three selections from The Earthly Paradise were included, on pp. 70, 116, and 186. 3 May Morris.

[ 43 ]

L E T T E R S OF WILLIAM 1599

· RECIPIENT UNKNOWN

MORRIS March 13,

1889

Dear Sir, I think the question of the advantage of alcoholic liquors is a matter which each man must find out for himself having admitted that one may easily drink too much even without getting drunk. M y o w n experience is that I find my victuals dull without something to drink, and that tea and coffee are not fit liquors to be taken with food: In fact the latter always disagrees with m e palpably, and probably tea isn't good for me. It is a remarkable fact that in Iceland toothache was almost u n k n o w n till the introduction of tea and coffee: the latter drink the Icelanders are n o w much addicted to. If I were to say what I really think I should say that tobacco seems to me a more dangerous intoxicant than liquors because people can and do smoke to excess without becoming beastly and a nuisance. I am sure O r i ental countries have suffered much from the introduction of tobacco. N.B. I am a smoker myself. A great point would be to try to get the liquors free from adultaration. But that I fear is impossible under a capitalistic regime. I am, Dear Sir, Yours truly, William Morris TEXT: MM, I, 663.

1600

· T o CHAIRMAN OF T H E M E E T I N G ,

COMMUNE CELEBRATION

Kelmscott House,

Upper Mall, Hammersmith March 16, 1889, 3 p.m. To the Chairman of the Meeting, C o m m u n e Celebration 1 Dear Comrade, I find, to my extreme vexation and disappointment, that I am unable to leave the house this afternoon, being still lame with rheumatism and gout. I should be obliged if you would excuse m e to the assembled comrades. I need hardly say that I wish the greatest success to the meeting. T h e efforts of Socialist propaganda during the last few years have had their effect, which is obvious not only in the organisations of men and w o m e n definitely professing Socialism, but also on the whole of society: so that it cannot be doubted that there are vast numbers of persons w h o are prepar-

[ 44 ]

1889 / L E T T E R 1600 ing for Socialism, and w h o at the next crisis will be forced into our ranks. Meantime, in this country at least the masters of society are showing their uneasiness in other ways than the familiar one of mere brutal repression, though they are ready for as much of that as they may think necessary. Many schemes are on foot for removing the discontent which our masters are beginning to feel as a burden on them and a threat also; between the preaching of thrift to day-labourers, and the making the world happy by the aggregation of all fiscal burdens into the single tax; from the Charity Organisation Society to Mr. Henry George,—there are many and many idiotic evasions on foot; all of which have for their basis the improvememnt of the condition of the poor, at their own expense, for the peace and happiness of their masters. While the middle classes are beginning to admit the horror of the miserable life of poverty, they refuse to admit the idiocy of the system that causes it. Make the working classes happy—well and good! But are we to pay for it? N o w it seems to me that the C o m m u n e of Paris was prepared to answer this question with a simple Yes and that that is the reason 'why to-day we once more celebrate their defeat as the herald of the victory which is to be, and as a preparation for it. If there were any amongst the defenders of the C o m m u n e w h o did not understand that its ultimate aim, its reason for existence, was the abolition of class society, its enemies at least understood it well—and wrote their endorsement in the blood of 30,000 men slain after their foul and useless victory. I say this is why we celebrate year by year the heroic attempt of the C o m m u n e of Paris to lay the foundations of a new society. It is because we are engaged in the same struggle; and it is our special business amidst all the clatter and self-gratulation caused by the kind of schemes I have mentioned, to point out to the workers n o w awakening to a consciousness of their position that masters and slaves cannot be friends, that of necessity what one gains the other loses; that the only ground on which the workers can meet their masters is that on which the latter shall cast down their privilege of mastership; and that no master-class can be persuaded into this, but must be forced into it, either by the threat of force, or, if it must be, by its action; finally, that the workers must prepare this force by learning to understand their position, and by organising t h e m selves into an irresistible power. This every Socialist must do his utmost to forward conscientiously, or he need hardly call himself a Socialist, since he really falls back into the ranks of those w h o have not learned the principles of action as he has, and who, being ignorant, can only wait for the impulsion of that force, which it is the Socialists' business to help to fashion for the realisation of the Society of Equality.

[ 45 j

L E T T E R S OF WILLIAM

MORRIS

With fraternal greetings to all comrades, and with expression of satisfaction that the S.D.F. and the S.L. are again holding this important celebration in c o m m o n , 2 I am yours, William Morris TEXT: Commonweal, March 23, 1889, 91. 1 H. M. Hyndman was chairman of the Celebration of the Paris Commune, held on March 16 at South Place Institute. 2 Among those expected to speak were H. Quelch, D. Nicoll, John Burns, Frank Kitz, H. Burrows, H. H. Sparling (see Volume II, letter no. 1121, n. 1), A. S. Headingly (see letter no. 1595, n. 3), E. Marx-Aveling, Kropotkin, Le Moussu, and E. Bernstein. For a report of the celebration, see Commonweal, March 23, 1889, pp. 92-93.

1601 · T o STEWART D U C K W O R T H HEADLAM

Kelmscott House,

Upper Mall, Hammersmith March 16, 1889 Dear Mr. Headlam 1 Allow m e to introduce to you a German gentleman Dr. Gerhart von Schulze-Gaevernitz 2 w h o is anxious to study different aspects of Socialism in England. H e is really anxious to k n o w what is doing here & understands Socialism generally. 3 W i t h best wishes Yours very truly William Morris MS: BL, Add. MSS. 46289. 1 See Volume II, letter no. 1438, n. 3. 2 Gerhart von Schulze-Gavernitz (1864—1943), a German university professor. In 1893, an English translation of his book, first published in Germany in 1890, was issued under the title Social Peace: A Study of the Trade Union in England. 3 A note on the holograph, signed by Headlam, reads: "Dear Burns, Gaevernitz having had a talk with me has asked me to give him an introduction to you so I send on Morris letter. Good luck."

1602 · T o J O H N B R U C E GLASIER

Kelmscott House,

Upper Mall, Hamersmith March 19 [1889] M y dear Glasier I have been a long time answering your letter: need I make excuses? Thank you for your kind estimate of my last work; 1 I am truly glad that

[ 46 ]

1889 / L E T T E R

1602

it pleases you. It is not popular, but I think some people read it and like it. As to the movement, between you and me the League don't get on—except like a cow's tail—downwards. U p here there is n o w a great deal of quarrelling (in which I take n o part) the basis of which is that some of them want the paper made 'more revolutionary.' i.e. they want to write the articles themselves (which they can't do) and do a little blood & thunder without any meaning, which might get me into trouble but couldn't hurt them. 2 In all this there is n o great harm (& n o malice) if we were flourishing; but we are not. I am n o w paying for the League (including paper) at the rate of £500 a year and I cannot stand it; at Whitsuntide I must withdraw half of that whatever may happen: which will probably be the end of C o m m o n w e a l followed by the practical end of the League. A little while ago this would have seemed very terrible; but it does not trouble me much now. Socialism is spreading, I suppose on the only lines on which it could spread, 3 and the League is moribund simply because we are outside those lines, as I for one must always be: but I shall be able to do just as much work in the movement w h e n the League is gone as I do now. T h e main cause of the failure (which was obvious at least 2 years ago) is that you cannot keep a body together without giving it something to do in the present, and n o w since people will willingly listen to socialist doctrine our rank & file have nothing to d o — B u t of course you know more about all this than I can tell you. Meantime it is a matter of course that I shall do what I can to put off the evil day for Cweal, and I'm sure you will help. Try to make arrangements to come up at Whitsuntide; 4 I will find you quarters. This letter is hurried & rough: so please keep it to yourself. With best wishes Yours fraternally William Morris MS: Walthamstow. Published: Glasier, 201; Henderson, Letters, 321-22; CW, 20, xlvii; Extract published: E. P. Thompson, 1st ed., 786. 1 Presumably a reference to The House of the Wolfings, published in December 1888. 2 See letter no. 1592. 3 A reference, almost certainly, to the rise of the Independent Labour Party. 4 On Whitsunday, June 9, 1889, the Fifth Annual Conference of the S.L. was held. Morris, at that time, cut his contribution to Commonweal. See E. P. Thompson, p. 521.

[ 47 ]

L E T T E R S OF WILLIAM 1603 · T o THACKERAY T U R N E R

MORRIS Merton Abbey,

Surrey, March 19, 1889 Dear Mr. Turner 1 I reinclose the cheque to you as I consider it rather belongs to the S.P.A.B. than to me: but I should like it if possible to be a nest egg for a new subscription for Inglesham 2 if the others thought that well. Yours truly William Morris MS: S.P.A.B. Archives 1 See Volume II, letter no. 1012, n. 1. 2 See Volume II, letter no. 1281 and notes.

1604 · T o LAURA M A R X LAFARGUE

Kelmscott House,

Upper Mall, Hammersmith March 25, 1889 Dear Madame Lafargue 1 Thank you very much for the poems & their translations you have sent me. 2 O n e of them (the poems) I have seen before the Buried Alive. 3 I think them very good: they breathe the spirit of Millets Sad Country pieces with the addition of revolutionary fervour. I am sure your translations need n o apology: they seem to m e excellent and to have lost n o t h ing of the meaning of the originals, while they are good English verse. Might I ask what you intend doing with them; and if it would be too bold of me to beg one or more of them for publication in the 'Commonweal?' 4 With thanks again & best wishes Believe me Yours faithfully William Morris MS: Bottigelli Coll. Published: Meier, 843-44. 1 Laura Marx Lafargue (1845-1911), the second born of the six children of Karl and Jenny von Westphalen Marx. Of the six children, only three daughters survived to adulthood: Laura's elder sister, Jenny Caroline Marx (1844—1883), who married Charles Longuet (b. 1838) in 1872, and her youngest sister, Julia Eleanor Marx, known as Eleanor (1855-1898). In 1868, Laura Marx married Paul Lafargue (1842-1911), a French socialist born in Cuba, who with Jules Guesde (see letter no. 1576, n. 7) helped to found a Marxist socialist party in France. Known as the "Guesedists," the party opposed the Possibilists (see letter no. 1576, notes 7-8). Laura Marx's translation into French of the "Communist Manifesto" appeared serially in Le Socialiste from August 29 to November 7, 1885. In 1895, the Lafargues (along with other members of the Marx family) inherited money from Engels (who died on August 5); in their case enough to purchase a thirty-room house in Draveil, about twenty miles from Paris. Here they resided in comfort for some years, and in 1910

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were in this house visited by Lenin and his wife. In 1911, however, a lack of resources (despite the opulence in which they had been living) became the alleged reason for their lives' coming to an abrupt end: fearing to become a burden on the Socialists, they committed suicide. See Yvonne Kapp, Eleanor Marx (New York: Pantheon Books, 1972 [Vol. I]; and 1976 [Vol. II]); see also Saul K. Padover, Karl Marx: An Intimate Biography (New York: McGraw Hill, 178), pp. 486-506. 2 Chants Revolutionnaires, by Eugene Pottier. See note 4 below. 3 See note 4 below. 4 In Commonweal, April 13, 1889, Morris published (p. 115) Laura Lafargue's translation of "Buried Alive," by Eugene Pottier (1816—1887). A songwriter and political activist, Pottier was a member of the Paris Commune in 1871. His poems were collected as Chants Revolutionnaires, in 1887. His song, the Internationale (1871; with music by Pierre Degeyter [1849-1932]), was adopted as the anthem of Communism.

1605 · R E C I P I E N T U N K N O W N

Kelmscott H o u s e ,

U p p e r Mall, H a m m e r s m i t h

April 1 [1889?] Dear M a d a m I k n o w nothing about the art schools, but suppose the S. Kensington is pretty much a type of the others, with certain advantages in central position & the proximity of the Museum. I should say that what our friend wanted was opportunity to learn drawing & that the chief training she wants is learning to draw the figure, by which alone drawing can be taught. I may add that though it is necessary to study the works of the period of art; it is impossible to teach (definitely) design. I am Dear M a d a m Yours truly William Morris MS: Winterthur.

1606 · T o CHARLES ROBERT ASHBEE

Kelmscott House,

Upper Mall, Hammersmith April [6? 1889] Dear M r Ashbee 1 There has been some mistake: I was depending on M r Fry 2 for all the absolutely necessary slides, 3 and thought I would bring any others I could get. A n d as a matter of fact I haven't got one. However I believe I can get [ 49 ]

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some. By the way you must understand that I know nothing about such things so I hope you will get some one to help me. I will come (and thanks) to dinner: but I must certainly be on the spot before the lecture begins so as to arrange properly. The most necessary slides to me are: 1. The front of the Parthenon or some Greek Temple (a restoration, the ruins will be no use): 2. a Roman building, a longish facade: 3. an early Byzantine building, the Dome of the Rock (Ferguson) the best (I think I can get St Sophia): 4. a south French Romanesque building, St Trophime at Aries the best: 5. a Saxon, Bradford-on-Avon: 6. an English Norman building, Iffley would do: 7. Early English (I settled with Mr Fry about this): 8. Decorated: 9. Perpendicular: 10. Elizabethan, Montacute the best. If you would kindly get me these in case I cannot, all well: if not I must do as well as I can either with or without slides. Thank you perhaps one of my daughters will come but I am not sure. Yours truly William Morris RS. I shall be at Merton Abbey on Tuesday and shall come on from there. TEXT: Henderson, Letters, 313. 1 See Volume II, letter no. 1433, n. 1. 2 Roger Eliot Fry (1866—1934), the art critic and artist who became a central figure in the Bloomsbury group; and who in 1910 introduced modernism in art to the English public with the London exhibition "Manet and the Post-Impressionists." Roger Fry's Omega Workshop (1913-1919) was partially descended from Morris and Co; though the Workshop manufactured none of its own wares, it continued the arts-and-crafts ideal of acknowledging the creative status of the designer. Although the present letter seems to indicate that Ashbee had recommended Fry to work the slide projector at Morris's lecture (see note 3 below), Morris and Fry had other Cambridge friends and associates in common, notably Fry's teacher and mentor J. H. Middleton (see Volume I, letter no. 194, n. 1); and G. B. Shaw, whom Fry met when the latter gave a lecture at Cambridge on "Socialism: Its Growth and Necessity." (Of interest is that on two occasions Fry was to appeal successfully to Shaw for funds on behalf on the Omega Workshop.) It may also be apposite to this letter that in April 1889 Fry was a student in Francis Bate's art school: the school was in Hammersmith. See Frances Spalding, Roger Fry: Art and Life (Herts and London: Granada Publishing, 1980), pp. 25-31; 174-195; and 227. 3 This letter is about arrangements for the lecture on April 9, 1889, on "Gothic Architecture," which Morris delivered at a meeting sponsored by the Guild and School of Handicraft (see Volume II, letter no. 1433, n. 1) and held in the Lecture Room at Toynbee Hall. The lecture was given for students of the University Settlements program. Lantern slides were used by Morris to illustrate his talk. See LeMire, p. 278.

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1889 / L E T T E R 1607 1607 · T o J O H N B R U C E GLASIER

Kelmscott House,

Upper Mall, Hammersmith April 6 [1889]1 M y dear Glasier Thanks for your letters; you know I am a bad correspondent. I am glad Krapotkine let you off so easily for your joke; you deserved something little short of skinning for it. 2 B u t I suppose poetical justice must wait o n the convenience of the Branch. Yes certainly Socialists ought not to have the gout because it hurts them & Socialists are good people w h o ought to have what they like. I heard of R o b e r t s o n 3 last year at Dundee, 4 and they said then he was damaging them much: I saw the Carle at Edinburgh more than once; a good speaker (sometimes drunk however: once notably so at one of my meetings) a plausible dog, an extractor of money in small sums by dint of diplomacy; in short a statesman lacking the larger opportunities. C o m m o n w e a l appears to have discovered the Widows Cruise; for it goes o n buying & selling and living o n the loss quite triumphantly. T h e (genuine) sale is a little going up & I think we shall be able to keep it going through the year. Kitz is by n o means a bad Sec: in that respect. 5 Otherwise I can't say that I call the League prospects good: outside the Hammersmith Branch the active (?) members in London mostly consider themselves anarchists; but don't know anything about Socialism and go about ranting revolution in the streets which is as about as likely to happen in our time as the conversion of Englishmen from stupidity to quick w i t tedness. A great deal of our trouble comes from Messrs. Donald & Mahon w h o have been rather clever at pulling us to pieces, but could do nothing towards building up even their own humbugging self-seeking party. 6 I am sorry to hear that J o h n Burns is to be put u p for Battersea 7 a t o gether the enemy are doing their best to nobble him: I like h i m but he is excitable & ambitious, & he runs great danger of being spoilt. N o w I must do notes for C-weal. 8 I don't like the job, as I have a n e w book o n hand 9 which amuses m e vastly. Yours fraternally William Morris MS: Walthamstow. Extract published: Henderson, Letters, 322; Glasier, 202; E. P. T h ompson, 526. 1 Although dated 1890 in pencil on the holograph (presumably by Glasier), the letter was almost certainly written in 1889. Morris indicates he visited Dundee "last year," and he did lecture in Dundee on March 27, 1888, but not at all in 1889 (see LeMire, p. 270; and pp. 276-82). Presumably Glasier—if it was he—inscribed the holograph "1890" some years after receiving the letter and misremembered its date. 2 Glasier explains in a note on the holograph: "I had foolishly when writing Krapotkin urging him to come and lecture for the branch in Glasgow used (as I thought) the threat

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that if he failed to do so I should denounce him as a "police spy"—a most clumsy exhibition of {Scottish) 'Scotch Wit' or [Excitiveness?] which brought me into no end of hot water and from which I was only rescued by the good offices of Morris, Shaw, Carpenter, & other friends." 3 A second note by Glasier's reads: "James Robertson a dangerous traitor, who roused 'free speech' excitment wherever he went, and who's conduct was wholly out of accord with his Socialist professions." 4 See Volume II, letter no. 1460, n. 2. 5 Frank Kitz was Secretary of the League. 6 E. P. Thompson writes (pp. 614-16; 1st ed.) that John Mahon (see Volume II, letter no. 957, n. 1) had brought most of the Scottish Land and Labour League into the Scottish Labour Party and that late in 1888 he wrote A Labour Programme "which contained a clear blue-print for the I.L.P." Its emphasis was on organizing: "The workers," Thompson notes, "were not to be won for Socialism, but directed into it by skilled Socialist organizers like Mahon." In keeping with his Labour Programme, Mahon "promoted early in 1889 the 'Labour Union,' whose objects were 'the Emancipation of Labour from the control of the monopolists, and the realization of a State based on co-operative principles. . . .'" And also: " 'To aid present movements for improving the social condition of the people.'" To these objects, Thompson writes, were added a series of immediate reforms, taken from current Radical programs (e.g., Home Rule for Ireland, an eight-hour day, and nationalization of land, mines, and railways; disestablishment of the Church of England; and, by August 1889, Home Rule for Scotland and Wales). These ends were to be achieved by forming an independent political labor party, Thompson continues, and divisions of the Labour Union, started throughout the country, were to be the basis of it. The organizing committee consisted of Mahon and H. A. Barker (both ex-secretaries of the S.L.) as jointsecretaries, and, among other committee members, A. K. Donald (see Volume II, letter no. 1270, n. 6) and Robert Banner (see Volume II, letter no. 979, n. 4). Provincial representatives included several members of the S.L., some of whom kept membership in the League. Among these were Tom Maguire of Leeds and Fred Pickles of Bradford (see Volume II, letters no. 1105, n. 1; and no. 1143, n. 1, respectively). Support for the Labour Union was expressed by Cunninghame Graham; Keir Hardie; C. L. Fitzgerald (see Volume II, letter no. 938, n. 2); and J. Shaw Maxwell (see Volume II, letter no. 996, n. 5), later the first secretary of the I.L.P. W A. Chambers and Fred Henderson (see Volume II, letter no. 1152, n. 1), two active members of the S.L.,joined, too. In August 1889, A. K. Donald replaced Mahon as joint-secretary with H. A. Barker (see Volume II, letter no. 1338, n. 1). A year later, the Labour Union "came to its end in the disaster of the postman's strike [of] the summer of 1890." 7 Morris refers to John Burns's standing for Parliament in 1889 as the Liberal Party's candidate for Battersea (he had been elected to the L.C.C. in January [see letter no. 1594, n. 1] and apparently was immediately thought of as a likely Parliamentary candidate). He was unsuccessful however, and had to await the general election of mid-1892 before being elected (meanwhile being reelected to the L.C.C. in early 1892). 8 See Commonweal, April 13, 1889, p. 113, "Notes on News." 9 The Roots of the Mountains (see letter no. 1580, n. 1).

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1889 / L E T T E R 1608 1608 · T o THE E D I T O R OF THE Daily News

Kelmscott House, Upper Mall, Hammersmith April 17, 1889

Sir,1 May I be allowed a further word or two on the subject of monuments in Westminster Abbey and its precincts, since I see by your issue of the 11th. April that it appears probable that the plan of carrying the plague of monuments into the cloisters and Chapter House will be approved of by the authorities; 2 and I think that, whatever scheme for the continuance of what is called, in the detestable slang of the day our National Valhalla may be second-worst, this surely must be called the worst? Here very briefly is the position. Incongruous monuments have been allowed to block up and disfigure the Abbey church; this is n o w allowed by every one w h o claims to k n o w or care anything about art to have been a deplorable mistake; nevertheless, we are n o w preparing to carry on this mistake, which we deplore, by bringing these incongruous monuments into the Cloisters and the Chapter House, which have hitherto escaped the evil. Thus are we hag-ridden by a mere convention, which we have allowed to become our master; and we are inexcusable in the matter, for we are sinning against knowledge. O u r forefathers of the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries at least acted in good faith; they looked on Westmister Abbey as an ugly accident of barbarism, which they could not spoil but might improve by any work of theirs. We know that it is an exquisite work of art, which we can disfigure but cannot improve by our works. T h e alternative to this lazy, cowardly, and senseless piece of destructiveness I have suggested before in your columns. 3 It is to transfer the "National Valhalla" to St. Paul's, which no doubt was intended to perform this function amongst others, and which cries out for some incident—good, bad, or indifferent—to break its vast blank space. Westminster Abbey can then be declared finally closed against monuments, and we can debate at our leisure any scheme for removing to the new h o m e of "distinguished" dead men whatever can be removed from the Abbey without injury to its genuine character. I must say I am writing to you in something like despair; for this is so obviously the common-sense solution of the difficulty that I fear it is not likely to prove attractive to Englishmen of the present generation, to w h o m this same common-sense, with the almost exclusive possession of which they have been so long credited, appears such a precious treasure that it is rather to be hoarded than used, lest, like other market wares, it should be consumed in the using. I am, Sir, Yours obediently, William Morris.

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TEXT: Daily News, April 17, 1889, 6. Published: MM, I, 173-74; Henderson, Letters, 311-12. 1 J . R. Robinson (see letter no. 1581, n. 1). 2 For the proposed plan, see letter no. 1581 and notes 2 and 3. As for Morris's reference to the April 11 issue of the Daily News, there is in that issue only a letter to the editor, on the subject of Westminster Abbey, that makes no mention at all of the plan. 3 See letter no. 1581.

1609

· T o WILLIAM R I C H A R D LETHABY

Kelmscott H o u s e ,

U p p e r Mall, H a m m e r s m i t h [April 18? 1889]

My dear Mr. Lethaby 1 Thanks for the papers duly received. I don't (by the way) agree with you that I have said the worst of the m o n u m e n t s ; 2 I think o n the contrary that I have let t h e m d o w n very easily. I cannot see w h y one should show any tenderness t o such monstrous and ghastly pieces of perversity and bluntness of feeling as they exhibit themselves in spoiling one of the 3 or 4 most beautiful buildings in the world. By themselves they are lumps of ineptitude and insults, I will not say to beauty, b u t to the c o m m o n sense of a simply stupid person. If they were only this, as they would be say in St Paul's, I wouldn't trouble my head about t h e m any more than I do about such scrawls at humanity as R a c i n e or P o p e — b u t in Westminster A b b e y — M y dear fellow, if I have said so little about the unspeakable wretches w h o daubed t h e m o n there, it is simply because Ί couldn't d o justice to them,' as the celebrated Yorkshire man said. 3 I really must take you to the transepts at Westminster one of these days, & explain. You needn't be afraid, I don't think the beak 4 will give you more than 14 days: though I shall probably get 2 months. Yours very truly William Morris TEXT: MM, I, 3—4. Published: Henderson, Letters, 312-13. 1 William Richard Lethaby (1857-1931), an architect, designer, writer, and educator who had worked under Richard Norman Shaw (1831—1912) and had then become closely associated with Philip Webb. In 1889, Lethaby met Ernest Gimson (see Volume II, letter no. 1182, n. 1) and the following year they—along with Sidney Barnsley (1865-1926), Reginald Blomfield, and Mervyn Macartney (see letter no. 1638, n. 2)—founded Kenton and Co., a furniture company modeled after Morris and Co. (Kenton and Co. collapsed two years later for lack of capital.) Lethaby also designed furniture and interior decorations for Morris and Co. during these years, and from 1894 to 1896 was an art adviser to the Technical Education Board of the London County Council. In 1896, he founded the Lon­ don Central School of Arts and Crafts, serving for a long time as its principal; and in 1915 was a founder-member of the Design and Industries Association. Apposite to the present

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letter, Lethaby was also Surveyor of the Fabric of Westminster Abbey from 1906 to 1928. In addition to Philip Webb and His Work (1935), his books include Architecture, Mysticism, and Myth (1892), Westminster Abbey and the King's Craftsmen (1906), and Form in Civilization (1922). See Anscombe and Gere, pp. 93-94; and 144. 2 At Westminster Abbey, see letters no. 1581, and no. 1608 and notes. 3 May Morris writes (MM, I, 4, n.) that a favorite story of Morris's tells of "a Yorkshireman who was very foul-mouthed when angry. One day when he was carting a load of turnips up a steep slope certain friends quietly removed the tail of his cart. On reaching the top of the hill the cart was empty and his pals alongside awaiting the flowers of speech. But he, after looking, turned away and remarked, 'Na, I canna do justice to it.'" 4 A magistrate.

1610

· T o GEORGIANA B U R N E - J O N E S

[Kelmscott

April 22, 1 1889] As I have been away some time I will hereby bestow some of my tediousness on you. I only got here on Thursday and feel as if I had been staying here a long time; not that I have been bored with it, as I have enough to do what with my story, 2 what with other work which I ought to do and don't. T h e country is about six weeks backward; more backward by a good deal than it was last year, though that was late: neither the big trees (except the chestnuts) nor the apple trees show any sign of life yet. T h e garden is very pretty, though there are scarcely any flowers in blossom except the primroses; but there are such beautiful promises of buds and things just out of the ground that it makes amends for all. T h e buds of the wild tulip, which is one of the beautifullest flowers there is, just at point to open. Jenny and I went u p to Buscot W o o d this morning: it is such a change from our river plain that it is like going into another country; yet I don't much care about a w o o d unless it is a very big one; and Buscot is scarcely more than a coppice; but the blue distance between the trunks was very delightful. As to the weather, bearing in m i n d that things are so much behindhand, it is not bad. To-day has been March all over; rain-showers, hail, wind, dead calm, thunder, finishing with a calm frosty evening sky. T h e birds are amusing, especially the starlings, whereof there are many: but some damned fool has been bullying our rooks so much that they have only got six nests, so that we haven't got the proper volume of sound from them. O n e grief, the sort of thing that is always happening in the spring: there were some beautiful willows at Eaton Hastings 3 which to my certain knowledge had not been polled during the whole 17 years that we have been here; and n o w the idiot Parson has polled them into wretched

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stumps. I should like to cut off the beggar's legs and have w o o d e n ones made for h i m out of the willow timber, the value of which is about 7s. 6d. I am so very sorry to hear of p o o r Kate's misfortune, 4 and am not a little uneasy about it. I didn't see her last Wednesday, though I called. She was poorly then, having had some bad nights with p o o r dear Charley. 5 It is such a grievous business altogether that, rightly or wrongly, I try not to think of it t o o m u c h lest I should give way altogether, and make an end of what small use there may be in my life. TEXT: Mackail, II, 220-21. Published: Henderson, Letters, 310-11. 1 Mackail indicates (II, 220) this letter was written from Kelmscott and gives the date as Easter Monday, 1889, which in that year fell on April 22. 2 The Roots of the Mountains. 3 A remote village about seven miles from Kelmscott by road, but only a mile by a foot path across the fields and over a foot-bridge spanning the Thames within sight of the Manor. I am grateful to the late A. R. Dufty for the information given here. 4 Kate Faulkner (see Volume I, letter no. 98, n. 1). The exact nature of her illness, which seems to have become chronic—and is referred to again in Morris's letters—is unknown to me. However, some insight is provided by Morris himself in his letter to Webb, August 19, 1892. See letter no. 2028 and notes 2 and 4. 5 See Volume II, letter no. 1551 and n. 2. Mackail writes (II, 217) that throughout Charles Faulkner's illness his sister Kate "was [a] devoted and unweariable nurse; and next to her, his old companions, Webb and Morris, were the most constant in their attentions."

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/ LETTER

· F R O M A L E T T E R τ ο JANE M O R R I S

1612 [Kelmscott

April 26, 1889] 1

I have done a tolerable deal of story, and done one or two other little jobs. T h e cat killed a chicken yesterday: this kind of mousing is so much objected to that I think she will follow the victim to the other world. TEXT: CW, 1

15,

xi.

The Roots of the Mountains.

1612

· T o GEORGIANA B U R N E - J O N E S

May 13,

1889

Thursday afternoon was grey and stormy: the lightning twinkled over the White H o r s e 1 as we passed by, and just at Swindon down came the rain in floods. However I had rather a pleasant journey to Westbury, as the rain didn't last long, and every field corner was lovely. Some way off I saw the downs rise mountainous above the town, and remembered them by token of a m o d e r n White H o r s e 2 which somewhat spoils the lovely headland they push into the plain. T h e t o w n is little and, as I expected, dull, dull, dull: n o old houses, a great big church m u c h spoiled by restora­ tion 3 , and my dull, but not ugly inn close to it. I got in about seven, so had a longish time before bed, which I partly got rid of by going a little way up the d o w n after my dinner: so you see gout was not rampant. T h e resources of the Lopes Arms were not great; 4 but they (with all civility) provided m e for breakfast with what to m e has been of late a rarity; to wit, a genuine addled egg. However their hearts were in the right places if their eggs were not. N e x t m o r n i n g I drove to Edington along the feet of the D o w n s , which are very fine: also the villages push up right into their buttresses with cottages and trees, so that it is lovely; the building being tolerable: so came I to Edington, which was like one of my dreamchurches, so big and splendid: 5 the whole population of Edington and its two neighbours could easily go to church in one of its transepts. Beside it a beautiful little fifteenth-century house with pretty garden, and beyond, the Abbey gardens and fish-ponds and a village green on the other side: except that the parson 6 is a lubber-fiend and that the people are as poor as may be, nothing need be better. So back to Westbury and in early afternoon to Bradford. 7 Q u i t e a pretty town and as gay as gay; away from the downs in a steep little valley built all up the southern-looking slope; all up and down with steps and queer nooks: of stone every house, most of t h e m old, a good many mediaeval. T h e bridge fifteenth century, with a queer little toll-house on it. 8 T h e church a very big and fine o n e , 9 but

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scraped to death by G. Scott, the (happily) dead dog.10 Close by, the Saxon chapel,11 a very beautiful little building, but shamefully vulgarized by restoration, cast iron railings, and sixpence a head. Out in the meadow, awkwardly near the Railway Station, Barton Farm with old house and farm buildings, the big fourteenth century barn12 one of them. It is very fine, but I think Great Coxwell13 is bigger, and I like it better. TEXT: Mackail, II, 221-22. Published: Henderson, Letters, 314-15. 1 The White Horse at Uffington, Berkshire, a village on the route from Kelmscott to Swindon on the way to western Wiltshire, where, Mackail says (II, 221), Morris was going on S.P.A.B. business. The White Horse at Uffington is a stylized figure, about 360 feet in length and 130 feet in height at its maximum, cut into the chalk at the end of the Iron Age, probably during the first century B.C. Since the eighteenth century it has been kept clear of new soil deposits and weeds, so that the figure of the horse has remained clearly visible. See Stuart Piggot, "The Uffington White Horse," Antiquity, V, 17 (March 1931), 37-46. 2 Like the White Horse at Uffington (see note 1 above), the "modern" figure at Westbury is a huge figure that is cut into chalk and shows up against the green of the hillside. In origin it dates from the eighteenth century. I am grateful to the late A. R. Dufty for this information, as well as for the identifications given in notes 3 and 5 below. 3 Morris refers to All Saints, a church in the Perpendicular style of English medieval architecture (fifteenth century). It was heavily restored in 1847. 4 This inn, at the time, had nine rooms. 5 Edington Church, dedicated to St. Mary, St. Katherine, and AU Saints, illustrates the transition from the Decorated to the Perpendicular styles of architecture. It is a relic of a monastery of Bonhommes, founded in 1351 by William of Edington (d. 1366), Bishop of Winchester (1346-1366). (See Crittall, VII, 248.) As for his own "dream Churches," Morris no doubt refers to those that figured in his early Oxford and Cambridge Magazine tales, particularly "The Story of the Unknown Church" and "The Hollow Land" (see CW, 1, 149-50, and 265; see also Volume I, letter no. 7, n. 4). 6 Henry Cave-Brown-Cave (1840-1890), vicar of Edington from 1880 to 1890. 7 Bradford-on-Avon. 8 The present town bridge is made of stone and has nine arches. On the western side, the arches, which date from the seventeenth century, are semicircular. There are two arches on the eastern side which have survived from the thirteenth century, and they are ribbed and pointed. At the south end of the bridge on the east side is the so-called chapel. It is small and almost square and has four small window openings, two overlooking the river and one on each side. It dates from the seventeenth century. There is no good evidence that the building was ever used for religious purposes, but it does seem to have been used as a lock-up. It is also possible that the building was used as a toll-house, but it is not clear why Morris implies, by so naming it, that this was certainly its main use. See Crittall, VII, 9. 9 The parish church of Holy Trinity. The side walls of the western end of the chancel and a reused window over the porch in the south wall of the nave date from the twelfth century. The chancel was extended eastwards in the fourteenth century; its narrow roundheaded windows were blocked up, and they remained blocked until the nineteenth century, when the easterly ones, one on either side, were opened up and their sills lowered. The church was much restored in the nineteenth century. In 1856 the east window was restored and its tracery renewed. In 1864 the south chapel, the south wall of the nave, and the porch were taken down and rebuilt on the lines of the old work, reusing the original windows. The arcade was completely rebuilt with its arches equally spaced out. At about

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1889 I L E T T E R 1613 the same time, the seventeenth- and eighteenth-century galleries were removed. See Crittall, VII, 26-27. 10 Scott died in 1878. See Volume I, letter no. 32, n. 2. 11 The little Saxon Church, dedicated to St. Laurence, is one of the most important remains of Anglo-Saxon architecture in England. It dates from the latter part of the tenth century. See Crittall, VII, 23-24. 12 At Barton Farm, to the south of the bridge, is a barn of early fourteenth-century date. It measures 168 by 131 feet and is divided into 14 bays. The oak-timbered roof is formed of arched couples and is covered with stone slates. In 1939 it passed into the care of the Ministry of Works, now the Department of the Environment. See Crittall, VII, 14. 13 The thirteenth-century tithe barn near Kelmscott, which Morris regarded "as the finest piece of architecture in England. . . ." (Cockerell's Diary, August 10, 1892; quoted also in CW, 18, xxxii; for Cockerell himself as distinct from his Diary as cited here and frequently hereafter, see letter no. 1922, n. 13). See illustration, p. 56.

1613 · T o JOHN BRUCE GLASIER

Kelmscott House, Upper Mall, Hammersmith May 13, 1889

Dear Glasier T h e paper you sent, you didn't send; or at all events I have n o t got it w h i c h is m u c h the same thing. 1 H o w e v e r this don't matter. W h a t are y o u going to d o about the Conference? are you going to come u p yourself or is the Branch going to send anyone or only commission a L o n d o n e r ? 2 It is only about a m o n t h to the time. 3 So I ask.

Have you seen Grant

Aliens 4 article in the C o n t e m p o r a r y Socialism and Individualism? 5 It is of little importance in itself: but as the manifesto of Herbert

Spencerite

against Herbert Spencer is of some interest. 6 I suppose you have seen or read, or at least tried to read L o o k i n g Backward. 7 I had to on Saturday having promised to lecture on it. 8 T h a n k you I w o u l d n ' t care to live in such a cockney paradise as he imagines. I h o p e to hear from you soon that you are getting on. fraternally William Morris MS: Walthamstow. Extract published: Glasier, 198; Henderson, Letters, 315. 1 Possibly Glasier's article "Henry George and the Single Tax," which appeared (p. 169) in the June 1, 1889, issue of Commonweal. 2 Commonweal's report of the Conference (see note 3 below) includes Glasgow in the list of branches represented, but does not name the delegate. See Commonweal, June 15, 1889, p. 186. 3 The fifth annual conference of the S.L. was held on June 9 (Whitsunday), 1889. 4 Grant Allen (1848-1899), an author who sometimes used the pseudonyms Cecil Power and J. Arbuthnot Wilson. Canadian-born and educated at King Edward's School, Birmingham, and Merton College, Oxford, he became in 1870 Professor of Mental Philosophy and

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Logic at the Government College in Jamaica. In 1876 Allen returned to England, where he became a professional writer, publishing fiction, as well as working as a leader-writer for the Daily News; and where he also became a sympathizer with socialism. As an author, he was to publish thirty novels and, among other works, Physiological Aesthetics (1877), The Evolutionist at Large (1881), and Charles Darwin (1893). 5 Morris reversed the title, which actually was "Individualism and Socialism." The article appeared in The Contemporary Review, LV (May 1889), 730-41. 6 In the article, Allen (see note 4 above) disassociated his own philosophy of Individualism from that of the "Liberty and Property Defence League"—a league established to defend the rights of private property. He spoke sympathetically of socialism and insisted (p. 738) that individualists like himself and socialists had much in common—e.g., "a strong sense of the injustice and wickedness of the existing system. What we both hate is inequality and wrong. What we both aim at is a more equitable distribution of the goods of life among those who do most to produce and defend them." Specifically, Allen called (p. 732) for the nationalization of "raw material" so that every man might be given a fair share of natural resources and the "full, free . . . unimpeded use of all his energies, activities and faculties, provided only he does not thereby encroach upon the equal and correlative right of every other citizen." Allen went on, however, to list (p. 738) differences between "thoroughgoing Individualists of the old school"—like himself—and socialists. Individualists, for example, did not believe "that one man ought to be taxed for teaching another man's children" or "to pay for another man's books, or beer, or preaching, or amusement. We do not believe that the State, that deus ex machina of current Socialistic writing and thinking, should take aught from any man for any purpose save . . . the most necessary public objects of defence against external or internal enemies. Our ideal is the ideal of a world in which everybody should start fair at the outset, and every boat should stand thereafter by its own accidents." 7

By Edward Bellamy (1850-1898). An American journalist, Bellamy in 1888 published Looking Backward, a Utopia set in a mechanized future, to demonstrate "a method of economic organization by which the republic might guarantee the livelihood and material welfare of its citizens on a basis of equality corresponding to and supplanting their political equality. . . . [quoted in the unsigned preface to Equality, by Edward Bellamy (New York: Appleton-Century, 1897), p. v]." 8 Morris lectured on both Looking Backward (see note 7 above) and Grant Allen's "Individualism and Socialism" at a meeting of the Hammersmith Branch, S.L., on the evening of May 12, 1889. See LeMire, p. 278-79; and Commonweal, May 18, 1889, p. 159.

1614 · T o J O S E P H LANE

Kelmscott House,

Upper Mall, Hammersmith May 13, 1889 My dear Lane As to the N o r w i c h Branch I am much discomforted, and yet n o t surprised so much as you might think. B u t I suppose that you want my opinion as to whether they should send up a delegate to the coming Conference; I think that there can be n o question but that they should if they can; for surely they ought to lay the state of their branch before the

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League.1 As to their private affairs of course I can give them no advice except what would be general to any branch in a poor way. As to Herbert: Kitz told me that he could not get on with him and that he should have to part with him. I have not heard anyone say that he went without notice, and I would let the matter rest where it is if I were you. However if (you) on reflection you want me to read (Kitzs'} the letter (to you to) you had from Kitz I will do so either to the W & M 2 next Thursday or to the Council this day week, whichever you please. I shall be at the League to night and will see Piggott if he calls and do what I can with him. If he don't call I will call on him if you like. I take this opportunity of telling you how sorry I am that you have thought yourself obliged to keep away from us. Also if my advice is of any good I venture to offer it in the matter of your bringing the charges, (which I cannot admit were charges) against you before the Conference.3 Whatever has been said has been withdrawn or apologized for, and we have expressed our confidence in you at the Council. The utmost that can be done is for us to repeat this, and considering that doing so will unavoidably cause some feeling of dissension I do not think it would serve any good purpose. Perhaps you will be angry with me for mentioning this; but since you have alluded to it in your letter, I thought it would be unfriendly in me not to say what I think about it. As to Faulkner the news I have to give is very bad: after seeming to get a little better he has now taken a turn for the worse, and I am expecting any day to hear of his death.4 I am much downcast at this since he was such an old companion of mine, and such a thoroughly good fellow. I return you Sutton's letter; and will not forget all about the other matter or leave Kitz's letter at home if I have to read it. Hoping to see you again soon I am Yours fraternally William Morris MS: BL, Add. MSS. 46345. 1 In the event, Charles Mowbray was elected as the delegate for the Norwich Branch to the Conference. See "Branch Reports," Commonweal, June 8, 1889, p. 183. 2 Ways and Means. 3 See letter no. 1613 and n. 3. 4 Faulkner, in fact, did not die until 1892.

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L E T T E R S OF WILLIAM 1615 · T o THE READERS OF THE Commonweal

MORRIS [May 18, 1889]

In answer to our comrade BlackwelFs 1 suggestion, and in default of someone else beginning that free discussion he speaks of, I wish to note down a few thoughts suggested by reading the clauses of the Anarchist congress at Valentia, 2 as stated by our comrade; premising that I do so in n o polemical spirit, but simply giving my own thoughts and hopes for the future for what they may be worth. I will begin by saying that I call myself a Communist, and have no wish to qualify that word by joining any other to it. T h e aim of C o m m u n i s m seems to me to be the complete equality of condition for all people; and anything in a Socialist direction which stops short of this is merely a c o m promise with the present condition of society, a halting-place on the road to the goal. This is the only logical outcome of any society which is other than a close company sustained by violence for the express purpose of "the exploitation of man by m a n " in the interest of the strongest. O u r present "society" dominated by capitalism, the society of contract, is a form of this class-society which has been forced upon those w h o hold the slave ideal by the growth of knowledge and the acquirement by man of mastery over the forces of nature. T h e history of "society" since the fall of feudalism has been the gradual freeing of class or slave society from the fetters of superstition, so that it might develope naturally within its prescribed limits of "exploitation of man by man," and that stupendous and marvellously rapid growth in power and resources of modern slave society is due to this shaking off of superstition. C o m m u n i s m also will have to keep itself free of superstition. Its ethics will have to be based on the recognition of natural cause and effect, and not on rules derived from a priori ideas of the relation of man to the u n i verse or some imagined ruler of it; and from these two things, the equality of condition and the recognition of the cause and effect of material nature, will grow all Communistic life. So far I think I can see clearly; but w h e n I try to picture to myself the forms which that life will take, I confess I am at fault, and I think we must all be so. Most people w h o can be said to think at all are n o w beginning to see that the realisation of Socialism is certain; although many can see nothing further than a crude and incomplete State Socialism, which very naturally repels many from Socialism altogether. All genuine Socialists admit that C o m m u n i s m is the necessary development of Socialism; but I repeat, further than this all must be speculative; and surely in speculating on the future of society we should try to shake ourselves clear of mere phrases; especially as many of them will cease to have a meaning w h e n the change comes that we all of us long for. And here I join issue with our Anarchist-Communist friends,

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who are somewhat authoritative on the matter of authority, and not a little vague also. For if freedom from authority means the assertion of the advisability or possibility of an individual man doing what he pleases always and under all circumstances, this is an absolute negation of society, and makes Communism as the highest expression of society impossible; and when you begin to qualify this assertion of the right to do as you please by adding "as long as you don't interfere with other people's rights to do the same," the exercise of some kind of authority becomes necessary. If individuals are not to coerce others, there must somewhere be an authority which is prepared to coerce them not to coerce; and that authority must clearly be collective. And there are other difficulties besides this crudest and most obvious one. The bond of Communistic society will be voluntary in the sense that all people will agree in its broad principles when it is fairly established, and will trust to it as affording mankind the best kind of life possible. But while we are advocating equality of condition—i.e., due opportunity free to everyone for the satisfaction of his needs—do not let us forget the necessary (and beneficent) variety of temperament, capacity, and desires which exists amongst men about everything outside the region of the merest necessaries; and though many, or if you will, most of these different desires could be satisfied without the individual clashing with collective society, some of them could not be. Any community conceivable will sometimes determine on collective action which, without being in itself immoral or oppressive, would give pain to some of its members; and what is to be done then if it happens to be a piece of business which must be either done or left alone? would the small minority have to give way or the large majority? A concrete example will be of use here, especially as it affects my temperament. I have always believed that the realisation of Socialism would give us an opportunity of escaping from that grievous flood of utilitarianism which the full development of the society of contract has cursed us with; but that would be in the long run only; and I think it quite probable that in the early days of Socialism the reflex of the terror of starvation, which so oppresses us now, would drive us into excesses of utilitarianism. Indeed, there is a school of Socialists now extant who worship utilitarianism with a fervour of fatuity which is perhaps a natural consequence of their assumption of practicality. So that it is not unlikely that the public opinion of a community would be in favour of cutting down all the timber in England, and turning the country into a big Bonanza farm or a market-garden under glass. And in such a case what could we do, who objected "for the sake of life to cast away the reasons for living," when we had exhausted our powers of argument? Clearly we should have to submit to authority. And a little reflection will show us [ 63 ]

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many such cases in which the collective authority will weigh down individual opposition, however reasonable, without a hope for its being able to assert itself immediately; in such matters there must be give and take: and the objectors would have to give up the lesser for the greater. In short, experience shows us that wherever a dozen thoughtful m e n shall meet together there will be twelve different opinions on any subject which is not a dry matter of fact (and often on that too); and if those twelve men want to act together, there must be give and take between them, and they must agree on some c o m m o n rule of conduct to act as a bond between them, or leave their business undone. And what is this c o m m o n b o n d but authority—that is, the conscience of the association voluntarily accepted in the first instance. Furthermore, w h e n we talk of the freedom of the individual man, we must not forget that every man is a very complex animal, made up of many different moods and impulses; no man is always wise, or wise in all respects. Philip sober needs protection against Philip drunk, or he may chance to wake up from his booze in a nice mess. Surely we all of us feel that there is a rascal or two in each of our skins besides the other or two w h o want to lead manly and honourable lives, and do we not want something to appeal to on behalf of those better selves of ours? and that something is made up of the aspirations of our better selves, and is the moral conscience without which there can be no true society, and which even a false society is forced to imitate, and so have a sham social conscience,— what we sometimes call hypocrisy. N o w I don't want to be misunderstood. I am not pleading for any form of arbitrary or unreasonable authority, but for a public conscience as a rule of action: and by all means let us have the least possible exercise of authority. I suspect that many of our Communist-Anarchist friends do really mean that, w h e n they pronounced against all authority. And with equality of condition assured for all men, and our ethics based on reason, I cannot think that we need fear the growth of a new authority taking the place of the one which we should have destroyed, and which we must remember is based on the assumption that equality is impossible and that slavery is an essential condition of human society. By the time that is assumed that all men's needs must be satisfied according the measure of the c o m m o n wealth, what may be called the political side of the question would take care of itself. William Morris TEXT: Commonweal, May 18, 1889, 157. 1

Commonweal, April 13, 1889, printed (p. 117) a letter from James Blackwell in which he advocated that Commonweal copy the practice of the Paris paper L'Egalite, which included a column, "Tribune Socialiste," to provide space for comments of all persuasions.

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1889 I L E T T E R 1617 Blackwell wrote in part: "I feel sure that if you introduced a Socialist Free Tribune into the Commonweal, you would secure a great many new contributors in the form of correspondents, and would afford an opportunity to the latest converts to Socialism to thoroughly understand our principles." 2 In his letter (see note 1 above), Blackwell went on to say that the S.L. was becoming Communist-Anarchist in persuasion and that attention should be given to the modifications in organization of the Spanish Socialists which were agreed upon at the Congress of Valencia.

1616

· T o ANTHONY JOHN MUNDELLA

Kelmscott H o u s e ,

U p p e r Mall, H a m m e r s m i t h May 20 [1889?]1 Dear Mr. Mundella

2

T h e r e is certainly some money in hand: I will see at once h o w m u c h , & if you are n o t t o o busy I would be obliged if you could suggest some way of relieving m e of the charge of it. O f course I am very willing that Mrs Pratt 3 should be helped of the fund. Yours very truly William Morris MS: USheffield. 1 The dating of this letter is highly conjectural. The fund to which Morris refers is probably the one he calls "poor Mr. Pratt's fund" in a letter to Henry Richard on March 11, 1882 (see Volume II, letter no. 780). It is conceivable that Morris kept in his charge monies raised at that time but unexpended. It is also possible that this letter was written between 1882 and 1888. 2 See Volume I, letter no. 356, n. 1. 3 Possibly the wife of Hodgson Pratt (see Volume II, letter no. 780, n. 2). However, there is a problem in so identifying the Mrs. Pratt who was to "be helped of the fund." An inveterate campaigner for peace, Hodgson Pratt was in the 1880s often abroad in France and Germany, encouraging the formation of peace societies. This might suggest a reason why his wife would need help. But when he died in 1907, he was a man of considerable wealth, and there is no evidence that it was acquired in his last years. For a biographical sketch, see Joyce Bellamy and John Saville, eds., The Dictionary of Labour Biography I (London: Macmillan, 1972), 273-75.

1617 · T o H E N R Y IRVING

Kelmscott House, Upper Mall, Hammersmith May 21, 1889

Dear Sir 1 T h o u g h I have never had the h o n o u r of m e e t i n g you privately (or pers) (I won't say personally) I venture to ask you to use your influence (if you [ 65 ]

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MORRIS

think it right to do so) in favour of my friend Mr. Joseph Skipsey2 who is a candidate for the vacant place of the Custodianship of Shakespeare's House at Stratford.3 I have the less hesitation in doing this as I honestly believe that no better man could be found. Mr. Skipsey is a man of naturally refined mind, and though he passed the early part of his life in a coal mine is by his own endeavours a man of cultivation, and has written poetry which is at once elegant and genuine. Besides he is of a singularly sympathetic and amiable nature, so that he makes friends wherever he is. In short he is on the one hand an admirable specimen of our Northumbrian workers, who are, I think the best men in the Country; and on the other is a specially remarkable person; taking his life and his works together he must be called a man of genius. Hoping you will excuse my troubling you on this matter I am Dear Sir Yours faithfully William Morris to Henry Irving Esqre BTM. Henry Irving (1838—1905). An actor and theater manager whose original name was John Henry Brodribb, he gained a reputation for his performance in The Bells (1871—1872) and later became known as an outstanding Shakespearian actor. He also played the eponymous role in Tennyson's Becket (1884). From 1878 to 1902, he managed the Lyceum Theatre in association with Ellen Terry and made the period an important one in English theater history. He is credited through his serious attention to the art of acting with having revived English interest in the theater in the late nineteenth century. 2 Joseph Skipsey (1832-1903). Known as the "collier-poet," he had worked in the Northumberland coalpits from the age of seven. He taught himself to read and write and varied work in the mines with other employment until 1882. In 1859, he published Poems; and in 1862, Poems, Songs and Ballads. The Collier Lad and Other Lyrics appeared in 1864, and in 1884-1885 he edited The Canterbury Poets. 3 As a result primarily of the influence of John Morley (see Volume I, letter no. 422, n. 8) rather than Morris, Skipsey (see note 2 above) was successful. He remained custodian until 1891, when he resigned. Most apposite, it is almost certain that Henry James used Skipsey as the model for Morris Gudge, the caretaker of "The Birthplace" in the story by that name (published in 1903). In an entry in his Notebook dated June 12, 1901, James wrote that the donnee for the tale was an account by Lady Trevelyan of a couple from Newcastle— which was in fact Skipsey's home—who had been the incumbents at Stratford-upon-Avon "for a couple . . . or a few" years but had grown "sick and desperate from finding . . . their office . . . full of humbug . . . [and] after a while . . . could stand it no longer, and threw up the position." Evidence linking Skipsey with Gudge, in addition to Lady Trevelyan's reference to Newcastle, is a letter Skipsey wrote to John Cuming Walters: "I . . . gradually lost faith in the so-called relics which it was the duty of the custodian to show . . . visitors at the birthplace. This loss of faith was the result of a long and severe inquiry into which I was driven by questions . . . put to my wife and me by intelligent visitors; and the effect MS:

1

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1889 / L E T T E R

1617

Joseph Skipsey, c. 1892.

of it on myself was such as almost to cause a paralysis of the brain. . . . [A] man must be in a position to speak in . . . positive terms . . . if he is to fill the post of custodian of that house; and the more I thought of it the more . . . I was unable to do this" (letter included with his own by Walters and published in The Times, September 8, 1903, p. 5).

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L E T T E R S OF WILLIAM 1618 · T o J O S E P H LANE

MORRIS Kelmscott House,

Upper Mall, Hammersmith May 21, 1889 M y dear Lane I am so far from stamping about your letter that I thank you for writing me so long and carefully, and in what seems to m e in so friendly a spirit. I will n o t argue the point any longer with you: I will only say that I always looked upon you as o n e of the serious members of the League, and that it is quite true, as far as I can see that o u r views as to Anarchism are very close together; and in consequence that I look upon your loss as serious in all ways. 1 However I must leave it to time to have that set right. As to your estimate of my character, I am n o t going to dispute that, n o t even the fool part of it: indeed there is much truth in it—fool and all. You see (and I mean this in all soberness) you must make allowances for a man born and bred in the very heart of capitalism, and remember that however we may rebel against the sham society of today we are all damaged by it. I hope also to see & hear from you, and that after all we shall soon be obviously working together again. Yours fraternally William Morris MS: BL1 Add. MSS. 46345. 1 E. P. Thompson writes (p. 520) that Lane, "who had been incapacitated by illness," withdrew from the League altogether in 1889.

1619 · RECIPIENT U N K N O W N

Kelmscott House,

Upper Mall, Hammersmith May 21, 1889 Dear Sir I very much regret that I am so (much) very busy and so uncertain of my movements this year 1 that I cannot engage myself to you. W i t h many thanks for your kind & cordial letter. I am Dear Sir Yours faithfully William Morris MS: McWilliams Coll. 1 For Morris's lecture engagements from June to January, 1889, see LeMire, pp. 279-82.

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/ L E T T E R 1620

1620 · T o EMMA SHELTON M O R R I S

Manor House

Kelmscott May 23, 1889 M y dearest Mother I am writing to greet you o n your birthday; I do so hope that you are better this beautiful weather. I dont think I remember a finer day in May than today is. It is wonderful h o w everything has come out since Jenny and I were here a m o n t h ago. We left it with spring in its midst, and we find it n o w quite summer: the nights are still cool, and the mornings till 9 oclock rather hazy. I have been here but seldom at this time of the year, and enjoy the beauty of everything very much. I have taken down work with m e however and have been doing a great deal considering: It seems to be doing both the Janes much good. 1 We are going up the water this afternoon to call upon o u r neighbour the parson of Buscott. 2 H e has a very pretty garden. I travelled u p that day with Mrs. Berry, 3 and had a long talk with her: she seems a pleasant and intelligent lady. T h e birds here are most delightful: the starlings so amusing: one has built his nest under the eaves of the porch and keep flying in and out with great big worms all day long. O u r fowls are doing only pretty well: n o t so well as yours: we have only 60 chicken: the early ones were difficult to rear. O u r apple-blossom is nearly over, there seems to have been a good deal of it. B u t the trees are old and cankered. Janey sends love. I saw Jenny hard at work at a letter to you, which will reach you along with this. M y very best love dearest Mother: I hope this warm weather and the fresh air will set you up. I will come down to see you very soon, I hope. Best love to all the others Your most affectionate Son William Morris RS. It may amuse you to hear that I shall have to go to Paris after all: about the middle of July it seems. 4 I had much rather not. MS: Walthamstow. ' ". . . both the Janes" are Jane and Jenny Morris. As for Jenny, although she was back from Malvern, her health had not improved (see letter no. 1587, n. 1). 2 The Rev. Oswald Birchall. See Volume II, letter no. 1165, n. 1. 3 A neighbor in Much Hadham; see letter no. 1566. 4 See letter no. 1576, notes 7 and 8.

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L E T T E R S OF WILLIAM M O R R I S 1621

· T o CHARLES FAIRFAX M U R R A Y

Kelmscott House,

Upper Mall, Hammersmith May 23, 1889 M y dear Murray Thanks for telling Ellis to send the book, it is really a very pretty one, and I think not dear considering 1 have b o u g h t it. Item as you perceived 1 I should the Bidpay at a small reduction. Yrs very truly William Morris T h e Bidpay is very good but lacks the ornamental character of some of the w o o d c u t books. Still it is 'all there' so to say. W M 2 MS: Texas. 1 The Fables of Bidpai (or Pilpay), or Kalilah and Dimnah, is the title of the Arabic version of a lost original of the "Panchatantra," a celebrated Sanskrit collection of fables and the source of much European folklore. "Bidpai" is a corruption of "bidpah," the title of the chief scholar at the court of an Indian prince. Morris's copy was a first edition, and had been translated from Hebrew into Latin. See Sotheby Catalogue (1898), lot 190. 2 Morris's postscript appears at the top of the holograph.

1622

· T o J O H N B R U C E GLASIER

Kelmscott House,

Upper Mall, Hammersmith June 5, 1889 M y dear Glazier Sparling is available and would be your best man. Walker would sit if pressed perhaps; but I do not k n o w that he can. It may be of importance to send a good man; 1 since I believe there will be an attempt to get on to the Council a majority of stupid nobbedehays w h o call themselves anar­ chists, and are fools, and to oust Kitz from the secretaryship as he forsooth is not advanced e n o u g h for them. If this were to succeed, it would break up the League I & I think most of the others w h o were w o r t h anything would walk out. Thanks for your criticism & encouragement. I am going to write a serious article o n Bellamy and Grant Allen c o m b i n e d 2 probably this week; certainly not later than next. Yours fraternally William Morris MS: Walthamstow. 1 See letter no. 1613 and n. 2. 2 Morris reviewed Bellamy's Looking Backward (see letter no. 1613, n. 7) in Commonweal, June 22, 1889, p. 194. He did not, however, write about Grant Allen's article "Individual­ ism and Socialism" (see letter no. 1613, notes 4 and 5). In his review οι Looking Backward,

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1889 / L E T T E R 1623 Morris speaks of the danger that some (socialist) readers would regard Utopias such as Bellamy's as "conclusive statements of facts and rules of action, which will warp their efforts into futile directions" in response to the question "How shall we live then?" Equally dangerous, other readers would say, "lithat is Socialism, we won't help its advent. . . . " Morris then observes that "the only safe way of reading a Utopia is to consider it as the expression of the temperament of its author." Developing his criticism of Bellamy's particular Utopia, Morris says that the author "conceives of the change to Socialism as taking place without any breakdown of [modern] life, or indeed disturbance of it." Morris goes on to describe Bellamys scheme as "State Communism," the underlying vice of which, as Bellamy develops it, is that it has led the author to conceptualize only "the machinery of society," and "that though he tells us that every man is free to choose his occupation and that work is no burden to anyone, the impression which he produces" is of an authoritarian state which forces people to work to produce unnecessary wares. Morris further objects to the urban nature of Bellamy's Utopia, villages in Looking Backward being but mere "servants of the great centres of civilisation." He also opposes Bellamy's attitude toward the use of machines: "[H]is only idea of making labour tolerable is to decrease the amount of it by means . . . of ever fresh developments of machinery." But the multiplication of machinery "will just—multiply machinery." Rather than reduce labor to a minimum, Morris's goal is to reduce the "pain in labour" to a minimum. At several points in the article Morris says he criticizes Looking Backward not out of any wish to quarrel with Bellamy but because it is necessary to point out the ideological differences between Bellamy's handling of the "problem of the organisation of life" and the views of other socialists. "[Vjariety of life," Morris writes, "is as much an aim of true Communism as equality of condition. . . . And . . . art, using that word in its widest and due signification, is . . . the necessary expression and indispensable instrument of human happiness."

1623 · T o EDMUND H E N R Y M O R G A N

Merton Abbey, Surrey June 7, 1889

Dear Mr. M o r g a n 1 I will undertake to repair the t w o w i n d o w s 2 the 4 light for £65 & the 3 light for £45 as an outside price; and I am quite sure that they will be perfectly sound w h e n so repaired. I do not suppose that the sums m e n tioned will cover o u r expenses, but (I will n o t ) if the w o r k costs less, the College shall have the benefit of it. I may say that the colour w h i c h we are n o w using is very hard w h e n properly fired. I should like you or other members of the College to come here and see the w o r k in hand: We shall subject the returned glass to the severest tests. I am extremely anxious to do the work, and to make your windows, what they should be, proof against centuries of fair usage. I am Dear Mr. M o r g a n Yours faithfully William Morris

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OF WILLIAM

MORRIS

MS: Jesus College. 1 See Volume I, letter no. 35, n. 1. 2 Morris seems to agree here to undertake repairs on windows installed in 1872 by Morris and Co. in the Jesus College Chapel (see Volume I, letter no. 165, notes 1 and 2). Robinson and Wildman note (pp. 43-44) that "[a] part from a few cracks and bits of flaking (such as can still be seen with the aid of field glasses), the worst damage appears to have been caused by the instability of the borax flux used for the darker pigments. Added to this were the effects of a stove and a gas bracket at the angle of nave and transept on the north side, which severely affected the two windows above."

[June 9, 1889?]1

1624 · T o EMERY WALKER

Very sorry can't come: am gone to see my mother: will speak if r e quired at Beadon R d 12.30, and at Weltje R o a d in evening. MS: Texas. 1 The conjectural dating assumes Morris was asked to be at the two street meetings and complied: on June 9, 1889, he did speak at both. Although this was also true for May 24, he had written to his mother the day before and indicated his visit to her would be "very soon," he hoped, making it unlikely (though not implausible) he would decide to go the next day. (For record of Morris's attendance at Beadon Road and Weltje Road meetings in June, 1889, see Ham. Min. Book; for his promise to visit his mother, see letter no. 1620; and for Emery Walker, see Volume II, letter no. 1001, n. 5).

1625 · T o O S C A R FAY ADAMS

Kelmscott House,

Upper Mall, Hammersmith June 12 [1889] Dear Sir1 I must apologize very much to you for n o t answering your letter before and acknowledging your kind gift of the annotated extracts from my E. P.2 I n o w thank you very much for them, & the pains you have taken with the very interesting notes. As to the question you ask about the locale of the link for August & the other one. 3 T h e 'little stream' 4 is the U p p e r Thames, sometimes but w i t h out any real warrant I believe, called the Isis: that name I think is a mere piece of pseudo-classicalism invented by the Elizabethan pedants. T h e spot I thought of in the piece which has 'the little stream' in it is about a mile above N e w Bridge (the oldest bridge on the Thames by the way) where the Thames takes a sharp curve under the banks of Harrowden Hill (and) which look down o n Standlake & N o r t h m o o r o n the north. W h i t ney lies a little further N . T h e river Windrush o n which it is built comes

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1625

The area around Kelmscott Manor, in Gloucestershire, Oxfordshire, Wiltshire, and Berkshire.

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MORRIS

in at N e w Bridge. All this is a very old country: the greater part of the villages retain their beautiful mullioned-windowed-houses built of Oolite lime-stone & roofed with stone-slates small & neatly fitting, u p to within 100 years (og) ago all ordinary houses were built in this Gothic fashion. T h e counties are Berkshire on one bank (S) & Oxfordshire on the other; but you soon get (at Lechlade) to Gloucestershire & Wiltshire. 5 T h e August piece has also to do with the Thames, 6 this time about as far below Oxford as N e w Bridge is above it (about (12) 15 miles N e w B. is)

Days Lock is the river-side name, but the little old town of Dorchester 7 lies two furlongs from its Oxfordshire bank with its strange & very beautiful Church 8 k n o w n commonly for its very peculiar Jesse window 9 in stone. Between it and the river lie Dorchester Dykes an earth work defending a triangle of land lying between the Thames & the T h a m e 1 0 which comes in here: on the other side in Berkshire is Long Whittenham at the back of (the) which village rise two 'mamelons' commonly called Whittenham Clumps: 1 1 one of these is crowned by a well defined dyke, and is called (tautologically of course) Sinodun Ht!/. O n reflection I suppose the works here are p r e - R o m a n . There is no sign of any 'Castra' other than these simple works. Dorchester was the seat of the Saxon Bishoprick. 1 2 T h e whole country hereabouts is full of interest, and, to a man w h o can use his eyes, of beauty also. I shall be glad to answer any other question that I can. I am Dear Sir Yours very truly William Morris MS: Bowker. 1 See Volume II, letter no. 1373, n. 1. 2 Atalanta's Race and Other Tales from the Earthly Paradise (Boston: Ticknor and Co., 1888), edited with notes by Oscar Fay Adams, with the cooperation of William J. Rolfe. 3 Morris is referring to the "Introductory" poems—each consisting of three rhyme-royal stanzas—for the tales for June and August. See CW, 4, 87 and 187. 4 The second stanza of the poem for June reads in part (CW, 9, 87): What better place than this then could we find By this sweet stream that knows not of the sea, That guesses not the city's misery, This little stream whose hamlets scarce have names, This far-off, lonely mother of the Thames? 5

For the places Morris names in this paragraph, all in the locale of Kelmscott Manor, see illustration (map), p. 73.

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1889 I L E T T E R 1626 6

The first stanza of the "August" poem reads (CW, 4, 187): Across the gap made by our English hinds, Admidst the Roman's handiwork, behold Faroffthe longroofed church; the shepherd binds The withy round the hurdles of his fold Down in the foss the river fed of old, That through long lapse of time has grown to be The little grassy valley that you see.

7 Dorchester-on-Thames, a large village in Oxfordshire, nine miles southeast of Oxford on the west bank of river Thame, just above its junction with the Thames. Built where a Roman road crossed the river, Dorchester became a walled town containing the station of a Roman official. 8 About 1140, Alexander, bishop of Lincoln, founded an Augustinian abbey at Dorchester, of which the church and guest house still survive. The Abbey Church of Saints Peter and Paul and Birinus has a nave of great length primarily of the Transitional Norman period, and a choir with decorated arches. The front is Norman carved lead. On the south side are four late twelfth-century glass roundels and much early armorial glass. The massive western tower was rebuilt in 1602, but the north choir aisle is late thirteenth century, and the south choir aisle and south nave aisle were built between 1300 and 1320. 9 A Jesse window is a decorated window in which the descent of Jesus from Jesse is the principal subject depicted in the design. 10 See map, p. 73. 11 Wittenham Clumps (historically Sinodun), an early Iron Age earthwork that faces the Dyke hills. 12 In 634, Dorchester became the seat of the bishopric of Birinus, apostle of the West Saxons, who baptized King Cynegils there. In 1092, the bishopric was moved to Lincoln by Remigius, the seventeenth bishop.

1626 · T o AGLAIA IONIDES C O R O N I O

Kelmscott House,

Upper Mall, Hammersmith June 12, 1889 My dear Aglaia 1 It seems to me a long time since we have had a talk. Will you be at h o m e o n Saturday next about 4. If so I could make my work fit in with the pleasure of going to see you. Yrs affectionately William Morris MS: Berger Coll. 1 See Volume I, letter no. I l l , n. 1.

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L E T T E R S OF WILLIAM 1627 · T o E D M U N D H E N R Y M O R G A N

MORRIS Merton Abbey,

Surrey June 17, 1889 Dear Mr. Morgan I wish to meet you as much as I possibly can. I am very anxious, as I said, to m e n d the windows. 1 Therefore if you will send m e u p to two worst:2 I will set to work o n them as soon as I can, and will take the risk of your n o t being able to raise the money by subscription: and at any rate give you as long a day as you may require for payment. I cannot think that all the windows will want as much work on them as the worst, and my estimate was for the worst. At any rate I say that the windows must be done, and I am prepared to meet a considerable loss in doing them; and I wish to leave you free o n your side to do what (I) you can. I think n o time should be lost: because if I were to die or my business break up their due mending would be impossible, because some of the cartoons n o longer exist as working drawings, and other glass painters would not readily fall into o u r manner of execution, o n the other hand I feel confident of making the windows quite sound. Kindly let me k n o w what you p r o pose doing under these somewhat altered conditions. I am Dear Mr. Morgan Yours faithfully William Morris MS: Jesus College. 1 See letter no. 1623 and notes. 2 Morgan probably did take Morris's advice, since the condition of the windows is satisfactory today. For a discussion of the windows, see Robinson and Wildman, p. 44.

1628 · T o CHARLES E L I O T N O R T O N

Kelmscott House,

Upper MaO, Hammersmith June 17, 1889 M y dear N o r t o n 1 O n c e more I ask leave to introduce to you a socialist friend, Mr. Percival C h u b b 2 this time. H e is young but enthusiastic (for o u r young cultured m e n of today are usually cynical) a man of high principles and of much delicacy of mind, w h o is I am sure as sincere as a man can be. H e is going to stay some time in America some time, and I know your kindliness so well that I do n o t suppose I am putting any burden o n you in asking you to help h i m a little in what will be somewhat of a strange country to him.

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1889

I LETTER

1629

I have been a great customer of the ink-makers of late: I have actually another prose romance in hand whereof I hope to send you a copy before the year is out. 3 I will rather carry out Oscar Wilde's theory of the beauty of lying, 4 as it will have neither time, place, history, or theory in it. W i t h best wishes I am My dear N o r t o n Yours affectionately William Morris MS: Harvard. 1 See Volume I, letter no. 63, n. 1. 2 Percival Chubb (1860-1959) was a member of the Fabian Society who had also lectured at the Hammersmith Branch, S.L. He became a clerk in the Local Government Board and later, from 1911 to 1932, was a leader of the Ethical Culture Society in St. Louis, Missouri. He was the author of Recollections of Havelock Ellis (1932) and On the Religious Frontier (1931). See Pease, History, p. 29. 3 The Roots of the Mountains. 4 A reference to Oscar Wilde's "The Decay of Lying," an essay in the form of a dialogue, which had been published in January in Nineteenth Century, XXV, 143 (1889), 35-56, and was later revised and included in Intentions (1891).

1629 · T o JANE MORRIS

June 21 [1889]

Dearest Janey 1 All is well; save that Ellis has had news that his wife was n o t well 2 and has gone off to-day: . . . Else we were to have gone to Burford to-day. We went to Gt. Coxwell yesterday, and also to Little Coxwell where there is a funny little church with a 14th century wooden roof over the nave. 3 T h e church much smaller than Kelmscott. 4 We were delighted with the barn again. 5 T h e farmer turned up and seemed a nice sort of chap; he said his family had been there for hundreds of years . . . his name is Gerring (Geiring). W i l liam Morris was it seems lord of the manor there: we saw his brass 6 again, it is really a very pretty one. T h e harvest being n o w out of the barn we saw the corbels that support the wall pieces: they are certainly n o t later than 1250: so the barn is much earlier than I thought: the building of the walls and buttresses is remarkably good and solid. Mr. Hobbs 7 has carried the big field of hay first-rate. T h e country is one great nosegay, the scent of it intoxicating. Every morning has been dull and grey till about 10.30 a.m., then it clears u p into very bright days indeed. T h e fishing is very bad: I made Ellis carry off the only tolerable

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MORRIS

pike, caught by a trimmer in the ditch. But we have had 2 very good eels from Mr. New. 8 I shall bring you back one. The roses are not at their best yet. I shall bring you a good bunch. The pink martagon lilies have been very fine. Raspberries any amount but none to eat for a fortnight at least. No strawberries yet. We went in the trap to Highworth with Ellis and had a very nice morning's drive. Best love to May and you. Your loving W.M. Jenny has been enjoying herself much. I have done no work. TEXT: CW, 18, xxviii. 1 For an essential discussion of this letter as well as a necessary comparison with one to Georgiana Burne-Jones, see letter no. 1630 and n. 1. 2 See Volume II, letter no. 1401, n. 1. 3 The Church of St. Mary the Virgin, at Little Coxwell, a village about nine miles from Kelmscott. The chapel was built in the twelfth century by the monks of Beaulieu Abbey and there is a rustic fourteenth-century roof over the nave. Further restoration took place in the fifteenth century, including the rebuilding of the original chancel arch. I am grateful to the late A. R. Dufty for the information given here. 4 See Volume II, letter no. 1551 and n. 4; see also illustration, Volume II, p. 832. 5 At Great Coxwell. See letter no. 1612 and n. 13. 6 May Morris notes (CW, 18, xxvii): "One time when my father and mother were taking some friends to see the famous barn at Great Coxwell they went over the church, and they made the rather startling discovery of a handsome late fifteenth century brass of a man and his wife, inscribed:

Here lieth Willm Morys su[m]tyme fermer of Cokyfwell on whose foule ihu have mercy amen Here lieth Johane the Wyf of Willm Morys on whose foule ihu have mercy amen Below are the figures of their children praying—two men and a woman." Henderson notes (Letters, p. 315) that the figure of the man is dressed "in a short gown, with a pouch at his girdle." May Morris adds: "It can be imagined that this gave great delight. Father took a rubbing of the brass later, and there it is, framed and hanging in one of the lobbies at Kelmscott—rather a ghostly sort of thing to meet one's own epitaph out walking." 7 R. W. Hobbs, friend and neighbor of the Morrises at Kelmscott (see Volume II, letter no. 726, n. 1). 8 Presumably a neighbor at Kelmscott.

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]

1629

L E T T E R S OF WILLIAM 1630 · T o [GEORGIANA B U R N E - J O N E S ]

MORRIS Midsummer Day 18891

[June 22] Haymaking is going o n like a house afire; I should think such a haytime has seldom been; heavy crop and wonderful weather to get it in. For the rest the country is o n e big nosegay, the scents wonderful, really that is the word; the life to us holiday-makers luxurious to the extent of making one feel wicked, at least in the old sense of bewitched. We went to Great Coxwell yesterday, and also to Little Coxwell, where there is a funny little church with a 14th-century roof over the nave, the church much smaller than Kelmscott. We were delighted with the barn again. T h e farmer turned u p and seemed a nice sort of chap; he said his family had been there for hundreds of years. William Morris was, it seems, lord of the manor there: we saw his brass again, it is really a very pretty one. T h e harvest being n o w out of the barn, we saw the corbels that support the wall pieces: they are certainly n o t later than 1250, so the barn is much earlier than I thought. T h e building of the walls and buttresses is remarkably good and solid. T h e roses are n o t at their best, yet I shall bring you a good bunch. T h e pink martagon lilies have been very fine. Raspberries any amount, but n o n e to eat for a fortnight at least: n o strawberries yet. TEXT: Mackail, II, 222-23. Published: Henderson, Letters, 315. 1 Mackail in his notebook describes a letter to Georgiana Burne-Jones written on June 22, 1889, as follows: "(K) The country one big nosegay. Coxwell Barn." (It is undoubtedly this one, though it should be added that in the Life he indicates it was written on Midsummer's Day, i.e., June 24, a puzzling discrepancy that does not, however, affect the sequence of letters in this edition.) In any event, see prior letter to Jane Morris (no. 1629). Its text is clearly identical, in large part, to that of this letter to Georgiana Burne-Jones, which seems sandwiched into the earlier one between a new opening and close. Moreover, May Morris's ellipses show that in her version there is discontinuity of some sort between at least the first sentence and the rest. The answer to the puzzle is probably contained in Mackail's notebook: he lists a letter to Jane Morris, dated June 21, 1889, which he says gives "some description of Great Coxwell barn"—certainly the letter that May Morris prints. It seems likely that Morris used the same text when writing to the two women.

1631 · T o A N T H O N Y J O H N MUNDELLA

Kelmscott House,

Upper Mall, Hammersmith July 3 [1889] Dear Mr. Mundella Thanks for your letter and enclosure. I have between £70 and £80 b e longing to the old E.Q.A. Just before poor Chesson died 1 he proposed, and I agreed, that it should be handed over to an Armenian Committee. 2

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1889 / L E T T E R 1632 O f course I should be very glad to hand over the cash to any such committee as might be formed now. 3 I have n o list however, & probably the members that I k n o w are just those that you know. I am afraid for my part that I should be able to take n o active share in the movement though as you may imagine I am at least as anti-jingo as ever. Awaiting any steps that may be taken in the matter I am Yours very truly William Morris RS. I return Bryce's letter 4 as I suppose you may want to show it to o t h ers. MS: USheffield. 1 F. W. Chesson (see Volume I, letter no. 416, n. 5) died at the end of April, 1888. 2 See Volume II, letter no. 1445 and n. 2. 3 In May 1889, there was new unrest in Armenia. On May 29, 1889, The Times reported (p. 9) a speech by Bryce (see Volume I, letter no. 389, n. 1) in the House of Commons reporting Turkish cruelty in Armenia. Bryce also criticized the government for a raid that had been made by order of the Home Secretary on a house in Bayswater where two Armenians were pubiishing a newspaper that had angered the Turkish Government. Gladstone also spoke, rebuking the government for the raid. On June 29, The Times reported (p. 9) that French gendarmes had seized Armenians carrying papers that proved their connection with Armenian committees in London and Marseilles. 4 Presumably a letter in which Bryce denounced Turkish treatment of the Armenians and called for the formation in London of an Armenian Committee.

1632

· T o CHISWICK PRESS

[CHARLES THOMAS JACOBI?]

Kelmscott House,

Upper Mall, Hammersmith [July 15, 1889?] Dear Sir 1 I have seen your note to Mr. Walker; By all means give the order for making the pott: 2 there had better be full enough ordered; as we should want end-papers and so forth. 3 I believe you have the sample of quantity & weight & surface which I approved of. If not I can let you have the sheet you printed for me Yrs truly William Morris MS: Bodleian. 1 This letter is addressed to the Chiswick Press, but was possibly intended for Charles Thomas Jacobi (see Volume II, letter no. 1527, n. 1), who became manager of the firm in 1882. Remaining in the position until 1918, Jacobi was thus directing the firm at the time

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OF WILLIAM

MORRIS

William Dobson Reeves, c. 1894. of this letter. He was to write of his relationship with Morris: "My own recollection of [Morris] goes as far back as 1867, when the Chiswick Press printed the first edition of his 'Life and Death of Jason' [see Volume I, letter no. 42, n. I]. It was not until 1888 that I was brought into more personal contact with him when I superintended the printing of his Ά Tale of the House of Wolfings,' in 1889; 'The Roots of the Mountains,' in 1890; and also the 'Gunnlaug Saga' in 1891 [see letter no. 1753, n. I]. These were all printed in the Chiswick Press special type whilst he was considering and formulating his plans for starting

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/ L E T T E R 1634

his own press at Hammersmith . . ." (see Jacobi, "The World of the Private Presses, I, The Kelmscott Press, 1891-1898," Penrose's Annual, 24 [1922], 17-18; quoted in Peterson, His­ tory, p. 67). For the Chiswick Press, see letter no. 1644, n. 2. 2 This was specially manufactured paper of pot-size (15½ χ 12½ inches). 3 Probably for The Roots of the Mountains.

1633 · T o M A Y M O R R I S

Kelmscott House, Upper Mall, Hammersmith Tuesday [August 6, 1889]

Dearest May I shall be h o m e t o m o r r o w : but, as I shall be going the usual Wednesday r o u n d , n o t before about 6.30, t h o u g h I shall be in t o w n by 10—30. All well here: on the w h o l e g o o d weather t h o u g h stormy at whiles. I am so sorry to hear that y o u are ailing my dear. You must let m e see about your w o r k 1 w h e n I c o m e h o m e . Your loving father William Morris Ms: BL, Add. MSS. 45341. 1 Morris refers possibly to articles May Morris was preparing for the Arts and Crafts Exhi­ bition Society exhibit that was to be held November 7 through December 7, 1889 (see letter no. 1657, n. 6). Among items shown were an embroidered table cover designed and executed by May Morris; a cushion cover designed by William Morris and carried out by her; and an embroidered screen designed by May Morris and worked by her and Lily B. Yeats (1866—1949). Morris might also, however, have been referring to May's essay "Of Embroidery," which was printed in the ACES Catalogue, 1889. A third possibility is that he refers to letters May designed for a bookbinding of Cobden-Sanderson. Finally, Morris may be referring in a general way to May's administrative efforts for Morris and Co. She had been head of the Embroidery Department of the firm since 1885 (see Volume II, letter no. 1195 and n. 1).

1634 · T o WILLIAM D O B S O N REEVES

Kelmscott House, Upper Mall, Hammersmith August 8 [1889?]

Dear Mr. Reeves1 I have received y o u r accounts & cheque: for w h i c h many thanks: 2 Yours truly William Morris Ms: UMaryland. 1 William Dobson Reeves (1825-1907), the senior partner of Reeves and Turner. The partnership, an informal one, had been established in 1848, and was continued under the firm name after Osborne Turner's death in 1887.

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OF WILLIAM

MORRIS

2

If this note was written in 1889, Morris was presumably acknowledging receipt of money earned through the sale of The House of the Wolfings.

1635 · T o C . R E Y N O L D S

Kelmscott H o u s e , U p p e r Mall, Hammersmith

August 13 [1889] M y dear Reynolds I will come since y o u think it important: only please let m e k n o w as soon as possible what the date is to be. It cannot be till after the 27th as I am going o u t of town for the week before that date. Is it to be a Sunday? if so it have to be the 1st Sept: if a Saturday the 31st August. Please let me know at once that I may make arrangements. 1 As to your 2 it seems it did come too late; but it is going in this week. 3 I have asked the sub: 4 to look out for your reports in future. Wishing you luck I am Yours fraternally William Morris RS. I don't about C. Grahame I fancy he might be hard to catch just now. You had better write to him. MS: LSE. 1 In the event, the lecture discussed here was delivered on August 28, 1889, a Wednesday. On that day Morris gave a talk titled "Monopoly" at a meeting sponsored by the Yarmouth Branch of the S.L. C. Reynolds was in the chair (see LeMire, p. 280); see also letter no. 1639. 2 Presumably "article" or "report." Morris appears to have omitted the word in turning over the page to continue writing. See also note 3 below. 3 "Socialism at Yarmouth," which appeared (p. 261) in the August 17, 1889, issue of Commonweal. 4 H. H. Sparling and D. Nicoll were the subeditors at this time. See Commonweal, June 15, 1889, p. 186.

1636 · T o C. REYNOLDS

Kelmscott House,

Upper Mall, Hammersmith August 16 [1889] Dear Reynold(s) AU right: you can b o o k m e for the 29th 1 T h a n k Mrs. Leach for me, and say that I shall be very pleased to accept her invitation. I will come down o n the 29th and I am so busy that I must

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1889 / L E T T E R 1637 go back next morning; as I must be at Merton Abbey by 3 or 4 in the afternoon at latest I suppose you better put me down to lecture on Socialism, since whatever lecture I deliver will be on that. Please send me a handbill w h e n out. Yours fraternally William Morris MS: LSE. 1

See letter no. 1635 and n. 1.

1637 · T o THE READERS OF THE Commonweal

[August 17, 1889]

I have to excuse myself for being so long in answering our comrades. M y j o u r n e y to the Paris Congress, 1 and business necessary to be done before and after that event, accounts for the greater part of the delay. I will n o w do what I can to answer our friends w h o have written to the Commonweal.2 I must premise, by the way, that I have let a typographical error of importance pass unnoticed: for "moral conscience" our friends should read "social conscience." 3 And n o w I find that one difficulty in dealing with the friends w h o are discussing the matter is that, in all probability, I differ very little in theory from what they think, but considerably from what they write—e.g., c o m rade Armsden appears to meet my commonplace "that you have a right to do as you like so long as you don't interfere with your neighbour's right to do as he likes" with a negative: which he cannot mean to do. 4 Anyhow, I assert it again, and also assert that the social conscience, which being social is c o m m o n to every man, will forbid such individual interference, and use coercion if other means fail: and also that without that there can be n o society; and further, that man without society is not only i m possible, but inconceivable. I may say that I perceive here that the u n lucky misprint of moral for social has turned our friend's arguments beside the question. C o m m r a d e H . Davis 5 misunderstands my use of the word Communist in supposing me to use it as the Owenites did, as implying life in separate communities, whether those communities were mere scattered accidents amidst a capitalistic society or not; whereas I use it as a more accurate term for Socialism as implying equality of condition and consequently abolition of private property. In this sense, of course, you could not live Communistically until the present society of capitalism or contract is at an end. Equally of course, the living in small communities is not in theory an

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MORRIS

essential of this great change, though I have little doubt that it would bring about such a way of living and abolish big cities, which, equally with comrade Davis, I think much to be desired. In his reference to Philip drunk and sober, comrade Davis does not of course really mean that any obnoxious person shall be allowed to tyrannize over the rest of the citizens without restraint from them; but that is what his words mean. 6 As to the matter of majority-rule, let us look at the matter again. All rule must be, as comrade Davis sees, majority-rule—i.e., of the effective majority. If at any time the minority rules, it is because they are better organised, better armed, less stupid, more energetic than the mere nosecounted majority: this effective majority therefore coerces the minority; and as long as it can coerce it, it will. T h e time may come, and I hope it will, w h e n the social conscience will be so highly developed that coercion will be impossible, even on the part of the community: but then in those days the community wil be composed of men w h o so thoroughly realise C o m m u n i s m that there will be no chance of any of them attacking his neighbour in any way. All reasonable men, 'whatever they may call t h e m selves, would rejoice at such a change; and it is because I know that this cannot be brought about as long as private property exists, that I desire the abolition of private property, and am a Communist. But I do not consider myself a pessimist because I am driven to admit that such a condition of things is a long way ahead. And what can we do in the meantime? I remember that the great traveller Dr. Wolff,7 travelling in the eastern wastes, inhabited a tent alone with a stalwart Greek servant of his, w h o habitually got drunk on the feast-days of his church, and w h e n drunk, habitually beat poor Wolff. T h e latter objected, and said to his servant (I quote his own words), "You must either not get drunk, or w h e n you get drunk you must not beat m e . " But the servant said to Wolff, "I shall get drunk, and w h e n I am drunk I shall certainly beat you." WoIfF, being the weakest physically, had to submit; but if there had been two Wolffs, I will answer for it that they would have had recourse to coercion, and if they had allowed the drinking, they would certainly have put a stop to the beating. And really I think we should all of us have done in likewise, and considered it pedantic to allow one man to beat two of us: and surely it will always be so, as long as the individual acts unsocially: in that case he has no right against the society, which he himself has cast off. I must repeat practically also what I said in my first article: however much the unit of association may be divided, people will have to associate in administration, and sometimes there will be differences of opinions as to what should be done. E.g., a community discuss the building of a bridge; some say Ay and some N o , and persist in that opinion after all [ 86 ]

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possible arguments have been exhausted: what is to be done? which party is to give way? Our Anarchist friends say it must not be carried by a majority; in that case, then, it must be carried by a minority. And Why? Is there any divine right in a minority? I fail to see it, although I admit that the opinion is held by the absolutists. Or again, passing to matters of principle again. Supposing that a commune decides to re-introduce wage-slavery within its bounds. Is that to be allowed by the majority of communes? Are we not to deliver slaves from their masters? If not, why are we revolutionary Socialists to-day? A friend under the signature of "Anarchist"8 stumbles, I think, over voluntary and involuntary association. Where all men are equal, I believe "the give and take" would have such influence over men's minds, that "the authority of compulsory representative institutions," or whatever took their place, would be so completely at one with the Social Conscience that there would be no dispute about it as to principle, and in detail, as above, the few would have to give way to the many; I should hope without any rancour. This correspondent does not seem to be able to think himself out of the present state of things, and yet at the same time imagines a possibility of free association as things now are; a quite illusory hope, since those of us who are unprivileged are at the beck and call of the privileged. Comrade Blackwell suggests that since the majority is no more likely to be right than the minority (which I admit) they might as well toss a copper for it.9 I don't object; but then there might be a difference of opinion on that method also, and how are we to settle that? It is curious that comrade Blackwell in suggesting that the larger of the two differing parties in a matter of administration should throw the matter over, cannot see that this would mean victory for the noes; or, in other words, that in any question which must be answered aye or nay, any one obstructive could always prevent any business being done, and could in such matters thereby establish the most complete minority rule conceivable. The other side of comrade Blackwell's remedy is a system of perpetual compromise, which would be disastrous if it were possible, for it would so hinder all reasonable work or progress that it could not be submitted to. Comrade Blackwell objects to my calling the "Anarchist-Socialists" "vague," 10 but he himself furnishes a specimen of their vagueness in the platform of the Pittsburg Congress in 1883.11 He adds, "Now I believe most members of the Socialist League agree to every one of these planks." Exactly, and every other Socialist also; there is nothing distinctly Anarchist in them. And this I find is often the case with "Communist-Anarchists"; they cannot differentiate themselves from the Communists. Their Anarchism consists in a somewhat exaggerated fear of a possible re[ 87 ]

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growth of some of the tyrannical methods of the destroyed Society, and a consequent distrust of the new Society having any definitive form. O n the other hand, I have met with Anarchists w h o were not at all vague, and w h o definitely opposed C o m m u n i s m . T h e y had, indeed, this in c o m m o n with militant Socialism, that they wished to abolish organised monopoly; but they supported unorganised monopoly, or the rule of the strongest individual, taking for their m o t t o "To each one according to his deeds," which means the upholding of private property with no association to uphold it, a position impossible and inconceivable. O u r friends w h o have been discussing this subject do not, I know, agree with this view, but intend to be Communists though they find stumbling-blocks by the way. As for m e , I can only say that whatever will give us equality, with whatever drawbacks, will content m e , and I find that at b o t t o m this is the ideal of all Socialists. So I think the fewer partynames and distinctions we can have the better, leaving plenty of scope for the inevitable differences between persons of different temperaments, so that various opinions may not make serious quarrels. William Morris TEXT: Commonweal, August 17, 1889, p. 261. 1 See letter no. 1576, notes 7 and 8. See also Commonweal, July 27, 1889, p. 234, and August 3, 1889, p. 242, for Morris's account of the Paris Congress; and Commonweal, August 10, 1889, pp. 250-51, for Kitz's report on the Paris Congress. 2 See letter no. 1615 and notes. 3 See letter no. 1615. 4 John Armsden of Bedford published an article in Commonweal, June 1, 1889, entitled, "Looking Forward: A Reply to William Morris." He wrote in response to Morris's comment in Commonweal, on May 18 (letter no. 1615): "[I]f freedom from authority means the assertion of the advisability or possibility of an individual man doing what he pleases always and under all circumstances, this is an absolute negation of society, and makes Communism as the highest expression of society impossible; and when you begin to qualify the assertion of the right to do as you please by adding 'as long as you do not interfere with other people's rights to do the same,' the exercise of some kind of authority becomes necessary." Armsden in his June 1 article responded (p. 173): "Thus, while some individuals will be able to attain an exceedingly high development of the 'moral conscience,' a development of such perfection as to warrant them in 'coercing others not to coerce,' the possibility of these others reaching the same moral level is denied." 5 In a letter to Commonweal, June 22, 1889, H. Davis, a member of the S.L. who had been elected to the executive council at the Annual Conference, wrote (p. 197) a response to Morris's article. He said: "Large towns are necessarily unhealthy, and their replacement by small communes sufficiently far apart to admit of tracts of country between each commune, would not only bring us back to health, but would afford every opportunity to till the land lying, as it were, at our very doors. The coupling of the two words [Anarchism and Communism], then, do not modify each other, since the word anarchy has reference to the political status of the people, while the word commune has reference to their grouping and geographical arrangement." Davis commented further on, "I regard the communal system as

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the best means at present understood of dividing the people into groups, but the communal system is not itself necessarily Socialistic. The communal system is in existence in France, Switzerland, and Russia, and in these three countries capitalism reigns supreme." 6 Davis (see note 5 above) had written: "I do not forget the complexity of men's natures, nor do I deny the variety of their moods, but I do deny the right of 'Philip sober' to rule the actions of'Philip drunk,' however obnoxious that individual may be." 7 Probably Joseph Wolff (1795-1862). A German Jew, Wolff converted to Christianity in 1812 and went to London, where he entered the Church of England, studied Oriental languages in Cambridge, and became a missionary. As a missionary, he travelled in Egypt and in the Sinai Peninsula (1821—1826), and later, in Mesopotamia, Persia, Tiflis, the Crimea, and European Turkey. In 1828, he traveled from Jerusalem through central Asia to Calcutta. He later went to Bokhora (1843-1845) to ascertain the fate of Charles Stoddort (1806-1842) and Arthur Conolly (1807-1842), two British agents who had in fact been beheaded for their activities in 1842. Wolff, who ended his career as vicar of He Brewers, Somerset, published his travel journals. 8 Commonweal, June 22, 1889. The correspondent wrote (p. 197): "Very clearly there are two kinds of association, the voluntary and the compulsory; exemplified, the one by trade unions and the other by government, whether representative or otherwise; the one supported by voluntary contributions, the other by rates and taxes, neither more nor less than a compulsory service rendered to those who have the power to compel it. Of these two forms of association it is necessary, I think, to make a choice. The society of the future must be either of one or the other. . . . Our business should begin the destruction of the compulsory kind of association at once in all its forms; to withdraw from elections and to rely solely upon voluntary association for the realisation of a completely voluntary society." 9 James Blackwell (see letter no. 1615 and notes) responded to Morris's May 18 letter with a letter of his own, printed in the July 6, 1889, issue of Commonweal. Blackwell wrote (p. 211): "Comrade Morris brings forward the old question of majorities and minorities, and asks what is to be done in the case of a piece of business which must be either done or left undone, would the small minority have to give way or the large majority? Now, no logical reason has ever been brought forward to show why the minority should give way to the majority, or the majority to the minority, for as has been proved over and over again counting noses doesn't prove the truth or falsehood of a thing. If on a committee, for instance, there are two opinions as to a certain matter, it is just as reasonable and rational to decide by a toss up as by a vote. A minority of one may be right, and so may a majority of ever so many." 10 Blackwell wrote (see note 9 above): "Comrade Morris says Anarchist-Communists are 'vague.' In all good fellowship may I say that I think, not only that the vagueness rests with the Communists who are neither Anarchists nor Authoritarians, but that this vagueness has in the past caused many Socialists who wanted a political as well as an economic faith, to become Social Democrats instead of members of the Socialist League." 11 The platform of the International Working People's Association (the organization of American Anarchists) as agreed to at the Pittsburg Congress in October 1883 read: 1. Destruction of the existing class rule by all means, i.e., by energetic, relentless, revolutionary and international action. 2. Establishment of a free society based upon cooperative organisation of production. 3. Free exchange of equivalent products by and between the productive organisations without commerce and profit-mongery. 4. Organisation of education on a secular, scientific, and equal basis for both sexes. 5. Equal rights for all without distinction of sex or race.

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6. Regulation of public affairs by free contract between the autonomous (independent) communes and associations, resting on a federalistic basis. (See Commonweal, July 6, 1889, p. 211.)

1638 · T o M A Y M O R R I S

Kelmscott H o u s e , U p p e r Mall, Hammersmith August 17 [1889]

Dearest May I do so hope that you are better and have been enjoying the fine weather of these last 3 days. Yesterday was quite lovely: I was down at Merton working hard amidst it all. And what do you think Annie Catherwood 1 really came down there about 4 oclock. She was rather cross at first with having to walk so far (from Wimbledon) and made the bold assertion that it had taken her 40 minutes: but she got over it presently and enjoyed herself much, and we didn't leave till 6.30 and walked to Wimbledon in 25 minutes; going very leisurely. Mr. Macartney 2 came in (to dinner) on Thursday to stir me up about that blessed (or 'tothered) Art Congress. 3 I wish I had had the spirit to say ' n o ' to it last year: 4 but you see it seemed such a long time before it would come, and n o w it is almost here. Well it can't be helped. T h e other news is that the paper is come to town, 5 and that Walker and I have had a high old time in arranging for the printing to go on straightforwardly. So I must n o w buckle to and finish the magnum opus. 6 In fact I am hard at work at it today. I bought Lorna D o o n e 7 w h e n I left you o n Tuesday and have been reading it a little at a time (I have read it before) It really isn't bad. I suppose I shall miss you on Tuesday: I am so sorry, my dear, that I shall not find you at Kelmscott w h e n I go down there. Love to mother: I shall enclose a little note to Jenny 8 just to say, what Larx! W i t h best love Your loving father William Morris MS: BL, Add. MSS. 45341. 1 See Volume I, letter no. 473, n. 7. 2 Mervyn Edmund Macartney (1853-1932), an architect, who in 1889 was an official of the National Association for the Advancement of Art (see note 3 below). He was also an editor of The Architectural Review, a member of the R.I.B.A. Council and the Board of Architectural Education and, in 1884, had been a founding member of the Art workers' Guild. One of the founders of Kenton and Co. (see letter no. 1609, n. 1), Macartney also designed furniture and cabinets for Morris and Co. 3 The Second Annual Art Congress. Sponsored, as was the first, by the National Associ-

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Sketch by Christopher Whall of Morris and others at the 1889 Edinburgh Congress; Morris is the second figure from the right.

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ation for the Advancement of Art and its Application to Industry (see Volume II, letter no. 1556, n. 3.), the Congress was held in Edinburgh from October 28 to November 1, 1889. The Marquis of Lome, George Douglas Campbell, eighth duke of Argyll (1823-1900), was president. 4 At the 1888 Art Congress, A. H. Mackmurdo, as Honorary Secretary to the National Association for the Advancement of Art, had persuaded Morris to serve as president of the Applied Art section of the 1889 Art Congress. (See Naylor, p. 162.) 5 See letter no. 1632 and notes 2 and 3. 6 The Roots of the Mountains. 7 The quasi-historical novel by Richard Doddridge Blackmore (1825-1900), published in 1869. The story is set in the reigns of Charles II and James II, but the central characters are fictional. Lorna Doone was widely popular. 8 The enclosed note to Jenny seems not to have survived.

1639 · T o C. REYNOLDS

Kelmscott House,

Upper Mall, Hammersmith August 18 [1889] My dear Reynolds All right I can come on Wednesday 28th 1 only I cannot get away b e fore the train which leaves Liverpool St at 3.20 (according to my timetable) and gets in at 6.55. Is that all right? if not please write by return. B u t on Tuesday afternoon I go into the Country my address there till the 28th will be M a n o r House Kelmscott Lechlade. Wishing you luck allround I am Yours fraternally William Morris MS: 1

LSE. See letter no. 1635, n. 1.

1640 · T o M A Y MORRIS

Kelmscott

Tuesday [August 27, 1889] Dearest May I am writing to say that I shall go pretty straight from the League to Yarmouth 1 tomorrow, and shall get back to Hammersmith as soon as I can o n Thursday. [ 92 ]

1889 / L E T T E R 1641 We went an expedition yesterday: but no further than Inglesham. We dined at the usual place above St John's Weir, and then went up into Lechlade to see C r o m 2 off. It was hot and sleepy in Lechlade though we had found it cool & blowy on the water. I don't know if you have heard the wild legend of the plunder of my perch on Sunday? but I won't attempt to tell it in a letter. Well my dear, I think whatever small letter-writing power I ever possessed has vanished between the river & the garden here so I really wont attempt to write a letter. So with best love till Thursday my dear. Your loving father William Morris MS: BL, Add. MSS. 45341. 1 To give his talk "Monopoly." 2 Cormell Price.

1641 · T o JENNY M O R R I S

Kelmscott House,

Upper Mall, Hammersmith August 30, 1889 Dearest o w n Jenny I do hope that you are sharing in this beautiful weather; but I suppose that there is little doubt of that: I came up from Lechlade to Oxford with Mr. Hobbs; and we talked amicably together H e told m e that his n e w machine did not answer for cutting corn that was much laid. H e was boastful over the ram lambs which he had sold in May (I think in May) and showed m e a paper with an account of them as the Kelmscott Flock; which sounds grand, doesn't it. I lost him at Oxford but tumbled upon O g d e n of the Oxford branch of S.L. & rode with him to London and we talked about the strikes 1 wherewith he was much excited. M u c h excited also I found our people at the League; as they well might be; for however it ends, it will have been by far the most important one of (m) our times; that is the most important one, since strikes belong only to our times. ( W ) From what I can see this morning I think it most likely that the m e n will win, and that will be a great encouragement for the future. 2 Mrs. Tochatti has been working very (had) hard at getting money for the strikers, 3 and the Hammersmith Branch generally has done well in that respect. 4 O n the whole the spirit is very good. I really enjoyed my journey to and fro Yarmouth: I got there on the most beautiful evening with the low sun setting over the great flats. T h e country is most curious about there: the great alluvial flats with their riv-

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ers and wide ditches are b o u n d e d by low banks of sand and gravel grown over by heather and brig and bracken as if you were in a mountainous country; and then there is the fen almost on a level with you. T h e t o w n itself is very pleasant: the little 'rows' in which all the w o r k m e n and most of the others live, open o u t into a huge Market place: above the town the river widens into a kind of a lake (called Bredon) which is, of course, tidal: the harbour is made by the river defended from the sea by a long low bank of sand. It was full of ships and smacks; we walked 2 miles along it yesterday, and watched the smacks being tugged out to sea, for the herring fishery is n o w beginning. I am sorry to say that the fishermen are terribly exploited by the capitalists and are very badly off. I wish they w o u l d strike. Best love to dear you and dear Mother, for I must leave off to go to Merton Your loving father William Morris (May really seems better, and is in good spirits). 5 MS: BL, Add. MSS. 45340. Published: Henderson, Letters, 316-17. 1 The London Dock Strike, the outcome of which greatly strengthened the Trades Union Movement and thus the Independent Labour Party, began on August 14, 1889, in a dispute by unskilled laborers over the rate of pay. The strikers met with Benjamin Tillet (1860-1943), secretary of the Tea Operatives Union, and obtained his support. He called on other socialist figures for help, and prominent among those who responded were John Burns, Tom Mann, H. H. Champion (see Volume II, letter no. 923, n. 5), and Eleanor Marx. The stoppage spread to other dockworkers and a sympathy strike by non-dockworkers followed next. At its peak, the dispute involved 100,000 workers, embracing every class of waterfront laborer. Public opinion was on the side of the workers. The strike, which lasted five weeks, ended on September 16, when the dock directors agreed to a 6d.-anhour rate, which had been a standing demand of the workers. The victory led to the establishment of a permanent organization, the Dock, Wharf, Riverside, and Labourers' Union of Great Britain, Ireland and the Netherlands. Membership quickly grew, reaching 300,000 by November. Ben Tillet became general secretary and Tom Mann the first president. See Henry Pelling, A History of British Trade Unionism, 4th ed. (London: Macmillan, 1987), pp. 94-97; and Commonweal, August 24, 1889, p. 270, and August 31, pp. 277-78. 2 Morris's comment was prophetic, but it is unclear what he envisioned when saying this to Jenny. Apposite to note is that the Independent Labour Party, to be founded a few years after the strike (1893), was committed to the kind of parliamentary participation for which Morris, even by 1889, felt no strong enthusiasm. And see letter no. 1642. 3 Mrs. Tochatti, the wife of James Tochatti (see Volume II, letter no. 1457, n. 1), was taking up a collection for the strikers (see Commonweal, September 7, 1889, p. 282). 4 Commonweal reported (see note 3 above) that Mrs. Tochatti had collected 16s. 3d. by September 7; but Morris's own figure, in his letter to Georgiana Burne-Jones of August 31 (no. 1642) as printed by Mackail, was much higher. Possibly Mrs. Tochatti's efforts were separate from those of the Hammersmith S.L. Branch or—conceivably—Mackail misprinted shillings as pounds. 5 See letters no. 1633 and no. 1638.

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· T o [GEORGIANA B U R N E - J O N E S ]

August 31, 18891

I went straight to the League and found our people there in a great state of excitement about the strike, 2 the importance of which I had not at all understood in the country; only you see we are two days late for news at Kelmscott. However I thought that perhaps our folk a little exaggerated the importance of it, as to some of them it seemed that n o w at last the revolution was beginning. Whereas indeed it began before the M a m m o t h ended, and is n o w only going on. Yet I don't want to belittle the strike, which 15 of much importance, chiefly as showing such a good spirit on the part of the men. They will, I fear, be beaten; 3 and perhaps their yesterday's manifesto 4 will not do t h e m good as mere strikers. O n the other hand it was a step which they were sure to take, if the masters held out; as in spite of the assertions of the daily press the tendency of the strike has been Socialistic; and I am very glad that they have taken it, since as aforesaid the real point of the strike is the sense of combination which it is giving to the men, and their winning or losing matters little, especially as what they ask for is so small. That the capitalistic press should turn against them for the said manifesto, 5 is a matter of course, so after this hint at a general strike (it can be no more than a hint) it is clear that there is a feeling abroad wider than a mere attack on these muddling dock directors. I am told, and believe it, that the attack is on sweating in general. O u r people have been very active; the Hammersmith Branch alone having collected (mostly on Sunday and Monday last) nearly £20; 6 a large sum for Socialists to handle. I went on Wednesday to Yarmouth 7 and had many thoughts of Peggotty. 8 It really is a jolly old ramshackle place: the country about curious and fascinating: sand banks very low, all covered with heather and ling and bracken, so that if you were lying there you would expect to see highland crags above you; instead of which, two feet below spread out miles upon miles of alluvial meadows with slow rivers running through them, as you judge by the great sails moving over the pastures. T h e great church has been woefully restored, indeed almost ruined outside; I b e lieve by J o h n Seddon: 9 but inside there is a good deal to see: a huge spacious church without any clerestory anywhere; exhilarating to behold after the modern shabbiness. TEXT: Mackail, II, 224-25. Excerpt published: Henderson, Letters, 317. 1 Listed in Mackail's notebook as addressed to Georgiana Burne-Jones, dated August 31, 1889, and concerning both the dock strike and a visit to Yarmouth, this letter is published in the Life in two parts (II, 224-25), with a transition that implies two separate letters are being printed. The first part, for which the date—August 31—is given but not the recipient, is Morris's report on the strike. The paragraph beginning "I went on Wednesday to Yarmouth . . . " immediately follows (II, 225) but is misleadingly described as from "a

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[rather than the] letter of the same date," strongly suggesting a different recipient, again unnamed. For another instance in which Mackail prints two parts of the same text as separate letters, see Volume IV, letter no. 2339. 2 See letter no. 1641 and n. 1. 3 Morris was wrong in this prophecy. See letter no. 1641, n. 1, for the terms of the settlement of the dock strike, which ended on September 16, 1889. 4 The Times, August 31, 1889, reported (p. 5) that on August 30 the subcommittee of the Dockers' Strike Committee, led by John Burns and Ben Tillett (see letter no. 1641, n. 1) drafted a manifesto to all workers in every trade in London, replying to a refusal of the directors of the docks to meet the demands of the laborers. In the previous manifesto (see The Times, August 27, 1889, p. 6) workers in other trades had been urged to remain at work. The "No-Work Manifesto" of August 30 asserted that the earlier moderation had been misinterpreted by the directors and that the dockers now appealed to all London workers to refuse to go to work on Monday next (September 2) unless the Committee received information that the demands, which it deemed moderate, had been met. These included a demand that the minimum rate of pay be 6d.-per-hour for ordinary time. This became known as the "docker's tanner" (see also letter no. 1641, n. 1). 5 The Times editorial, August 31, p. 9, on the Strike Manifesto called it "nothing less than a deliberate attack upon the social organization of the metropolis." On September 2, The Times reported (p. 4) that the Manifesto had been a blunder, alienating public opinion, and that it had been condemned and withdrawn at a Hyde Park demonstration on September 1. 6 Possibly Mackail misprinted shillings as pounds. See letter no. 1641, n. 4. 7 The second part, printed by Mackail as a new letter (see note 1 above), begins here. 8 Who, in David Copperfield, lived on the beach in a house that had been a boat, and who presided over a family that included Little Em'ly, Ham, and Mrs. Gummidge. 9 St. Nicholas, Great Yarmouth, is considered to be the largest parish church in England. The first church was built in the early twelfth century, completed in 1119. The fabric fell into disrepair during the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, and restorations were made in 1847 by John Henry Hakewill (1811-1880), and in 1862 and in the following years by John Pollard Seddon (1827—1906), who had the tower pinnacles put on, the south aisle rebuilt, and the east end lengthened. (See Pevsner, Northeast Norfolk & Norwich, pp. 1 4 3 46.) Seddon was a follower of Pugin and an active Gothic revivalist.

1643 · T o [EDWARD L Y O N B E R T H O N ? ]

Kelmscott House, Upper Mall, Hammersmith September 2 [1889]

Dear Sir1 Your other letter has missed m e s o m e h o w for w h i c h I am sorry. As to the matter of R o m s e y Abbey, 2 I do n o t see w h a t we can d o in face of the determination we have taken not to glaze old churches. This was founded o n principle n o t convenience, and as we have n o t changed o u r views it seems to m e that it would be dishonest of us to change our practice. I need n o t dwell o n the fact that I very much regret n o t to be able to undertake this commission from a lady for w h o m I have so m u c h esteem as I have for Lady M o u n t Temple. 3 But I must assure you that if did

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accept it I should be acting against my conscience. As to the quality of the church, I think you cannot fail to see that the very beauty and nobility of (the) such a m o n u m e n t of art as is R o m s e y Abbey would make my action more conspicuous and give point to the apparent renunciation of my principles. I am Dear Sir Yours faithfully William Morris PML. Probably the Rev. Edward Lyon Berthon (1813-1899), vicar of Romsey Abbey from 1860 to 1892. 2 The Abbey Church of Saints Mary and Ethelfleda. Pevsner and Lloyd write (pp. 4 7 7 78): "The first foundation of a nunnery at Romsey dates from 907. . . . A second foundation became necessary in 967. . . . A general rebuilding began about 1120 and continued to about 1230. . . . At the Dissolution the church was bought by the town, and that has saved it from demolition." See Nikolaus Pevsner and David Lloyd, The Buildings of England: Hampshire and the Isle of Wight (Middlesex: Penguin Books, 1967; rpt. 1973). 3 Georgiana Cowper (1822?-1901). In late 1890 she was to install two windows, painted by Powell and Sons, in Romsey Abbey's east wall in memory of her husband, William Francis Cowper-Temple, Lord Mount Temple (1811-1888). Possibly she had originally wanted to give the commission to Morris and Co.; and Berthon (see note 1 above), writing to Morris himself in her behalf, had received the present letter. MS:

1

1644 · T o CHISWICK PRESS

Kelmscott House, Upper Mall, Hammersmith September 5 [1889]

Memorandum1 Mr. W. Morris will be much obliged to Messrs. W h i t t i n g h a m 2 if they w o u l d push on with the printing; 3 as time presses. Any a m o u n t of copy is ready at a moment's notice. Is m o r e wanted for Monday? MS: Bodleian. 1 Although Morris heads this note "memorandum," it is included here as a letter because it has for content the kind of communication with the Chiswick Press that he routinely put in letters. The lack of salutation and signature suggests only a desire to exert pressure by being impersonal. 2 The full imprint of the firm was "Chiswick Press:—Charles Whittingham and Co. I Tooks Court, Chancery Lane" as used on the verso of the title page of The House of the Wolfings. However, the imprint on the verso of the title page of the special edition of The Roots of the Mountains reads only "Charles Whittingham and Co." Charles Whittingham (1767-1840) was a printer who founded the Chiswick Press in 1810. His nephew Charles Whittingham (1795-1876) was given control of the firm in 1838, and in 1852 he removed the press to the London premises it had in 1889: 21 Tooks Court, Chancery Lane. In 1859,

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John Wilkins, the manager, became a partner and was the chief member of the firm until his death in 1879. Subsequently Charles Thomas Jacobi became manager of the firm (see letter no. 1632, n. 1) and was thus possibly Morris's correspondent at this time (but see note 1 above). For information about the firm, see Janet Ing Freeman, "Founder's Type and Private Founts at the Chiswick Press in the 1850's," Journal of the Printing Historical Society, 19-20 (1985-87), pp. 63-102; and Sparling, pp. 50-51. 3 The Roots of the Mountains.

1645 · To SYDNEY ANSELL GIMSON

Kelmscott House,

Upper Mall, Hammersmith September 9 [1889] Dear M r Gimson 1 I am very sorry but this autumn I am so busy that I can make n o e n gagement at present. Later o n I may be able. 2 Thanks for your note Yours truly William Morris MS: Gimson Coll. 1 See Volume II, letter no. 936, n. 1. 2 Morris next lectured in Leicester, in response to Gimson's invitation, on February 2, 1890. At the Leicester Radical Club in the afternoon, he gave his talk "How Shall We Live Then?"; and in the evening at a meeting sponsored by the Leicester Branch, S.L., his lecture "What Socialists Want." See LeMire, p. 282. See also letter no. 1689 and n. 1.

1646 · T o J O H N GLASSE

September 9, 1889

My dear Glasse By all means use m e as much as you can: 1 I would n o t have thought of going to the Art Congress unless I had hoped to have been some use to our Scotch Comrades. I have a good lecture called T h e Origins of O r n a mental Art which has a Socialist sting in his tail. 2 I don't think I have delivered it at Edinburgh: I will give you that, and trust to impromptu (I am pretty good at it now) for my Socialist lecture if there is time for it. 3 I hear that my Art Congress duties will n o t take more than three days, including a(n address) lecture 'to the w o r k m e n ' in the evening o n some art-technical subject e.g. dyeing. 4 If the Glasgow people want m e let us try to fit in. 5 I am writing to Glazier by this post. 6 As to the march of affairs the London strikes far outweigh in importance the T U . Congress. 7 O f course we all know h o w conservative Brit-

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ish workmen are: and I think the attack on Broadhurst went on wrong lines;8 he should have been attacked for his opinions and the actions resulting from them: I mean as being obstructive and a Whig. Thank you, I will accept with pleasure your invitation to come to your house. It is kind of you to keep me out of the hands of the Phillistines. I hope however it will not inconvenience Mrs. Glasse.9 Excuse haste I am going out of town for a week and am much cluttered up with business Yours ever William Morris MS: Bass. Coll. Published: Labour Monthly, 33 (September 1951), 437; Page Arnot, 97-98. 1 A reference to two lectures to socialists Morris was to deliver while in Edinburgh attending the Second Annual Art Congress. For the lectures, see notes 2 and 3 below. For the Art Congress, see letter no. 1638, n. 3. 2 Morris did, in fact, give this talk in Edinburgh, on November 2, 1889, at a meeting sponsored jointly by the Glasgow and Edinburgh Branches, S.L., at Albert Hall, Edinburgh. Glasse was in the Chair. See LeMire, p. 281. 3 Morris delivered this lecture, on November 1, 1889, at a meeting sponsored by the Edinburgh Branch, S.L., at the Oddfellows' Hall, Edinburgh. Crane was in the chair. See LeMire, pp. 280-81. 4 "The Art of Dyeing," delivered by Morris on October 29, 1889, at a meeting for working men sponsored by the National Association for the Advancement of Art and held at the Museum of Science and Art. See LeMire, p. 280. 5 See letter no. 1661, notes 1 and 2. 6 This letter has apparently not survived. 7 The twenty-second Trades Union Congress met in Dundee from September 2 through September 6, 1889. For the London Strikes, see letter no. 1641, n. 1. 8 The Times, September 3, reported (p. 8) that Henry Broadhurst, M.P. (see Volume I, letter no. 402, n. 3), gave the report of the Parliamentary Committee of the Trades Union Congress and at the end of it criticized those who, he said, had been trying to spread dissension in the unions. He accused his "enemies" of trying, by means of pamphlets "circulated by the thousands" and by scurrilous abuse, to prevent the committee from receiving the necessary financial aid. On September 4, 1889, The Times reported (p. 11) that a Mr. Newstead of London had objected to a motion to approve the Parliamentary Committee's report and that a debate marked by personal attacks followed. At issue, in part, was the policy of the Parliamentary Committee toward the Paris International Congress in July to which that committee had refused to send T.U.C. representatives because the French circulars had omitted the word "union" and had also emphasized the words "French labour." The report was finally accepted, and on a motion to express confidence in Broadhurst, Keir Hardie moved the amendment: "That this Congress, recognizing . . . resentment . . . [among] trade unionists . . . against the action of Mr. Henry Broadhurst, M.P., in having supported [in elections] . . . sweaters and unfair employers of labour. . . . ; and . . . [by his holding] shares in a public company where men are shamefully overworked and underpaid, declares that he is not a fit and proper person to act as secretary of the Parliamentary Committee of the trade unionists of Britain." In the end, however, The Times reported, Broadhurst was confirmed as secretary. 9 Jane Scott White (1854?-1904) of Auchteruchty, Fife, and John Glasse were married July 16, 1878.

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1647 · T o THE EDITOR OF THE Pall Mall Gazette

[September 10, 1889]

A note published by you from a correspondent about Peterborough Cathedral is somewhat alarming.' Will you allow me a few words on this subject? As to what has been done to Peterborough 2 I will not say much: some of us thought that w h e n the necessary rebuilding of the arches of the crossing took place, it might have been possible to save the tower from rebuilding; but it was at any rate highly creditable to the good sense of the Chapter that they refused to allow the church to be disfigured with an experimental modern N o r m a n tower; especially as much pressure was put upon them in favour of that absurdity. 3 Let us hope that they will understand their responsibilities in the future as well as they did on that occasion. For it seems that not only are we threatened with a bedizening of the cathedral with modern ecclesiastical upholstery of various kinds, but that also the structure of the building is to be dealt with. This latter work may be necessary; and in that case, if rightly done, though we must regret the necessity, we at least may preserve something of the old building; but it may be wrongly done, and in that case the old building is destroyed. Now, is it worth saving? If not let us say so at once, and when it b e comes dangerous pull it down without more words. But there are not many people, I imagine, w h o would like to confess that they are prepared to do this. W h a t they really are prepared to do, I fear, is to allow a sham to take the place of the genuine work, and this at a vast expense of labour and also of flattery and h u m b u g all round. N o w I assert both that Peterborough Cathedral is worth saving, and that it can be saved. But it will not be saved unless the public watches it carefully; for it is much easier, and to a commonplace and unenthusiastic mind much pleasanter, to pull an old building down and put up a sham in its place than to expend the constant trouble, ingenuity, and patience requisite to keep it in a genuine and sound condition. Let me remind your readers that Peterborough Cathedral is a N o r m a n church (with a few later additions), entered through a magnificent portico or west front of Early Pointed 4 work, which front is unique in this c o u n try, a miracle of grace and beauty. This front, your correspondent says, is to be "repaired." But it does not need repair in the ordinary sense of the word: to the eye of the passer-by it is in excellent repair. There is h o w ever, a r u m o u r that it is structurally unsound; which may be true, since something or other (probably the draining of the fen) has damaged the foundations of the church. If it is true, a remedy ought to be sought and found at once; if it is not, the front ought not to be touched. 5 Now, in the first place, before we give our money to the restoration committee, w h o is to assure us of the truth as to the stability of this great work of art? T h e [ 100 ]

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architect of the cathedral, aided by his very able clerk of the works? That is not enough. The matter is too important to be left to the judgement of one man. There should be a jury called (to which the architect of the cathedral should be ineligible) comprising the men best skilled in construction—engineers as well as architects, foreigners as well as British— who should give a report on the matter to the public. That report being made, if the decision were unfavourable, the question would then be— How can it be saved? But it would have to be borne in mind that the thing to avoid is rebuilding: if it were rebuilt it would not be really and wholly saved. For myself I am quite sure that it could be saved (supposing it unsound) without rebuilding. This, it seems to me, is at least the kind of way in which the question should be treated. I am aware that it would cost a great deal in trouble, anxiety, and labour; but I for one think that the building would be worth all that;6 and as for those who do not think it would be worth the trouble to preserve the church, I call upon them to state this plainly and then to stand aside and let the work be done by those who really care about the ancient art of the country. I also call upon the public generally not to give another penny to the restoration fund until they are quite sure that it will be used for the preservation of the actual building, and not for pulling it down and putting a modern substitute in its place. [William Morris]7 TEXT: PMG, September 10, 1889, 3. Published: MM, I, 181-83. 1 On September 4, 1889, the Pall Mall Gazette printed (p. 7) a note from a correspondent titled "The Restoration of Peterborough Cathedral." The correspondent, describing the restoration and changes made to the cathedral (see note 2 below) wrote that the "stone screen designed by Mr. Pearson will be at the end of the nave, the longest in England, Winchester and St. Albans alone exceeding it. The roof of the lantern tower has been redecorated. . . . The underpinning of both transepts, the cementing of the floor, and the rearranging of the Benedictine choir, with the rebuilding of the tower, is all that is yet accomplished. The latter is quite temporary. The underpinning of the entire nave, the repair of the unrivalled west front, and the fitting of the choir, have all yet to be done. . . . The bells have been rehung . . . but cannot be rung until the condition of the west front has been ascertained." 2 The Times had reported, July 12, 1889 (p. 12), on the restoration done at Peterborough Cathedral. It noted that the choir, which had been closed for restoration for six years, had been temporarily fitted up to hold a special service. The work of restoration, The Times continued, had included the rebuilding of the lantern tower, the underpinning of the north and south transepts, and the repair of three columns in the choir. The work had been carried out under the direction of the architect John Loughborough Pearson (see Volume I, letter no. 574, n. 2) and, The Times said, great care had been taken to preserve the many discoveries, one of the most interesting of which was the site of the cruciform Saxon Church under the south transept, and over which a crypt had been built. 3 Morris presumably refers to the work done in 1885. In that year after the S.P.A.B. objected to the proposal that the central tower be torn down and a new one constructed

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in its place, a compromise was effected by the Society and the cathedral, and the tower was rebuilt "stone by stone" from material that had been in the old tower (see the S.P.A.B. Annual Committee for 1885, "Peterborough Cathedral," p. 29; see also McMinn, p. 270, n. 2). 4 The first appearance of the Pointed Style is known as Early English (see letter no. 1871, n. 7). It succeeded the Norman in Britain toward the end of the twelfth century, prevailed for about a hundred years, then gradually merged with the Decorated (see letter no. 1871, n. 6). The west front of Peterborough Cathedral (see Volume IV, letter no. 2363 and illustration) was completed during the reign of Henry III (1216-1272). 5 The trouble with the west front was that it was settling on its foundations and was therefore under severe strain. Serious damage was now a danger, and the guardians of the cathedral had proposed rebuilding the west front. See the S.P.A.B. Annual Report for 1895, pp. 53-55, and McMinn, p. 278, n. 4. 6 Mackail writes (II, 313) that Peterborough Cathedral was one of Morris's "earliest admirations; he had known it in his boyhood, and felt towards it as though he had been one of its own builders." Morris, as Mackail notes (II, 313), describes the building of Peterborough Cathedral in the introductory verses to "The Proud King:" And high o'er these, three gables, great and fair, That slender rods of columns do upbear Over the minster doors, and imagery Of kings, and flowers no summer field doth see, Wrought on those gables. Yea, I heard withal, In the fresh morning air, the trowels fall Upon the stone, a thin noise far away; For high up wrought the masons on that day, Since to the monks that house seemed scarcely well Till they had set a spire or pinnacle Each side the great porch. (CW, 3, 241) 7

The Pall Mall Gazette published Morris's communication with a headnote titled "The Preservation of Peterborough Cathedral," and on a separate line added "By Mr. William Morris." Morris's text is given here as a letter because the first two sentences indicate that he is responding to one, and because he asks, presumably unrhetorically, that his reply be published. A piece written as an article, in my judgment, would not have begun this way. Following my practice, with a letter published in a newspaper, of deleting the title added by the paper, I have done so in this case and have moved Morris's name to the conclusion.

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I LETTER

1648 · T o JENNY M O R R I S

1648 Kelmscott House,

Upper Mall, Hammersmith September 17 [1889] M y darling Jenny May will have told you that I got safe to Paddington. I am n o w safe at Hammersmith & shall soon I hope be safe at Merton. Yesterday afternoon was rather mirky & cold in London: but today is very bright after a cold night; and the smells are not as bad as I expected: yet do n o t think that I am going to draw back my opinion on London. T h e Strike you will see is over o n terms which o n the whole are satisfactory.1 I saw Smith yesterday and he gave a good report of business. I shall n o t have to go to the selection business till Thursday: but I am much wanted at Merton. It seems there has been a blazing review of the Wolfings in the A t h e naeum but I have n o t seen it yet. I am pleased at Watt's friendliness in the matter; for of course it is his. 2 I am going to dine with the R i c h m o n d s tonight; and one day before I get back to you I really must go over to see Granny. I think I shall make it this day week and then (I hope) get down to you o n Thursday week. That will be pretty good of me wont it, dear. I am sorry to trouble you; but I was such a duffer as to leave behind m e my rough copy M S book: I think o n my chest of drawers. It is not very important as I have fair copied all but a very few lines: but I should like to have it, as there are some proofs & things I may want to refer to: so please post it on to a scatter-brained aged P. And so, my darling Jenny, goodbye for the present. Give my best to M o t h e r and May: stuff the latter with the best food that Kelmscott p r o duces, so that I may find her fat and ruddy w h e n I come down Your loving father William Morris MS: BL, Add. MSS. 45340. 1 See letter no. 1641, n. 1. 2 An unsigned review, which was in fact by Theodore Watts-Dunton, appeared in the September 14, 1889, issue of The Athenaeum, pp. 347-50. Watts-Dunton said: "Without going so far as to affirm that this book is the most important contribution to pure literature that has appeared in our time, we may without hesitation affirm it to be the most remarkable." He praised Morris for achieving a "poetic prose" that had "all the qualities of what we technically call poetry except metre." Morris's writing was, in this respect, better than that of DeQuincy or Ruskin, which, Watts-Dunton held, was in both instances "rhetorical" rather than truly "poetical." He concluded that The House of the Wolfings was a work "whose very excellence will prevent its being popular—a work, however, which will be a delight to those who in literature are alone worth delighting, the cultivated students of all that is sweet and high and noble in literary art."

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L E T T E R S OF WILLIAM M O R R I S 1649 · T o THE E D I T O R OF THE Pall Mall Gazette

[September 20, 1889]

I am glad your correspondent "Muratore" 1 agrees with m e in deprecating the rebuilding of the west front of Peterborough. 2 As to the rest of his letter, I find some difficulty in understanding it, and more still in u n derstanding why he should have taken the trouble to write it. It is proverbially difficult to argue about matters of taste; but the combination in one mind of the study (and perhaps consequent knowledge) of architecture with contempt for the west front of Peterborough must point to such a rarity as almost to amount to a monstrosity. 3 I can only wish that the fabric of that lovely work of art were as safe from the attacks of restorers as its reputation for beauty is from those of such a very queer critic as your correspondent " M u r a t o r e " has shown himself. [William Morris] TEXT: PMG, September 20, 1889, 2. 1

The Pall Mall Gazette, September 18, 1889, printed (p. 2) a letter from "Muratore." For the substance of the letter, see note 3 below. 2 See letter no. 1647 and notes. 3 "Muratore" wrote that he was unable "to see that the claims of Peterborough in its west front rise above the zero point of architectural design." He continued, "It would be interesting to know whether Mr. Morris recognizes in Peterborough three exaggerated and awkwardly proportioned arches—built to sustain nothing—a 'magnificent portico,' or a 'magnificent west front'? If he claims that the three arches are the 'west front,' then I ask why has Peterborough need of another walled west front for enclosure within them? If he claims that the three arches are a 'portico,' then I would ask where is the portico?—as one sees arches, and nothing else—moreover arches utterly abortive, from their height, for protection against rain storms, or sun rays. Why this poverty of design in three yawning arches of no especial character—saving that the central one is awkwardly the narrowest, with the worst possible effect, the result being suggestive of a thirteenth century railway station or meat market, requiring no west fronts—should be extolled as 'magnificent and unique' is to me very puzzling, and what the Americans call a 'large order.' As an expression of design nothing is achieved in these arches which, on a smaller scale, may not be found in any pointed arcade, reredos, or sedilia in styles 'early and late.'"

1650 · RECIPIENT U N K N O W N

Kelmscott House,

Upper Mall, Hammersmith September 24 [1889?] Dear Sir Thank you for your kind invitation of which I shall be glad to avail myself; though I fear that my stay in Glasgow will be of the shortest. 1 The worst of the lecturing in the country is that one feels one is n o t

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doing m u c h good unless one is o n the spot afterwards to answer questions and argue conversationally. I am Dear Sir, Yours faithfully William Morris MS: Leuba Coll. 1 Morris's correspondent had presumably heard he would be in Glasgow and, it can be supposed, had invited Morris to lecture on socialism or on the arts. In November 1889, Morris was in Glasgow to meet with the Glasgow Branch, SX. (see letter no. 1655 and notes).

1651 · T o EDWARD C. CHAPMAN

Kelmscott House, Upper Mall, Hammersmith September 25 [1889]

Comrade1 I cannot make an engagement for O c t o b e r ; but I will if you please for N o v e m b e r . Some day about the middle of the m o n t h will suit m e best. 2 I am engaged on the 7th. 3 Yours fraternally William Morris MS: Texas. 1 Presumably Edward C. Chapman was a member of the Liverpool Secular Society (see note 2 below), though I am unable to identify him further. 2 This is a response to an invitation to lecture at Liverpool. O n November 10, 1889, in the afternoon, Morris gave his talk "Monopoly" at a meeting sponsored by the newly formed Liverpool Secular Society. In the evening of the same day, he lectured again for the Secular Society, his paper being "The Class Struggle." See LeMire, p. 281. See also letters no. 1672 and no. 1674. 3 On November 7, 1889, Morris lectured on "Gothic Architecture" at a meeting sponsored by the Arts and Crafts Exhibition Society, at the second exhibit, in New Gallery, Regent Street. See LeMire, p. 281. For the ACES exhibition, see letter no. 1657, n. 6.

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1652 · T o CHISWICK P R E S S

[CHARLES THOMAS JACOBI?]

Kelmscott House, Upper Mall, Hammersmith September 27 [1889?]

Dear Sirs Please (send) post on anything you have for m e 1 as Mr. Walker is out of t o w n . Your truly William Morris MS: Bodleian. 1 If this letter has been correctly dated, it presumably concerns proofs for The Roots of the Mountains. The reference to Walker with the assumption his name would be recognized suggests the letter was intended for a particular recipient—possibly Jacobi (see letter no. 1632, n. 1)—despite the plural salutation.

1653 · T o WILLIAM BAILIE

Kelmscott House, Upper Mall, Hammersmith October 3 [1889]

Comrade,1 I have made n o appointment as far as I can r e m e m b e r to be present at Mr. Rowleys 'at (at) H o m e ' on the Sunday; 2 I can speak at the Branch Hall & shall be happy to do so. 3 I shall not be able to spend m u c h time in Lancashire; but I w o u l d not say n o to lecturing for you o n the Saturday 4 or the Monday. O n l y I ought to warn you that I am a p o o r 'draw'; so don't involve yourselves in e x penses w h i c h you might find it difficult to cover: however this is for you to settle: I can only advise Yours fraternally William Morris MS: Avrich Coll. 1 William Bailie (1866-1957). Born in Belfast, he was at this time a member of the Manchester Branch of the S.L. In this capacity, he contributed to the Commonweal and arranged lectures in Manchester by Morris, Kropotkin, and Carpenter (see Volume II, letter no. 983, n. 3), as well as others. In 1892 he emigrated to America, settling in Boston, and became associated with Benjamin Tucker (see Volume IV, letter no. 2089, n. 2) the anarchist founder of Liberty. See Avrich, pp. 154 and 279. 2 Either Morris's recollection was mistaken or he was later persuaded to accept an invitation. In the afternoon of Sunday, December 1, 1889, Morris spoke on "The Revolt of Ghent" at a meeting sponsored by the Ancoats Recreation Committee chaired by Rowley. In the evening, contrary to what is suggested in this letter, he gave a speech at a meeting sponsored by the Ancoats At Home Committee. See LeMire, p. 282, and Commonweal, December 7, 1889, "Reports," p. 391. Cf. Manchester Guardian, December 2, 1889, p. 6.

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Probably Bailie had asked Morris to lecture for the Manchester Branch of the S.L.; there is no record of Morris having done so during the two days he was in Manchester. Possibly he hoped that "The Revolt of Ghent," the talk he gave for the Ancoats Recreation Committee on Sunday (see note 2 above), might be regarded as cosponsored by the S.L., or would at least satisfy the latter's expectation that he lecture. His letter to Bailie on N o vember 27, 1889 (letter no. 1685) suggests this. 4 Presumably Saturday and Monday were not satisfactory for Bailie and the S.L. In the event, on Saturday, November 30, 1889, Morris lectured for the Manchester Social Democratic Club, S.D.F., at the Secular Hall; rather than (presumably) the S.L. His talk was on "The Class Struggle." See LeMire, p. 282, and Commonweal, December 7, 1889, " R e ports," p. 391.

1654 · T o JOHN BRUCE GLASIER

Kelmscott House, Upper Mall, Hammersmith October 3 [1889]

M y dear Gla(z)sier I ask your pardon for n o t writing to you before. T h e fact is I don't like writing letters. I could almost wish sometimes that the art of writing had n o t been invented: at any rate I wish the postmen w o u l d strike, o n all grounds.

N o w as to business: Yes I will c o m e if you will get m e an

audience; 1 but I expect that you will have to p u t with a rough lecture e n o u g h as I have n o t time for a literary production. Crane I have n o d o u b t w o u l d do what he could: 2 so would Walker; 3 but he is no speaker. C. Sanderson might be able to help: but I d o u b t if he would speak in the o p e n air. 4 You had better (see) arrange with Glasse about my day in Glasgow, 5 always r e m e m b e r i n g that I shall want to go south to the pockpuddings 6 as soon as I can: for my business needs me sorely. W i t h best wishes even for the wicked of your branch, let alone the good like yourself. I am Yours fraternally William Morris MS: Walthamstow. Published: Glasier, 200. 1 Morris did not, finally, speak in Glasgow, but was in the chair for a lecture by Crane (see letter no. 1661 and n. 1). 2 See note 1 above. 3 Walker attended the Glasgow meeting but did not speak. See Commonweal, November 9, 1889, "Reports," p. 359. 4 Commonweal, November 9, 1889, reported (p. 359) that following Crane's lecture, Cobden-Sanderson delivered "an eloquent address" to the Glasgow meeting. 5 See letter no. 1646 and n. 2. 6 The English. "Pockpudding," initially a derogatory name in Scotland for the English, had become a humorous approbation by Morris's time. Indeed, the O.E.D. cites as a later

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usage Morris's letter to Georgiana Burne-Jones, April 28, 1885: "Whether pock-pudding prejudice or not, I can't bring myself to love that country [Scotland]" (see O.E.D. [2d ed., 1989], XIII, p. 8; and Volume II, letter no. 1093).

1655 · T o JOHN GLASSE

Kelmscott House,

Upper Mall, Hammersmith October 3 [1889] M y dear Glasse, As to date, the Congress opens o n the 29th oct: 1 and I suppose I shall be o n show for about 3 or 4 days: but I only have one night engagement as far as I know: 2 for you had better in any case avoid any grand function for my date. 3 I suppose I had better go to Glasgow after I have done with Edinburgh. Mr. Macartney* is the Sec: of our section: 4 he would tell you what are the dates of my evening engagements: however I will ask h i m as soon as I get back to town, as I am in the country at present. I would by all means ask Crane to speak for us: 5 his address is Beaumont Lodge Shepherds Bush. You might also get some work of T. Cobden Sanderson, 6 Goodyers, H e n d o n , though that is more speculative. D u n d e e I cannot manage this time. W i t h best wishes Yours ever William Morris * I suppose this address will find h i m National Association for the advancement of Art and its application to industry 22 (Abe) Albemarle St London W MS: Bass Coll. Published: Page Arnot, 99. 1 The Second Annual Art Congress officially opened in fact on October 28. For the Congress, see letter no. 1638, n. 3. 2 Morris refers to "The Art of Dyeing" (see letter no. 1646, n. 4). 3 Probably a reference to November 2, the day on which Morris gave the lecture "Of the Origins of Ornamental Art" (see letter no. 1646 and n. 2). 4 See letter no. 1638, n. 2. 5 See letter no. 1661, n. 1. 6 See letter no. 1654, n. 4.

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Kelmscott House,

Upper Mall, Hammersmith October 6 [1889?] M y dear Armstrong 1 I want my piece of Icelandic embroidery back: Could you kindly tell me what steps to take in red-tapery to get possession of it again 2 Yours very truly William Morris MS: Fitzwilliam. 1 See Volume II, letter no. 727, n. 2. 2 Presumably Morris had loaned the embroidery to the South Kensington Museum for some purpose, as he had on several occasions loaned items for exhibition there. Less likely, though also possible, is that the museum had considered purchasing the item from Morris and had decided not to do so.

1657 · T o JENNY M O R R I S

Kelmscott House,

Upper Mall, Hammersmith October 10 [1889] Dearest o w n Jenny T h a n k you for your letter. I am so sorry that you had a faint; but you musn't let it put you out of heart, n o w you are so much better. What a jolly time we had together this last spell, didn't we dear. We had a heavy shower yesterday in London: but otherwise it was very fine: but today is finer I think after a morning fog cleared up: I am sitting in my room with the leaves dancing about in the sunshine on the table & the water sparkling outside so that it looks quite pretty. I rather like my room with all the books about. As to news: I have finished my book 1 (last night) and there will not be many more proofs I think. I have a mind to begin a short story again soon; 2 but shall say no more about it till it is fairly under(ways)way: I have been to Oxford St & Merton & find business good: the girls 3 were hard at work on the yellow carpet but had not done very much to it yet. I was busy at pointing all the day. T h e Tapestry is going on well, though not very fast.4 We have sold the 'Peace' exhibited at the Arts & Crafts for £160 which I am glad of.5 As for the Exhibition I think it will be a success: the rooms look very pretty; and there are a good many interesting works there. 6 T h e visitors come pretty well: these first 3 days they have taken more than double (what) than they did in the same time last year; so this looks good. Well my own dear I hope you will have a nice time with May &

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Morris and Co. S h o w r o o m s , 449 O x f o r d Street, c. 1910.

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Mother and I am nearly sure that I shall be able to come down for a day or two or three the week after next. Best love darling to you and all Your loving father William Morris RS. Here is a letter from Ethel for you my dear which I opened thinking a bill for Mother; Ethel's hand being decidedly clerkly. WM P.S. I send back your note to May as she is there now.7 MS: BL, Add. MSS. 45340. Extract published: CW, 15, xi; and Mackail, II, 226-27. 1 The Roots of the Mountains. 2 It is unclear to which story Morris refers. Most probably he means "The Glittering Plain," which was published serially in The English Illustrated Magazine beginning in June 1890. See letter no. 1727, n. 3. 3 Among the women employed at Merton Abbey were E. and M. Merritt, L. and M. Phipps, C. Adaway, and D. Penn. 4 Morris may be referring to the Minstrel, which was shown at the Arts and Crafts Exhibition Society exhibit for 1889 (see note 6 below) and was described in the catalogue as being an "Arras tapestry in process of manufacture" (ACES Catalogue, 1889, p. 180). That he says the work is not going on "very fast" may indicate he had decided to make a virtue out of necessity and exhibit the piece as an illustration of the process of weaving rather than as a finished product. Another reason for thinking this the Minstrel is that the tapestry named Peace (see note 5 below), described here by Morris as "sold," was the one completed just before the weaving of the Minstrel began. See Marillier, p. 32. 5 Designed by Burne-Jones and woven in 1889. It included a "floral background with four Amorini in the border designed by J. H. Dearie [see Volume II, letter no. 1382, n. I ] . " The tapestry was purchased by Ralph Radcliffe Whitehead (1854-1929), a follower of Ruskin and Morris, whose principles he later endeavored to embody in an arts-and-crafts settlement, "ByrdclifF" in Woodstock, N.Y. Although the tapestry was exhibited in 1889, Morris's reference suggests that Whitehead purchased it before the exhibit (see note 6 below) actually opened, presumably sometime after seeing it at Merton Abbey. 6 The Second Annual Arts and Crafts Exhibition Society exhibit was held in the New Gallery from November 7 through December 7, 1889. Among items displayed by Morris and Co. were woven stuffs and printed cottons, Hammersmith carpets, wool-hangings, silk damasks, two Arras tapestries (see notes 4 and 5 above), embroidered items, an inlaid cabinet, and a hand-made table with carved legs. Among other works exhibited were Walter Crane's cartoon for a stained-glass panel, and frieze panels and a painted-wood settle designed and executed by him. Mary Crane (see Volume I, letter no. 642, n. 1) was represented by a book cover designed by her husband and executed by her; and Lucy Faulkner (Mrs. Orrinsmith; see Volume I, letter no. 421, n. 1) by a design for a mural brass. Twenty specimens of T. Cobden-Sanderson's bookbindings, designed, bound, and tooled by him and sewn by Annie Cobden-Sanderson, were shown. The letters of one cover were cut from drawings by May Morris. Laura Mary Forster (E. M. Forster's aunt [see Volume II, letter no. 1538, notes 1 and 2]) was represented by a "scrap-book of sketches: bound in cowhide: damped and tooled by hand" as well as pieces of leather worked by her and her pupils, and embossed leather chair seats made up by Morris and Co. There were also specimens of Wardle's printed textiles. Work done by the Leek Embroidery Society, founded by Lena Wardle (see Volume I, letter no. 282, n. 1) was also featured. The Chiswick Press,

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under the management of Charles Thomas Jacobi, exhibited twenty printed books. One of them was Morris's House of the Wolfings. C. R . Ashbee and the Guild of Handicrafts were also represented. Worth noting, too, with respect to Morris's participation, he "opened the series of lectures given . . . [at] the exhibition by an . . . address on Gothic Architecture (Mackail, II, 225); and his essay, "Of Dyeing as an Art," appeared in the catalogue. 7 This second P.S. was written across the top of the holograph.

1658 · T o J O H N G L A S S E

Kelmscott H o u s e ,

Upper Mall, Hammersmith October 11 [1889] My dear Glasse It seems that I am on on Wednesday 1 and that after my address Crane reads a paper: 2 (on) which certainly wouldn't be over till 4 as the C o n gress keeps u p till 5 or past. Isn't it doubtful in that case whether the afternoon would be a good time as it would compete with the Congress? let alone that Crane could not come o n the Wednesday unless he could get his time. As for m e of course I can do whatever you think best, r e membering always that I am Congress-engaged o n Wednesday afternoon (not Tuesday: this has been altered) & Friday evening which same is the lecture o n Dyeing to Working-men, 3 as you might hint to our folk. Excuse haste. Yours ever W Morris MS: Bass Coll. 1 On Wednesday morning, October 30, Morris spoke on "The Arts and Crafts of Today." The talk was delivered as the presidential address to the Applied Art Section of the Art Congress at Queen Street Hall, Edinburgh. See LeMire, p. 280. 2 On Wednesday, October 30, following Morris's morning address, Crane gave a lecture titled "Design in Relation to Use and Material." See The Times, October 31, 1889, p. 7. 3 Morris's schedule was further changed or possibly only clarified (see letter no. 1659). He spoke on "The Art of Dyeing" on Tuesday evening, October 29, 1889, not on Friday, as anticipated in this letter (see letter no. 1646, n. 4).

1659 · T o J O H N GLASSE

October 12 [1889]

Dear G. My letter crossed yours, but to prevent mistake I repeat (as) that Mr. Conway 1 called o n m e on (Wednes) Thursday and told m e that my special days (secured) were to be Wednesday afternoon, and Tuesday [ 112 ]

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evening. T h e former date of Tuesday afternoon having been changed. I leave you to do what you think best. W Morris MS: Bass Coll. Published: Page Arnot, 100. 1 William Martin Conway, Baron Conway of Allington (1856-1937). Permanent Honorary Secretary of the National Association for the Advancement of Art and Its Application to Industry since 1888, he had been professor of art at Liverpool (1885-1888) and was to become in 1901 Slade Professor at Cambridge, a position he held until 1904. He was also an explorer, knighted in 1895 for his exploration of the Karakoram range. See Joan Evans, The Conways: A History of Three Generations (London: Museum Press, 1966).

1660 · R E C I P I E N T U N K N O W N

Kelmscott H o u s e ,

U p p e r Mall,

Hammersmith

October 15 [1889] Dear Sir I fear I dont much sympathise with the autograph-hunter; but I have no excuse to give for n o t writing my name for you except that I don't like the trouble of doing so, which perhaps would make my refusal seem churlish, so take this scrawl since you want it. Yours truly William Morris MS: U l o w a .

1661 · T o J O H N B R U C E GLASIER

Kelmscott House,

Upper Mall, Hammersmith October 16, 1889 My dear Glasier All right I will be in Glasgow on the Sunday; and I think Crane had better give the lecture as he is fresher than I am to a Glasgow audience; 1 and I am writing to tell him so. If I lecture I would call it ' T h e Close of the 19th. Century,' of which I think something could be made 2 G o o d luck! I have got a whole sheaf of letters to write and must shut up. Yours fraternally W Morris MS: Walthamstow. Published: Henderson, Letters, 319. 1 In the event, Crane did lecture on Sunday, November 3, 1889, with Morris in the

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MORRIS

chair. Crane spoke on "The Educational Value of Art," with over seven hundred people in attendance. See Commonweal, November 9, 1889, "Reports," p. 359; see also LeMire, p. 281. 2 According to the account in Commonweal, November 9, 1889, under "Reports" (p. 359), Morris did not give a formal lecture to the Glasgow meeting. He did, however, give the closing address, making an appeal on behalf of Socialism.

1662 · T o JOHN GLASSE

October 16 [1889]

Dear G., AU right I will be at your disposal on the Friday; 1 will go to Glasgow; I have written to Crane about it also, am coming on the Monday by the 10 am train from Euston. WM. MS: Bass Coll. Published: Page Arnot, 100. 1 November 1. For his lecture, see letter no. 1646, n. 3.

1663 · T o JENNY MORRIS

Kelmscott House,

Upper Mall, Hammersmith October 16 [1889] Dearest own Jenny I got your letter i.e. o n e written o n O c t . 11th b u t the letters came in late at 10.30 (morning) This had nothing to do with Lechlade I fancy. Thank you my dear for writing so nicely to me. I have little to say though I have been doing a much. As to coming to Kelmscott I am afraid that I cannot get there till Tuesday; as I find that I can't get back from Yarmouth, (where I go Saturday) 1 till the Monday; because of the trains or rather lack of them. I have been working very hard at Carpetting at Merton. 2 M e r t o n looked quite beautiful yesterday morning & Monday. We have had rain now, but the morning is pleasant and very warm. We have had several walnuts off the big tree; but last Sunday as we were going down to dinner, Io a jackdaw come to dinner also on the walnuts; as I saw afterwards by the picked out shells on the ground. I went to see Aunt Georgie yesterday but she was bad with the toothache; had in fact been to the dentists. Jack Middleton came on Sunday but only stayed his usual short time afterwards. N o w today is my busy day in town, and I have to go see the printer[ 114 ]

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man about the last arrangements for getting off my book. Also I have to see about the binding: we are thinking of binding the Large paper in o u r own chintzes 3 —that would be amusing wouldn't it? Well my darling I am so pressed for time that I must let this scrap go. with best love to you and dear May &Mother Your loving father William Morris MS: BL, Add. MSS. 45340. 1 Morris was scheduled to lecture before the Yarmouth Branch, SX., on Sunday, October 20, 1889. See LeMire, p. 280 and Commonweal, October 12, 1889, p. 327. 2 See letter no. 1657, and n. 4. 3 A special edition of two hundred and fifty copies of The Roots of the Mountains was published. Buxton Forman notes (p. 143) that this "special edition was done up in two sorts of Morris & Co.'s chintz, one of a large pattern and the other of a small, both lettered in gold on the back . . . 'The/Roots/of the/Mountains/ William Morris.'" The ordinary issue was bound in dark red cloth, unblocked. See also letter no. 1664, n. 2.

1664 · T o JANE M O R R I S

Kelmscott House,

Upper Mall, Hammersmith October 17 [1889] Dearest Janey . . . You must kindly take this as my birthday letter, my dear. I am so glad to hear that you have been sleeping better. Best love for the 19th. 1 I shall bring down what I have got and give it y o u by hand o n Tuesday. If you don't like it I can change it. I bought it at Proctors, the Indian shop opposite to us. This morning has been most beautiful, but yesterday was a soaker. Such a journey as I had on the District from Temple down here—ugh! I would rather have gone to York and back. I have had a dummy book b o u n d u p in our chintz. It looks so nice and such fun: the gold letters on the back look very well on the linen cloth. T h e large-papers will be out in a fortnight, the small in three weeks. 2 Reeves 3 says that this will do very well as to time. T h e small paper will be thicker than the big; it will in consequence be a chumpy little book: it is to be sold for 8s.—cheap, I think. I have begun another story, 4 but do n o t intend to hurry it—I must have a story to write n o w as long as I live. Well, my dear, you see that I have nothing to write about so again best love, and also to my dear babies. I am going to have sprats to my dinner. I bought them myself (3d. per lb.) Your loving W. M .

[ HS ]

LETTERS

OF W I L L I A M

MORRIS

TEXT: CW, 15, xii. 1

Jane Morris's birthday. Morris is writing to her at Kelmscott Manor from London. May Morris, who prints this letter, also explains the difference here between "large paper" and "small," i.e., ordinary. She writes (CW, 15, xiv) that for The Roots of the Mountains Morris "succeeded in getting a paper specially made by Messrs. Whatman, a thin attractive-looking paper just suitable for the size of the book. In designing this volume the size of the type and page was considered in relation to the more expensive issue—one cannot say 'large paper,' for the size was nearly the same as that of the ordinary issue, but produced on this special paper. . . . " 3 See letter no. 1634, n. 1. 4 Possibly "The Glittering Plain," later published serially in The English Illustrated Magazine. See letter no. 1657 and n. 2. 2

1665 · T o CHISWICK P R E S S

[CHARLES T H O M A S JACOBI?]

Kelmscott House, Upper Mall, Hammersmith October 19 [1889]

From M o n d a y to (Friday) Thursday next please send all c o m m u n i c a tions for m e to (Kelmscott M a n o r Lechlade) M o n d a y & (Tu) Thursday say b o t h inclusive (After) O n Saturday 26th I shall be here again 1 N o t e 2 I have about 6 m o r e sheets to send you for press. 3 MS: Bodleian. 1 This postcard is unsigned but in format and tone is like Morris's signed correspondence with the Chiswick Press and is thus included in this edition. 2 Clearly a postcript, the note that begins here was written at the top of the card because there was no space at the bottom. 3 Presumably Morris means proofs for The Roots of the Mountains that he is returning.

1666 · T o AGLAIA C O R O N I O

Kelmscott House, Upper Mall, Hammersmith October 22 [1889]

M y dear Aglaia T h a n k you for your note. I am going to Kelmscott today and shall n o t be back till Saturday afternoon; the M o n d a y after I am going to Scotland for a week to this confounded Art Congress: w h e n I come back again I shall make a point of calling o n you; and, I h o p e I shall be able to do so [

116 ]

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1668

oftener than I have d o n e of late. I was so sorry that you could n o t come to Kelmscott: we have had a g o o d time there altogether. Yours affectionately William Morris MS: Berger Coll.

1667 · F R O M A L E T T E R T O PHILIP SPEAKMAN W E B B

[Kelmscott October 24? 1889]1

Thanks for sending B o n i s p h o t o 2 and explanation; by the way, the Florentines don't seem to be letting these 'state aided emigranti' into their t o w n , but are feeding t h e m outside the walls. 3 It is a very curious picture! TEXT: Tea, PW to GB, 157. 1

Philip Webb, who included in a letter to Giacomo Boni, October 29, 1889, the excerpt from Morris's letter to himself given here, provides the place and a basis for a conjectural dating. Glossing Morris's words, Webb wrote Boni: "I sent your photograph . . . to William Morris at Kelmscott . . . where he had gone to fetch back his family (Tea, PW to GB, p. 157). Morris left for Kelmscott on October 22 and was to return on the 26th (see letter no. 1666). For Giacomo Boni, see letter no. 1961, n. 1. 2 Boni had sent Webb a photo he had taken at the Laurenziana Library, of a double page from a fourteenth-century illustrated Florentine manuscript: "This ms.," Boni wrote to Webb on October 19, 1889, "is merely a register of the corn market [outside Florence]: but political economy being not so progressed a science in those days, many pages which in a modern book would be filled with false statistics are turned to quite another use." See Tea, PWto GB, p. 156. 3 Boni's letter to Webb (see note 2 above) continued: "The town on your right is Florence. . . . Lawyers and the 'strong hand' are pushing out of the town the poor and the sick-ones, pushing them down the step of the gate. Look at the human Florentine . . . coming at the very edge of the page to meet the poor people; see practical charity going at the foot of the wall and the entrance gate" (Tea, PW to GB, p. 156). After reading Morris's comments, i.e., in the present letter to Webb, Boni wrote: "Mr. Morris is right; the Florentines are feeding the 'State emigrants' outside the walls; but they are doing so in the ms. whose author thought proper that the poor . . . should be fed before letting them into the town and before the Council of the people" (Tea, PW to GB, p. 158).

1668 · T o EDWARD C. CHAPMAN 1

October 26 [1889]

I shall be very happy to stay with Mr. K e n w o r t h y 2 Pray thank h i m for m e and say so. Yrs W Morris t 117

]

L E T T E R S OF WILLIAM

MORRIS

MS: LeMire Coll. 1 See letter no. 1651 and notes. 2 John Coleman Kenworthy (see letter no. 1673, n. 1).

1669

· FROM A LETTER T O JANE MORRIS

[Edinburgh

November 2, 1889] . . . [T. J. Cobden-Sanderson's] l mellifluous periods which give one an impression of his never going to leave off: somewhat ladylike too. . . . MS: Mackail's notebook. 1 See letter no. 1654, n. 4.

1670 · T o JENNY M O R R I S

16 Tantallon Place

Edinburgh November 2, 1889 Dearest own Jenny Here I am & all of me that is not talked away will be back at h o m e some time on Monday evening, & so glad to see you, my dears. T h e Congress is n o w over & Crane, Walker, Sanderson & myself go to Glasgow this afternoon. T h e Congress has not been much of a success, I fancy; 1 I was in the chair at some monumentally dull papers; 2 and you may imagine h o w I fidgetted, my dear. However I behaved pretty well, and did my best 'to keep the dull times off them,' apparently with some success, since the Despatch, a Tory evening paper here declares that the ill-success of the Congress is owing to Crane and m e and our socialist vagaries: 3 and in fact we managed to get a good deal of socialism into our discourses. 4 T h e Socialist meetings were quite successful. Walker after much suffering seems to have got through his lecture with credit. 5 I was not there, as I was giving my socialist address. 6 Well my o w n dear as this will not get to you till Monday morning & I shall get to you Monday evening, I will say no more but love to you & Dear May. 7 I dreamed of her last night living in a very queer house partly made up of her room at Hammersmith & partly of an old house done up which I saw yesterday in the High Street. Goodbye dear child Your loving father William Morris [ 118 ]

1889 I L E T T E R

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MS: BL, Add. MSS. 45340. Published: Henderson, Letters, 319-20. Extract published: CW, 20, xli. 1 TTJC Scotsman, Thursday, October 31, 1889, reported (p. 6) that Morris "occupied the chair, and in opening the proceedings, commented on the smallness of the audience. . . ." The Edinburgh Evening News, November 2, 1889, gave (p. 2) a whole paragraph to the matter of attendance, which reads in part: "It seems probable that Edinburgh has killed the Art Congress. These gatherings had only a feeble life from the first; and as the artists, outside the practice of their art, seem incapable of anything but abusing the public, they have not succeeded in working up any real interest in their proceedings. At Edinburgh, a city of culture, 'the modern Athens' in fact, the attendance at the meetings seems to have ranged between thirty and forty persons, most of these being ladies." 2 The Evening Dispatch, October 31, 1889, complained (p. 2) that "[t]he public . . . have become wearied and bored with listening to long and often dreary papers, which, in too many instances, are dry and technical to a degree beyond the comprehension of an ordinary audience." Morris himself probably refers to papers read at the Applied Arts Section of the Art Congress which he chaired on Wednesday, October 30, 1889. If so, the "momumentally dull" ones were among the following: J. Starkie Gardner, "On the Decorative Uses of Enamel"; Thomas Bonnar, "Suggestions for the Picturesque Treatment of Interiors"; J. Starkie Gardner, "On Designing for Wrought Iron and Other Metals"; W. S. Black, "On Hindrances to the Progress of Applied Art"; John Berry Haycroft, "The Colours of Nature and Their Scientific Explanations." See Transactions, pp. 189-254, for the texts of these papers. 3 The Evening Dispatch, October 31, 1889, did not in fact refer specifically to Morris and Crane's socialism. What it did say (p. 2), in commenting on the smallness of the audience, was that "[t]he introduction of the socialistic and doctrinaire element" by the speakers at the inaugural meeting "repelled many leading representatives of art, whose absence is now all the more conspicuous." 4 Morris refers to Crane's talk, "Design in Relation to Use and Material" and to his own, "The Origins of Ornamental Art" (see letters no. 1658, n. 2; and no. 1646, n. 2, respectively). The Scotsman, November 2, 1889, in reporting Morris's lecture (p. 7) wrote: "Mr. Morris summarised a sketch of a reconstructed society in which art would live in better condition, by stating that it involved the extinction of poverty; leisure; the avoidance of wasteful work; the care of the beauty of the earth; the education according to capacity, and the abolition of real and not merely formal class distinctions." (For the text of Morris's lecture, see LeMire, pp. 136—57; for a summary of Crane's talk, see The Scotsman, October 31, 1889, p. 6.) 5 Walker gave a talk on "Printing" as one of the series, "Free Evening Lectures for Working Men," held at the Oddfellows' Hall. The Scotsman, November 2, 1889, reporting his lecture (p. 7), noted that it was well attended. 6 See letter no. 1646, n. 3. 7 Jane Morris was in Wales. See letter no. 1676 and n. 3.

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MORRIS

· T o CHISWICK P R E S S [CHARLES THOMAS JACOBI?]

Telegraphic Address: "Lartnec, Glasgow." Telephone Number 1310

Central Station Hotel Glasgow November 4, 1889

Dear Sir I looked over and passed the sheet that contains the title 1 in your place about a fortnight ago, so please get on with the work as I need not see (it) the said sheet again. Yours truly William Morris MS: Bodleian. 1 The title page of The Roots of the Mountains (see Buxton Forman, p. 142, for a reproduction of the page). Morris presumably interrupted his socialist tour of Edinburgh and Glasgow to write to the Chiswick Press because the title page was the last to be approved before the book went to press: it was published in November 1889.

1672 · T o EDWARD C. CHAPMAN

Kelmscott House,

Upper Mall, Hammersmith November 6 [1889] Comrade I enclose a note to Mr. Kenworthy 1 which please forward, as I cannot make out his address. I propose coming to Liverpool 2 on Saturday by the train that leaves (Liverpool) Euston at 4.10 p m gets into (London) Liverpool by 8.40. (If) In case anyone comes to meet m e that does not k n o w m e by sight, I will put a bit of red ribbon in my botton-hole. Yrs fraternally W m . Morris MS: Texas. 1 See letter no. 1673 and n. 1. 2 Morris was to speak before the Liverpool Secular Society (see letter no. 1651, n. 2).

1673 · T o J O H N COLEMAN KENWORTHY

Kelmscott House,

Upper Mall, Hammersmith November 6 [1889] Dear Mr. Kenworthy 1 I see that is a train starting from Euston at 4.10 p m timed to get into Liverpool at 8.40. I propose to come by this train on Saturday, will you

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1889 / L E T T E R

1673

John Coleman Ken worthy, c. 1895.

kindly send me a line to say where I am to go and if I am right about the train. Thank you very much for your kind letter. I do not know of anyone I should meet, & should rather prefer to keep myself for the Comrades there. But pray do not in any way put yourself out for me. Yours fraternally William Morris [ 121 ]

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OF WILLIAM

MORRIS

NYU. John Coleman Kenworthy (1861-1915?) of Liverpool, a former Congregational minister. A follower of Tolstoy, he later became a member of the Fellowship of the New Life, a group that experimented in cooperative living in Bloomsbury. A member also for a while of the "Brotherhood Movement," which aimed at establishing a cooperative commonweath, he founded the second Brotherhood Church at Croydon, and was editor of the Brotherhood Publishing Company, which issued works of the movement, notably Tolstoy's writing. In 1893 Kenworthy—who had become an author in his own right—published The Anatomy of Misery, dedicated to Keir Hardy, who described it as both "a text book on political economy" and "the gospel according to Morris, Ruskin, and Tolstoy" (Labour Leader [September 22, 1900], p. 299). Kenworthy also published several volumes of poetry, including Amgiad and the Fair Lady and Other Poems (1892) and Book of Vision (1900); and issued, as well, his prose works: The Christian Revolt: Essays and Addresses by John. C. Kenworthy (1893); From Bondage to Brotherhood: A Message to the Workers (1894) (dedicated to Morris); The Humanitarian View: Social Conditions and the Treatment of Animals (1896); My Psychic Experiences (1901); and several books on Tolstoy. In 1896, Kenworthy and associates began a model community in Purleigh, Essex, which he regarded as organized on socialist principles. He visited Tolstoy and got his approval for the colony, which lasted until 1900. See Stanley Pierson, Marxism and the Origins of British Socialism: The Struggle for a New Consciousness (Ithaca: Cornell Univ. Press, 1973), pp. 220-25. See also Labour Annual (London: 1896), p. 44. MS:

1

1674 · T o E D W A R D C . C H A P M A N

M e r t o n Abbey,

Surrey

November 8, 1889 Comrade I find my train is 4 from Euston, 8.30 at Liverpool WM. MS: Texas.

1675 · F R O M A L E T T E R T O

[GEORGIANA BURNE-JONES?]

[November 16, 1889?]

I am so pleased with my book 1 . . .—typography, binding, and must I say it, literary matter—that I am any day to be seen huggling it up, and am become a spectacle to Gods and m e n because of it. TEXT: Mackail, II, 227. 1

The Roots of the Mountains.

[ 122 ]

1889 / L E T T E R 1677 1676 · T o EMMA SHELTON M O R R I S

Kelmscott House,

Upper Mall, Hammersmith November 16, 1889 Dearest M o t h e r I am going to Derbyshire this evening 1 & shall have a few hours with Emma. 2 I have been running u p and down the country a good deal lately; or I should have come over to see you. Janey is still in Wales and seems to be enjoying herself. 3 May has still got a bad cold on her, but is getting better I think; Jenny has been very well since I came from Scotland. M y n e w book is just out, and I shall have the pleasure of sending you a copy next week. Things are going well otherwise. I go to Merton n o w by a new line which takes less time and saves m e the underground part of the journey, which is much more comfortable. I shall hope to be able to come down one day before Christmas, and to find you well my dear Mother. Best love to you & also to Henrietta. 4 T h e weather is warm and pleasant these t w o past days, & I hope is doing you good. Your most affectionate Son William Morris MS: Walthamstow. 1 On November 17, 1889, Morris gave his talk "Monopoly" at a meeting of the Chesterfield Discussion Society in Derbyshire. See LeMire, p. 281. 2 Emma Oldham, Morris's sister (see Volume I, letter no. 1, n. 1), lived at Clay Cross, in Derbyshire. 3 Jane Morris was spending the month of November in Wales with R. W. Hudson and his wife. For Jane Morris's description of her hosts and their family, including an interesting comment by her about socialism, see JM to WSB, pp. 35-36. 4 Another of Morris's sisters (see Volume I, letter no. 1, n. 1). She lived with Emma Morris.

1677 · T o CHISWICK P R E S S [CHARLES T H O M A S JACOBI?]

Kelmscott House,

Upper Mall, Hammersmith November 20 [1889] Dear Sir I have n o objection to taking the paper left over. 1 If you will keep it awhile I will give you instructions where to send it: I must call & see the bulk of a ream of it.

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OF W I L L I A M

MORRIS

As to the books over, 2 as far as I am concerned you are quite w e l c o m e to keep the copy. Yours truly William Morris MS: Bodleian. 1 Buxton Forman, calling (p. 144) The Roots of the Mountains a "connecting link" between the Chiswick and Kelmscott Presses, writes: "Of [the] Whatman paper, Morris had to buy [from the Chiswick Press] 'the whole making.' There was a lot over. When he set up his own press to print books on his own water-marked paper, he took the remainder of that redundant 'making' with him; and it is on that that the first little post quarto catalogues and prospectuses were printed at Hammersmith." For Whatman paper, see letter no. 1763, n. 7. 2 Presumably Morris refers to copies of the ordinary printing of The Roots of the Mountains.

1678 · T o FREDERICK STARTRIDGE ELLIS

November 21, 1889

I think before my next b o o k comes out 1 I shall design a chintz for b o o k b i n d i n g , 2 and if I do I shall get it calendered 3 so as to keep the dirt off-—what do you think? As to the printing the difficulty of getting it really well d o n e shows us the old story again. It seems it is n o easy matter to get good hand-press m e n , so little w o r k is d o n e by the hand-press: that accounts for some defects in the b o o k , caused by want of care in distributing the ink. I really am thinking of turning printer myself in a small way; 4 the first step to that w o u l d be getting a new fount cut. Walker and I b o t h think Jenson's the best m o d e l , 5 taking all things into consideration. W h a t do you think again? Did you ever have his Pliny? 6 I have a vivid recollection of the vellum copy at the Bodleian 7 . TEXT: Mackail, II, 227-28. Published: Henderson, Letters, 320. 1 It is unclear what book Morris has in mind. News from Nowhere, about to begin as a serial in Commonweal at this time, was not published in England as a book until 1891. He may have been thinking of no specific title. 2 Presumably Morris means a special pattern to be printed on chintz. He had already bound the special edition of The Roots of the Mountains in two existing patterns of Morris and Co.'s chintz (see letter no. 1663, n. 3). 3 Calendering is the passing of paper through iron rollers for one of several purposes: to make it smooth and glossy or glazed, to water it, or to thin it into sheets. 4 This is the first reference in the Letters to Morris's plan to establish the Kelmscott Press. Crane, in An Artist's Reminiscences, writes (p. 327) that the scheme for the Press was discussed by Walker, Morris, and himself while they were together in the hotel in Glasgow in November 1889. Morris, Crane, and Walker were in fact there to meet with the Glasgow Branch, S.L. (see letters no. 1654 and notes 1-4; and no. 1661 and n. 1). How-

[ 124 ]

1889 / L E T T E R

1678

Chintz cover for large-paper special edition o{ The Roots of the Mountains, 1890.

ever, another account of the Press's origin is that the thought of founding it had first occurred after Walker's lecture "Letter-Press Printing" at the Arts and Crafts Exhibition Society on November 15, 1888, when Walker and Morris walked home together (see Volume II, letter no. 1555, n. 6). May Morris is the source of this report (CW, 15, xix-xxii). For a full discussion of Walker, Morris, and the beginning of the Kelmscott Press, see Peterson, History, pp. 74—79. 5 Nicolas Jenson (c. 1420-1480), a Venetian printer born in France, was one of the first to design Roman type. His type of 1470 influenced his pupil Claude Garamond (d. 1561), a Frenchman; and later, William Caslon (1692—1766), an English type-designer, who produced a Roman type excelling in legibility. (Caslon's type was popular until 1800, when its use began to decline, and was revived by the Chiswick Press in 1845.) 6 Morris refers to Jenson's printing of Pliny's Historia Naturalis (Venice, 1476). It was to be one of two major models for the typefaces Morris was to design for the Kelmscott Press (see letter no. 1810, n. 8).

[ 125 ]

LETTERS

OF WILLIAM

MORRIS

A leaf of the MS. D o u c e 310.

[

126

]

1889

/ LETTER

1680

7

Morris refers to Douce 310. This vellum copy of the Historia Naturalis (see note 6 above) was prepared as the personal copy of Filippo Strozzi, who employed the illuminator Monte de Giovanni and his associates. The border of the first page of text includes circular medallions with portraits of Ferdinand, King of Naples and Aragon; and of Strozzi on the left of the King, and Strozzi's son on the right. See The Douce Legacy [Exhibition Catalogue], Bodleian Library, Oxford, 1984, p. 84. See also illustration, p. 126.

1679 · T O J O H N G L A S S E

November 21, 1889

M y dear Glasse I am sending you a large copy of my new book, (which I hope will not cumber your shelves too much) as a m e m e n t o of the jolly week we had together. I have been on the Stump since at Liverpool, 1 Chesterfield, 2 & Sheffield; 3 and it seems to m e as if the provinces were o n the move; at Sheffield especially I had a large and enthusiastic audience. This is good since the movement cannot entirely live on London. Here I must say I think we are rather in an eddy, but I don't think it will last long. Wishing you luck all round, and plenty of encouraging work for the cause, and with kindest regards to Mrs. Glasse 4 I am Yours fraternally William Morris MS: Bass Coll. Published: Labour Monthly, 33 (September 1951), 437-38. 1 See letter no. 1651, n. 2. 2 See letter no. 1676, n. 1. 3 On November 18, 1889, Morris delivered his lecture, "Socialism," at a meeting sponsored by Sheffield socialists. See LeMire, p. 281. 4 See letter no. 1646, n. 9.

1680 · T o EMMA SHELTON M O R R I S

Kelmscott House,

Upper Mall, Hammersmith November 21, 1889 Dearest Mother I am going this afternoon to tell my publishers to send you a copy of my new book, which I hope you will like, with my best love. I found Joseph 1 only pretty well I should say, but Emma very well. Miss E m m y 2 was away. We had a pleasant time together though the weather was baddish. T h e House 3 is a good one, though it was terribly spoilt by

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L E T T E R S OF WILLIAM

MORRIS

Mr. Barrow, 4 as Joseph well remembers. T h e Church is handsome and interesting, though it also has been injured by restoration. 5 I cannot say I liked the smell of the coke-fires of Clay Cross; but it seems they do not notice it much there. All well at h o m e but Janey still in Wales: she seems to be the better for it. 6 Best love again Dearest Mother from Your most affectionate Son William Morris MS: Walthamstow. 1 Joseph Oldham, husband of Morris's sister, Emma (see Volume I, letter no. 8, n. 2). Morris had visited the Oldhams on the evening of November 16, 1889, at Clay Cross, Derbyshire. 2 The Oldhams' daughter. 3 Morris probably refers to the North Wingfield Rectory, into which the Oldhams moved in 1888 or 1889 when Joseph Oldham became rector (he had been the incumbent at Clay Cross from 1851 until the move). The rectory is an Elizabethan building. 4 Probably the Rev. James Barrow, who had been rector of North Wingfield from 1861 to 1878. 5 North Wingfield Church was heavily restored between 1850 and 1880, with changes being made in both the north and south aisles and in the chancel. For the information here, as well as that in note 3 above, I am grateful to Mr. Bob Ball. 6 See letter no. 1676 and n. 3.

1681 · F R O M A LETTER T O JANE M O R R I S

November 21 [1889]

T h e Book, The B o o k seems to be selling well. 1 TEXT: CW,

15, xii.

1

May Morris, in printing this one sentence from Morris's letter to Jane Morris, indicates (p. xii) that it is "at the end of a letter to her on November 21, describing a visit to his eldest sister, our Aunt Emma, at Clay Cross" (see letter no. 1676).

1682 · T o [?] CAREY

Kelmscott House,

Upper Mall, Hammersmith November 22 [1889?] Dear Miss Carey, 1 In the press of business your letters got forgotten for which I am sorry. I should be glad to see you friend if she needs any advice; but there is n o probability of my employing any others than those I have with me, w h o m indeed I find it hard to find work for in these dull times. If your friend has any position of usefulness by which she can earn her livelihood, she had

[ 128 ]

1889 / L E T T E R 1683 far better stick to it. As to her brother, all I can say is that the trade of decorator is very much overstocked and if he can do anything else that is reasonably honest, so much the better. Art and literature are not professions for anybody except the very foremost; and the latter ought not to so be even for them. In these days the man is luckiest w h o has learnt some obviously useful craft and can do it easily & well. I am sorry I can do n o more than give this cold advice but I am b o u n d to do that. Yours faithfully William Morris MS: Nottingham. 1 I am unable to identify the recipient of this letter. Morris was probably acquainted with her, since he expresses willingness to see her friend and writes at relative length.

1683 · T o ANDREAS SCHEU

Kelmscott House,

Upper Mall, Hammersmith November 23, 1889 My dear Scheu 1 It is indeed a while since I have seen you, and that is much against my will and pleasure. As to your affairs I should be glad indeed if you could be free to do active work for the movement; but am by no means glad that you are inconvenienced (to use a mild word) by the individual Capitalist w h o m you come across: he must be by the way a particularly shabby dog. I will of course set myself to work to see if anything can be done in getting you some place worthy of your capacity. 2 M y drawback is that I don't k n o w many people in our o w n line. 3 As to our business you know we are h u m - d r u m perhaps for better reasons than you think. I wish you were my publisher, as I really think something might be done with my books, more than has been done, and I am thinking of bringing o u t a cheap edition of the Earthly Paradise in one vol. 4 B u t I am rather tied to old Reeves 5 at present. And w h e n am I to see you again? Will you get this in time to come over tomorrow^,)? there will be n o one to object to you 6 as I am alone with the girls at present. But I go out about 7 to lecture at Brixton. 7 You know it is difficult for m e to get out as far as Harrow o n a Sunday. W i t h best wishes for the best of luck to you I am My dear Scheu Yours affectionately William Morris

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OF WILLIAM

MORRIS

MS: HSH. Published: The Socialist Review, May 1928, 37. 1 See Volume II, letter no. 872, n. 4. 2 Mackail, in his notebook, indicates that in 1890 Scheu (by trade a carver and gilder) was an agent for a Munich firm of cabinetmakers, but it is uncertain where he was or had been employed at the time of this letter. He was apparently still looking for work in March 1890 (see letter no. 1709 and η. 1). 3 Morris presumably refers here to the furnishing business. 4 In 1890, The Earthly Paradise was revised and prepared as a single volume, set in small type in double columns. Printed at the Ballantyne Press, it was published by Reeves and Turner. Of special note, in view of Morris's express interest in designing a book cover in chintz (see letters no. 1663 and no. 1678), is the cover that Morris designed for this edition of The Earthly Paradise: "[The cover] was executed in cloth of three different colours,— olive, red, and white. Conventional sprigs of myrtle are stamped in gold round a more conventional centre ornament on the recto cover and blind on the verso. The back is a fine scroll design of bay with tulips interspersed. . . . The end papers are white. . . ." (Buxton Forman, pp. 71—72). 5

See letter no. 1634, n. 1. '' Clearly Morris means Jane Morris. This is the first indication in the many letters to Scheu that she "objected" to him. Apposite also is what Shaw wrote in Morris as I Knew Him (MM, II, xxiv): "I always felt apologetic with Mrs Morris. I knew that the sudden eruption into her temple of beauty, with its pre-Raphaelite priests, of the proletarian comrades who began to infest the premises as Morris's fellow-Socialists, must be horribly disagreeable to her." 7 On November 24, Morris was scheduled to deliver his lecture "Socialism" before the Star Radical Club, 8 Mayall Road, Heme Hill, London (in Brixton). See LeMire, p. 282.

1684

· T o W H I T T I N G H A M AND C O .

Kelmscott House,

Upper Mall, Hammersmith November 25, 1889 Will y o u ' kindly send me price list of your note-paper 2 & a sample of the smooth surface. W m Morris MS: Bodleian. 1 Chiswick Press. See letter no. 1644, n. 2. 2 See letter no. 1688 and n. 2

[ 130 ]

1889

/ L E T T E R 1686

1685 · T o WILLIAM BAILIE

Kelmscott House,

Upper Mall, Hammersmith November 27 [1889] (D) Comrade 1 I am coming to Manchester o n Saturday by the 12 train Euston. gets to Manchester 4.20. Rowley has promised to meet m e . As to the Sunday meeting I have asked Mr. Rowley to see you and come to some arrangement. 2 O f course I want to have as long a time with the comrades as I can. Yrs. fraternally WM. Ms: Avrich Coll. 1 See letter no. 1653, n. 1. 2 See letter no. 1653, notes 2-4.

1686 · T o JAMES LEIGH JOYNES

Kelmscott House,

Upper Mall, Hammersmith November 28 [1889] My dear Joynes Thank you for your letter. I am a beast: for hearing to my sorrow that you were ill I intended months ago to write to you, and owing to the inherent selfishness of human nature, of which we still hear something at o u r discussions o n lectures, I never did so. I have n o excuse to make except that I was made so, and didn't make make myself. I will certainly come to see you if I am going to Rottingdean, which however may n o t be for some little time. I don't know if you have seen my n e w book the R o o t s of the M o u n tains, the chap in the P.M.G. (whose head I should like to punch) implies that it is like to send a body to sleep, 1 so ( i f ) as you are still weak it may do you good. Ha! it will be long before that fool (whoever it is) will be able to send anyone to sleep with his twaddle. I was going to add an adjective but forebore because it might weaken my sentence. I am about from pillar to post very much in these days which to you w h o are so kept in may seem jolly, but to m e is n o t so. I find that people will insist in looking o n m e as a young man, and expect work o u t of me accordingly; I shall have to turn round o n them soon if they don't look out. T h e movement is going o n curiously now, it seems to m e . So many of our hopes in small matters over thrown; and on the wider scale things go on so much faster than we dared to hope.

[ 131 ]

LETTERS

OF W I L L I A M

MORRIS

Well, I h o p e to see you before long somehow, and in meantime, I wish you better luck and that you will soon be able to be about again. Yours very truly William Morris MS: BL, Add. MSS. 45345. Published: MM, I, 510. Extract published: E. P. Thompson, 647-48. 1 The reviewer implied more than that. The entire review, published (p. 3) in the Pall Mall Gazette, November 20, 1889, was a parody of Morris's style—of his "Wardour Street English." Typical of the piece is its opening sentence: "A goodly book in sooth it is which William the Hall-Bedecker, by some called the Folk-Fellowship-Furtherer, and by others Will o' the Wildgoose-Chase, hath put forth in these days to gladden this our winter-tide withal." And the review includes a footnote to "Folk-Fellowship-Furtherer": "Socialist." The reviewer was apparently the first to assert an (unfortunate) similarity between Morris's wallpaper designs and his stories: "The tale is like to some wondrous league-long wallhanging richly wrought by the cunningest of craftsmen, whereof no ell but hath some heart-gladdening shape to show, shining with scarlet and glistening with gold." As for the part of the attack acknowledged by Morris in this letter, the reviewer had written: "Nay rather, after plodding manfully on for the space of haply two turnings of the hour-glass we were ware of a sudden lightness and giddiness besetting us, and did forthwith begin to skip and gambol from leaf to leaf, even as a grasshopper skippeth from blade to blade in the meadow. The voice of the tale-teller became first as a strange babbling, then as a hum, then as a drone, in our ears, until at last the abovesaid skipping grew utterly needful lest we should be quelled and overcome by an exceeding great drowsiness." It should be said, however, that the reviewer, without foregoing the game, conceded The Roots of the Mountains some merit. After warning the reader not to deal with it as a "saga of the iron-road" (i.e., a railway novel), he advises that "ye sip it, and put it by, and sip again, an ye would taste it aright. There be draughts that by the spoonful are fraught with refreshment, albeit by the ladleful they are even as the poppy-brewed waters of forgetfulness."

1687 · T o J O H N CARRUTHERS

Kelmscott House, Upper Mall, Hammersmith December 3, 1889

M y dear Carruthers, Many thanks for your n o t e and enclosure: as to the money, 1 should be glad if you w o u l d tell m e h o w to apply it after you have read the following: C o m m o n w e a l is in a p o o r way; Faulkner w h o was one of o u r subsid i z e s has fallen very ill and can do n o more: Webb another cannot do as m u c h as he did, and t h o u g h I can carry o n as I am d o i n g I cannot increase the sum I give. T h e sale of the paper has fallen off, and we are considering w h e t h e r (or not) to reduce it to a m o n t h l y or to give it up, 1 o n e of the two we must do unless we use your gift for keeping it alive and trying if the spring months will d o anything for us till the March quarter-day w h e n we shall

[ 132 ]

1889 / L E T T E R 1688 give up our Faringdon R d premises and probably print the 'Weal at H a m mersmith. T h e question is whether you think it worth while letting us try the experiment with the money you have kindly sent me. I must confess that the League has n o t been doing well generally: o u r last Sec: was very unsatisfactory though honest enough. T h e Hammersmith Branch is, as you may see, doing well; and at Glasgow also they are keeping up their strength; but elsewhere there is little to be said for us. T h e Branch here does not want much money, but if you pleased I might keep £5 o u t of your cheque for it. I mention all this lest you might think I had wasted your money and also I should like to d o something definite with it. B u t to be honest I do not think we shall be able to keep up C o m m o n w e a l much longer; and even if we had the money, unless the sale goes up I don't think it would be worth while spending much on it: still I am loth to drop it without trying the above experiment so I ask leave to p u t (say) £ 4 0 to C o m m o n w e a l fund, (if I find it desirable) and £10 to the Branch funds. I am sorry to bother you about this just as you are going away. I hope you will C o m e back in the spring quite set up again in health, and that I shall have a better story to tell you of the propaganda w h e n you do. 2 Yours very truly William Morris MS: Getty. 1 See letter no. 1574, n. 7. 2 I have been unable to determine with any certainty Carruther's travel plans at this time. Morris's reference to Carruther's health makes it unsure he was leaving to take up his work in Argentina (see letter no. 1760, n. 2).

1688 · T o CHISWICK PRESS

Kelmscott House,

Upper Mall, Hammersmith December 7, 1889 Chiswick Press SMALL POST with Glazed Finish

Ordinary Substance 1 Please send me 2 reams of this paper with 1000 envelopes to match folded in three. 2 W m . Morris MS: Bodleian. [ 133 ]

L E T T E R S OF WILLIAM M O R R I S 1

This signed note was written on a sample sheet so described, the description printed on the paper itself as indicated. 2 This is the first evidence in the letters that the Chiswick Press printed Morris's personal stationery.

1689 · T o SYDNEY ANSELL GIMSON

Kelmscott House,

Upper Mall, Hammersmith December 19 [1889] Dear M r Gimson Excuse my neglect: I was wondering what I could call my lecture: have I lectured under the title 'What Socialists Want?' If I have the title (will) would do but as I w o n t give the same lecture, I had better change the title. In that case call it T h e Class Struggle 1 & kindly let m e know. Yours truly William Morris MS: Berger Coll. 1 It is unclear which talk Morris means. He was to deliver a lecture titled "The Class Struggle" at a meeting sponsored by the Leicester Branch, S.L., in the Co-operative Hall, Leicester, on March 11, 1890 (see LeMire, p. 282). However, though in December 1889 he had not yet lectured on "What Socialists Want" in Leicester, he was in fact to give that talk on February 2, 1890—nearly a month earlier than "The Class Struggle"—at a meeting also sponsored by the Leicester Branch, S.L. (see LeMire, p. 282). Conceivably, this letter refers to his talk for the planned February rather than March meeting.

1690 · T o CHISWICK PRESS

Kelmscott House,

Hammersmith December 21 [1889?] I enclose postal order for bill. 1 W. Morris Ms: Bodleian. 1 Possibly Morris was sending payment for an order of stationery (see letter no. 1688).

1691 · RECIPIENT U N K N O W N

Kelmscott House,

Upper Mall, Hammersmith December 21, 1889 Dear Madam Elliot and Fry of London have published a p h o t o : of me, 1 which I suppose can be obtained from the usual agencies.

[ 134 ]

1889 I L E T T E R

1691

William Morris, 1889; photograph by Elliot and Fry.

[ 135 ]

LETTERS

OF WILLIAM

MORRIS

I have much pleasure in complying with your request of my autograph;2 I wish you better health, and am glad to know that I can add to what of pleasure your illness allows you to take. I am Dear Madam Yours faithfully William Morris MS: Rosenbach. 1 Morris refers to the photo taken by Elliot and Fry in 1889. See illustration, p. 135. 2 Of interest, Morris's professed pleasure to give his autograph decidedly contrasts with the hedged-about manner in which he consented to one earlier request. See letter no. 1660.

1692

· T o EMMA SHELTON MORRIS

Kelmscott H o u s e ,

U p p e r Mall, H a m m e r s m i t h

December 24, 1889 Dearest Mother Thank you very much for your kind letter, and for sending me the paper knife. We are all well; and as for me I rather like the weather for winter-weather. Yesterday morning was indeed beautiful, and Jenny went with a friend to the Chiswick Horticultural Gardens,1 which are still in existence though sadly built up. I remember as clearly as if it were yesterday going with father there when I was quite a little boy, and have never been inside the place since. How the neighbourhood must have altered since then! Indeed it has altered very much, and that for the worse, since we first came to Turnham Green. I have been so very busy lately with the work at Oxford St. & Merton, that I have had no time to turn round, or I should have come down and seen you. I will do so shortly after Xmas. Janey and I remembered that you liked that champagne which I sent you last year, and I'm sure it will do you good to drink a glass now and then; so we are sending you a little more which ought to reach you before the New Year. I hope you will like it Dearest Mother. I shall be writing to Henrietta as well as you but give her my best love which I send her, and to you my dearest Mother best of love and good wishes The paper knife has not come yet or I would tell you what I think of it. Goodbye Dearest Mother Your most affectionate Son William Morris [ 136 ]

1890

I LETTER

1694

MS: Walthamstow. Published: Mackail, II, 228-29; Henderson, Letters, 320-21. 1 Morris refers to the gardens of the Royal Horticultural Society, established in Chiswick in 1822 for the purpose of horticultural research, and remaining in Chiswick until 1903, when they were removed to Wisley. By "built up" Morris probably refers to the surrounding neighborhood, though it was not until the removal that the grounds occupied (orchard and arboretum as well as gardens) became the site of new houses and of street extensions.

1693 · T o J O H N CARRUTHERS

Kelmscott House,

Upper Mall, Hammersmith January 10 [1890?] My dear Carruthers I have been out of town the early part of the week, or I would have answered you before. I fear we shall n o t meet n o w till you come back. 1 We shall all miss you, but can do n o more than wish you luck out there, and you will come back with your health quite reestablished. I should like to write you a line telling you h o w we are getting o n here, and giving you without any concealment an account of o u r success or n o n success. Sometimes I confess I feel somewhat discouraged; but I don't know any middle course between keeping o n with the work and sneaking o u t of it; which last proceeding would, I think, not tend to my happiness; so even if C o m m o n w e a l and the League drop I shall try to find something to do in the party: which I shall find the easier since, in spite of what some people think, I am n o t bigotted in what I should call my private opinions; and should be very glad to find some c o m m o n bond between all socialists. With many thanks again & best wishes I am Yours very truly William Morris MS: Getty. 1 See letter no. 1687 and notes.

1694 · T o JOHN B U R N S

Kelmscott House,

Upper Mall, Hammersmith February 4, 1890 M y dear Burns Herewith I send that copy of John Ball, 1 which I have been keeping for you for weeks. I was grateful to you for your onslaught on that beast Stanley: 2 I wish we could put a spoke in his wheel. [ 137 ]

LETTERS

OF WILLIAM

MORRIS

Sideboard designed by George Jack, c. 1890.

I (am) was also glad to see that you disclaimed Champion's preposterous rot about Parke: 3 it was in the regular 'Cambyses vein.' 4 Well, I wish you luck in all ways and am Yours fraternally William Morris MS: BL, Add. MSS. 46289. 1 See Volume II, letter no. 1471, n. 2. 2 Sir Henry Morton Stanley (1841-1904), the explorer, administrator, and journalist. After fighting on both sides m the American Civil War, he drifted into journalism. In 1871, he was commissioned by the New York Herald to find the explorer David Livingstone (1813-1873), and did so on Lake Tanganyika in November of that year. Stanley's final expedition was to equatorial Africa to rescue Emin Pasha (the German, Eduard Schitzer [1840—1892], who had been abandoned in command of the Egyptian army when the

[ 138 ]

1890 / L E T T E R 1695 Mahdi overran the Sudan). Stanley met with Emin Pasha at the Albert Nyanza in December 1887, but the latter did not want to leave (he eventually led a German expedition into the interior of the Congo). On arriving in England, April 1890, Stanley was criticized for not rescuing Emin Pasha. The Annual Register, 1890, Part I, recounted (p. 227) that stories and letters openly published in The Times had contended that the British East Africa Company was practically identical with the Emin Relief Committee and that the real purpose of the expedition had been the purchase of ivory and the development of the resources of the interior. At a weekly meeting of the London County Council on January 14, 1890, John Burns had objected to a motion that Stanley be given a welcome, on his return from Africa, in the name of the people. Burns argued that the Council had no power to provide money for a public reception. Moreover, though he agreed that Stanley had served well the interests of those he had been working for by increasing trade, he had served no one else and had mistreated the Africans. The expedition had been undertaken, Burns said, only to get 160,000 tons of ivory that Emin had gathered. Stanley had been nothing more or less than the advance guard of a "shoddy commercialism anxious for higher profits." The Times, January 15, reported (p. 12) that the motion to which Burns had objected (to suspend the rules to enable the London Council to consider the motion concerning a welcome for Stanley) had been withdrawn, although members of the Council had made it clear that this was not done because they agreed with Burns. 3 Ernest Parke (1860-1944), editor of the North London Press. He had been convicted of libel against Lord Euston, Alfred William Maitland Fitzroy (1850-1930), son of Lord Grafton, Augustus Charles Lenox Fitzroy (1821-1918), and sentenced to twelve months imprisonment. The "libel" concerned the "Cleveland Street affair"—the patronage by members of the upper classes, including Lord Euston, of a male brothel in Cleveland Street. (See The Times, November 25, 1889, p. 4; November 26, p. 4; November 27, p. 7; D e cember 20, p. 12; January 16, p. 6; and January 17, p. 7.) H. H. Champion was the editor of the Labour Elector at this time, and he joined the attack on Parke (see the Labour Elector, January 25, 1890, p. 51). Commonweal, February 1, 1890, had criticized (p. 33) the Labour Elector for its attack on Parke—who was in prison—for hitting a man when he was down. John Burns, along with George S. Bateman, the radical compositor, had withdrawn their support of the Labour Elector. Morris is approving the letter to The Star, January 28, 1890, in which Burns publicly repudiated (p. 2) the Labour Elector's attack on Parke. 4 Cambyses, King of Persia, was the subject of a play by Thomas Preston (1537-1598), written in 1569. The bombastic grandiloquence of the protagonist became proverbial, and in Henry IV, Part I, Shakespeare has Falstaff employ the term Morris quotes: "For I must speak in passion, and I will do it in King Cambyses' vein" (iv.ii).

1695 · T o GEORGE W A S H I N G T O N H E N R Y JACK

Kclmscott House,

Upper Mall, Hammersmith February 9 [1890?]1 Dear Mr. Jack 2 I looked at your design for the sideboard & liked it very much; 3 it will give us every opportunity for the work we want. B u t as it is so big & costly I should much like to set on foot the design for the chest we were talking about; you see all the the carving on that might be the flat work

[ 139 ]

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MORRIS

like the Icelandic snuff mull, and I could do all that, & would set about it at once; and I think we might make it look very well. Yours very truly William Morris MS (typescript): Brandon-Jones Coll. 1 The actual year of this letter has not been ascertained. All that can be said is that it is probably 1890 or later. Elizabeth Aslin, Nineteenth Century English Furniture (London: Faber & Faber, 1962), writes (p. 59): "about 1890 George Jack . . . became chief furniture designer" for Morris and Co. Paul Thompson concurs (p. 93). 2 See Volume II, letter no. 803, n. 2. 3 Paul Thompson writes (p. 93) that outstanding among Jack's furniture designs for Morris and Co. were those for cabinets and sideboards. They were of "simple shape [and] decorated in elaborate marquetry patterns of leaves and foliage." Conceivably the sideboard to which Morris refers here was the one made by Jack, for the firm, that was to form part of the furniture of Henry Arthur Jones's play The Crusaders, produced in 1891. (Jones, who was to take possession of the sideboard, kept his plays and Kelmscott Press books in it.) The cabinet was later exhibited at the "Ideal Home" exhibition in 1929. I am grateful to Clive Wainwright, who is virtually certain that the cabinet Morris discusses in this letter is the one described above, for so identifying it. For an outline of Jack's career, see R.I.B.A. Journal, 39 (1931-1932), 278; and The Builder, CXLII, 4641 (January 15, 1932), 132. For the H. A.Jones cabinet now in the Victoria and Albert Museum, see illustration p. 138. For The Crusaders, see Volume IV, letter no. 2252, n. 2.

1696 · T O J O H N G L A S S E

Kelmscott House,

Upper Mall, Hammersmith February 17, 1890 M y dear Glasse I have already written to Mr. Morrison (not the brother) advising h i m by all means to steer clear of such a damnable business as 'decoration.' O f course he won't follow my advice, and then I shall be very happy to give any other advice as to details, most of which he will n o t be able to follow; but he is quite welcome to any of my barrenness. As to the article for Mr. Russell, I am so busy just n o w that I can promise nothing which involves a date. H e had better write to me and give m e particulars as to length & so on. I will get the last Christian Socialist & read your article, 1 I am sure with pleasure. Thank you for the good word about News from N o where: 2 and also, and very especially, for that about the R o o t s : it gave m e great pleasure to write it. I am glad you managed to shake off your blackguard, and that you are getting o n well: please do what you can, you good folk to push the Weal we are in low (at) water as to funds. I shall print the News from N o w h e r e in a book form s l / or perhaps / d 6 . 3 Again thanks & best wishes Yours fraternally William Morris

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1890 / L E T T E R 1697 MS: Bass Coll. Extract published: Labour Monthly, 33 (September 1951), 438. 1 Glasses article, "The Duty of wealth," appeared in two installments in The Christian Socialist, January (pp. 1-3) and February (pp. 17-19), 1890. Glasse contributed frequently to The Christian Socialist. 2 Glasse had presumably been reading it in Commonweal, where it ran serially from January 11 to October 4, 1890. 3 News from Nowhere, or An Epoch of Rest, was first issued in book form by Roberts Brothers of Boston, Mass., with the words on the verso of the title, "Author's Edition." Buxton Forman writes (pp. 146-49): "I do not understand the words 'Author's Edition'; nor did Morris, who . . . told me with an amused air that he had not been consulted about it." (There is no other evidence that the edition was named without Morris's consent.) This edition was a reprint, unrevised from Commonweal. Morris's own first edition appeared in the spring of 1891, published by Reeves and Turner. The Reeves and Turner edition appeared in three forms, and Buxton Forman writes (p. 149): "Being meant for popular reading, the main issue was but a thick trimmed pamphlet in a paper wrapper"; but it could also be had in "dark bottle-green cloth uncut" for a few extra pence. There was also a large paper edition printed on "French hand-made paper . . . in blue paper boards with Japanese paper backs. . . ." Although there is no printer's name, Buxton Forman thought (p. 149) that it was printed by "a Mr. Bowden." If Forman is correct, the printer might have been William Bowden (see letter no. 1811, n. 1), who became compositor for the Kelmscott Press.

1697 · T o J O H N COLEMAN K E I W O R T H Y

Kelmscott House, Upper Mall, Hammersmith February 17 [1890]

Dear Mr. Kenworthy 1 All days are pretty inconvenient for me to lecture o n if the place is more than a mile from my o w n house and I find I must give up attempting it. However as I seem to have made a rash promise to you I suppose I must redeem it: only I fear that talking about the arts to people in Liverpool is rather a waste of time, as they cannot have t h e m there or any beginning of t h e m until they have pulled Liverpool d o w n to the ground, and started practical equality amongst m e n . I really don't like talking to people o n these terms. T h e socialism is different: can't you manage to knock off the artist lecture? If you cannot I will give t h e m my Gothic Architecture which I did for the Arts & Crafts. As to the dates I think there must be some mistake as 2 9 / 3 0 March are Friday Saturday & you mean Saturday Sunday don't you. so that let it be. 2 I have made a note

April 12th 13th do make that of it. I have so n o t e d it in my diary.

Thanks for your kind wishes. I return t h e m heartily. Yours very truly William Morris [

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NYU

1

See letter no. 1673, n. 1. Morris in fact gave three lectures in Liverpool, one on art and two on socialism. On April 12, 1890, he gave his talk "Gothic Architecture" in the rooms of the Artists' Club in Eberle Street. In the afternoon of April 13, he spoke on "The Development of Modern Society" at a meeting sponsored by the Liverpool Socialist Society; and in the evening gave, to the Society, his talk titled "The Social Outlook." See LeMire, p. 283. 2

1698 · T o BERNARD Q U A R I T C H

Kelmscoct House,

Upper Mall, Hammersmith February 18 [1890?] Dear Mr. Quaritch Thank you I will take the Valdarfer Cicero 1 and the Josephus 2 at £45. T h e Lactantius I will return tomorrow with many thanks for the loan. Yours very truly W Morris MS: Quaritch. 1 A first edition of Cicero's Orationes, printed at Venice, by Valdarfer in 1471 (see Sotheby Catalogue [1898], lot 359). 2 Probably Flavius Josephus' Opera [History of the Jewish Wars, and Antiquities of the Jews], printed in two volumes at Liibeck by Lucas de Brandis c. 1478 (see Sotheby Catalogue [1898], lot 733).

1699 · RECIPIENT U N K N O W N

Kelmscott House,

Upper Mall, Hammersmith February 20, 1890 Dear Sir We shall be happy to send you a selection of samples of o u r wares. I have told Mr. Smith 1 to write to you o n the subject With thanks for your kind wishes (I am perfectly well) I am Yours faithfully William Morris MS: 1

UNC. See Volume I, letter no. 400, n. 2.

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1890 / L E T T E R 1701 1700 · T o THACKERAY T U R N E R

[February 22, 1890]

My dear Turner, Here you are: but on no account must the letter 1 be sent to the antiquaries or the (the) Diocesan Society. 2 I strongly suspect that would constitute it a libel, 3 and the Society cannot afford the luxury of a libel suit. Besides you must have his answer first.4 Yrs truly William Morris MS: S.P.A.B. Archives. 1 Morris refers to a letter to J. O. Scott enclosed with this one. See letter no. 1701. 2 It is unclear what Morris means by "Diocesan Society." Conceivably he means an informal advisory group of interested persons. The Diocesan Committees, advisory bodies whose purpose is to scrutinize proposals for altering the fabric of a building, were not established until 1938. 3 Presumably Morris is making a joking reference to his own attacks on J. O. Scott's alterations (see letter no. 1701). 4 In a letter dated March 4, 1890, Scott did reply, taking up Morris's letter point by point, defending his procedure, and insisting that in places he had in fact exposed original parts of the church and improved its appearance. For the full text of Scott's letter, see S.P.A.B. Archives, "Thame Church."

1701 · T o J O H N O L D R I D S C O T T

9, Buckingham Street,

Adelphi, W.C. February 22, 1890 St. Mary's Church. Thame. Dear Sir1 T h e Committee of the Society for the Protection of Ancient Buildings having caused T h a m e Church to be visited, and knowing by the printed report 2 that you are the Architect superintending the works there have instructed m e to write to you, and lay some matters of complaint before you; as the Committee always thinks it best to address itself in these cases directly to the responsible Architect. 1 st O u r reporter informs us that the ancient Chambers over the transepts have been destroyed by lifting the floors some feet higher, so that the doorways into the Chambers n o w open out into the transepts under the floors. T h e C o m m i t t e e thinks this destruction of a piece of history most regrettable, and quite needless, for assuming as we must that the only reason for destroying these interesting Chambers, is that the floors

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come below the heads of the N and S. arches of the tower, this might have been remedied by panelling the part that came below the arches. 2nd. O u r report informs us that the w o r k m e n w h o were removing the whitewash from the internal surface of the walls were watched for some time; and that they were working with carpenters chisels' followed by "Manchester Card' (hard wire brushes: 1st Cutting it down the stone with the chisels and then smoothing with card. It could be seen that this process was destroying the coat of whitewash on which the Mediaeval paintings were executed, although closeby a very fine painting had been discovered, showing that painting might everywhere be expected to be met with. T h e Committee thinks that you cannot know that such destructive 'restoration' is going on in the course of work for which you are responsible. 3rd. T h e whole of the external plaster or rough cast has, our report says, being stripped off (with the exception of the south Porch and north Aisle and the rough rubble work thus exposed pointed in cement with an 'arris'joint. T h e C o m m i t t e e thinks that the removal of the plaster in such cases is a mistake, as the Mediaeval builders probably covered their rubble walls with the plaster, and though the plaster removed was probably not M e d i aeval work yet at least it held its place, and its surface was duly weathered. But waiving the question of stripping off the plaster, the Committee wishes to protest most strongly against the cement pointing with its m e chanical joint: indeed it had thought that this m e t h o d of pointing had been condemned by all Architects of reputation as the very worst of all methods: the harleqins network of hideous colour produced by it which never weathers into even negative ugliness, being destructive of all that beauty of wall surface which is one of the essentials of good architecture. 4th O u r reporter tells us that some of the Jacobean w o o d w o r k which originally formed a gallery, was piled up as if it were going to be removed as lumber: T h e Committee hopes that you will be able to reassure it on this point. I am Dear Sir (On behalf of the Committee of the Society for the Protection of Ancient Buildings) Yours faithfully William Morris 3 H o n . Sec. [ 144 ]

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I L E T T E R 1702

MS (copy): S.P.A.B. Archives. ' J o h n Oldrid Scott (1841—1913) was the architect responsible for repairs to St. Mary's Church, Thame, which were begun in 1889 and were based on his own recommendations made in 1888. The second son of Sir George Gilbert Scott (1811-1878), he was—along with his brother George Gilbert—to be closely associated with his father's work and archi­ tectural beliefs. (See Volume I, letters no. 395, n. 4; and no. 535, n. 1.) J. O. Scott was also a designer of ironwork, woodwork, and embroidery. 2 Morris may refer to a report titled "Restoration of Thame Church," published in behalf of the "County Committee" whose names were attached to the document. (For the report, and names of the Committee, see S.P.A.B. Archives, "Thame Church.") Alternatively, he may be referring to a report prepared by Scott himself (see note 1 above), possibly the one dated October 1888. For the text of the latter, see S.P.A.B. Archives, "Thame Church." 3 Neither the text nor the signature is in Morris's own hand, though the letter is clearly signed with his name.

1702 · T o OLIVER E L T O N

Kelmscott House, Upper Mall, Hammersmith February 26 [1890]

Dear Sir 1 T h a n k you very m u c h for your kind present of the pretty little b o o k . 2 I have nearly read it t h r o u g h , & find it very interesting from its transpar­ ent sincerity and straightforwards, and its never failing Icelandic Style, of w h i c h y o u r translation gives, I can see clearly, such a g o o d and faithful rendering. I congratulate you on the b o o k all r o u n d including its excel­ lent 'get u p ' , a (point) matter (o)in w h i c h I am m u c h interested, as per­ haps you may know. I am usually in o n a Sunday afternoon, (shall be next Sunday) may I have the pleasure of seeing you? Yours faithfully William Morris Ms: Berger Coll. 1 Oliver Elton (1861—1945), at this time a lecturer on English Literature at Owens Col­ lege, Manchester; later—1900 to 1925—King Alfred Professor of English Literature, Uni­ versity of Liverpool. A translator, editor, and author; his publications included, as well as the Laurentius Saga (see note 2 below), a translation of the first nine books of Saxo Grammaticus' History of the Danes (1894); and a life of F. York Powell, published in two volumes in 1906. Elton was to send Morris a presentation copy οι History of the Danes in 1894 (Sotheby Catalogue [1898], lot 1005). 2

Elton had sent Morris his translation from the Icelandic of Einar Haflidason's The Life of Laurence, Bishop of Holar in Iceland (Laurentius Saga), a work written in the fourteenth century. Elton's translation was issued in January 1890 by Rivingtons. Morris's copy is listed as lot 619 in the Sotheby Catalogue (1898).

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1703 · T o THE READERS OF THE Commonweal

[March 8, 1890]

Mr. Rickarby's 1 letter, 2 though written in a friendly and conciliatory spirit, requires, I think, some answer. Let it be admitted that Christianity, like all religions which include a system of morality, has something in c o m m o n with Socialism. Let it also be admitted that many of the "sneers and unjust charges" of which Mr. Rickarby writes, are aimed at the stupidities and hypocrisies of the Christianity of the day, which n o doubt men of Mr. Rickarby's stamp sincerely condemn; granted this, yet if Christianity is "a revelation addressed to all times" it can not be neutral as to political and social institutions, which, if they are to be binding on men's consciences, and not merely pieces of arbitrary coercion, must be founded on a system of morality; and that morality must n o t be founded on explanations of natural facts or a theory of life in which people have ceased to believe. At the risk of offending "real Christians," however well-meaning or honest they may be, we must ask "Is this true?" Mr. Rickarby's contrast between real and actual Christianity evades the point of difference; that real (I should call it ideal) Christianity has never existed at all. Christianity has developed in due historic sequence from the first, and has taken the various forms which social, political, economic circumstances have forced on it; its last form moulded by the sordid c o m mercialism of modern capitalism being the bundle of hypocrisies which, as I have said, Mr. Rickarby with other Christian Socialists condemns. W h e n this beggarly period has been supplanted by one in which Socialism is realised, will not the system of morality, the theory of life, be all-embracing, and can it be other than the Socialistic theory? Where then will be the Christian ethic?—absorbed in Socialism. N o separate system of ethics will then be needed; there will be no protest needed against the theory of life which will than be commonly held, we shall only have to guard the freedom which we have w o n . William Morris TEXT: Commonweal, March 8, 1890, 77. Published: MM, II, 301-302. 1 The Rev. Alfred T. Rickarby (d. 1924), a Christian Socialist. 2 Commonweal, March 1, 1890, printed (p. 67) a letter from A. T. Rickarby with the title "Christianity and Socialism." Referring to the December 21, 1889, issue, Rickarby asked why Commonweal wanted to keep him and other Christians sympathetic to socialism "at arm's length by sneers and unjust charges in regard to our religion? Christianity puts no bar whatever to . . . Socialism; and although, as . . . a spiritual revelation . . . addressed to all times, the New Testament is . . . neutral in regard to the particular institutions of society which . . . must always be adjusted according to the natural development of the age, yet the political scheme of the Mosaic code is . . . of a Socialistic nature." He added that many socialists who are not Christians "claim that Christ's teaching is really in their favour." Also, since "real Christianity and actual Christianity are not necessarily the same," Commonweal

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1890 / L E T T E R 1705 ought not to write in a way that offends "real Christians." All of us, Rickarby added, "whether Christians or non-Christians, fall short of the standards up to which we ought to live, but shall those standards be abused on this account?"

1704 · T o F O R D M A D O X B R O W N

Kelmscott House, Upper Mall, Hammersmith March 14 [1890?]

M y dear Brown I will with pleasure second Mr. R h e a d 1 on your recommendation if you propose him: I don't k n o w w h e n his election could come o n but will ask Radford. 2 Your letter reminds m e that I am in an official position in regard to you, as I am told off to badger you to send something to the forthcoming exhibition. C o u l d you think of anything you would like to appear there? 3 I w o u l d call on you, if you pleased, to talk it over. O f course the Society would take all removal to & fro o n itself. W i t h best wishes Yours ever William Morris MS: Huntington. 1 George Wooliscraft Rhead (1855-1920), an etcher. This letter presumably concerns Rhead's candidacy for membership in the Art Workers' Guild, to which he was elected on April 11, 1890 (see J.J.L.J. Masse, The Art-Workers' Guild 1884-1934 [Oxford: Shakespeare Head Press, 1934], p. 140). 2 Earnest Radford (see Volume II, letter no. 1407a, n. 1). 3 Morris was asking Brown to contribute to the third Arts and Crafts Exhibition Society exhibit in October (see letter no. 1764, n. 2). In the event, Brown sent a cartoon in charcoal, "The Baptism of Eadwin," prepared for a fresco in the Manchester Town Hall; and an etching, "The Dream of Sardanapolous" (from Byron's poetic drama Sardanapalus [1821]); which was, quite appositely to this letter, designed by Brown but etched by G. Wooliscraft Rhead (see note 1 above). There was also at the exhibition a chest of drawers described as intended "for workman or cottager" that was designed by Brown and executed by Joseph Waddington. See ACES Catalogue, 1890, pp. 142, 190, and 256.

1705 · T o THACKERAY T U R N E R

TELEGRAPHIC ADDRESS, "HONEYSUCKLE, LONDON." 449, Oxford Street, London, W. March 19, 1890

M y dear Turner I am very sorry that I must again be absent from the m e e t i n g t o m o r row, but am compelled to to Torquay.

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Mr. H Wallis 1 wrote to me about the mutilation of the Egyptian M o n uments 2 & wanted us to pass a resolution & send it to the papers; this I certainly think we ought to do: but some of our members will bear in mind that M r Wallis is rather a difficult person to deal with, and we must not, I think get entangled with him. T h e resolution in question ought I think to be quite general, expressing our sorrow at the mutilation which has taken place and hoping that our government will use its influence to prevent further damage. 3 I (mea) especially want us to guard against any hint of our having knowledge about anything which the general public has not got, any mere hearsay. I have n o doubt that the other members will agree with my view but as I am unable to be present & thought it to give my views on the matter, which of course are meant to be private to the Committee. 4 Yours faithfully William Morris MS: Bentham Coll. 1 See Volume I, letter no. 229, n. 4. 2 In Upper Egypt, thieves had defaced the walls of several tombs, forcibly removing large portions of the frescoes. See The Times, March 14, 1890 (p. 14) and March 17 (p. 4). 3 The resolution, passed at the S.P.A.B. meeting on March 20, 1890, was printed (p. 9) in The Times on March 31. Largely an expression of regret at the damage incurred to the monuments, as well as of support for the efforts of the Society for the Preservation of Monuments in Ancient Egypt, the resolution also admonished the Egyptian government to "take immediate steps to prevent the recurrence of such an irreparable misfortune." See also the S.P.A.B. Annual Report for 1890, p. 65. 4 Among members of the Committee in 1890 were EJ. A. Balfour, James Bryce, George Howard, S. C. Cockerell, J. Comyns Carr, George Webb Dasent, William de Morgan, F. S. Ellis, C. J. Faulkner, J. L. Gerome, R. C. Grosvenor, J. R. Holliday, W. Holman Hunt, E. Burne-Jones, James Russell Lowell, Vernon Lushington, and J. H. Middleton. For the complete list, see the S.P.A.B. Annual Report for 1890, pp. 3-4.

1706

· T o THE W O R K E R S

ON STRIKE AT [ C O U R S , FRANCE] 1

March [22?

1890]

Comrades In answer to your letter I beg to thank you for the confidence you are so kind as to place in me, and to ask you to believe in my heart-felt sympathy with you in your hard case, and indignation against your oppressors. You ask me for my advice: but it is hard for me to advise you as to strike-matters, as I am not thoroughly conversant with (the) your local condition, (of to be) T h e Socialist League, to which I belong, is making your case k n o w n to English Socialists through its paper the C o m m o n -

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1890 / L E T T E R 1707 weal, (Of w h i c h I send you a copy) 2 and we h o p e to raise some money to add to y o u r funds. 3 In the m e a n t i m e I send you £ 2 . .

.. as an earnest of my sympathy with

you; I (greet) send you, comrads, my best wishes for your success in b e t tering y o u r condition in the present, and ask you to j o i n with me in (wishing) crying out for the solidarity of the workers in all countries I am Comrades Yours Fraternally William Morris MS: BL, Add. MSS. 45334. 1 Probably sent to A. Coppier, Secretary of the Workers' Syndicate of Cours. See Coppier's letters to Morris, March 13, 1890, and April 30 (BL, Add. MSS. 35334, ff. 212-13 and IT. 216-17). 2 Under the heading "An International Appeal," Commonweal, March 22, 1890, reported (p. 90) that for eight months French blanket weavers and workers associated with them had been on strike at Cours, Rhone Department, and that the entire population (more than 4,000) had been affected. The workers' wages had been repeatedly lowered and they had formed a union to resist any further losses. The mill owners, the report continued, had refused to recognize the union, although seven had agreed to the workers' demands. The others would destroy the trade of the district rather than give in. Although they had held on for so long, the workers now felt they had to ask for French and for outside help. Contributions should be sent, the report noted, to the Secretaire du Syndicat de Cours. 3 Commonweal, March 29, 1890, printed (p. 101) a notice signed by May Morris that a subscription had been set on foot in aid of the blanket weavers of Cours.

1707 · T o JOHN COLEMAN KENWORTHY

Kelmscott House, Upper Mall, Hammersmith March 25 [1890]

Dear Mr. Kenworthy T h a n k you very m u c h ; I shall be very glad to see you again. I shall come to Liverpool o n Saturday 1 by the 2 o'clock Euston train; gets in at 6.25. Yours very truly William Morris MS: 1

NYU See letter no. 1697 and n. 2.

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L E T T E R S OF WILLIAM 1708 · T o EMMA SHELTON MORRIS

MORRIS Kelmscott House,

Upper Mall, Hammersmith March 25, 1890 Dearest Mother Thank you very much for your kind letter. You k n o w that I shall have to scold you if you talk of presents, Your love is the best present I can have. Please give my best love to dear Henrietta and say I thank her for her letter & will write to her soon. Jenny I am glad to say is much better: We think of going to Kelmscott again for Easter. 1 She enjoys the country so much and is so fond of the old house and the garden. I have n o t seen Arthur yet; perhaps I ought to call upon him as he is an invalid. 2 T h e weather is stormy but n o t unpleasant today; but yesterday it rained hard all the afternoon. I was at Merton. O n c e more best love dearest Mother: I think we are going to have a nice spring n o w & I hope you will enjoy it. Your most affectionate Son William Morris MS: Walthamstow. 1 Easter was on April 6 in 1890. 2 Morris refers to his brother Arthur (see Volume I, letter no. 1, n. 1). The invalidism was probably an acute attack of gout, from which Arthur Morris had suffered for about thirty years at this date.

1709 · T o ANDREAS SCHEU

Kelmscott House,

Upper Mall, Hammersmith March 25 [1890] My dear Scheu O f course I shall be very pleased to testify to (the) your substantiality & integrity: 1 if one must use long-tailed words let it be with a vengeance. Thank you for the offer of an article o n German affairs; I think it would be very valuable, & I should be very glad of it. 2 T h e o n e on Huxley 3 was very good I thought, and of course I entirely agreed with it 4 With wishes of luck Yours affectionately William Morris HSH. Presumably Scheu had asked Morris to write a letter supporting him in a job application. For which job is uncertain. In 1884, Scheu had worked as a London representative of MS:

1

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1890 I L E T T E R 1711 the German firm Jaeger, which manufactured woolen clothing and bedding. By March 1890, he may have lost or abandoned the job and begun a search for a new one. In 1891 he became a representative in London of Lowenbrau, the Munich brewery, but it seems unlikely that his application to Lowenbrau would have begun in March of the year prior to his being hired. For references to Scheu's employment, see Herbert Steiner, Die Gebriider Scheu: Eine Biographie (Vienna: Europa Verlag, 1968), p. 55. 2 Commonweal, April 19, 1890, published (pp. 124-25) Scheu's article, "The Situation in Germany." 3 Thomas Henry Huxley (1825—1895), the scientist, educator, and essayist, who was one of the first to develop the philosophical and ethical implications of Darwinian theory and who was also an early observer of "the two cultures" in education—the literary and the scientific. 4 Commonweal, March 15, 1890, had published (pp. 84-85) an article by Scheu titled "Prof. Huxley and His Natural Rights." This was in response to Huxley's " O n the Natural Inequality of Men," in Nineteenth Century, XXVII, 155 (January 1890), 1-23; and "Natural Rights and Political Rights," in the February issue, XXVII, 156, 173-95.

1710 · T o KATE FAULKNER

Kelmscott House, Upper Mall, Hammersmith April 2 [1890]

M y dear Kate I shall n o t be able to come today as I am going to Kelmscott with Jenny for Easter. Janey does n o t go with us: in fact I am going there to give her a rest as she is far from well. I shall get on with my two stories' d o w n there and do other work of a small kind: & shall h o p e to see you this day week. Yours affec: W Morris MS: Texas. ' Probably News from Nowhere and The Glittering Plain (see letters no. 1696, n. 3, and no. 1657, n. 2, respectively).

1711 · T o JANE MORRIS

Saturday Kelmscott [April 5, 1890]

Dearest Janey 1 So far good: Jenny has been quite well & very happy. We w e n t up to Buscott W o o d yesterday, and today we went, all except May d o w n the water as far as D o n k e y R e a c h expecting the N . E . w i n d to take us back again; w h i c h it did n o t do; for in fact the weather has quite changed today, and the wind has got r o u n d to the S.W. T h e river is very low for [

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the time of the year. We m e t some conservancy m e n going up the water in a big p u n t this morning; which makes m e uneasy, as I fear their b e devilling the river: they are a crying example of the evils of bureaucratic centralization. Frank says he could let the pigeons out n o w but is waiting for some rings you were to send him, so that we might know o u r own. This sounds like the Arabian Nights, but I suppose it can be done. I wonder if the poor birds will have lost their power of flying w h e n they come out. Item, we saw two herons in Buscott Wood, heard them squawking at first; and I was so clever as to suppose their squawk meant herons. N o t so many flowers as I expected to see: dairy's gone—primroses hardly got over that frost. Anemones—only o n e bunch quite out, though several showing: they don't seem to do well in the grass. T h e Fritillaries are c o m ing u p fairly well. As to 'Fowells' we have only 9 actual chicken, but there are 6 sitting; one (ducks) should come off Tuesday. Eggs heaps. Altogether we are well fed. As to coming back: as May must come h o m e o n Tuesday I thought we had better all go home together; especially as I should n o t have been able to go up with Jenny; but must have taken the savage train o n Wednesday morning Mr. Birchal I am expecting every minute to tea, so goodbye with best love from me and the girls. We shall be h o m e about 6—6.30 o n Tuesday. I daresay the trains will be late. Your loving WM MS: BL, Add. MSS. 45338. 1 Jane Morris had stayed in London because of her health, see letter no. 1710.

1712 · T o JANE M O R R I S

Easter Monday

Kelmscott [April 7, 1890?] Dearest Janey Jenny still very well and enjoying herself. I write because I find that there is a post this morning at 11:30 which I didn't expect. It looked very like a thorough wet day an hour ago but has suddenly cleared with a shift of the wind. Saturday was o u r finest & warmest day. We go over to Birchalls this afternoon. Item there are ducks hatched today 1 9 of them I believe perhaps more.

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1713

T h a n k you for newspapers. I am glad you have b e e n able to get out my dear. Best love from all. Your loving W.M. I o p e n again to p u t in flowers from Jenny. MS: BL, Add. MSS. 45338. 1 See letter no. 1711. The ducks about to hatch, mentioned in the April 5 letter, are a good reason for dating this letter April 7. (In 1890, Easter Sunday was on April 6.)

1713 · T o [W. KINETON PARKES?]

Kelmscott House, Upper Mall, Hammersmith April 17 [1890?]

Dear Sir 1 I suppose you m e a n you want facts about my life: 2 but I don't k n o w what to give you except the most elementary ones: to wit, that I was b o r n in 1834 at Walthamstow in Essex and educated at Marlborough College and Exeter Coll. Oxford: that I was for about 9 m o n t h s a pupil of G.E. Street, that I began my present business in 1861 in association with Ford M a d o x Brown, E. Burne-Jones, D.G. Rosetti, Philip Webb and others, and that I published my first b o o k the Defence of Guenevere in 1858. T h a t is all that I can think of. I am Dear Sir Yours truly William Morris MS: Shulman Coll. 1 If in fact this letter was written in 1890, it is just possible the recipient was W. Kineton Parkes (1865-1938), the editor of The Painter-Poets, an anthology of poetry by painters, architects, engravers, sculptors, and etchers, and issued by Walter Scott in September 1890. Included in the book (pp. 133—39) were four poems by Morris originally published in The Defence of Guenevere: "Summer Dawn," "In Prison," "Near Avalon," and "Praise of My Lady." But see note 2 below. 2 What makes the identification of Parkes (see note 1 above) much less than certain is that the biographical sketch of Morris published (p. 250) in the "Notes" section of The PainterPoets makes no use at all of the details sent in this letter. The biographical part of the note reads: "One of the best known names in contemporary thought and art is that of William Morris, whose strenuous efforts in the cause of social progress are only equalled by his efforts for the advancement of the arts. The art of painting he has now relinquished, but to poetry he still devotes much time, and the publication of a new volume of poems from his

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hand is an event of great importance in the world of letters. . . ." It is just possible that Parkes had not made clear, in writing to Morris, what it was he wanted to know; and finding that the information in the present letter did not suit his purposes, prepared a biographical note based on Morris's public reputation. As indicated, however, this explanation has to be regarded as only just possible.

1714 · T o WILLIAM A R C H E R

Kelmscott House, Upper Mall, Hammersmith April 29 [1890]

Dear Sir1 I should translate fylgia by 'fetch,' w h i c h is a good English word. I see that this is Vigfusson's 2 opinion also, as given sub voce in his dictionary. Yrs truly W Morris MS: BL, Add. MSS. 45293. 1 William Archer (1856-1924), the Scottish critic, playwright, and translator, who settled in London in 1878. Drama critic for the London Figaro from 1879 to 1881, he secured his place in literary history by being one of the first in England to recognize Ibsen's importance. In 1880, the London production of The Pillars of Society that introduced Ibsen to the English stage used Archer's translation, and he himself produced a five-volume edition of Ibsen's plays in 1890-1891. Archer was also one of those who called for the founding of the National Theatre, although he did not live to see its establishment. His books include a study of Henry Irving (1883); Masks or Faces? (1888), a study in the psychology of acting; and a life of Macready (1890). Among his several plays was The Green Goddess, a melodrama, which was a considerable success when it was produced in London in 1923. 2 Gu3brandr Vigfusson (1828-1889; see Volume I, letter no. 565, n. 2). An eminent Icelandic scholar, Vigfusson had come to England in 1866 in order to complete An Icelandic-English Dictionary, based on the ms. collections of the late Richard Cleasby (d. 1847). The dictionary was published in 1874, and Morris owned a copy.

1715 · T o G E O R G E B A I N T O N 1

[1889-May 1890?]

I can't say that I ever had any system. 2 As a y o u n g child I was a greedy reader of every b o o k I could come across. I am not t o w n - b r e d , and was happy e n o u g h to spend the greater part of my life in the open air as a b o y — E p p i n g Forest at h o m e ; the Marlborough countryside (one of the most interesting in England) at school. I was at Oxford before it was so much spoiled as it has been since by the sordid blackguards of ' D o n s ' 3 w h o pretend to educate y o u n g people there. I had the sense to practically refuse to learn anything I didn't like, and also, practically, n o b o d y at-

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tempted to teach m e anything. In short I had leisure, pleasure, goodhealth, and was the son of a well-to-do man. These were my advantages. M y disadvantages were in myself, and n o t around m e , I think. I fear 'tis little use putting such an example before your young men, w h o probably will have to lay their noses to the grindstone at a very early stage of their career. If I may venture to advise you as to what to advise them, it would be that you should warn them off art and literature as professions, as breadwinning work, most emphatically. If I were advising them, I should advise them to learn as soon as possible the sad fact that they are slaves, whatever their position may be, so that they might turn the whole of their energies towards winning freedom, if not for themselves, yet for the children they will beget. U n d e r such conditions art and literature are not worth consideration. TEXT: The Art of Authorship, compiled and edited by George Bainton (New York: D. Appleton and Co., 1890), 60-61. 1 See Volume II, letter no. 1479, n. 1. 2 Bainton had written to a number of authors and lecturers, asking them for "personal experiences and counsels," as a way to help him respond to a number of young men who had asked him to address them on the art of composition and public speech. (See "Introduction," The Art of Authorship, p. vii.) Morris's reply was one of 178 he obtained and published. Among the others to respond were: William Allingham, Alfred Austin, Stopford Brooke, Robert Browning, Sir Richard Burton, Hall Caine, Marie Corelli, George Gissing, H. Rider Haggard, Thomas Hardy, Bret Harte, William Dean Howells, Thomas Henry Huxley, Henry James, Sarah Jewett, George Meredith, Ernest Renan, Christina Rossetti, and Mark Twain. 3 For the consequences of Morris's naming the Oxford dons "blackguards," see letter no. 1718, n. 3.

1716 · T o J O H N COLEMAN K E N W O R T H Y

Kelmscott House,

Upper Mall, Hammersmith Kenworthy 1 [May 1890?]2 Dear M r Kenworthy I am n o t sure of being in o n either Tuesday or Wednesday evening: but Tuesday about 5 I probably will be, & should be glad to see you. I don't think I am likely to go to America: I certainly would not go unless under compulsion. Yet I thank you for considering m e in the matter. Yours very truly William Morris MS:

NYU

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Morris himself wrote the name Kenworthy under the inside address. The dating of this letter is highly conjectural and is based only on the possibility that after Morris's lectures given at Kenworthy's request in Liverpool on April 12 and 13 (see letter no. 1697, n. 2), Kenworthy sought to arrange a lecture tour for Morris in America. It is equally possible, however, the letter was written later than 1890. Avrich notes (p. 154) that "[djuring the early 1890s . . . Kenworthy . . . started a Socialist League in New York. . . . " Soon after starting the League, Kenworthy may have made a trip back to England, and while there, invited Morris to lecture in New York. 2

1717 · T o BERNARD Q U A R I T C H

Merton Abbey,

Surrey May 9, 1890 Dear Sir I enclose a cheque for £200. Those of the books which you sent on inspection, which I decided not to keep are packed up (at Hammersmith) awaiting your porter: I handed in a list to your clerk of those which I had decided to keep. 1 Yours truly William Morris MS: Quaritch. 1 Among the books Morris purchased at this time may have been one Needham describes (p. 33) as an "early fourteenth-century copy of the Roman des sept sages with two continuations, the rotnans of Marques and Laurin. This belonged formerly to Baron Seilliere; Morris bought it from Quaritch in April 1890, and it is now in the Fitzwilliam Museum as part of the McClean bequest."

1718 · T o THE E D I T O R OF The Speaker

Kelmscott House,

Upper Mall, Hammersmith May 19 [1890] Sir,1 My attention has been called to an angry article in your current number under the heading: " W h y 'Blackguards'?" 2 There is a good deal of matter in it which is personal to myself;3 but I do not think it right to trouble the public with any private grievance, w h e n I have in my mind a crying p u b lic one. To speak frankly, I wish to use the opportunity afforded me by your article for calling the attention of your readers to a great public scandal. T h e words of mine quoted in the article 4 in question were written under the influence of the grief and indignation which I felt, and am feeling, in c o m m o n with all those w h o understand the beauty of the art of the past, and its value to history, at the manner in which the public bodies at our

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older Universities have treated the inestimable treasures of art committed to their charge. Those bodies, which should have been the guardians of the beauty left us by our forefathers, have been industrious in destroying it during the last thirty years: I say the last thirty, and pass over the time when the destruction of ancient buildings was in a way excusable in any particular body, because of the general ignorance on the subject: an excuse which is no longer valid. Thirty years ago Oxford was one of the most beautiful cities in Europe, and the most beautiful city in England. Will anybody (out of Oxford) deny that this beauty was a matter of importance to the education of the place? For my part, I assert that this visible embodiment of the genius loci was the one thing which gave Oxford any advantage, as a place of education, over more modern institutions. Without it, and except for the preservation of it, the University would have been far more useful if it had been removed to Birmingham, or even Manchester. Two-thirds of this beauty has now been destroyed; and who is guilty of this injury to the highest (rather than the higher) education? Clearly the Universities and Colleges; for if the townsmen have been partakers in the crime, who could expect mere ignorant laymen to refrain from acts of vandalism, when the most learned bodies in the country were setting the example of commercial destruction? As to this destruction, I pass over mere blunders in art such as "restorations," disastrous as those have been; although it might be thought that learned bodies ought not to have been worse than other people in their judgment of such matters, but better: what I now want to call your attention to is that destruction for the sake of profit of which there has been so much during the last few years. And 1 repeat that it is a great public scandal that the Colleges at Oxford and Cambridge should be allowed to destroy, without the express permission of the whole nation, buildings which they look upon as mere marketable private property, but which should be the property of the whole nation. It may be, indeed, that they will plead ignorance as to the value of these buildings, which would be a strange plea for bodies engaged in education to put forward. And yet I fear that they are ignorant. In that case cannot they learn from the instructed? Again I fear that they will not; that, like the writer of your article, they will plead honest poverty as an excuse for continuing to damage the community. And yet, are they content to be handed down to posterity as the greatest enemies that art has met with in this country during the nineteenth century? Sir, I wish to make peace with these gentlemen whom my plain-speaking has so offended; for, indeed, my anger comes from my heartfelt love [ 157 ]

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for Oxford and its best associations. But I cannot make peace until they cease to make war upon art and history, which, in my poor judgment, make up between them a full half of "education." And an opportunity for peace is, it seems, now to hand. Even if the Colleges had not existed, Oxford thirty years ago would still have been one of the most beautiful towns in England; it is heart-breaking to think of the disregard with which this side of its beauty has been treated; but there is still some of it left; and of all parts of the city, Holywell Street5 contains the most of this old town architecture, and is still a most delightful street, in spite of the gap caused by the gaunt and ugly new buildings of New College. It is not too much to say that it is a quite invaluable piece of modest town architecture. Now I am most grieved to hear the current report that this remnant of Oxford before the age of "Culture" is threatened with almost complete destruction; and I confess that I write this letter chiefly in the hope that some public protest may be made against its demolition, and that the Colleges, if they have any intent ions against it, may be shamed into reconsidering them. To conclude, I have two suggestions to make: the first is that the Universities and the Colleges should appoint a commission, whose business should be the preservation of all monuments of art which they could by any possibility deal with; such a commission, of course, to be composed of the persons best qualified to advise and act in the matter. I say most emphatically that it is the duty of the Universities to take some such step in order to put a stop to the orgy of destruction in which they have been indulging. But if they refuse to do their duty; if, let us say, their honest poverty compels them to live by destroying the national property, I suggest as an alternative expedient that a society be formed for raising a fund wherewith to buy, for the benefit of the nation, College property, of which old buildings or other works of art form a part, and which may come into the market from time to time. This scheme would have the double advantage of saving the old buildings, and at the same time helping the Colleges to the means of prosecuting any further experiments in competitive education which they may have a mind to. I am prepared to back my opinion herein, by subscribing to such an association as much as I possibly can. Finally, allow me to congratulate Trinity College (Oxford) on having preserved the quaint and characteristic houses near its gates, and thus offering a contrast to its ambitious neighbour Balliol, the destruction of whose buildings is such a disgrace to the ancient House, such a gross insult to the "Famous Men and Fathers that begat it." 6 I am, Sir, Yours obediently, William Morris7 [ 158 ]

1890 / L E T T E R 1719 TEXT: The Speaker, May 24, 1890, 569-70. 1 Sir Thomas Wemyss Reid (1842-1905), editor of The Speaker. A Scottish journalist and biographer, he also edited the Leeds Mercury, 1870-1887, was manager of Cassell's publishing firm from 1887 to 1905, and a biographer of Charlotte Bronte. He published, as well, two novels: Gladys Fane (1884) and Mauleverer's Millions (1886). 2 The actual title was "But Why 'Blackguards'?" The article appeared in The Speaker for May 17, 1890, p. 536. 3 The article was a caustic attack on the letter Morris had written to the Rev. George Bainton (see letter no. 1715) for inclusion in his book, The Art of Authorship, published in May, 1890 by J. Clarke and Co. The Speaker had reviewed (pp. 513-15) the book unfavorably on May 10, calling it "curiously constructed" and accusing Bainton of exploiting the contributors by keeping each ignorant that he was writing to the others and not informing any that he had planned to make up a book of the letters. (Bainton denied the charge in a letter to the Editor [May 17; p. 543].) In the May 17 issue, The Speaker attacked (p. 536) Morris's contribution specifically. Describing Morris as "poet, Socialist, and upholsterer," the article quoted from his published letter to Bainton the following passage: "I was at Oxford before it was so much spoiled as it has been since by the sordid blackguards of Dons who pretend to educate young people there. I had the sense to practically refuse to learn anything I didn't like; and also, practically, nobody attempted to teach me anything. In short, I had leisure, pleasure, good health, and was the son of a well-to-do man. These were my advantages." The article then commented acidly: "Now the theory of Mr. Morris, implied in the above sentence, that a University should be a place where no pretence is made of educating young people, may be allowed to pass. The superfluity of the whole confession, too, hardly needs comment. Who, for instance, imagined that Mr. Morris learnt his .i£neid or Odyssey—works that he has translated—from tutors who made, or could make, any pretence of educating young people? But why drag in poor old Oxford at all? Why slight Wardour Street?" 4

See note 3 above. Jane Morris was born in Holywell Street and grew up there. 6 Morris has shaped to his purposes the line in "Ecclesiasticus" that reads: "Let us now praise famous men, and our fathers that begat us." 7 Responding to Morris's conciliatory tone in this letter, and suggesting perhaps that nothing he had said justified his previous strong language, The Speaker placed at the foot of Morris's letter a note that read: "[But, we ask once more, 'Why Blackguards'?—Ed. Speaker.]." Possibly it was Reid himself (see note 1 above) who added the question. 5

1719

· T o EMMA SHELTON MORRIS

Kelmscott H o u s e ,

U p p e r Mall, H a m m e r s m i t h

May 23, 1890 My dearest Mother I write a line to send my very best love to you on your birthday & to say how sorry I am that it is impossible for me to be with (thou) you. I enjoyed myself so much when I came last, and was so pleased to see you looking better again and able to take up your work again. We are having most beautiful weather here now, and I hope you are enjoying it dearest Mother. Jenny and I are just going to set out to Merton, and I think she is writing a letter to you also: the place is looking [ 159 ]

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beautiful there; the hawthorn is in full blossom and smells deliciously. Even our London strip down here looks beautiful this weather; but it dries up very quick, and there are quite too many cats near by, w h o use it as a pleasure ground and for many other purposes. However it is much better than nothing. Will you kindly give the enclosed to Henrietta, which relates to that certificate of baptism. She will see to it. Well, Dearest Mother, my very best love to you. I will come down to see you again as soon as I can. Your loving Son William Morris MS: Walthamstow.

1720 · T o [MARION HARRY SPIELMANN]

Kelmscott House,

Upper Mall, Hammersmith May 23, 1890 My dear Sir 1 Pray excuse m e for n o t answering your letter all this time. I have been trying to think what I could do. W h a t do you think of an article o n Illuminated MSS. 2 People want some information o n the subject I think O f course it would have to be freely illustrated; but the subjects are easily got at. Also will y o u excuse my asking the business question of what my h o n orarium is to be: as the article would give m e a good deal of trouble in detail though I know the subject well generally. I am M y dear Sir Yours faithfully William Morris MS: Rylands. 1 Marion Harry Spielmann (1858-1948), editor and art critic. Educated as an engineer, he began in 1883 to write on art for the Pall Mall Gazette and became a regular contributor to the Daily Graphic as well. From 1887 to 1904 he was editor of the Magazine of Art, and in 1891 he helped found Black & White, becoming its art editor. His published works include The History of Punch (1895), The Modern Poster (1895), Millais and His Works (1898), The Hitherto Unidentified Contributions of WM. Thackeray to Punch (1899), fohn Ruskin (1900), and British Sculpture and Sculptors of To-day (1901). 2 No article by Morris on illuminated manuscripts published in 1890 or 1891 in either Black & White or the Magazine of Art (the periodicals with which Spielmann was associated at this time) has been located. However, in 1893, Morris published "Some Notes on the Illuminated Books of the Middle Ages" in the November issue of the Magazine of Art (pp. 83—88), and this may be the article that Morris offered to write in this letter to Spielmann.

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Caricature by Edward Burne-Jones of himself and M a r y Z a m b a c o c. 1868,

1721 • T o BERNARD QUARITCH

Kelmscott House,

Upper Mall, Hammersmith May 30 [1890?] Dear Sir I have not seen Madam Zambaco 1 for several(y) years and I do not know at all where she is. I am sorry. I cannot give you the information. I am Dear Sir Yours truly William Morris MS: Quaritch. 1 M a r y (Marie) Z a m b a c o (see Volume I, letter no. 82, n. 4). In the 1880s she was an art student in L o n d o n , studying with Alphonse Legros, and w i n n i n g notice as a medallist and sculptor. By the 1890s she was living in Paris, w h e r e she became a student of Auguste R o d i n , w h o apparently encouraged her in her work. See Philip A t t w o o d , "Marie Z a m baco: Femme Fatale of the Pre-Raphaelites," Apollo (July 1986), pp. 3 1 - 3 7 .

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1722 · T o HENRY HAVELOCK ELLIS

Kelmscott House, Upper Mall, Hammersmith June 2, 1890

Dear Sir1 I k n o w little of my ancestors; 2 n o t h i n g beyond my grand-fathers and mothers. I seem to have a good deal of Welsh blood in m e . I was b o r n at Walthamstow near L o n d o n : but my father and m o t h e r both came Worcester. M y father's father was Welsh, I believe, and my

from

mother's

m o t h e r also. M y name is very c o m m o n all along the border; and if my m e m o r y serves me, I saw many Morrises on the shopfronts at Brecon. T h e name is u n d o u b t e d l y Cymric. I have 8 brothers and sisters, but n o n e of t h e m have any special turn towards literature or the arts. By the way my

father's

mother

I remember.

She

came

from

Nottingham;

but

w h e t h e r she was b o r n in the Midlands I d o n t k n o w ; her name was Stanley. M y mother's father's name was Shelton, so I suppose his family must have c o m e from Shropshire. 3 This is all I can tell you about my blood relations. 4 Yours faithfully William Morris MS: Yale B. 1 Henry Havelock Ellis (1859-1939), the English pioneer in the scientific study of sex who was almost an exact contemporary of Sigmund Freud (1856—1939). After a career in teaching in New South Wales, 1875-1879, Ellis became a medical student at St. Thomas's Hospital, London, in order to acquire the scientific authority to investigate the subject that had come to interest him: human sexuality. It became his life work. Ellis was also the editor of the Mermaid series of Elizabethan dramatists (1887-1896), and of volumes titled "Contemporary Science" (1889-1915). His own books include Man and Woman (1894); Studies in the Psychology of Sex (8 vols., 1897-1928); A Study of British Genius (1904); Little Essays of Love and Virtue (1922); The Dance of Life (1923); Impressions and Comments (3 vols., 1914— 1924); and My Life (1940). 2 Morris was probably responding to a request for information about his background for Ellis's A Study of British Genius, first published in 1904. 3 In the first edition of A Study of British Genius (see note 2 above), Ellis wrote (p. 230): "We have seen how significant a gouty inheritance seems to be. A typical example . . . was presented by William Morris, a man of very original genius, of great physical vigour and strength, of immense capacity for work, who was at the same time abnormally restless, very irritable, and liable to random explosions of nervous energy. Morris inherited from his mother's side a peculiarly strong and solid constitution; on his father's side he inherited a neurotic and gouty strain. It is evident that, given the robust constitution, the germinal instability furnished by such a morbid element as this—falling far short of insanity—acts as a precious fermentative element, an essential constituent in the man's genius. The mistake . . . is to exaggerate the insane character of such a fermentative element, and . . . to ignore the element of sane and robust vigour which is equally essential to any high degree of genius." In the revised edition of his book (Boston and New York: Houghton Mifflin, 1926) Ellis made new use of Morris's ancestry, contrasting it with Tennyson's (p. 240):

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1890 I L E T T E R 1724 "Tennyson was rooted in the most purely Nordic district of England, his art was Nordic, and all his skill could not enable him to weave a poem in the tapestried manner which to William Morris, for instance, who united the Celtic and Nordic elements, was an effortless task." 4 Perhaps Ellis used the information in this letter for Appendix B to his book, titled "Origins of British Persons of Ability." The entry for Morris reads (first ed., p. 270): "Paternal grandfather Worcester [from Welsh Border]; Paternal grandmother Notts; Maternal grandfather and grandmother Worcester."

1723

· T o [WOLF WESS?]

Kelmscott H o u s e ,

Upper Mall, Hammersmith June 2 [1890] Dear C o m r a d e 1 T h a n k you for y o u r kind letter. I will make a point of being present and (if you wish it) taking the chair 2 at 4 oclock; but I d o n o t think that I can stay the concert, as I shall be wanted to help at o u r branch. I have given the tickets to Sparling and May: May says it will be all right about the H a m m e r s m i t h choir Wishing you all success I am Yours fraternally William Morris MS: Warwick. 1 Possibly Wolf Wess (see letter no. 1746, n. 2). 2 Morris refers to the Fifth Anniversary celebration of the International Working Men's Club, which was held on June 8, 1890, at 40 Berner Street. Morris chaired the meeting, which was reported in the Arbeter Fraint, a Yiddish language radical journal (founded in 1885) onjune 13, 1890. (For a report of the speech Morris made, see Fishman, p. 193.) I am grateful to Karin Hofmeester for making the connection between this undated letter and the celebration, and informing me that the occasion was the Fifth Anniversary of the Club.

1724 · T o K A T E FAULKNER

Kelmscott House, Upper Mall, Hammersmith June 3 [1890]

M y dear Kate I am going (not to the Derby as is supposed of all absentees t o m o r r o w ) 1 but to Kelmscott with the two Jennies, 2 so I cannot c o m e and see y o u tomorrow. I had a g o o d time at Lincoln on Thursday Friday, and liked it [

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very much indeed. 3 In fact that is a very mild way of putting my pleasure in seeing that most glorious building again. 4 I am writing in a hurry for last post so goodbye Yours affectionately William Morris MS: Texas. 1

Derby Day in 1890 was on June 4. Jane and Jenny Morris. 3 In his Diary for May 29, 1890, Cockerell notes, "W.M. at Lincoln with Thackeray Turner." In the S.P.A.B. Annual Report for 1890, Morris and Turner were recorded (p. 33) as having visited Lincoln Cathedral and having reported that there was now much modern decorative stone carving in the cloisters. They criticized this and other work for attempting to imitate what was there before, specifically mentioning that in the chapter house new Purbeck marble shafts were being installed in the place of the existing old ones. Concluding, however, that the cathedral had suffered less at the hands of restorers than others in England, they praised the precentor of Lincoln Cathedral, Edmund Venables (1819-1895), who was also a member of the S.P.A.B., for preventing further restoration. Venables, who was an antiquary as well as a divine, was precentor of Lincoln Cathedral from 1867 to 1895 and was the author of guide books to the cathedral as well as to the Isle ofWight. 2

4

See letter no. 1725 for Morris's description of Lincoln Cathedral.

1725 · T o GEORGIANA BURNE-JONES

Kelmscott House

June 10, 1890 I have had three outings,—no, four—two of them business though. Item to Chislehurst after a job: 1 villas (some desperately ugly, others according to the new light) in the beautiful woods with lots of oak growing in them which to me is a treat, as I see so little oak about Kelmscott. Yes, villas and nothing but villas save a chemist's shop and a dry public house near the station: n o sign of any c o m m o n people, or anything but gentlem e n and servants—a beastly place to live in, don't you think? Next place was better—in a way—a house of a very rich—and such a wretched uncomfortable place! a sham Gothic house of fifty years ago n o w being added to by a young architect of the commercial type 2 —men w h o are very bad. Fancy, in one of the rooms there was not a pane of glass that opened! Well, let that flea stick o n the wall. Stanmore is the name of the place: 3 it is really quite pretty about, though only about ten miles from London (near Harrow), great big properties all about, the wall of one park next to the wall of another, which has at any rate preserved the trees. Smith 4 and I walked thence to Edgware 5 over most beautiful meadows with scarce a house to be seen till you come to Edgware, which is a little

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Stanmore Hall, 1891.

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Stanmore Hall, 1891.

melancholy town or large village; old, not ugly, but too visibly the h o m e of most abundant poverty. T h e next outing was an Anti-Scrape one to Lincoln. 6 That was exceedingly delightful to me. T h e town has a terrible blot on it, a great factory for machines down by the river, which seems to take a pleasure in smoking; indeed I suppose its masters are practically the masters of the whole town. However that is the worst of it: there is a longish oldish street on the flat, and at the end of it a beautiful gate across, n o w the Guildhall, 7 and it rises steeper and steeper till before you come to the close you almost have to crawl, and most of the way the long leaden roof of the minster is the horizon: the houses mostly oldish red brick and pantiles. There is another most beautiful gate into the close, over which show the different planes of the minster most wonderfully. T h e whole place is chock full of history: there is work of the first N o r m a n bishop, R e m i g ius, 8 w h o strangely enough moved his see there from Dorchester on the Thames, so well k n o w n to me. T h e rest (and almost all) is in gradated periods of Early Pointed; 9 outside one may perhaps find fault with parts, [ 166 ]

1890 I L E T T E R

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especially the East Front (only I had a pleasing feeling that I was not responsible for them). But when we got inside all criticism fell, and one felt—well, quite happy—and as if one never wanted to go away again. I had seen it all more than twenty years ago, but somehow was much more impressed this time: the church is not high inside, though it is long and broad, but its great quality is a kind of careful delicacy of beauty, that no other English minster that I have seen comes up to: in short a miracle of art, that nowhere misses its intention. There is a little stained glass (early thirteenth century) as good as the best, and some of the sculpture at least belongs to the best work of the time. 10 Outside the church and close to it is a huge Norman Castle,11 the enceinte™ quite complete, a piece of the keep left: a horrible modern prison and court house inside the old walls. Five minutes from the close gate towards the open country you come on the gate of the Roman town, quite unomamented, but sound and wellbuilt. Down the slope of the hill are still left two twelfth-century houses. One of them, in honour surely of little Sir Hugh, is called the Jew's House; 13 I cheapened an old chest there of a lady somewhat of Mrs. Wilier s14 type, who received us with the dignity of a fallen Queen. TEXT: Mackail, II, 245-47. Published: Henderson, Letters, 322-24. 1 Sewter indicates (II, 52) that Morris and Co. installed a window in 1896 in a house, presumably a private one, in Chislehurst, Kent. It is unlikely, however, that the job referred to in this letter was the one completed in 1896. 2 Brightwen Binyon (1846-1905). Born in Manchester, he became a pupil of Alfred Waterhouse (see Volume II, letter no. 1556, n. 2). Through competitions he obtained commissions for the design of public buildings, including Swindon Town Hall; the Corn Exchange, Ipswich; and the Concert Pavilion at Felixstowe. The best known private residence from his plans was Stanmore Hall, the building to which Morris refers here (see note 3 below). 3 Morris and Co. had begun the decoration of Stanmore Hall in 1888 (see Volume II, letter no. 1559, n. 6). 4 Frank or Robert Smith. 3 Edgeware, now a district of Harrow, was once a village. 6 See letter no. 1724, n. 3. 7 Morris refers to the Lincoln Stonebow and Guildhall. The Stonebow, i.e., the archway, is a four-centered arch. It is a much restored fifteenth-century gateway, which stands on the site of a thirteenth-century gate and an earlier Roman one. The Guildhall is in a three-story building surrounding the Stonebow, on the upper floor. It is a large, partly paneled room, containing portraits; and its open-timbered roof carries the Mote Bell, the oldest bell of its type in England, dated 1371. See Pevsner and Harris, Lincolnshire, p. 148. 8 Died in 1092. While Almoner of Fecamp, he had contributed a ship and twenty knights to the invasion forces of William the Conqueror. He was consecrated Bishop of Dorchester in 1067 and transferred his see to Lincoln as a result of the decree of the Council of Windsor in 1072. See David C. Douglas and George W Greenaway, eds., English Historical Documents, 2d ed. (London: Eyre Methuen, 1981), II, 646. 9 See letter no. 1647, n. 4.

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L E T T E R S OF WILLIAM M O R R I S 10

One of the earliest Norman cathedrals in England, Lincoln Cathedral was begun in 1072 and completed in 1092. Parts of this building remain at the west end of the present church. For further description as well as a record of historical changes to the cathedral, see Pevsner and Harris, Lincolnshire, pp. 82-128. 11 Lincoln Castle was built by William the Conqueror in 1068 inside the southwest corner of the Roman enclosure. Surrounding ditches and banks enclose fourteen acres. For detailed description, see Pevsner and Harris, Lincolnshire, pp. 149-51. 12 An enclosure, chiefly in fortification. 13 The house associated with the legend of Saint Hugh (1246?-1255), the subject of Chaucer's "The Prioress's Tale." The house, which was built in the twelfth century, is a stone dwelling two stories high. See Pevsner and Harris, Lincolnshire, p. 159. 14 A character in Dickens' Our Mutual Friend. Tall, angular and self-important, she is the wife of Reginald Wilfer, a mild-mannered and self-deprecating clerk.

1726 · T o J . & J . LEIGHTON

[WALTER JAMES LEIGHTON?]

Kelmscott House,

Upper Mall, Hammersmith June 17 [1890] Dear Sir1 I am much pleased with the look of the mended book; and should be glad if you could do me some other work soon Yrs truly W Morris MS: UMaryland. 1 For repair of early books, book buying, and Kelmscott Press bindings, Morris, in addressing the firm of J. & J. Leighton, probably expected his letters to be read by Walter James Leighton (1850—1917), who developed the antiquarian bookselling department and became managing director at the death of his father, James Leighton (1802-1890), a founding member. Walter James Leighton will therefore be given hereafter as Morris's probable correspondent when letters to the firm seem addressed to a particular individual. In a few instances Morris's salutation in writing to the firm reads "Dear Sirs," and on occasion his tone is so impersonal as to discourage the thought that a specific person is addressed. In both such cases—in total, few in number—the recipient will be designated simply by the firm title. For J. & J. Leighton, see Hugh William Davies, "Some Famous English Bookshops. I. Notes on the Firm of J. & J. Leighton and the Old House at Brewer Street," The Library World XXXIV, 395, n.s. 299 (January 1932), 149-55. For W. J. Leighton's place in his family history, see Sybille Pantazzi, "John Leighton, 1822-1912," The Connoisseur (April 1963), pp. 263-73.

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1890

/

L E T T E R 1721

Walter James Leighton, c. 1906.

[

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L E T T E R S OF WILLIAM

MORRIS

1727 · F R O M A LETTER T O GEORGIANA BURNE-JONES

[Kelmscott June 20, 1890]1

I am steadily at w o r k reading my o w n poems, because we are really going to bring o u t a o n e - v o l u m e 'Earthly Paradise' this a u t u m n . 2 Some people would say the work was hard. ' T h e Glittering Plain' I have finished some time, 3 and b e g u n another. 4 TEXT: Mackail, II, 247. Published: Henderson, Letters, 324. 1 Henderson dates this extract June 18, 1890, and gives no recipient. However, Mackail in his notebook summarizes the extract and indicates it is from a letter written on June 20, 1890, and addressed to Georgiana Burne-Jones. 2 See letter no. 1683, n. 4. 3 Morris refers to his prose romance The Story of the Glittering Plain, or the Land of the Living Men, which appeared serially in The English Illustrated Magazine, VII, 81—84 (JuneSeptember 1890). It was to become the first book printed at the Kelmscott Press (see letter no. 1750, n. 5). 4 Possibly "The King's Son and the Carle's Son," an early version of The Wood beyond the World (see CW, 17, xxxvii). Another possibility is "The Story of Desiderius," which in a note on the manuscript cover is identified by Cockerell as "written about 1890" (BL, Add. MSS. 45328, fol. 126). For a description of the contents of "Desiderius," see CW, 17, xxvxxvi. For The Wood beyond the World in its final form, see Volume IV, letter no. 2309, n. 6. I am grateful to Helen A. Timo for suggesting the two possiblities given here.

1728 · T o M A Y M O R R I S

Kelmscott House, Upper Mall, Hammersmith June 20 [1890]1

Dearest May I am c o m i n g d o w n t o m o r r o w by the usual train, I have sent a post-card to Mrs. Gerring to m e e t me. I shall stay over M o n d a y so we had better make that o u r W h i t e - H o r s e ( s ) 2 day, as Sunday is bad for excursionists in that country. T h e n I can fish on Sunday and you can stand o n the bank & chaff me. So by the way tell Frank to provide w o r m s & m i n n o w s & look to the rods &c. Whatever news there is I will keep till I see you: so n o w n o m o r e from Your loving Father William Morris 3 MS: BL, Add. MSS. 45341. 1 The year has been provided on the holograph by May Morris. 2 See letter no. 1612 and n. 1. 3 Unavoidable is the observation that though May was on her honeymoon with Sparling, Morris sends no greetings to him. Apposite is a letter by Jane Morris to W. S. Blunt (dated June 13, 1890) in which she records her own feelings about the marriage: "I heard from

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1890 I L E T T E R 1730 May that she wished to be married this week instead of next—it has all been like a bad dream, but it must end sometime like all dreams—the wedding will be tomorrow (Saturday) and then May and her husband go to Kelmscott Manor for about a fortnight, during which period I hope to gain spirits and see my friends with something like cheerfulness. . . ." (JM to WSB, p. 44). For a further account of May's marriage, see letter no. 1740, n. 3.

1729

· T o CHISWICK P R E S S

[CHARLES T H O M A S JACOBI?]

Kelmscott House,

Upper Mall, Hammersmith June 28 [1890] Dear Sir Before I decide about the vellum, 1 I should like to see h o w the margins look on a sheet the size of the smaller vellum brought you by Mr. Walker. If the larger vellum is used it will be necessary to cut some off the lower edge in order to get the proportion right; so I think it may as well be printed as the pott: 2 like no 2. Yrs truly William Morris MS: Bodleian. 1 Morris is probably referring here to The Story of Gunnlaug the Worm-tongue (see letter no. 1753, n. 1), three copies of which were printed on vellum. 2 See letter no. 1632, n. 2.

1730

· T o CHISWICK P R E S S

[CHARLES T H O M A S JACOBI?]

Kelmscott House,

Upper Mall, Hammersmith June 30 [1890] Dear Sir Your last specimen received with thanks: I see that in any case we shall have to cut the vellum 1 at the lower margin: So go on printing on the bigger sheets as n o 2. (re-enclosed) with margins as in paper copies Yrs faithfully W Morris RS. O f course you will not cut the vellum till I have seen a printed sheet of it. MS: Bodleian. 1 For The Story of Gunnlaug the Worm-tongue (see letter no. 1753 and n. 1). [ 171 ]

LETTERS 1731

OF

WILLIAM

MORRIS

· T o BERNARD Q U A R I T C H

Kelmscott House, Upper Mall, Hammersmith July 2,

1890

Dear Mr. Q u a r i t c h I send back your draught agreement 1 and have slightly altered the pas­ sage (of) about the time of 2nd p a y m e n t , 2 in order that everything may

be

clear to other people than you or m e in case of accident: I have also added a w o r d or two for the same reason to the clause about the Volsunga. 3 I will sign the fair copied agreement as soon as it comes to h a n d . 4 I will set to w o r k at o n c e o n the prospectus. 5 Yours truly William Morris MS: Quaritch. 1 For the Saga Library. Fifteen volumes were projected, but only five were completed during Morris's lifetime; a sixth was completed and issued after his death. Edited and trans­ lated by Morris and Magnusson, the volumes published were these: 1 (1891); 2 (1892); 3 (1893); 4 (1894); 5 (1895); and 6 (1905). Volumes 3-6 contain the Heimskringla (see letter no. 1786, n. 3) and its glossary. For the contents of Vols. 1 and 2, see letter no. 1783, notes 1 and 3, respectively. 2 Morris's receipt for the first payment has survived (B. Quaritch Archives) and is dated July 28, 1890. It is in accordance with the agreement (see note 4 below) and indicates that Quaritch paid Morris £100 on account for the Saga translations. For the second payment, see letter no. 1791 and n. 1. 3 See note 4 below. 4 The entire agreement in its final form, dated July 3, 1890, reads as follows: Agreement between Mr. William Morris Upper Mall Hammersmith and Mr. Bernard Quaritch of Ϊ5 Piccadilly London. W

of Kelmscott House concerning some Saga Translations by Mr. William Morris.

1. Mr. William Morris sells to Mr. Bernard Quaritch for Three Hundred pounds the copyright of his translations of Hen Thorir's Saga The Saga of the Banded Men The Saga of Howard the Halt. 2. Mr. Quaritch agrees to pay the sum of One hundred and fifty pounds on delivery of the Manuscripts, and the remaining One hundred & fifty pounds on the comple­ tion of the printing of them or within twelve months of the delivery of the Manu­ scripts prepared for press. 3. Mr. Morris agrees to sell the copyright of The Grettis Saga, and the [ 172

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1890

/

LETTER

1721

Bernard Q u a r i t c h , c. 1890.

[

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L E T T E R S O F WILLIAM

MORRIS

Three Northern Love Stories a. Gunlaug's Saga b. The Frithjqfs Saga c. The Viglundar Saga & three shorter pieces For the sum of Two hundred pounds 4. Mr. Quaritch agrees to pay this sum of Two hundred pounds on receiving a printed copy of the first edition of these Sagas. 5. Mr. Quaritch thankfully receives from Mr. Morris the privilege of reprinting his translation of the Volsunga Saga, the copyright of which Mr. Morris otherwise retains 6. Mr. Morris agrees to offer the copyright of his translations of the Eyrbyggya Saga, and the Heimskringla The Poetic Edda The Prose Edda when ready for press, to Mr. Quaritch 7. Mr. Morris to have a control of the choice of type, and the style of printing of his Sagas, as to be published by Mr. Quaritch. Bernard Quaritch William Morris (On the copy of the agreement used as copytext here, i.e., Quaritch's, there is a note added at the bottom left that reads: Memo 28 July 1890: Send gratis copies to Mr. Morris 6 small paper & 6 large—do—) 5

The prospectus, dated September 1890 and issued in Quaritch's name, reads in part: "It is proposed to publish under the above title a series of translations of the works of the early literature of the North, produced by the Icelanders, in their present form, mostly in the 13th and first part of the 14th centuries."

1732 · T o BERNARD Q U A R I T C H

Kelmscott House, Upper Mall, Hammersmith July 3, 1890

Dear Mr. Q u a r i t c h I reinclose the signed agreement, with w h i c h I am quite satisfied;1 and I assure you that I am very pleased to have undertaken the w o r k w h i c h n o w lies before me; and have all confidence in zeal and capacity in the business. Yours faithfully William Morris MS: Quaritch. 1 See letter no. 1731, n. 4.

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1890 / L E T T E R 1734 1733 · RECIPIENT UNKNOWN

Kelmscott House,

Upper Mall, Hammersmith July 6 [1890] Dear Sir1 Thanks for sending m e the Shepherds Calendar, but I will n o t keep it though it is a very interesting book, as I have the French b o o k (Lyons 1502) 2 with all the cuts (though n o t all quite the same) in good condition. I have decided n o t to take the Chaucer my copy being a very good one of its date; 3 but shall be glad to see the Aesop. 4 I don't quite k n o w h o w to send your book back as I shall not be in town before Tuesday or Wednesday: and I am afraid of the post for such valuable goods. Would Tuesday m o r n i n g do & then I might perhaps see the Aesop. Yrs. truly W. Morris PML. Among several possible recipients are W. J. Leighton, James Tregaskis, and the firm of H. Sotheran and Co., from whom Morris was to purchase, on July 21, 1890, a Caxton translation of The Golden Legend, printed in London, 1527. For Leighton and Tregaskis, see letters no. 1726, n. 1; and no. 1822, n. 1, respectively. 2 Morris may possibly be referring here to the Calendrier des Bergiers (lot 255 in Sotheby Catalogue [1898]), which, though not printed until 1510, was in fact a first edition at Lyons. Its title and calendar are in red and black and it contains numerous woodcuts. 3 At the time of the Sotheby Sale (1898) Morris had one copy of Chaucer. The sale catalogue describes it (lot 352) as a first edition of Geoffrey Chaucer's Complete Works (except the "Plowman's Tale"), edited by William Thynne, and printed at London by Thomas Godfray in 1532. Morris's copy is characterized by a black-letter font, double columns, and several woodcuts, including one on the title page. 4 Since Needham indicates (p. 31) that Morris had already purchased a rare edition of /Esop (Augsburg, 1498; lot 108 Sotheby Catalogue [1898]) on March 31, 1890—and since he was later to purchase an edition printed by Gerard Leeu (see letter no. 1772, n. 3)—it is possible that the one referred to in this letter is j£sop's Vita et Fabulae, printed at Augsburg by Anton Sorg (d. 1493), ca. 1480, and described (lot 107) in the Sotheby Catalogue as an early and rare edition. MS:

1

1734 · F R O M A LETTER T O GEORGIANA BURNE-JONES

July 8 [1890]1

I have been somewhat worrited by matters connected with the League, and am like to be more worrited; but somehow or other I don't seem to care much. . . ? I have undertaken to get out some of the Sagas I have lying about. Quaritch is exceedingly anxious to get hold of me, and r e ceived with enthusiasm a proposal to publish a Saga Library: 3 item he will give me money (or perhaps I ought to say old books). 4 We have got six letters of our n e w type done 5 and have even had a scrap printed.

[ 175 ]

LETTERS

OF WILLIAM

MORRIS

Preliminary designs by Morris for the G o l d e n type.

TEXT: Mackail, II, 231 and 247. 1 T h e text as given here consists of t w o extracts f r o m a letter to Georgiana Burne-Jones that Mackail's n o t e b o o k indicates was written o n July 8, 1890. T h e y are p r i n t e d o n separate pages of the Life (see n o t e 2 below) but summarized in the n o t e b o o k as items in a single letter; the s u m m a r y reads in part: " W o r r i t e d by league. Has arranged w i t h Q u a r i t c h as to publication of Saga Library. . . . 6 letters of the n e w type d o n e . " In the n o t e b o o k Mackail also condensed o n e passage that he o m i t t e d f r o m his biography: "Last night c o m i n g h o m e f r o m League saw the [list?] (+ Guards) at B o w St." 2

T h e first extract, printed o n p. 231 of Vol. II, ends here. According to Mackail (II,

[

176

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1890 I L E T T E R 1735 231), the state of the League's finances was becoming worrisome; he gives as evidence of the seriousness of the situation the League's attempts to raise funds by producing (Arthur Heathcote's) one-act play, The Duchess of Bayeswater and Co., on May 12, 1890, in which Morris and G. B. Shaw performed. Mackail concludes, "As the task of keeping the League together became more impractical, the interest taken in it by Morris, as a thoroughly practical man of business notwithstanding all his high idealism, also fell away." Mackail has given a marginal reason for Morris's losing interest in the League; for more central reasons see letters no. 1736 and n. 6; no. 1770; no. 1792 and notes; no. 1796 and notes; and no. 1802 and notes. 3

See letter no. 1731 and n. 4. Morris refers to Quaritch's having acted both as publisher of the Saga Library (and of several Kelmscott volumes as well) and as a dealer in medieval manuscripts and antiquarian books. 5 The "Golden type" was the first designed by Morris for the Kelmscott Press and was so named because intended for The Golden Legend. Cockerell writes ("History," p. 141) that in the early months of 1890 Morris began to buy books "with the definite purpose of studying the type and methods of the early printers. Among the first books so acquired was a copy of Leonard of Arezzo's History of Florence, printed at Venice by Jacobus Rubeus in 1476, in a roman type very similar to that of Nicolas Jenson. Parts of this book and of Jenson's Pliny of 1476 [see letter no. 1810, n. 8] were enlarged by photography . . . to bring out . . . clearly the characteristics of the various letters; and having mastered . . . their virtues and . . . defects, Morris proceeded to design the fount of type which, in the list of December 1892, he named the Golden type." The Golden Legend was delayed however, and TTic Glittering Plain (1891), which became the first book issued by the Press (see letter no. 1750, n. 5), initiated the use of the Golden type. See also illustration, p. 176. 4

1735 · T o ANDREAS SCHEU

Kelmscott House, Upper Mall, Hammersmith July 10, 1890

M y dear Scheu I find it quite impossible to c o m e over to you this week, and o n M o n day I shall be going to Kelmscott with Jenny & my wife and shall not be back till the Saturday following w h e n I have a literary engagement with Magnusson: 1 I am very sorry for I should very m u c h liked to have seen you. I shall be by myself here o n Sunday 20th. afternoon couldnt you come over and see m e then as I couldnt get away I fear early e n o u g h to see you at H a r r o w but if that day w o u l d suit I w o u l d try if you would kindly tell m e exactly h o w to get there. Yours affectionately William Morris HSH. Presumably for collaborative translation of one of the three sagas planned for Vol. 1 of the Saga Library. See letter no. 1783 and n. 1.

MS:

1

[

177 ]

LETTERS

OF WILLIAM

1736 · T o D A V I D J. NicoLL

MORRIS Kelmscott House, Upper Mall, Hammersmith July 12, 1890

M y dear N i c o l ' I have been (this) looking at this weeks C o m m o n w e a l , 2 and I must say that I think you are going too far: at any rate farrther than I can follow you. 3 You really must put the curb on Samuel's blatant folly 4 or (th) you will force m e to withdraw all support. 5 I never bargained for this sort of thing w h e n I gave up the editorship. 6 I look u p o n you as a sensible and friendly fellow, and I am sure that you will take this in a friendly spirit as it is meant to you. For I feel that it is only fair to give you warning of any dissatisfaction I may (feel) have. Please understand that this is m e a n t to be quite private; and do your best n o t to drive me off. For I do assure you that (I) it would be the greatest grief to me if I had to dissociate myself from m e n w h o have been my friends for so long, and w h o m I believe to be at b o t t o m thoroughly good fellows. I shall be at Kelmscott Lechlade till next Friday, and will send you the n e w batch of News from N o w h e r e so that it shall reach you on Friday m o r n i n g at the latest. 7 Yours fraternally William Morris P.S. I send on the proofs to Blundell.

8

MS: Stanford. Copy (in Morris's hand): BL, Add. MSS. 45341. Published: Henderson, Letters, 324-25 (dated July 19); Nicoll, 1-2. Extract published: E. P. Thompson, 568. 1 Nicoll had been elected editor of Commonweal along with Kitz at the May 25, 1890, meeting of the Socialist League (see note 6 below). 2 The issue was dated July 12, 1890. 3 Morris refers probably to Samuels' contribution (see note 4 below) primarily as indicative of Nicoll's editorial policy; but may mean Nicoll's own contribution, as well. In an editorial titled "A Revolutionary Policy," in the July 12, 1890, issue of Commonweal, Nicoll called for an international general strike to obtain an eight-hour work-day and a "no rent" campaign for improved housing. He wrote (p. 217) that "half-a-dozen enthusiastic Socialists who want to do some 'practical work,' might take a house in the centre of the slums and once in there, set the bailiff and the landlord at defiance. . . . If the house was well barricaded, they might hold 'law and order' at bay for weeks, and by that time 'No Rent' would be paid by the whole neighbourhood." In a second contribution to the issue, "The Revolt at Bow Street," Nicoll discussed approvingly (p. 218) the strike of the Bow Street Police, who had refused to work until certain suspended men were reinstated. He noted the "mutiny" of the second battalion of Grenadier Guards, who had refused to parade, complaining of excessive drills and inspections ordered by a martinet colonel. (See also The Times, July 7, 1890, p. 6; and July 8, 1890, pp. 9-10.) 4

H. B. Samuels, reporting (p. 222) on an attack by strikers upon the police and civil authorities during the Leeds gas strike, had written: "If the people had only the knowledge, the whole cursed lot would have been wiped out. As the horses and men picked themselves [

178 ]

1890 / L E T T E R 1737 up, it was seen that many were bruised and bleeding, but alas! no corpses to be seen!" See also The Times, July 2, 1890, p. 9; and July 3, 1890, p. 10. 5 Morris was still owner and publisher of Commonweal. 6 Morris gave up the editorship at the end of May 1890, after the "Anarchist-Communist" faction at the Sixth Annual Conference of the Socialist League, May 25, 1890, triumphed in the election for Council members. Of the fourteen delegates who attended the conference, only Webb and two members of the Hammersmith Branch along with Morris did not belong to the Anarchist-Communist bloc. Morris and Sparling were forced to resign from the editorship of Commonweal and Kitz and Nicoll were elected in their place. See E. P. Thompson, pp. 565-66; see also Commonweal, May 31, 1890, p. 174. 7 A reference, presumably, to the continuation of Chapter XXII of News from Nowhere, which appeared in Commonweal, July 19, 1890 (pp. 229-30). The July 12, 1890, issue had contained the installment titled "Hampton Court" (Chapter XXII, pp. 220-21). 8 Possibly William Blundell, who had been librarian of the S.L. in 1887 and a member of the Council in 1887 and 1888.

1737 · T o BERNARD Q U A R I T C H

Kelmscott House, Upper Mall, Hammersmith July 13 [1890?]

Dear Mr. Quaritch In case I was n o t definite e n o u g h yesterday I write to say that the size & kind of type w h i c h I think w o u l d suit the Saga Library best would be Caslon's Pica: 1 the next, size smaller would bring you to the same as the Earthly Paradise is printed with. I note also that the large paper copies should be printed w i t h the h a n d press, so as to get the impression black e n o u g h . 2 I saw Mr. Burne-Jones today and he wanted to k n o w if you let h i m have a g o o d look at the Huntingfield Psalter 3 , if it is in L o n d o n : I told h i m you would be pleased to let h i m see it. Would you kindly send h i m a post card about it to h i m at; T h e Grange West Kensington W. Yours very truly William Morris MS: Quaritch. 1 Twelve point. 2 The large paper copies were printed on hand-made paper (see Buxton Forman, p. 161). At the top of the holograph of this letter is a notation, "french hand-made," not in Morris's hand. 3 Copied and illuminated possibly at Lesnes Abbey, Kent, during the first quarter of the thirteenth century, the psalter may have been made for Lucie and Roger Huntingfield; their obituaries occur in its calendar—thus its name. Its cycle of illustrations has been described by Needham as "one of the most interesting and lavish produced in England" dur-

[ 179 ]

LETTERS

OF WILLIAM

MORRIS

A leaf of the H u n t i n g f i e l d Psalter.

ing the early thirteenth c e n t u r y (see N e e d h a m , p. 101). Morris eventually purchased the psalter f r o m Q u a r i t c h for £ 8 0 0 , but n o t until May 1895. N o w in the P i e p o n t M o r g a n Library, it is regarded as o n e of the most i m p o r t a n t t h i r t e e n t h - c e n t u r y English manuscripts in the Library's collection. See illustration, above.

[ 180 ]

1890 1738

I LETTER

· T o K A T E FAULKNER

1738 Kelmscott,

Lechlade July 16 [1890] M y dear Kate I somehow forgot to tell you that I should not be in London today & so should not be able to see you please forgive me. We came here M o n day evening (on) a melancholy evening threatening rain, which in effect came in large quantities in the night; but yesterday was as beautiful a day as might be, and today, though it began by being a little misty is scarcely worse. Yesterday by the way was St Swithins so we shall see. 1 All things are very beautiful here, yet some of the glory is gone since I was down last 3 weeks ago or so. To wit the cuckoo is gone, and the black birds are not singing much. There are a good many roses left, but the garden is not quite as flowery as it should be, for the rain has made the plants grow sp(l)indling: still there is a great deal, and people are carrying their hay these two. But the farmer hasn't taken the trouble to carry the hay in my fields (Ripham Water-hay and the two little closes) 2 although I am told the hay has been made two or three times over: this it seems is because he is too big a buck and don't think it (while) worth while to carry less than 40 acres at a time; which to me seems wasteful. M y brother Edgar's daughter is here for company: 3 I shall be in t o w n Saturday, Sunday, Monday; but shall go back Tuesday I think: so I shall miss you again. You see the two Janes rather want me here. 4 I took on to be rather unwell on Monday; but am getting all right now; and anyhow this is a very good place to be rather unwell (it) in: one sits in a chair and looks about, and lacks for nothing. T h e birds by the way though not noisy n o w are pretty much in evidence, and I have just been shooing a blackbird off the raspberries. I will write again next week & tell you h o w we are getting on. Yours affectionately William Morris MS: Texas. 1

There is a legend that if it rains on St. Swithin's Day, it will rain for forty days and nights thereafter. 2 Ripham is the great field (twenty or thirty acres) lying south of the Manor, between the Manor and the Thames river; and the two small closes are probably those west of the Manor, one immediately west known as Home mead. Both closes communicate with Ripham. Of interest is that Morris is shown sitting in the Home mead and looking at the Manor on the carving by George Jack outside the Kelmscott cottages designed by Webb and built by Jane Morris in 1902 as a memorial to him. I am grateful to the late A. R. Dufty for this information. For Jack's carving, see illustration, p. 182. 3 Morris's brother Edgar (see Volume I, letter no. 1, n. 1) had two daughters, one named Catherine. There is no information at hand to indicate which daughter is meant. 4 See letter no. 1724 and n. 2.

[ 181 ]

LETTERS

OF

WILLIAM

MORRIS

Portrait carving by G e o r g e Jack of Morris in the H o m e m e a d , o n wall of M e m o r i a l Cottage built by Philip W e b b at Kelmscott.

1890 I L E T T E R

1738

Edgar Morris, c. 1870.

[ 183 ]

L E T T E R S OF WILLIAM 1739 · T o [FREDERICK STARTRIDGE ELLIS?]

MORRIS Merton Abbey,

Surrey July 21, 1890 M y dear [Ellis?]1 This nuisance has happened to m e since I wrote to you that I am summoned to a Jury at the O l d Bailey o n the 28th and in order to get there in time I must quit Kelmscott on the Saturday the very day you propose to come. I don't know that they will fine m e if I don't go; but they may: N e d Jones was fined earlier in the year. It is a grand jury too, 2 so that I am not likely to be kept for more than a day: so perhaps it would be better for me to go W h a t do you say: could you come the next week? If so well & good: if not I would only go up o n the Monday o n my o w n business & back o n the Tuesday & risk the said fine. Thursdays rain rose the river on us & there was a flood but I hear it is falling again now: but as you say all that don't matter, & if we can't d o one thing we can do another. I go back to Kelmscott tomorrow (Tuesday) So write to m e there please Yours ever William Morris MS: Huntington. 1 On the manuscript the name is erased. But see letter no. 1743. 2 The Times, July 29, 1890, reported (p. 12) the opening of the July sessions at the Central Criminal Court in the Old Bailey. A list of ninety-one prisoners committed for trial was presented. The only case reported was that of a man who had stolen 118 postal orders.

1740 · T o JENNY MORRIS

Kelmscott House,

Upper Mall, Hammersmith July 29 [1890] Dearest own Jenny I fear that I shall n o t get back to y o u before Friday, as I want to go to the antiscrape meeting o n Thursday, which is the last for some weeks. However I will send a line to your mother (on) tomorrow. I did not go to the jury after all; 1 I was not very well o n Sunday night, (a summer stomach only) so Mr. Lang 2 w h o was there at supper gave m e a doctor's certificate I had to take this to Oxford St yesterday to get one of our clerks to take it to the O l d Bailey. So I got off but they threatened to p u t m e o n in September. However it is a good j o b that I did n o t go; as I am told that sometimes they are kept a fortnight. I have got a great deal to do; I go this morning to M e r t o n and o n Thursday I must be at Oxford St. I supped last night with dear

[ 184 ]

1890 / L E T T E R

1740

May Morris, Henry Halliday Sparling, Emery Walker, and George Bernard Shaw, c. 1892.

May, w h o looked well and happy. 3 We had a sharp shower (I was at O x ford St) yesterday at about 10 oclock, but otherwise the weather has been fine. T h e garden really looks quite delightful; the hollyhocks are splendid. I will not forget your book my dear, though 1 have not got hold of it yet. I suppose haymaking is going on fast in the big meadow. 4 Well darling goodbye, and I promise to be very well, and as lively as a kitten by Friday best love to Mother. Your loving father William Morris MS: BL, Add. MSS. 45340. 1 See letter no. 1739. 2 William Lang (1852—1937), an ophthalmic surgeon who was a friend of Emery Walker and an acquaintance of Bernard Shaw. In 1890, he was surgeon to Moorfields Hospital and also consulting surgeon to Middlesex Hospital.

[ 185 ]

LETTERS

OF W I L L I A M

MORRIS

3

May Morris and Henry Halliday Sparling were married on June 14, 1890 (they had been engaged since February 16, 1887) and had recently returned to London from two weeks spent at Kelmscott Manor (see letter no. 1728 and n. 3). They took up residence at No. 8, Hammersmith Terrace, and for a while the marriage (which made neither of the Morrises glad) seemed satisfactory. On October 26, 1890, Jane Morris wrote to W. S. Blunt: "May has just called and I must say looks happier than formerly, so I will hope that she is happy in her own peculiar way" (JM to WSB, p. 48). But the marriage lasted only a few years. On May 26, 1894, Jane Morris was to write to Blunt: "May's position is this, she has been seeing a good deal of a former lover, and made her husband's life a burden to him, he refuses to bear it any longer—she is still abroad but when she comes back they will go different ways" (JM to WSB, p. 87). The former lover was Bernard Shaw. Peter Faulkner's note on the matter is worth quoting in full: "Bernard Shaw, who believed that a Mystic Betrothal existed between himself and May, was invited to stay with the Sparlings when suffering from overwork; Sparling complained to Holbrook Jackson about Shaw's behaviour: he captivated May, then went away, 'leaving behind a desolated female who might have been an iceberg as far as her future relations with her husband went'. . . . Sparling then went off to the Continent, and was divorced as the guilty party in 1898. May returned to the use of her maiden name" (JM to WSB, p. 87, n. 1; for Pearson's comment, as quoted by Faulkner, see his book Bernard Shaw: His Life and Personality [London: Collins, 1942], p. 99. See also G. B. Shaw, "Morris as I Knew Him," MM, xxix-xxxi; and Marsh, pp. 200-206 and 225-29). 4

Ripham. See letter no. 1738 and n. 2.

1741 · T o CHISWICK P R E S S

[CHARLES T H O M A S JACOBI?]

Kelmscott, Lechlade August 2 [1890]

Saga Library Dear Sir W h a t you are n o w printing is Vol I. 1 T h e names of the tales and their order is (at) as follows: T h e Story of H o w a r d the Halt T h e Story of T h e Banded M e n T h e Story of H e n Thorir. This with index and preface will make ( o f ) u p Vol I I have n o t yet received the revise; kindly send it on here. Yours truly W Morris MS: Bodleian. 1 Of the Saga Library.

[ 186 ]

1889 I L E T T E R

1742

1742 · T o BERNARD Q U A R I T C H

Manor House Kelmscott, Lechlade August 7 [1890]

Dear Mr. Quaritch I have corrected the first sheet for the press, and it n o w seems to m e quite satisfactory: will you kindly send it o n to Whittinghams? 1 I w o u l d be cautious of Hall Caine 2 if I were you, as I d o n t think h e knows m u c h of Icelandic matters: however I will read his article 3 and tell you w h a t I think of it. I have n o t yet received the ' O p e n C o u r t ' ; 4 I suppose I shall t o m o r r o w and will read it with interest. As to the prospectus w h i c h I promised: 5 I have already w r i t t e n s o m e thing, w h i c h however didn't please m e ; I shall set to w o r k about it at once and h o p e to bring it to y o u next Tuesday, w h e n I shall be again in t o w n . Yours very truly William Morris MS: Quaritch. 1 The Chiswick Press. See letter no. 1644, n. 2. 2 Thomas Henry Hall Caine (1853-1931), a novelist who had studied architecture and who had also been D. G, Rossetti's secretary. (In 1882 Caine published his Recollections of Dante Gabriel Rossetti.) A number of his novels were set on the Isle of Man, where his parents were born and where he spent his summers. In 1890, the year of this letter, he published, however, The Bondman, in which one of the characters, named Jason, is an Icelander. A note in the book (authorized edition) reads: "The central date of this story is 1800, when Iceland lost her independence as a nation." Morris possibly refers to this novel. 3 "The New Watchwords of Fiction," published in The Contemporary Review (April 1890), pp. 479-88. Hall Caine in the article attacked literary Realism, alluding disparagingly to the works of Zola and Flaubert in particular. The opposite of Realism for him was Idealism, which he saw expressing itself through Romanticism. Ending on a note of optimism (in his terms), he saw Realism fading, and asserted that Romanticism and Idealism were the new "watchwords of fictions" and would prevail "for the next twenty years at least." 4 The Open Court was a weekly journal published in Chicago and devoted "to the work of Conciliating Religion with Science" (as stated on its title page). Quaritch had probably sent Morris the issue for June 12, 1890 (IV, 146) or, even more likely, both it and the one for June 19 (IV, 147) as well; they contained between them a two-part article on Iceland by Albert H. Gunlogsen. Part I, "The Commonwealth of Iceland" (pp. 2328-31), concerns the colonization of Iceland in the ninth and early tenth centuries. Part II, "The Historical Data of the Commonwealth of Iceland" (pp. 2338-41), treats of religious and political developments in Iceland from 1000 to 1300. In his article, Gunlogsen refers regularly to the Icelandic sagas, based as they were on the historical events he writes about, and he gives the names and biographical background of the saga writers as well. 5 See letter no. 1731 and n. 5.

[ 187 ]

L E T T E R S OF WILLIAM 1743

· T o K A T E FAULKNER

MORRIS Kelmscott,

Lechlade August 8 [1890] My dear Kate I will n o w write you a letter since I have not been able to see you. N o t h i n g very exciting has happened here since I came last Friday. T h e weather has been very fine all along, Wednesday being the hottest day. We chose that day for a solemn expedition in a Waggonette & pair; b e sides our 3 selves Ellis w h o is staying with us, Mrs. Abby 1 (the painter's 2 wife) and Mrs. Birchall 3 the parson's do: We went through Fairford (to) up the valley of the Colne, through Quennington, Coin St Aldwyns, Bibury, Ablington, Winsom, Colne Roger, Colne St Denis and Fosse Bridge. Don't the names sound nice? Quennington has two beautiful N o r m a n doors to the Church, 4 and a very fine piece of 15 century grange work. Colne St Aldwyns is a beautiful village with mostly old houses, but is a little spoiled by the proximity of local swells to wit Sir M. Hicks Beach, 5 and Sir T. Bazley. 6 Bibury is surely the most beautiful village in England: lying down in the winding valley beside the clear Colne: the other villages are all beautiful too, though terribly marred by the signs of neglect and poverty, and shabby griping the causes of which we know so well. T h e whole valley is a mass of lime-stone, and looks indeed as if it had been made for people 4 ft high; but small as the scale is, it is most lovely. We had a noble dinner of cold scran 7 at Foss Bridge & then went on through the woods of my Lord Eldon 8 to see the R o m a n Villa at C h e d worth. 9 It is in a most beautiful place and is itself very interesting but part of the rooms that have mosaic pavements are locked up, 1 0 & his lordship after graciously permitting people to see them for many years, has now got the black dog on his back and will not unlock without special permission: this dissappointment we bore with as little bad language as might be expected, and so went back doucely: came home at 8.30. I am now going out fishing with Ellis up to Buscott; & to say truth I would rather stroll about the garden this lovely fresh morning; but I really dare not propose a rest from the almost professional pursuit offish which Ellis follows here: so to it I shall go. T h e hay is all cut now and the fields are most beautifully green, and the wide spreading meadows as lovely as anything can be. I do little bits of work here & hope to finish the News from Nowhere 1 1 this week or nearly; But I feel rather as if I oughtn't to be here; and yet I ought for Jenny &Janey's sake. 12 I am c o m ing up to town on Monday and shall be there the week through I think Goodbye, my dear Kate Yours William Morris [ 188 ]

1890 / L E T T E R

1743

MS: Walthamstow. 1 Mary Gertrude (Mead) Abbey (1851-1931), daughter of Frederick Mead of New York. Born in England, she was educated at Vassar College, in Poughkeepsie, New York, and taught for two years at the Boston Public Latin School for boys. In 1890, she married Edwin Austin Abbey (see note 3 below); and after his death in 1911 she remained in England. In her will she bequeathed Chelsea Lodge to the Royal Academy and also established the Edwin Abbey Trust Fund at the National Academy of Design in New York to encourage artists to paint murals. 2 Edwin Austin Abbey (1852-1911). Born and educated in Philadelphia (he studied at the Philadelphia Academy of Art), Abbey had been an illustrator for Harper's publishing firm before going to England in 1878. He became known in England as a pen-and-ink illustrator and later as a painter, exhibiting at the Royal Institute of Painters in Water Colours, 1883-1887; and at the Royal Academy, where his first oil, "A May Day Morning," was displayed in 1890. In 1903-1904, he painted the official picture of "The Coronation of King Edward VII"; he also, in his later years, did murals for the Boston Public Library, the State Capitol of Pennsylvania, and the Royal Exchange. 3 !Catherine Mary Birchall (b.1833), wife of the Rev. Oswald Birchall. 4 Morris refers to the Church of St. Swithin, in Quenington, Gloucestershire. "This church is unique in that it retains two elaborately enriched Romanesque doorways [ca. 1150], both works of art of the greatest interest. . . . The south doorway . . . incorporates [the] rare tympanum of the Coronation of the Virgin" and the tympanum of the north doorway shows the Harrowing of Hell. See David Verey, Cotswold Churches (London; B. T Batsford, 1976), p. 97. 3 Sir Michael Edward Hicks Beach, ninth baronet, and first earl of St. Aldwyn (18371916). He was Conservative M.P. for East Gloucestershire, 1864-1885, and for West Bristol, 1885—1906. He had been Chancellor of the Exchequer and leader of the House of Commons, 1885-1886, and Irish Secretary, 1886-1887. In 1890, he was President of the Board of Trade. 6 Probably Sir Thomas Sebastian Bazley, second baronet (1829—1919), whose father was Sir Thomas Bazley (1797-1885), a Manchester manufacturer active in the Anti-Corn Law League. 7 Odd scraps of food. 8 John Scott, third earl of Eldon (1845-1926). 9 Chedworth Villa, Gloucestershire. The buildings of this Roman villa date from A.D. 186—350. Chedworth, regarded as the finest Roman villa in England that has been excavated, was probably built for a Romanized Briton, and was rediscovered in 1864 when Lord Eldon's gamekeeper, digging for a lost ferret, found instead a mosaic pavement. The buildings occupy three sides of a rectangle facing east across the valley. The rooms, arranged around two courtyards, had underfloor hot-air heating; and included were two bath suites, one with damp heat, the other with dry. In some rooms mosaic floors still survive. See Pevsner and Verey, Gloucestershire, pp. 150-51; see also Robin Fedden and Rosemary Joekes, The National Trust Guide (London: Jonathan Cape, 1973), pp. 452-53. 10 See note 9 above. 11 The last installment ofNews from Nowhere was printed in the October 4, 1890, issue of Commonweal. 12 Jenny had been severely ill during the previous months, Jane was under stress as a result, and Morris felt obliged to be with them when they were together. For Jenny's illness and its effect upon Jane, see letters from Jane Morris to W. S. Blunt for May 19 and June 13, 1890, in JM to WSB (pp. 43 and 44); and letter no. 1710. For an earlier expression of Morris's need that summer to be with both, see letters no. 1724 and no. 1738.

[ 189 ]

L E T T E R S OF W I L L I A M

MORRIS

1744 · T o JOHN PINCHER FAUNTHORPE

Merton Abbey, Surrey August 12, 1890

Dear Mr. Faunthorpe 1 I will m e e t you at Whitelands next Friday (15th) a little after

12

oclock. 2 Yours truly William Morris MS: Whitelands. 1 See Volume II, letter no. 1251, n. 1. 2 For the purpose of viewing the recently installed reredos, made by Morris and Co. for the Whitelands College Chapel. Composed of square panels, decorated in relief in raised gesso on a ground of gesso, it had been designed by Morris in 1886, and was executed by Kate Faulkner over a period of three years. Intermittent illness—Kate Faulkner's own and that of her brother Charles Faulkner (see letter no. 1610, notes 4 and 5)—interrupted and delayed the work; and it was finally—on September 20, 1890—to be dedicated. But even at that date it was to be unfinished, as Kate Faulkner's letters to Faunthorpe make clear. For the detailed account of what turned into an undertaking of wholly unexpected duration, see Cole, pp. 15—19. See also manuscript notes of Faunthorpe, correspondence of Laurence Debney (on behalf of Morris and Co.) and May Morris (on behalf of her father) with Faunthorpe, and letters of Kate Faulkner, all in the Whitelands College Archive. I am indebted to Malcolm Cole for permitting me to read through this material. For the rereodos, see illustration p. 191. For a letter by Morris that refers to the reredos, see letter no. 1836.

1745 · T o BERNARD Q U A R I T C H

Kelmscott House, Upper Mall, Hammersmith [August 12, 1890?]

Dear Mr. Q u a r i t c h If I were you I w o u l d leave Mr. Hall Caine's 1 note alone, as it occurs in some controversy of w h i c h I for o n e k n o w n o t h i n g , 2 and has by itself n o bearing o n the general subject. I am posting you ' T h e O p e n C o u r t ' 3 Yours very truly William Morris MS: Quaritch. 1 See letter no. 1742 and n. 2. 2 See letter no. 1742, n. 3. 3 See letter no. 1742, n. 4.

[ 190 ]

1890 / L E T T E R

1745

Whitelands College Reredos; gesso decoration by Kate Faulkner.

[ 191 ]

L E T T E R S OF WILLIAM M O R R I S 1746 · T o W O L F W E S S

Kelmscott House,

Upper Mall, Hammersmith August 12 [1890?]1 Comrade Wess 2 I thank y o u for your letter: I never suspected any personal motives in members I simply thought that Lyons was confused & stupid, 3 and I quite agreed with the decision of the council; 4 I also though that n o further step need be taken unless the thing were carried further by Lyons. I will bear in mind your views about the leaflet which are my view also. Yours fraternally William Morris MS: Rollin Coll. 1 The dating of this letter is highly conjectural. It is based on the fact Lyons was mentioned in the Arbiter Fraint in the spring of 1890 (see note 3 below); but the letter might also have been written in one of several other years, including 1889 (see note 3 below again). 2 Wolf Wess (1861-1946), also known as William, was a leader of the Jewish socialistanarchist movement in London at this time. Fishman describes him (p. 172, n. 15) as "liaison 'officer' and propagandist with the English Socialist League." A pioneer of the Jewish labor movement in Britain, Wess had been born in Russia and was the son of a Hasidic master baker. He had been apprenticed to a shoemaker at the age of twelve (1873), but left Russia in 1881 to avoid military service and settled in London. In 1889, he was secretary of the Tailors' Strike Committee and helped organize a mass strike that lasted from September 2 to October 6, 1889. In the aftermath, Wess assisted in arranging a rally to organize Jewish workers of the East End, which took place on December 28, 1889, and was attended by 4,000 workers. At this meeting, Wess proposed a resolution calling for support of a newly formed Federation of East London Labour Unions. Sparling, Mowbray, and Tom Mann attended. For a discussion of Wess's career, see Fishman, pp. 170—84. For the aftermath of the Tailor's strike, see Commonweal, December 7, 1889, p. 390; January 4, 1890, p. 6; and January 25, p. 30. 3 Morris refers to Lewis Lyons, a tailor and Jewish trade unionist who was attempting to establish "a combined organisation of small master tailors' and workers' unions, on the premise that only by such united action could economic improvement for all members of the trade be effected" (Fishman, p. 195). On June 27, 1890, Lyons was attacked in an article in The Arbeter Fraint, a Yiddish language newspaper that had become the voice of a range of Jewish radical and trade union organizations. Lyons was accused, because of his scheme to unite master and worker, of conniving with "masters and goldsacks" (see Fishman, p. 195). However, Lyons' concept of a union regularly put him at odds with other unionists, and the attack on him mentioned above associates only with the dating of the present letter as 1890. Another possibility is that Morris's letter was written in 1889, shortly before the General Strike of London tailors, which began on September 2, 1889, and was organized principally by Wess and Lyons. This in fact would make 1889 a stronger possibility than 1890, were it clear that Wess and Lyons had already begun to quarrel in 1889. For the Tailors' Strike, see Fishman, pp. 169-80. For an earlier reference to Lyons, see Volume II, letter no. 1133 and n. 1. 4 Probably the council of the Socialist League. A lesser possibility is the London Trades Council, at whose meetings many of Lyons' quarrels with other unionists took place. For this last information, I am grateful to Karin Hofmeester.

[ 192 ]

1890 / L E T T E R

Wolf Wess, c. 1902.

[ 193 ]

1746

LETTERS

OF W I L L I A M

1747 · T o T H E E D I T O R OF The Times

MORRIS 9 Buckingham Street Adelphi [August 15, 1890]

Sir, My attention has been called to a letter from the vicar of Stratford-onAvon 1 appearing in your issue of July 28, and appealing for funds generally towards the completion of the restoration. In this letter occurs the following sentence:—"Under the stalls sufficient of the ancient reredos has been found to make Mr. Garner 2 think he can give us a drawing of what it was w h e n the church was built. We shall hope, then, that somebody will provide the funds to erect a copy of it in the old place." 3 I am glad that the vicar talks about a "copy" of the reredos, and not a "restoration" of it; but may I ask why a copy of it should be "erected in the old place"? Will not every fresh piece of modern work make "the old place" (the church, I mean) look less old and more like a 19th-century mediaeval furniture-dealer's warehouse? There has been a great deal too much modernization of this fine church of Stratford-on-Avon already, 4 and it is more than time that it should come to an end. O n c e for all I protest against the trick which clergymen and restoration committees have of using an illustrious name as a bait wherewith to catch subscriptions. Shakespeare's memory is best honoured by reading his works intelligently: and it is no h o n o u r to him to spend money in loading the handsome mediaeval church which contains his m o n u m e n t with trash which can claim none of the respect due to either an ancient or a modern work of art. I am, Sir, yours obediently, William Morris Hon. Sec. of the Society for the Protection of Ancient Buildings. TEXT: The Times, August 15, 1890, 10. Published: Henderson, Letters, 325-26. Extract published: Vallance, 293. 1 George Arbuthnot (1846—1922), was the vicar of the Church of the Holy Trinity, Stratford-on-Avon, where Shakespeare was baptized and is buried. In the letter to which Morris refers, Arbuthnot wrote (The Times, July 28, 1890, p. 7): "I should like to add that the work of restoring the old stalls, under the direction of Messrs. Bodley & Garner, is almost complete, and that I believe a sight of the decayed wood, which has been cut out, will justify the action of the Restoration Committee in the opinion of all unprejudiced critics. Under the stalls sufficient of the ancient reredos has been found to make Mr. Garner think he can give us a drawing of what it was when the church was built. We shall hope then that somebody will provide the funds to erect a copy of it in the old place." 2 Thomas Garner (1839—1906), an architect who was articled to Sir George Gilbert Scott in 1856, and who was in partnership with George Frederick Bodley (see Volume I, letter no. 32, n. 2) from 1869 to 1897.

[ 194 ]

1890 / L E T T E R 1748 3

See note 1 above. Presumably Morris refers only to the restorations by Bodley and Garner, which had begun in 1888 (see Pevsner and Wedgwood, Warwickshire, p. 412). 4

Kelmscott1 August 21, 1890

1748 · T o EMERY WALKER M y dear Walker

I want for B Jones the arms of the Knights of the round-table: Arthur's I k n o w three crowns o n an azure. Specially I want Lancelot's,

Galahads,

Gawain, Bors, Perceival, Kay and speciallest those marked

?

I am n o t quite idle here, t h o u g h I am scarce u p to the 8 hours standard. Have made a design for the binding of the cheap E.P. 3 am doing carpet 4 N . from N . 5 and proofs. 6 I h o p e you had a good time in Gloucestershire. I am c o m i n g h o m e M o n d a y I think: so please call o n Tuesday m o r n i n g : if I am like to be at h o m e o n M o n d a y evening I will let you know. Yours ever William Morris MS: Texas. 1 Of interest is the Diary entry for the same date as that of this letter made by W. S. Blunt, who though not mentioned by Morris here—was visiting Kelmscott on August 21, 1890. Blunt wrote: "Morris is in high feather having got through a mass of work in the year, enough for half a dozen men. He is bringing out a new edition of the Earthly Paradise. . . . It is nice to see him with his daughter Jenny, who takes a kind of moral care of him, as he does a physical care of her. She has had a number of her epileptic fits this year and looks thinner and if possible paler, a contrast to him with his weather beaten face and pot bellied waist" (see JM to WSB, pp. 45-46). 2 For the San Graal tapestry series for Stanmore Hall, Burne-Jones depicted the knights Morris names, with their coats of arms and armour. See illustrations, pp. 196—97. 3 See letter no. 1683, n. 4. 4 Possibly one of the carpets for Stanmore Hall. 5 News from Nowhere, which Morris was trying to finish (see letter no. 1743 and n. 11). 6 For Vol. 1 of the Saga Library.

[ 195 ]

The Arming and Departure of the Knights and The Attainment, two of the tapestries from the San Graal series, at Stanmore Hall, designed by Edward Burne-Jones for Morris and Co.

L E T T E R S OF W I L L I A M

MORRIS

1749 · T o K A T E FAULKNER

Merton Abbey, Surrey August 26, 1890

M y dear Kate I intend c o m i n g to see you t o m o r r o w Wednesday: if you don't want m e please send m e a (se) message.

(a)to H a m m e r s m i t h . Yours affectionately William Morris

MS: Texas.

1750 · T o FREDERICK STARTRIDGE ELLIS

[Kelmscott August 29, 1890]

Please pardon m e for n o t answering y o u r letter sooner; you k n o w my little ways. Also I did want to weigh b e t w e e n the Golden Legend 1 and the Troy b o o k 2 for reprinting: n o w I have b o r r o w e d a R e c u e i l of the H i s t o ries of Troy (the W y n k y n de Worde of course) 3 from Quaritch, and have n o d o u b t that the G.L. is by far the most important b o o k of the t w o : so I accept y o u r kind offer 4 with many thanks indeed, and will begin printing as soon as the type is free from the Glittering Plain, 5 w h i c h I take it will be the first b o o k printed in the regenerate type or J e n s o n - M o r r i s . 6 I inclose a specimen (over-inked) of as far as we have gone at present. I h o p e you admire its literature 7 —due of course to the compositor. Kind regards to the y o u n g she-scribe that is to be. 8 TEXT: Mackail, II, 248-49. Published: Henderson, Letters, 326. 1 The Golden Legend, a medieval compendium of saints' lives, commentary on the church service, and other material. William Caxton (1421—1493) published a version and used as one of his sources the Legenda Aurea of Jacobus de Voragine (1230—1298), archbishop of Genoa. Mackail writes (II, 248) that shortly before the date of this letter, Morris had purchased "a copy of the edition of 1527 printed by Wynkyn de Worde [see note 3 below]. The Kelmscott 'Golden Legend' was, however, set up, not from this, but from Caxton's own first edition of 1483." Morris had intended The Golden Legend to be the first book printed at the Kelmscott Press and on September 11, 1890, he entered into a formal agreement with Quaritch to publish it (see letter no. 1757, n. 2). However, as Cockerell writes ("List," p. 151), "an unforeseen difficulty" prevented the printing of The Golden Legend first (see letter no. 1779 and n. 2). It was not ready until the autumn of 1892, and was to be the seventh book issued by the Press. For the first book issued by the Press, see note 5 below. 2 The Recuyell of the Historyes of Troye, by Raoul Lefevre. Translated by William Caxton (c. 1420/4—1491), who is said to have studied printing so that he would be able to print his translation of the Recueil des histoires de Troy exactly as he wished. Setting up in Bruges in 1473, he issued the Recuyell, the first book printed in English, in 1474. The Kelmscott Press edition, not begun, in the event, until February 1892, was the eighth book

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1 8 9 0 / L E T T E R 1721

T Y P E S USED AT THE KELMSCOTT PRESS.

Typefaces designed by Morris for t h e Kelmscott Press.

issued, following The Golden Legend (see n o t e 1 above) a n d appearing in D e c e m b e r 1892 (see also letter no. 1935 and n. 6). 3 W y n k y n de Worde (fl. 1477-1535), a printer b o r n at W o r t h , in Alsace. His real n a m e was Jan van W y n k y n . C o m i n g to L o n d o n a r o u n d 1477 and b e c o m i n g Caxton's assistant, he inherited Caxton's press in 1491 w h e n the latter died. W y n k y n de W o r d e printed nearly eight h u n d r e d books, including n e w editions of works published by C a x t o n , notably The Golden Legend (1493), Le Morte d'Arthur (1498), and The Canterbury Tales (1498). 4

Ellis presumably had offered to serve as editor for The Golden Legend. See also letter no. 1757, n. 3. 5 Morris's The Story of the Glittering Plain (see letter no. 1727, n. 3) was in fact the first

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OF W I L L I A M

MORRIS

One of the two surviving leaves of Phillis Ellis's transcription of The Golden Legend.

book to be issued by the Kelmscott Press, and it was the only one to be issued from the Press twice. Morris had originally planned it with illustrations by Walter Crane, but was, according to Crane (p. 328) "so eager to get his first book out that he could not wait for the pictures, and so The Glittering Plain first appeared simply with his own initials and ornaments. . . ." A small quarto printed in Golden type, it was sold by Reeves and Turner. The printing, begun in February 1891, was completed April 2, and the book was issued May 8, 1891. See Cockerell, "List," p. 148. For a description of the illustrated edition of The Glittering Plain, see letter no. 1831, n. 1. 6 The Golden type (see letter no. 1734, n. 5). 7 By "literature" Morris means a random series of letters of the alphabet.

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1890 / L E T T E R 1752 8

Phillis Marion Ellis (later Mrs. Payne), daughter of E S. Ellis. She transcribed The Golden Legend for the Press from a copy of Caxton's first edition of 1483, borrowed for the purpose from the Cambridge University Library. Ellis, as editor, superintended her work.

1751 · F R O M A L E T T E R T O

[September 2? 1890]1

[FREDERICK STARTRIDGE ELLIS?]

I don't m i n d having a publisher so long as he has n o t h i n g whatever to do with any question except purely business ones. 2 As to the 'prophet' I want n o n e of him: I only want n o t to have to drop m u c h , say n o t above £100.3 Extract published: Mackail, II, 249. 1 Mackail in his notebook lists letters from Morris to Ellis written on September 2, 7, 8, and 14, 1890. The assumption in the dating of this one is that it was written before the agreement between Morris and Quaritch was signed on September 11 (see letter no. 1757 and n. 2). For those written on the 7th and the 14th, see letters no. 1757 and no. 1763. 2 Morris refers to Quaritch as publisher of The Golden Legend. This letter implicitly indicates that the first role Morris assigned himself for the early Kelmscott books was that of printer only. And at first, whenever Quaritch was involved, he was the person who paid Morris for producing a book, and who took to himself the risks and the profits from sales— i.e., he was the publisher. (See also letter no. 1757 and notes.) For the other important early arrangement, that with Reeves and Turner, who acted as "distributors," rather than publishers, see Peterson, History, pp. 187-88. For Morris's eventual decision to end the arrangements with others for the publication of Kelmscott Press books, see letter no. 2072, n. 4, and Volume IV, letter no. 2092, n. 2. 3 "Prophet" is apparently Morris's intended joking reference to "profit." As for the financial outcome of printing The Golden Legend, see Peterson, History, p. 188.

1752 · T o BERNARD Q U A R I T C H

Kelmscott, Lechlade September 2 [1890]

Dear Mr. Quaritch Yours received with thanks: the sheet sent to you by Whittinghams 1 is n o t a specimen sheet of the type, but only one of those you showed m e the other day, w h i c h W h : have sent back to show you the paper approved of.2 I am in communication with Messrs. W h : and will take care that they print the large paper 3 duly*: but if you want to see a specimen, well & good. I shall be back in t o w n o n Friday and will call b o t h o n you and Whittinghams Yours very truly William Morris

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OF WILLIAM

MORRIS

*I arranged with t h e m o n Thursday m o r n i n g last. MS: Quaritch. 1 The Chiswick Press. 2 For Vol. 1 of the Saga Library. Buxton Forman describes (p. 161) the paper used as "a thinnish creamy laid paper with false deckel edges." 3 Buxton Forman indicates (p. 161) that the large paper copies were on hand-made paper, demi-octavo in size. Morris was to abandon the practice of printing large paper copies of Saga Library volumes and the first is the only one for which such copies were printed. For Morris's later dislike of large paper editions, see Volume IV, letter no. 2298 and n. 2.

1753 · T o EMERY WALKER

Kelmscott, Lechlade September 3 [1890]

M y dear Walker After all I shall stay over Sunday; as it seems a pity to come d o w n here for so short a time; and there is n o t m u c h to be d o n e between Friday afternoon & M o n d a y m o r n i n g w h i c h I cannot do as well here. Will you n o t come d o w n here o n Saturday & we would go up together M o n d a y by first train? If you can't do that, then dine with m e at H a m m e r s m i t h at 7.30, & we can then take stock of the Gunnlaug 1 &c. I am d o i n g two or three letters; 2 so my time here will not be wholly blank. Yours ever William Morris MS: Texas. 1 A small stock of Whatman paper used for The Roots of the Mountains was left over after the book was printed (see letter no. 1677, n. 1), and with this, seventy-five copies of The Story of Gunnlaug the Worm-tongue, Morris's translation of the Gunnlaug Saga, were produced at the Chiswick Press. (The translation had first appeared in 1869 in the Fortnightly Review [see Volume I, letter no. 64, n. 1], and had in 1875 been included in Three Northern Love Stories [see Volume I, letter no. 186, n. 2].) The type used for the Chiswick Press printing was a black-letter based on one of Caxton's fonts, with blank spaces left for initials, which were in fact never drawn in. Printing was finished in November 1890, but most copies of this edition were never bound and remained in loose sheets until after Morris's death. See Cockerell, "History," pp. 140—41; see also Peterson, History, pp. 339—40). For Whatman paper, see letter no. 1763, n. 7; for vellum copies, see letter no. 1729, n. 1. 2

Presumably of the Golden type. See letter no. 1734, n. 5.

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1890

/

L E T T E R 1721

A page of Gunnlaug the Worm-tongue,

[ 203 ]

1890.

L E T T E R S OF WILLIAM M O R R I S 1754

· To

CHISWICK P R E S S

[CHARLES T H O M A S JACOBI?]

Kelmscott House,

Upper Mall, Hammersmith September 6 [1890] Dear Sir 1 I have not (6) got sheet a of the G u n n l a u g Would you kindly send m e one. Yrs truly W Morris RS. I have not yet had the specimen ρ of Saga Library 2 MS: Bodleian. 1 See letter no. 1753, n. 1. 2 For Vol. 1, in press at this time (see letter no. 1741).

1755 · T o THE E D I T O R OF The Times

Kelmscott House, Upper Mall, Hammersmith September 6 [1890]

Sir, I have read with m u c h sympathy the remarks of your correspondent Mr. Jacob 1 on the threatened removal of the Hanseatic M u s e u m at Ber­ gen. 2 W h e n a work of art and a m o n u m e n t of history is moved from one place to another it loses more than half its interest, however successfully the moving may be accomplished, and this even though it be moved from one place to another in the same country; but clearly the loss must be far greater if it is carried off to an alien land. It ought not to be forgotten, too, that, great as the possessions of the Scandinavian peoples are in ancient literature, they have little to spare of examples of ancient art. T h e removal of the Hanseatic House from Ber­ gen would be a most serious loss to the good town, and would so be felt by all visitors. As a student of Scandinavian literature and history, as well as a lover of ancient architecture, I h o p e I may be excused for appealing through your columns to the citizens of Bergen and begging them to 3 resist this perverted love of one's neighbour's archaeological wealth. I am, Sir, yours obediently, William Morris H o n . Secretary of the Society for the Protection of Ancient Buildings.

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1890 / L E T T E R 1757 TEXT: The Times, September 10, 1890, 12. 1 Ernest H. Jacob of Leeds. 2 The Times, September 2, 1890, printed (p. 9) a letter from Jacob (see note 1 above) dated August 28, 1890, in which he described the Hanseatic League and the building in Bergen that housed its museum. In the letter Jacob deplored the wish of the Emperor of Germany to buy the house and its contents and transport them to Germany. "The museum," Jacob notes, "is in the hands of a private proprietor, whose commercial interests are stronger than his patriotic instincts," and Jacob concludes by saying he hopes his letter will arouse protest by people who want to preserve ancient monuments. 3 In the event, the Museum was not moved. In 1904, at the suggestion of Museum director Christian Koren-Wiberg, a Bergen room was instead established in the Hanseatic M u seum of Liibeck, Germany. I am grateful to Wenche Brosing Dahl of the Bergen OfFentlige Bibliotek for the information given here.

1756 · T o CHISWICK P R E S S

[CHARLES T H O M A S JACOBI?]

Kelmscott House,

Upper Mall, Hammersmith September 7 [1890] Dear Sir I have sent back half of the sheet of L.P. 1 Saga Library by Mr. Gibney. 2 I assume that the specimen is for colour as well as position, and have approved of it accordingly. 3 Yours truly William Morris Ms: Bodleian. 1 Large paper. See letter no. 1752, n. 3. 2 Gibney was an employee of Morris and Co. who worked in the Oxford Street Shop. 3 See letter no. 1752, n. 3.

1757 · T o FREDERICK STARTRIDGE ELLIS

Kelmscott House

September 7, 1890 My dear Ellis, I gave Quaritch your letter in person, and we had a talk about the matter: by this time you will have had a letter from him. 1 It seemed to m e a matter of course to agree, 2 as far as I am concerned, with his proposition to take the whole expense on himself and do what h e can with the 250 copies, since it will then cost us nothing but our work: only it seems to me that your share of the work 3 will be so much the heaviest that I feel rather uncomfortable about it, and think it s o m e h o w ought to be made u p to you. W h a t I have n o w chiefly to do is to push o n the type-founding

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MORRIS

side of matters: I will do all I possibly can on this side, so that we may begin as soon as possible. I should think that we might get some type 4 about Christmas time; but of course I cannot be sure. Wishing you good luck (I had little with the gudgeons), I am yours ever, William Morris. TEXT: Mackail, II, 249-50. Published: Henderson, Letters, 326-27. 1 Quaritch's reply to Ellis, dated September 6, indicates what Ellis had written to him on September 4. It reads in part: Dear Mr. Ellis, Our friend Mr. William Morris brought me this morning your letter of the 4th inst. on the subject of a reprint of Caxton's Golden Legend In your letter you say: 1) We (you & Mr Morris) are both willing to give our services gratis. 2) You two Editors stipulate, each for 12 gratis copies. 3) Mr. Morris stipulates for absolute control of the choice of paper & print. To these three proposals I agree, and add 4) the edition to consist of 250 copies, which will be printed at my sole expense. By thus accepting your first proposal, there is no occasion to enter into any details about making the venture a partnership affair. . . . The letter ends with the postscript "I can lend you the Acta Sanctorum, 64 vols folio if required Q." 2 A formal agreement, dated September 11, stipulates that Morris was "to have absolute and sole control over choice of paper, choice of type size . . . and selection of the printer." (Quaritch was to supply the paper and pay for printing and binding.) Peterson, commenting on the agreement, notes (History, p. 207): "[This] reminds us that Morris at this stage still had only a very indistinct notion of the future of the Kelmscott Press and was undecided whether to ask another printer to produce the book (with Morris's type of course). . . ." Peterson concludes, however: "By the end of 1890 it was clear that Morris would print the book himself." (See also Volume IV, letter no. 2092.) As to the size of the edition, Quaritch, in a letter to Ellis, dated September 11, wrote: "Mr. Morris agrees to affix his signature to the rough draft of an Agreement drawn up by me. . . . he leaves to you & me the detail of number of copies to be printed. What do you say to 500 ordinary paper & 50 Large Paper keeping as near to the size of Nutt's reprint of the King Arthur as you think fit." (Quaritch refers to David Nutt's reprint of William Caxton's Le Morte a'Arthur, edited by H. Oskar Sommer, and published in three volumes, 1889-1891.) 3 Morris refers to Ellis's role as editor of The Golden Legend. Peterson writes (History, p. 207): "Though the contract with Quaritch [for The Golden Legend; see note 2 above] referred to Morris and ElUs as co-editors, Morris was only nominally involved in editorial decisions, thus setting the pattern for many later Kelmscott books. Ellis established the text, directing the occasional query to Morris; Morris agreed or disagreed with Ellis's proposals. That is how it always went between them, with much joking on Ellis's side and some blustering on Morris's. But in his concluding 'Memoranda' Ellis rather exaggerated Morris's participation: 'That I express myself in the first person throughout this notice, and sign it, is only because I am responsible for the statements as to matters of fact which it contains,

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1 8 9 0 / L E T T E R 1721

A page f r o m the September 11, 1890, publishing agreement for The Golden Legend, signed by Morris, Frederick Startridge Ellis, and Bernard Q u a r i t c h .

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LETTERS

OF WILLIAM

MORRIS

& which I could not ask Mr. Morris to guarantee with his name, but it should be understood that he has gone carefully over the whole book, and nothing of any importance in the editing has been done without his advice and sanction' [see The Golden Legend, Vol. Ill, pp. 285-86]. The colophon is less equivocal, listing Ellis as the editor and Morris as the printer." 4 The Golden type, which Morris in fact did finish by the end of the year (see letter no. 1810).

1758 · T o J . &J. LEIGHTON

[WALTER JAMES LEIGHTON?]

Kelmscott House, Upper Mall, Hammersmith September 7 [1890]

Dear Sir1 I find o n collating the ' T h r e e Kings' 2 with the perfect copy 3 that b e sides the torn leaf only one leaf of (te) text is lacking. D I is there, but has n o signature. I think I shall have the leaves of the table d o n e as well as the text. 4 C a n you go o n with setting the rest of the b o o k right, or must you wait till Mr. Burt 5 has finished his work? If so I had better send y o u the b o o k back. 6 Yours truly William Morris MS: McMinn Papers. 1 See letter no. 1726, n. 1. 2 Ein Buch der heiligen dryer Kunig, or Reges Tres, written by Johannes of Hildesheim (d. 1375) and printed at Strasbourg by Heinrich Knoblochtzer, c. 1483. Morris's copy is described (lot 981) in the Sotheby Catalogue (1898) as having several leaves done in facsimile: a whole leaf (d 2), part of another (d 3) and three from the table. See also note 5 below. 3 Possibly a copy in the British Museum, or one borrowed by Morris from Leighton or Quaritch for collating. 4 See note 2 above. 5 A. A. Burt, a facsimilist. His task was to prepare prints, from photographic negatives of pages in the "perfect copy," to be used as facsimile pages replacing the ones missing from Morris's copy of the book. In general, Burt presumably did the camera work besides making the final prints, but in this instance the photography was done by Walker. See letter no. 1784. 6 By "setting the rest of the book right" Morris means collating it and adding the missing leaves in facsimile (see note 5 above).

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1890 / L E T T E R 1761 1759 · T o BERNARD Q U A R I T C H

Kelmscott House,

Upper Mall, Hammersmith September 7 [1890] Dear Mr. Quaritch Having looked through the French Livy, I find I do n o t much care about it, so I will reserve my purchasing power for another occasion. I return it to you with many thanks Messrs. Whittingham have sent m e a specimen of the L.P. Saga Library which seems to m e quite satisfactory.1 So I have sent back half of it approved as far as I am concerned & keep the other half. Yours truly William Morris MS: Quaritch. 1 See letter no. 1756 and notes.

1760 · T o JOHN CARRUTHERS

Kelmscott House,

Upper Mall, Hammersmith [September 9, 1890] M y dear Carruthers Many thanks for your cheque duly received. 1 I wish you the best of luck and as you k n o w am very sorry for your departure. 2 We all think you of great use to us Yours very truly William Morris MS: Getty. 1 Receipts for sale of Commonweal. 2 Presumably Carruthers was on his way to Argentina, where at this time he was employed in connection with the building of the Cordoba and Northwestern Railway. See John Carruthers, Economic Studies (Chiswick Press, 1915), p. ix.

1761 · T o K A T E FAULKNER

Kelmscott House,

Upper Mall, Hammersmith September 10 [1890] M y dear Kate I hoped to be able to get to you this afternoon; but fate will have me at the O l d Bailey this morning 1 & if I can I must get down to Chiselhurst 2 in the afternoon if indeed I shall get out of Court in time. Thursday I

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L E T T E R S OF WILLIAM

MORRIS

must go to M e r t o n & (and) anti-scrape & Friday (by particular request 3 as the playbills say) I go to Kelmscott. T h e Jury business is a sad waste of time: nothing useful possible to be done and a mass of degrading twaddle to be waded through. In haste Yours affectionately William Morris MS: Texas. ' The Times, September 11, 1890, reported (p. 6) several cases that came before the jury at the Central Criminal Court but there was no mention of jurors' names. 2 See letter no. 1725, n. 1. 3 Presumably a request by Jenny, who was at Kelmscott at this time.

1762 · T o CHISWICK PRESS

Kelmscott Press

Upper Mall, Hammersmith September 12 [1890] Please send all proofs 1 to m e for the next 7 days at Kelmscott Lechlade & oblige Yrs truly W Morris MS: Bodleian. ' For Vol. 1 of the Saga Library.

1763 · T o FREDERICK STARTRIDGE ELLIS

Kelmscott

September 14, 1890 My dear Ellis I have sent o n Q.'s copy and n o w send back yours. 1 O f course I should like the reprint to be of the same form as the original 2 if the R o m a n type can do it, which I doubt, as black letter takes up less room: in any case some kind of folio it will have to be. 3 As to paper 4 I have heard of two people w h o may help us, one w h o m Walker knows and whose mill I propose to visit with Walker almost at once; 5 and one employed by Allen, Ruskin's publisher. 6 We can do nothing with W h a t m a n 7 but take what h e has on the shelves. In one thing I think I differ from you a little, i.e., about the joined letters or queer signs: 8 since our book is to be a reprint, not a fac-simile, I do not think that we need reproduce these: indeed I should extend the abbreviations 9 in order to make the book more readable.

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1890 / L E T T E R 1764 H o w e v e r I am open to correction o n this point. D o n ' t rest too much o n my date of Christmas for the type: 1 0 we seem to be getting o n very slowly with it at present, and I have only eleven letters cut yet. I can only h o p e for the best. Yours ever, William Morris. TEXT: Mackail, II, 250-51. Published: Henderson, Letters, 327. 1 Morris refers to copies of the agreement signed by Ellis, Quaritch and himself for the publication of The Golden Legend (see letter no. 1757, n. 2). 2 See letter no. 1750, n. 1. 3 In the event, the book was printed as a large quarto in three volumes (see letter no. 1750, n. 1). 4 For the problems Morris encountered with the first stock of paper ordered for the Press and initially intended for printing The Golden Legend, see letter no. 1779, n. 2. 5 A reference to Joseph Batchelor (see letter no. 1779, n. 1), whose paper mill was at Little Chart, Kent. Mackail writes (II, 251-52) that "Morris went down to Little Chart himself with Mr. E. Walker [on October 22, 1890] to see about his paper. With unabated interest in any form of manual art, he must take off his coat and try to make a sheet of paper with his own hands. At the second attempt he succeeded in doing very creditably what it is supposed takes a man several months to master." 6 George Allen (1832—1907) was Ruskin's pupil and assistant at the Working Men's College. He later became an engraver and illustrated Modern Painters. In 1871, as a publisher at his residence in Orpington, he began to issue Ruskin's works. In 1890, he moved his office to London and between 1903 and 1911 published The Works of John Ruskin, edited by E. T. Cook and A. Wedderburn (London: G. Allen, 1903-1912) in 39 Volumes. 7 Presumably Morris refers to Whatman paper and its suppliers; but if so, his seeming designation of Whatman as a living individual is misleading. In the second half of the eighteenth century James Whatman, father and son, manufactured in Kent the paper bearing their name and establishing its reputation; but before the end of the century the firm had been sold, and by 1859 the mark had passed to the heirs of the purchasers, the firm of W and R. Balston; who would have been the supplier of Whatman paper in 1890. See A. H. Shorter, Paper Making in the British Isles (New York: Barnes and Noble, 1972), p. 59; and Thomas Balston, James Whatman: Father and Son (1957; New York: Garland Publishing, 1979), pp. 139-40. 8 See illustration, p. 176. 9 See illustration, p. 199. 10 In fact the type was cut—with the exception of the uppercase E and N—by the end of 1890 (see Sparling, p. 53).

1764 · T o EMERY WALKER

Kelmscott, Lechlade September 14 [1890]

M y dear Walker I have a sort of impression that I promised to lecture for the N Kensingt o n branch o n Sunday next. 1 C o u l d you find out if this is so? In any case [ 211

]

LETTERS

OF

WILLIAM

MORRIS

T h e Arts and Crafts Exhibition Society Exhibit, 1890, T h e N e w Gallery, R e g e n t Street, L o n d o n .

[ 212 ]

1890 / L E T T E R

1764

Edward Philip Prince, c. 1916.

[ 213 ]

L E T T E R S OF WILLIAM

MORRIS

I think I shall return on Saturday morning: as I find that I am expected to show at the A. & C.2 Any news about Prince?3 I think he might get on now: since the Golden Legend is settled.4 When I was at Quaritchs' on Friday, I looked at the 1st ed: Valturius, but confess that for the money (£75) I was not tempted. In fact I was dissappointed with it. The weather is most brilliant here and I rather grudge doing any work at all, nor have I done much. Yesterday we went for a drive; Langford, Broadwell, Kencote, Alvescott. Black Burton, Bampton, Aston and at last Cote; where that house is of which you may have heard me speak.5 The house is most beautiful with gardens and stone walls still beautiful, but it is in sad repair: not tumbling down I think, but a great part of the rooms dismantled (ch) ceilingless. It is much bigger than Kelmscott more dignified; a swells house, built about 1560 I should think. The wife of Sir Thomas Hord 6 of the house is buried in Bampton Church about 1590. I am much better & dont want to come back Saturday if I could help it; but fear I must. Yours ever William Morris MS: Texas. 1 On Sunday September 21, 1890, Morris was scheduled to deliver a talk titled "The Hope of the Future," at a meeting sponsored by the North Kensington Branch, S.L., at the Clarendon Coffee House, Clarendon Road, London. See LeMire, p. 284. 2 The third exhibit of the Arts and Crafts Exhibition Society opened on Monday, October 6, 1890. See The Times, October 4, 1890, p. 6. 3 Edward Philip Prince (1846—1923), a punch-cutter who had been apprenticed to Frederick Tarrant. He was introduced by Emery Walker to Morris, who commissioned him to cut the Golden type, as well as eventually the Troy and the Chaucer (see letter no. 1935, n. 6). In his "Note on the Founding of the Kelmscott Press" Morris wrote (p. 137) that the punches for all three Kelmscott Press types "were cut . . . with great intelligence and skill by Mr. E. P. Prince." The connection with Morris and the Kelmscott Press initiated for Prince a lifelong association with the private-press movement in England. When Charles Ricketts (see letter no. 1979, n. 2) founded the Vale Press in 1896, he asked Prince to cut the punches for the Vale type. In 1900, Prince cut the punches for the Doves Roman, for the Doves Press (founded by Cobden-Sanderson and Walker); later still he was employed by the Ashendene Press founded by St. John Hornby (1867-1946); and by C. R. Ashbee's Essex House Press. He worked also for Lucien Pissaro (1863-1944), founder of the Eragny Press. 4 See letter no. 1750, n. 1. 5 The house is called Cote House. Sherwood and Pevsner describe it (Oxfordshire, pp. 557—58) as follows: "A handsome Cotswold manor house set at one end of a courtyard formed by high stone walls. This approach was laid out c. 1700, and the forecourt is intersected with contemporary cobbled paths linking four gateways with stone piers and ball finials. One set of iron gates is dated 1704. . . . The manor was purchased in 1553 by the Horde family and rebuilt by Thomas Horde [d. 1662?] in the early C17, incorporating part of the earlier house. It has since been little altered." 6 See note 5 above.

t 214 ]

1890

I LETTER

1765 · T o EMERY WALKER

1766 Kelmscott

September 17 [1890] M y dear Walker O u r letters have crossed it seems: many thanks for yours with the good news about Prince.' I have a reminder from the sec: of the N . Kensington Branch so you needn't trouble about that. 2 I am coming back o n Saturday morning so as to show at the A. & C . 3 Won't you come in in the evening for a talk? I have been pretty hard at work yesterday & today (afternoon) I didn't like it yesterday the weather was so fine today it is dull & I don't mind it. Yours ever William Morris MS: Texas. 1 See letter no. 1764, n. 3. 2 See letter no. 1764, n. 1. 3 See letter no. 1764, n. 2.

1766 · T o T H O M A S JAMES

COBDEN-SANDERSON

Kelmscott House,

Upper Mall, Hammersmith September 23 [1890] M y dear Sanderson D o you think you could find some work with D e Coverly 1 or others for a Swiss Comrade w h o is a book-binder by name Mr. Frederic (Sawerborn) Sauerborn. 2 H e knows Bernstein 3 of the Sozial Democrat; does n o t speak English which is a drawback & wants occupation badly. Can you d o anything. Yours affec: William Morris MS: Bucknell. 1 Roger de Coverly, from whom Cobden-Sanderson had learned bookbinding in 1883. See Volume I, letter no. 265, n. 7; and Volume II, letter no. 793. 2 I have been unable to identify Frederic Sauerborn. 3 Eduard Bernstein (1850—1932), a leader of the German Social Democratic party and co-editor of the Sozialdemokrat. He had been exiled from Germany in 1872 and did not return until 1901. Associated with Engels from 1881 to 1890 in Zurich and then in London, he was, however, critical of Marx's theories, believing that socialism should come about through evolution rather than revolution. Soon after his return to Germany in 1901, he was to become active in parliamentary politics and was to serve as a member of the Reichstag at several periods between 1902 and 1928. Among his publications was Die Voraussetzungen des Sozialismus und die Aufgaben der Sozialdemokratie, published in 1899.

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L E T T E R S OF WILLIAM M O R R I S

/

ZZZ ? ΙΖΙΖ1ΖΓ"ZIZlZI

•

ROGER

DE

COVERLY.

v.

Roger de Coverly, c. 1891.

1767

· T o BERNARD QUARITCH

Manor House

Kelmscott, Lechlade October 3 [1890]' Dear Quaritch I thank you much; I shall be very happy to accept your kind invitation for the 17th. 2 I will without fail bring up the design o n Monday. 3 You would n o t be able to get any further with it if I sent it u p today, since tomorrow is Saturday. Yrs very truly William Morris

[ 216 ]

1890 / L E T T E R 1770 MS: Quaritch. 1 The date has been given by Morris's indication that he is writing on a Friday. Between 1889 and 1896 October 3 fell on a Friday only in 1890. See also note 2 below. 2 Morris is accepting an invitation to Quaritch's yearly trade-sale, "an annual event for the sale of modern books and remainders that usually turned into a social event featuring a lavish dinner in London's Freemason's Tavern. On this occasion William Morris was a special guest." Quoted from Linenthal, "William Morris and Bernard Quaritch." I am grateful to Richard Linenthal for making the text in English available to me. 3 By "design" Morris probably means his design for the page layout for the large paper copies of Vol. 1 of the Saga Library (see letter no. 1752, n. 3).

1768 · F R O M A L E T T E R T O [EMMA M O R R I S O L D H A M ? ]

[October 3, 1890?]

. . . leafage is beautiful. Best love to E m m a . 1 I fear I shall n o t be able to get away from h o m e m u c h this year, but should like very much to come if I could. Yours affectionately (W)William Morris MS fragment: Walthamstow. 1 If this fragment is in fact from a letter to Emma Oldham, Morris's greetings are directed to her daughter Emma.

1769 · T o CHISWICK P R E S S

Kelmscott, Lechlade October 3 [1890?]

Please send n o m o r e proofs to Kelmscott after the receipt of this, but send t h e m to H a m m e r s m i t h ; as I shall be in t o w n again on M o n d a y or Tuesday W. Morris Ms: Bodleian.

1770

· T o J O H N B R U C E GLASIER

Kelmscott H o u s e ,

U p p e r Mall, H a m m e r s m i t h O c t o b e r 7 [1890] M y dear Glazier As I w a s away f r o m H a m m e r s m i t h w h e n y o u r l e t t e r c a m e , I d i d n o t s e e t h e L a i r d o f L o g a n 1 till y e s t e r d a y ; f o r t h e y d i d n o t s e n d it o n . T h a n k y o u

[ 217 ]

L E T T E R S OF WILLIAM

MORRIS

very much for thinking of me & sending it. It has a queer old fashioned look about it which would seem to make it amusing; but I have only had time to look at it. I have been down at Kelmscott (where Ellen vanished you know) 2 off and on for some weeks now; but London has begun to collar me: & next week I shall be there; and shall try to be a little more virtuous about propaganda work. 3 In truth I have not been very well (am all right again now) & did really need a rest. Not that it was not full of work though. I shall now presently begin to touch up N from N>4 for its book form, & will publish for ls/o. 5 It has amused me very much writing it: but you may depend upon it, it wont sell. This of course is my own fault—or my own misfortunes. As to League affairs; I have really been a good bit out of them. I dont think there is much life in it anywhere except at our Branch which so far is really satisfactory. The whole movement has taken the turn which might have been expected, towards unideal & humdrum 'gradual improvement'; ie towards general deadlock and break up. That's all right but of course it goes slow; and meantime I sometimes feel rather sick of things in general. The humbug which floats to the top in all 'branches of intelligence', is such a damned greasy pot-scum. But I must not get to mere railing. Good luck. Yours fraternally William Morris MS: Walthamstow. Excerpts published: Glasier, 202-203; Henderson, Letters, 328; E. P. Thompson, 576-77. 1 The Laird of Logan: or, Anecdotes and Tales Illustrative of the Wit and Humour of Scotland, edited by J. D. Carrick. It was first published by David Robertson, Glasgow, in 1837. The Sotheby Catalogue (1898), lists (lot 616) a copy of a later printing of the book, inscribed by Glasier, no doubt the copy for which Morris thanks him in this letter. 2 A reference to a central figure in News from Nowhere, which had reached Chapter XXX in the October 4, 1890, issue of Commonweal (pp. 314-15). At the conclusion of the work, Ellen, loved by the narrator, Guest, and having conducted him to an "Old House on the Thames," parts from him by vanishing before his eyes as he awakes from the dream. Glasier writes (p. 140): "I . . . recalled . . . how when he was writing [News] I told him that I had fallen in love with Ellen, and he said he had fallen in love with her himself! 'Oh, and I shan't give her up to you—not without a tussle for her anyway,' he said, with a smile, but almost jealously, I thought." 3 Morris refers to his lecturing, and on October 20, 1890, he gave a talk titled "Art for the People" at the Athenaeum Hall, London, at a meeting sponsored by the Commonweal Branch, SX. See LeMire, p. 284. 4 News from Nowhere. Presumably Morris refers to the Reeves and Turner edition (see letter no. 1782, n. 1). 5 There was a small issue in a cloth binding and also a large paper edition, but the main printing was a pamphlet in a paper wrapper. It is to this one Morris refers. See letter no. 1696, n. 3.

[ 218 ]

1890 / L E T T E R

1771

1771 · T o WILFRID SCAWEN B L U N T

Kelmscott October 11 [1890]

M y dear Blunt I only got your letter on the m o r n i n g of my departure for here; or I would have managed to see you. I should of course be delighted to make a replica of the Exeter Coll: tapestry, 1 or some other for you. As to the introduction of a horse; certainly that is quite proper to the subject, if it were treated historically; but I fear it w o u l d not be easy to get a horse into the existing design. You see, it isn't built for it. 2 Possibly o n e of the sangreal subjects w h i c h B u r n e Jones is d o i n g for us might suit y o u . 3 But the Magi as it stands is a very fine tapestry design; and for o n e thing since it has already b e e n done, would cost less to execute. We shall be in t o w n about 6 p m on Thursday. 4 Won't you, if you are still in England, 5 c o m e over in the evening: dinner at 7 about I suppose, & then we could talk it over. 6 Yours very truly William Morris V&A. Longford writes (p. 283) that Blunt on his fiftieth birthday "was bequeathed £1000, which he earmarked for two tapestries" to be designed by Burne-Jones and woven by Morris and Co.: The Adoration of the Magi (see Volume II, letter no. 1271, n. 2; and n. 2 below) and Primavera (see Volume IV, letter no. 2267, n. 1). Blunts copy of the Adoration was completed in March 1894. Except for an inscription in the upper border, it is identical with the original, completed in February and presented to Exeter at Easter, 1890. For the wording of the inscription, see letter no. 1780, n. 2. 2 In his Diary entry for October 7, 1890, Blunt noted that he desired to have made "a replica of the piece at Exeter College with the addition of an Arab horse and a camel" (see JM to WSB, p. 47). 3 Morris refers to the San Graal tapestries. 4 Blunt records in his Diary a visit to the Morrises on October 18: "I spent the day yesterday with Mrs. Morris, the last I fancy in a quite intimate way—She felt this and said it, and I did not contradict. . . . [W] e went out to see Burne-Jones and talk over a design for the tapestry Morris is to make for me" (see JM to WSB, p. 47). 5 In the Diaries Blunt notes (I, 43): "On the 18th of October [1890] we again left England for Egypt." 6 Jane Morris's letter to Blunt, written after his departure (October 26) indicates that he had ordered the Adoration: "I am very glad you have decided to have the 'Magi' piece of tapestry;" she writes, "as you are quite certain to like it, and you will get it sooner than a new design" (JM to WSB, p. 48). MS:

1

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L E T T E R S OF W I L L I A M

MORRIS

1772 · RECIPIENT U N K N O W N

Kelmscott, Lechlade October 11 [1890]

Dear Sir,1 T h a n k you I should like to see b o t h the books you m e n t i o n : the J. Schoeffer's Caesar, 2 & the Gerard Leu s ^ i s o p . 3 but is this the Dialogus Creaturum? 4 I have that. 5 MS: SUNY, Buffalo. 1 For possible recipients, see letter no. 1733, n. 1. 2 Johann Schoffer (d. 1531), the son of Mainz printer Peter Schoffer (d. 1503), printed at Mainz an edition of Caesar's Commentaries (in German) in 1530. It had 166 woodcuts of various sizes, some of them occupying a full page each, and was thus clearly a book that would interest Morris. Schoffer reprinted the book in 1532, but there is no evidence that Morris purchased either edition, though the Sotheby Catalogue (1898) lists several copies by other printers. 3 j£sop's Vita et Fabulae, printed at Antwerp by Gerard Leeu, September 12, 1486. It was a book Morris did not own, and he purchased it (see letter no. 1778). The copy, now at the PML, contains on the flyleaf Morris's annotations, analyzing the woodcuts. 4 It is not clear why Morris thinks that Dialogus Creaturarum may be another title for ^sop's Fables. The ^ s o p , in fact, was printed in Antwerp (see note 3 above). But see also letter no. 1773. 3 Morris had purchased from Quaritch on March 31, 1890, a copy of Gerard Leeu's 1480 edition of the Dialogus Creaturarum, compiled by Nicolaus Pergamenus, which Needham describes (p. 31) as "one of the finest of all Dutch illustrated incunables." The edition features numerous outline woodcuts, ornamental initials, red painted capitals, and the first page of text within floreate scroll border (see Sotheby Catalogue [1898], lot 391).

1773 · RECIPIENT UNKNOWN

Kelmscott, Lechlade October 14 [1890]

Dear Sir 1 Thanks for note. I remembered after I had written that the Dialogus C r e a t u r u m was printed at Gouda not Antwerp. 2 A n y h o w I should very much like to see the b o o k , and will ask you to send it to H a m m e r s m i t h , (to) (I shall be there o n Thursday afternoon:) I will certainly consider buying the b o o k . 3 Yrs truly William Morris PML. See letter no. 1733, n. 1. 2 Possibly a source of Morris's confusion is that Gerard Leeu printed first at Gouda and then later at Antwerp, where he died in 1493. 3 The j4£sop, which Morris did in fact buy. See letter no. 1778 and n. 3. MS:

1

[ 220 ]

1890 / L E T T E R 1775 1774 · T o [GEORGIANA BURNE-JONES?] 1

[Kelmscott

October 16, 1890] We are coming to London to-day. . . . . T h e weather has been very good; o u r best day was Monday, w h e n I hear you had a fog; it was a miracle of a day here: the sort of day w h e n you really can do nothing but stand and stare at it. I am n o t sorry to come to town. I want to cease from being bumbled u p and down. I want to work hard at my easy work. 2 TEXT: Mackail, II, 251. 1 In his notebook, Mackail lists a letter from Morris to Georgiana Burne-Jones dated October 16, 1890. 2 Probably the designing of ornamental letters for the Kelmscott Press. See letter no. 1776 and n. 7.

1775 · T o THOMAS JAMES COBDEN-SANDERSON

Kelmscott House,

Upper Mall, Hammersmith October 17 [1890] I can't either this week or next: 1 as I am at Kelmscott all next week till Saturday. As far as I am concerned it dont matter; For all I can do is to alter my Lecture I gave at Toynbee last year. 2 It will be highly polemic. Thanks about the Swiss chap 3 but I'm afraid he will find it hard to get work. Yrs. WM Excuse card

am up to neck in business.

MS: Bucknell. 1 On November 28, 1890, at Barnard's Inn, Morris gave the lantern-slide lecture, "Gothic Architecture," presumably the same or the slightly altered version of the one he had given the previous year (see letter no. 1606, n. 3). However, the 1890 delivery is not listed by LeMire; and Cockerell's Diary, the source of the information, makes no reference to Cobden-Sanderson. 2 See letter no. 1606 and n. 3. 3 Frederic Sauerborn. See letter no. 1766.

[ 221 ]

L E T T E R S OF WILLIAM M O R R I S 1776

· T o FREDERICK STARTRIDGE ELLIS

Kelmscott House,

Upper Mall, Hammersmith October 17 [1890] M y dear Ellis I don't quite agree about the size of the L.P. Sagas. 1 (I) We were b o u n d to have that size about if we had Whatmans paper: 2 the only good paper at present. Q : 3 shared your dislike to the royal o c t : 4 and proposed to cut d o w n the paper after printing. I protested against this, and arranged the page with a great deal of care so that it really looks very well indeed: as I suppose it is mostly worked by n o w there is n o more to be said. After all you needn't call it roy. oct. Call it small folio and you will find plenty of 15th century books the same size. As to the price that is a booksellers affair: I should have preferred his printing off 250 and selling t h e m at £ 1 ; but he will certainly sell all he prints. I h o p e you will hear from Cambridge soon: 5 you see it is just the very beginning of term. T h e type 6 is getting on: I have all the lower case letters (26). Also I have been designing ornamental letters; 7 rather good I think. Yours ever William Morris MS: Fitzwilliam. Extract published: Mackail, II, 251. 1 The large paper copies of Vol. 1 of the Saga Library. 2 See letter no. 1763, n. 7. 3 Quaritch. 4 Royal octavo size is about 6½ χ 10 inches. 5 Presumably a reference to Morris and Ellis's request to borrow a copy of Caxton's The Golden Legend to transcribe its text for the Kelmscott Press edition (see letter no. 1750 and notes 1 and 8). 6 The Golden type. 7 Floriated initial letters, which were cut in wood. Designing and cutting these initials (and other ornaments, such as borders) was one of Morris's chief contributions as a de­ signer-craftsman to the making of a Kelmscott Press volume.

1777

· T o J O H N COLEMAN K E N W O R T H Y

Kelmscott House,

Upper Mall, Hammersmith October 17 [1890] Dear Mr. Kenworthy I shall be in t o w n o n Sunday next and shall be very happy to see you. 1 T h a n k you m u c h for your invitation to c o m e to you I shall be very pleased to do so Yours very truly William Morris

[ 222 ]

1890

I LETTER

1779

NYU Kenworthy moved to London sometime in 1890 (see letter no. 1668, n. 2), and this is the first letter apparently addressed to him there rather than Liverpool.

MS:

1

1778 · R E C I P I E N T U N K N O W N

Kelmscott H o u s e ,

Upper Mall, Hammersmith October 22 [1890] (Wednesday) Dear Sir 1 Thank you for sending the Shatz 2 —Of course I do not think of buying it at that price; and I don't think you would advise m e to do so. I will (com) call & bring it to you tomorrow about 4 p.m., w h e n I w h e n I will take (a) another look at the Gerard Leew ; £ s o p 3 which under the circumstances I shall probably be unable to resist. Yrs truly W. Morris MS: Wellesley. 1 See letter no. 1733, n. 1. 2 Stephen Fridolin's Schatzbehalter. Though when he bought it is uncertain, Morris did own an edition, printed at Nuremberg by Anton Koberger in 1491. His copy, now at the PML, may have been the one in question here, despite the difficulty over price. See Quaritch, Best Books, item no. 220. 3 See letter no. 1772, n. 3. On the holograph, the date 1486 has been interpolated above "JEsop" by a hand other than Morris's.

1779 · T o JOSEPH BATCHELOR

Kelmscott House,

Upper Mall, Hammersmith October 23, 1890 Dear Sir1 T h e size of the sheet I want is 16 inches by 11 inches; as you propose to make this double it would be 16 inches by 22 inches. 2 This would be in every way convenient to me. I think you will understand that in this experiment we need not take cost into account: 3 of course I should be glad to (hear) have it as soon as possible, but will not attempt hurrying you. I note by the way to prevent any misconception that the polishing of the margins 4 (apparently done by means of a burnisher) in my book should wof be imitated. I have looked into various Venetian books of the 15th Century and find that all the fine (we) ones are printed on the same kind of paper as

[ 223 ]

L E T T E R S OF WILLIAM M O R R I S 5

that I left with you: (have) the Jenson Pliny which is considered the ne plus ultra of Venetian printing is on paper with the same water-mark as that of (the) my book. I enclose herewith a commonplace little design for my water-mark which I think will answer the purpose of distinguishing 6 the paper I use: the objects on each side of the flower I perhaps ought to 7 say are a W and "FK (Lombardic) my initials. Thanking you very much for your kindness in giving us such a pleasant day yesterday8 I am Dear Sir Yours very truly William Morris

Morris's design for the "Flower" watermark (also known as "Primrose").

MS: Abrams Coll. Published: Hayle Mill, 26-29 and 31. 1 Joseph Batchelor of Messrs. Batchelor and Son, Little Chart, Ashford, Kent. The firm made the paper for the Kelmscott Press from linen rag after an Italian pattern of the fifteenth century. See Mackail, II, 251-52. 2 Although agreeing here to Batchelor's providing paper 16 χ 22 inches, the first size Morris had obtained from him was 16 χ 11 inches (see Hayle Mill, p. 31). In noting this, Cockerell writes ("History," p. 145) that Morris anticipated using the paper for The Golden Legend (the initial book planned for the Kelmscott Press). "But as only two pages could have been printed at a time, and this would have made it very costly, paper of a double size was ordered . . . ," presumably in the present letter. Cockerell adds that while Morris waited for the new lot, the 16-by-ll-inch paper at hand was used for The Glittering Plain (this book, a small octavo, thus became the inaugural volume; see letter no. 1750, n. 5). 3 Needham writes (p. 126) that "Batchelor's charge for his paper was 2s per pound, which was some five or six times the price of ordinary machine-made book paper" and did not include the cost of the mold. When paper is made by hand, it is necessary to have a set of molds for each separate size. See Hayle Mill, p. 23; see also letter no. 1833. 4 Removing blisters or bubbles from the paper to make it smooth. 5 About his search for paper for Kelmscott Press books, Morris wrote (WM, "A Note," pp. 135-36) in part: "I . . . consider[ed] it necessary that the paper should be hand-made,

[ 224 ]

1890

/ L E T T E R 1780

both for the sake of durability and appearance. [As for] the kind . . . I [concluded] . . . 1st, that the paper must be wholly of linen (most hand-made papers are of cotton to-day), and must be quite 'hard,' i.e. thoroughly well sized; and 2nd, that though it must be 'laid' and not 'wove' (i.e. made on a mould made of obvious wires), the lines caused by the wires of the mould must not be too strong, so as to give a ribbed appearance. I found that on these points I was at one with the . . . papermakers of the fifteenth century; so I took as my model a Bolognese paper of about 1473. My friend Mr. Batchelor, of Little Chart, Kent, carried out my views very satisfactorily." 6

Batchelor was to make three papers for the Kelmscott Press, all named for their water­ marks, which were designed by Morris. They were "Flower" (also called "Primrose"), "Perch," and "Apple." About the first, Needham writes (p. 126): "The primrose paper was a 16 χ 11 inch sheet, but made in two-sheet moulds. This was soon replaced with a doublesize sheet of 16 χ 22 inch, to allow The Golden Legend to be imposed more efficiently as a quarto. Its mark is also a primrose, with marks placed in all four corners of the sheet." 7 "Lombardic" was the rounded handwriting used in Italy between the fall of the Roman Empire and the Renaissance. For Morris's use of it in the design of his first watermark, see illustration, p. 224. 8 See letter no. 1763, n. 5.

1780

· WILFRID SCAWEN BLUNT

Kelmscott H o u s e ,

U p p e r Mall, H a m m e r s m i t h O c t o b e r 24 [1890]

Dear Blunt Many thanks; I shall be very pleased to do; only since it is clear that we shall not have the tapestry1 done this year, we must correct the wording of the inscription;2 about which for the rest there will be no difficulty whatever: as to the execution of the piece we shall change nothing in colour and drawing except in very small points indeed. 3 Wishing you a pleasant winter-summer in Egypt I am Yours very truly William Morris Have you met our Irish friends over there?4 MS: Fitzwilliam. 1 See letter no. 1771, n. 1. 2 The inscription, which runs across the top of the tapestry, reads: "this tapestry the work of william morris was made at merton abbey in the year of 1890 for wilfrid scawen blunt in memory of his cousin and friend francis gore currie who died that same year, may he rest in peace." 3 It is unclear why Morris felt he should reassure Blunt his tapestry would be close copy of the Exeter College original, given Blunt's earlier wish to alter the design by adding a horse and a camel (see letter no. 1771 and n. 2). 4 Blunt was in France, on his way to Egypt. As for "our Irish friends," Morris means John

[ 225 ]

LETTERS

OF WILLIAM

MORRIS

Dillon and William O'Brien (see Volume II, letters no. 1186, n. 2; and no. 1410, n. 1, respectively). Arrested and placed on bail in September, they "fled dramatically to France in October . . . before going to New York to raise funds for the Nationalist Cause" (see JM to WSB, p. 47). They had been charged with involvement in the Plan of Campaign, designed to resist demands for unpayable rents and to raise funds to defend Irish tenants threatened with eviction. Arthur Balfour (1848-1930), chief secretary for Ireland at this time, sought severe prosecution of leaders of the campaign like Dillon and O'Brien.

1781 · T o EDMUND J. BAILLIE

Kelmscott House, Upper Mall, Hammersmith October 30 [1890]

Dear Sir1 T h e lecture in question 2 is n o t published as yet. Perhaps some time it may be. Yours truly William Morris MS: Berger Coll. 1 Edmund J. Baillie, possibly the author oijohn Ruskin: Aspects of His Thought and Teachings (London, 1882). 2 If Baillie had asked about a recent lecture by Morris, it might have been "Art for the People," which he had given on October 20 (see letter no. 1770, n. 3). "Art for the People" was not in fact issued in Morris's lifetime, but was published by LeMire, who indicates (p. 136, n. 1) it was also called "Of the Origins of Ornamental Art." For the text, see LeMire, pp. 136-57.

1782 · T o WILLIAM D O B S O N REEVES

Kelmscott House, Upper Mall, Hammersmith October 30, 1890

Dear M r Reeves Enclosed is Messrs R o b e r t s ' letter: 1 pray treat the matter as convenient to you. In a few days I shall bring you the first copy of N e w s from N o where2 Yours truly William Morris Ms: McMinn Papers. 1 The enclosed letter almost certainly concerned News from Nowhere (which was published in America in 1890 by Roberts Brothers of Boston); and the letter presumably also had some bearing on the plans by Reeves and Turner to publish the English edition. This they did in 1891. For a description of both editions, see letter no. 1696, n. 3. 2 Presumably of the Roberts Brothers edition.

[ 226 ]

1890 I L E T T E R 1783 1783 · T o E I R I K R MAGNUSSON

Kelmscott House,

Upper Mall, Hammersmith November 7, 1890 My dear Magnusson I enclose with much pleasure a cheque for £ 1 0 . Your account of the agreement between us is quite correct. 1 only you know we are thinking of breaking u p the vol: of Three N o r t h e r n Love Stories, as to get the stories into more suitable gatherings; 2 this will however n o t involve any loss in money; as n o doubt Q will keep to the spirit of his agreement. For Eyrb: Vol: 3 I shall not be able to get as much as for the 1st vol: I will however see that you do not lose by it: I must n o t sicken Q of the j o b ; which to say the truth I should b e quite willing to undertake at a lower rate than he will give. As to the addition to the Eyrb: perhaps we shall find HerSa Saga over long; 4 so we had better wait till we have the first sheet or two of Ey: back from the printers. I am going through the Her5a Saga and find it interesting but very long, perhaps because I am rusty. I think I should have to read it over with you before I got to the translation. We had better do it in any case and it might go into the same vol. as the Gunnlaug. 5 in which vol it would be an advantage to have two stories hitherto untranslated by anybody. Else I was going to propose Gisli & Viga Glum 6 for G's c o m panions. As to the Visur 7 I will do my best; only I must say I look forward to the j o b with little short of anguish; for truly sometimes they are really untranslateable. 8 I suppose that you have got the index of subjects from the printers by this time. 9 I have had it. We will arrange a meeting as soon as you please. Yours very truly William Morris MS: Iceland. 1 Presumably Magnusson's share of an advance on royalties for Vol. 1 of the Saga Library. The book had been advertised by Quaritch to the trade in October 1890, though delays kept it from appearing until 1891. The volume contained "The Story of Howard the Halt," "The Story of the Banded Men," and "The Story of Hen Thorir." 2 Morris refers presumably to plans to reincorporate the tales in Three Northern Love Stories (see Volume I, letter no. 217, n. 1) into volumes of the Saga Library. In the event, none of the tales were made part of the Saga Library. 3 A reference to the second volume of the Saga Library, published in 1892. The full title indicates the contents: The Story of the Ere-Dwellers (Eyrbyggja Saga) with The Story of the Heath-Slayings (Heibarviga Saga) as appendix Done into English out of Icelandic by William Morris and Eirikr Magnusson.

[ 227 ]

L E T T E R S OF W I L L I A M

MORRIS

4

See note 3 above. "The Story of Gunnlaug the Worm-tongue and Raven the Skald," one of the tales in Three Northern Love Stories (see note 2 above). 6 Morris refers to the Gisla Saga and the Viga-Glums Sagas, apparently planned for the Saga Library but never used. 7 The plural of visa, the Icelandic word for verse: "[A]Il ancient Northern poetry is in strophic lays. Four sets of alliteration make a verse (visa), two a half strophe, visu-helmingr . . . or half visa . . . each alliterative set being again divided into two halves, called visu-or3, a word or sentence" (see An Icelandic-English Dictionary, 2d ed. [Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1957], p. 717). 8 In his "Preface" to Vol. 6 of the Saga Library, Magnusson discusses (p. ix) Morris's translations of the strophic lays: "In the verses [Morris] wanted to be as honestly literal as in the prose: This principle involved a literal rendering . . . of the various links that served to make up the 'Kennings' [ie., metaphorical compounds that refer to mythological or legendary events]. . . . The . . . vividness of fancy . . . in these 'kennings' appealed . . . [to Morris] and he would [not] slur over them by giving in the translation only what they meant instead of what they said." 9 "Subjects" is the third of three indexes in Vol. 6, the first and second being "Names of Persons and Peoples" and "Names of Places" (see letter no. 1786, n. 3). 5

1784 · T o J . & J . L E I G H T O N

[ W A L T E R JAMES LEIGHTON?]

Kelmscott House, Upper Mall, Hammersmith November 8 [1890]

Dear Sir 1 I don't understand: there were missing 3 leaves of table and one of text: (I forget the signature) besides one leaf defective. 2 I k n o w M r Walker photographed all these; because I saw the negatives: there was (recto) a w o o d c u t o n the recto of missing leaf of text. Mr. Burt 3 must either have mislaid M r Walker's negative of the leaf of text; or else y o u have b e e n misled again by your (co) correspondent's error w h i c h I corrected before. I will call o n M o n d a y m o r n i n g however in any case; and try to bring up the perfect copy with m e . Yours truly W. Morris MS: McMinn Papers. 1 Probably Walter James Leighton (see letter no. 1726, n. 1). 2 For the book Morris discusses in this letter, see letter no. 1758 and notes 2-6. 3 See letter no. 1758, n. 5.

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1890 / L E T T E R 1785 · T o SAMUEL REEVES

1786 Kelmscott House, Upper Mall, Hammersmith November 11 [1890]

Dear C o m r a d e 1 All right. 2 Morning Evening

H o w Shall we live T h e n ? 3 Art for the People. 4

or reverse if you like. Yours frat: W Morris MS: Texas. ' Samuel Reeves (1862-1930), secretary of the Liverpool Socialist Society from 1889 to 1892 (in which year it joined with the Liverpool Fabian Society). A founder of the Democratic Federation in Liverpool in 1882, he was also to take a lead in the forming of the Independent Labour Party in 1893. Subsequently, he was repeatedly an unsuccessful candidate in Liverpool municipal elections, achieving office only in 1928, when he became a member of the council of the town of Bootle. 2 Presumably Reeves had asked Morris to talk at a meeting of the Liverpool Socialist Society (see note 1 above). However, LeMire lists no lectures in Liverpool in 1890 or 1891. As for the lectures Morris names here, they present a further problem. LeMire gives (p. 314) March 2, 1890, as the last delivery of "How Shall We Live Then?"; and October 20, 1890 (p. 306) as that of "Art for the People." See also notes 3 and 4 below. 3 The text of this lecture has been published by Paul Meier in International Review of Social History, 16 (1971), 217-40. LeMire lists (p. 314) five deliveries but gives the date of the last as March 25, 1890. Since the postmark of the present card to Reeves is clearly November 1890, Morris presumably gave the talk at least once more, i.e., in Liverpool. 4 LeMire indicates (p. 284) this talk was also called "Of the Origins of Ornamental Art." For the text, see LeMire, pp. 136-57.

1786 · T o BERNARD Q U A R I T C H

Kelmscott House, Upper Mall, Hammersmith November 15, 1890

Dear Mr. Quaritch I return the draft agreement: 1 the only difficulty w h i c h is merely formal arises o u t of the d o u b t w h e t h e r Heimskringla 2 shall be in 3 vols, or 4: Perhaps we had better say 4 3 w i t h o u t more to do; as the 4th w o u l d n a t u rally have the notes attached to it, 4 or at all events might have the indexes for the w h o l e work. 5 Yours very truly William Morris

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MS: Quaritch. 1 For the agreement in its final form, see letter no. 1787, n. 3. 2 By Snorri Sturluson (1178-1241): the full title in translation is The Stories of the Kings of Norway Called the Round World (Heimskringla). Morris and Magnusson had begun their translation in 1872 (see Volume I, letter no. 163, and n. 2). 3 The Heimskringla was published in four volumes (Vols. 3-6 of the Saga Library). The contents of each volume are as follows: VOLUME 1 (1893): The Preface of Snorri Sturlason; The Story of the Ynglings; The Story of Halfdan the Black; The Story of Harald Hairfair; The Story of Hakon the Good; The Story of King Harald Greycloak and of Earl Hakon the Son of Sigurd; The Story of King Olaf Tryggvison. VOLUME 2 (1894): The Story of Olaf the Holy, The Son of Harald; Explanations of the Metaphors in the Verses. VOLUME 3 (1895): The Story of Magnus the Good; The Story of Harald the Hardredy; The Story of Olaf the Quiet; The Story of Magnus Barefoot; The Story of Sigurd the Jerusalem-farer, Eystein, and Olaf; The Story of Magnus the Blind and Harald Gilli; The Story of Ingi, Son of Harald, and his Brethren; The Story of Hakon Shoulder-Broad; The Story of King Magnus, Son of Erling; Explanations of the Metaphors in the Verses. VOLUME 4 (1905): Preface; Introductory. Snorri Sturlason (The Chief; The Author); Index: (Names of Persons and Peoples; Names of Places; Subjects); Corrections; Genealogies. 4 The first volume of the Heimskringla contains a "Translators' Note," which reads in part as follows: "As this work is to be published in four volumes, we think it best to keep the general body of Notes for the last; only printing in each volume an explanation of the metaphors contained in the staves of verse which occur in it." Prefacing Vol. 3, it might be added, is a further note that reads in part: " N o time will be lost in bringing this somewhat laborious work to a speedy conclusion." 5 As Morris anticipated, the indexes (see note 3 above) were cumulative.

1787 · T o BERNARD Q U A R I T C H

Kelmscott House, Upper Mall, Hammersmith November 16 [1890]

Dear Mr. Quaritch For the copyright of the ensuing vol: of the Saga Library, the Eyrbyggia Saga, 1 and whatever other matter seems necessary to make a satisfactory vol. I w o u l d charge £ 2 0 0 (two h u n d r e d pounds.) As to Heimskringla, I believe it will make 3 stout vol: I would charge £ 2 0 0 (two hundred) a vol: i.e. £ 6 0 0 (six hundred) in all. B u t in case it should seem desirable to bring out the b o o k in 4 vols 2 I would n o t charge anything extra for the extra vol, but w o u l d let the price be £ 6 0 0 for the w h o l e Heimskringla

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If you agree with these terms would you kindly draw up an agreement for me to sign.3 Of course I should have the 6 copies large paper of these and all vols of the Library. Yours very truly William Morris MS: Quaritch. 1 See letter no. 1783, n. 3. 2 The Heimskringla was brought out in four volumes. See letter no. 1786, n. 3. 3 There had been a separate and earlier agreement for Vol. 1 (see letter no. 1731, n. 4). The present agreement, dated November 17, 1890, deals with the remaining five volumes of the Saga Library: Vol. 2 (Eyrhyggja Saga) and Vols. 3—6 (the four volumes of the Heimskringla) and reads as follows: Agreement between William Morris and Bernard Quaritch London November 17, 1890 Agreement between respecting Mr. William Morris two works to form part of Kelmscott House of the Saga Library, viz. Upper Mall. translations of the Hammersmith Eyrbiggia Saga I vol. and and the Mr. Bernard Quaritch Heimskringla, in 4 vols, of i 5 Piccadilly London 1. Mr. Morris undertakes to translate and carry through the press the two works stated above. 2. Mr. Quaritch agrees for himself, Executor or Assigns to pay for that work and the copyright the sum of Eight Hundred pounds Stirling 3. This said sum of £800 to be due as follows: One hundred pounds on the delivery of the Manuscript of the Eyrbiggia Saga. One hundred pounds on the completion of the printing of the volume. One hundred and fifty pounds on delivery of the first portion of the MS. of the Heimskringla. One hundred and fifty pounds on the completion of the printing of the second volume. One hundred and fifty pounds on the delivery of the Manuscript for the third volume, and One hundred and fifty pounds on completion of the printing of the last volume. 4. Mr. Morris to receive free of charge six Large Paper copies of each volume. Bernard Quaritch William Morris

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L E T T E R S OF W I L L I A M

MORRIS

1788 · T o W I L F R I D SCAWEN B L U N T

Kelmscott House, Upper Mall, Hammersmith November 19 [1890]

M y dear Blunt I have put off writing to have m o r e news first of my type-founding adventure. 1 I think n o w that I shall be ready to set to work in about 3 perhaps earlier. 2 I shall of course be very pleased to print your

months book,

3

if I may have my o w n way about the get u p 4 — w h i c h , I take it is

w h a t you want. Yours very truly William Morris MS: V&A. Published: Peterson, Bibliog., 9. ' The Kelmscott Press. 2 On January 12, 1891, a cottage, No. 16 Upper Mall, Hammersmith, was taken to house the Kelmscott Press; a trial page was printed on January 31, 1891; the first chapter of The Glittering Plain was set up in late February; and the first sheet was probably printed on March 2, 1891. See Cockerell, "History," pp. 141-42. 3 Blunt's book was The Love-Lyrics & Songs of Proteus. It was to be the third book published by the Kelmscott Press, following right after Morris's own Poems by the Way (see letter no. 1860, n. 2), and was finished on January 26, 1892. The full title reads as follows: The Love-Lyrics & Songs of Proteus by Wilfrid Scawen Blunt with the Love-Sonnets of Proteus by the Same Author Now Reprinted in Their Full Text with many Sonnets Omitted from the Earlier Editions. The book was sold by Reeves and Turner. (For the history of the publication of this book, see letters no. 1837; no. 1938; no. 1939; no. 1947; and no. 1971; and notes to these letters). 4 Morris probably did in most respects, choosing among other elements the Golden type. But the initials were printed in red at Blunt's request, and against Morris's recommendation (see letter no. 1943 and n. 4).

1789 · T o CHISWICK P R E S S

[CHARLES THOMAS JACOBI?]

Kelmscott House, Upper Mall, Hammersmith November 20 [1890]

Dear Sir (Eyrbyggia Saga) 1 Please send m e the leaf of copy w h i c h faces the 1st page of matter 2 as there are some corrections o n it, and I cannot revise the proof till I have it Yrs truly W Morris MS: Bodleian. 1 See letter no. 1783, n. 3.

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1890 I L E T T E R

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2

The first page of matter is page 3, and on it the text of "The Story of the Ere-Dwellers" begins. Opposite is a map, "of the Country of the Ere-Dwellers Story." The map is to be viewed lengthwise.

1790 · T o [ELLIS AND ELVEY?]

Kelmscott House, Upper Mall, Hammersmith November 26 [1890?]

Dear Sirs 1 T h a n k you for y o u r note & list. O n the w h o l e I am content, as I was not anxious for the Bible or the Chronicle. Yours truly William Morris MS: UCLA. 1 See Volume II, letter no. 1118, n. 1.

1791 · T o BERNARD Q U A R I T C H

Kelmscott House, Upper Mall, Hammersmith November 26, 1890

Dear Sir Many thanks for cheque for £ 1 5 0 1 duly received last night. I am very anxious to see a copy of the 1st vol: and to see h o w it is taken by the press 2 Yours very truly William Morris MS: Quaritch. 1 Probably the second payment for Vol. 1 of the Saga Library, sent because the printing was completed (although the volume was not issued until 1891), as had been stipulated in provision 2 of the July 3, 1890 agreement between Morris and Quaritch. For the contents of the volume, see letter no. 1783, n. 1. 2 By "copy," Morris presumably means a bound copy; and by "the press" means reviews or notices in periodicals. For Morris's response to a review in the Pall Mall Gazette, see letter no. 1798 and n. 1.

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L E T T E R S OF WILLIAM

MORRIS

1792 · T o SECRETARIES OF BRANCHES OF THE SOCIALIST LEAGUE

(Late Hammersmith Branch S.L.

Kelmscott House, Upper Mall, Hammersmith London W [November 26? 1890] Dear Comrade We think it proper to write to you a brief explanation of the action which the Hammersmith Branch of the Socialist League has thought it necessary to take in separating itself from the League. 1 It has been impossible for us to be blind to the fact that there have been once more growing up two parties in the League o n e of which has been tending more and more towards Anarchism, and the other opposed to that tendency. T h e paper of the League, the " C o m m o n w e a l " , has by a vote of the last Conference been p u t into the hands of those w h o represent the Anarchist views, and the majority of the council are of that way of thinking: and several articles have appeared in the " C o m m o n w e a l " with the approbation of the majority of the Council, which we have felt did not represent o u r opinions. U n d e r these circumstances there were two courses for us to pursue; first, to remain in the League and oppose whatever seriously thwarted our views; and secondly, to withdraw from it and carry o n our propaganda independently. We have chosen the second course because we believe in the sincerity of o u r comrades with w h o m we disagree, and we think, however much they might be disposed to yield to us, and to keep articles which w e should n o t approve of out of the paper, they could n o t do so without looking upon us as a drag upon their freedom of speech and action. A n d moreover, a great part of our time, which should be spent in attacking Capitalism, would have to be wasted in bickering with o u r comrades. Therefore, we think it much better to retire in a friendly way, keeping our freedom and n o t interfering with that of others; and thus we have formally withdrawn ourselves from the League. We have constituted ourselves under the name of the "Hammersmith Socialist Society" and we hope and believe that o u r efforts in pushing forward Socialism will be rather stimulated than retarded by the new position that we have been forced into: and that we shall take every opportunity, whenever we feel ourselves able to do so, of acting cordially with all bodies of Socialists both in and out of the Socialist League. 2 MS: Ham. Min. Book. Published: Mackail, II, 239-40. 1 E. P. Thompson writes (p. 571) that this letter was sent to the branches of the Socialist League after the Hammersmith Branch officially severed its connection with the S.L. and was renamed the Hammersmith Socialist Society, with Emery Walker as Secretary and Morris as Treasurer. The letter was sent to the Glasgow, Oxford, Manchester, Norwich,

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1890 I L E T T E R

1793

Design by Walter Crane of emblem for the Hammersmith Socialist Society.

Leicester, and Yarmouth Branches in the provinces, and to the East London, North London, Streatham, and "Commonweal Group" Branches in London. 2 The status of the present text as a letter for this edition is highly problematic. Mackail says (II, 239) that the document was a letter written by Morris; but the only surviving holograph is signed by Emery Walker. My admittedly unsatisfactory resolution of the problem has been to use the holograph (the only full text we have) and assume that Walker, as Secretary, signed a communication that Morris had actually written.

1793 · T o E I R I K R MAGNUSSON

Kelmscott House,

Upper Mall, Hammersmith November 27, 1890 M y dear Magnusson T h e printers thought you wouldn't want a proof to keep till the first one had been corrected; 1 hence their apparent stinginess: however if more convenient you can have o n e from the first and I will so order it. As to sending the proof to m e , it will obviously be better to p u t all the corrections o n one proof; so it will b e more convenient for m e to wait till I get your corrections so that I may embody t h e m o n (mine) my proof along with my o w n corrections. As to dealing with your corrections; I should n o t think of altering them without conference with you, except where they are mere matters of style: in that case I would give them all consideration, b u t should consider my view the final one; as n o b o o k can be written by two people.

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MORRIS

A detail in this sheet: Kiallak/ings 2 seems to m e cacaphonous (in English) and if it is possible to leave o u t the 1 I should like to do so. If the Icelanders were dealing with our tribes they would form the name of multitude according to their tongue; so might we n o t logically do the same with them? However I leave this to you. I fear we must leave Holkin-raza 3 to the veil of its native tongue. Map—all arrangements have been made to have (the) it on o n e p. facing the f"TT~ 1 beginning of the text and to print it with the type. 4 We can J **' I make it a good size without any margin save its narrow border I I and it can read longwise if necessary. I think it will look I I much prettier so; but if it seems indispensable to make it 2. page it can be done—only we must settle it before the first revise goes to press. This is all I can think of to say. Except that I shall have the pleasure of sending you a cheque for £ 3 0 tomorrow. 5 I think we had best get the map in hand as soon as possible. I shall be in Cambridge on 11 D e c and shall hope to see you then. 6 Yours very truly William Morris MS: Iceland. 1 For Vol. 2 of the Saga Library (see letter no. 1789 and n. 1). 2 One of the families in the Eyrbyggja Saga (Vol. 2 of the Saga Library). The final spelling used in the text (presumably because of Morris's preference) is Kiallekings. The Kiallekings are described (p. 337) in the Index as "the descendants of Biorn the Easterner and of Biorn the Strong." 3 Like the Kiallekings (see note 2 above), Holkin-raza is a family name in the Eyrbyggja Saga. 4 See letter no. 1789 and n. 2. 5 Presumably Magnusson's share of the £150 received by Morris from Quaritch (see letter no. 1791 and n. 1). 6 O n December 11, 1890, Morris spoke on the protection of ancient buildings, at a meeting at Trinity College, Cambridge, sponsored by the S.P.A.B. and the Master of the College, Henry Montagu Butler (1833-1918). Dr. James Porter (1827-1900), the Master of Peterhouse, was chairman. See LeMire, p. 285. See also S.P.A.B. Annual Report for 1891, p. 16.

1794 · T o BERNARD Q U A R I T C H

Kelmscott House,

Upper Mall, Hammersmith [December 1, 1890?] Dear Mr. Quaritch T h a n k you for the copy of vol. I. It looks very well I think: only I rather wish you hadn't stuck my name outside o n the back: 1 it would [ 236 ]

1890 / L E T T E R 1795 have been better to p u t yours as publisher. T h e binder has p u t in map N o III upside d o w n in the copy which you have sent me: 2 I hope h e has n o t done it in other copies. Will you kindly send me 1 doz of the small paper copies in the ordinary way of business. 3 Also besides my gratuitous large papers, 4 I will ask you to reserve for m e 4 copies to be duly paid for. Yours very truly William Morris MS: Quaritch. 1 Morris refers to the lettering on the spine, which reads: "The Saga I Library I Vol. I I Howard I The I Halt / William / Morris I Magnusson." 2 The "Map of the Country of the Hen Thorir Saga," facing p. 125. 3 That is, to be paid for by Morris. 4 See letter no. 1752, n. 3.

1795 · RECIPIENT UNKNOWN

Kelmscott House,

Upper Mall, Hammersmith December 2 [1890?]1 Dear Sir I am very sorry but I cannot possibly come o n the 8th Dec: I have an engagement (prior to yours to lecture at Manchester o n the Sunday & should therefore be at Manchester o n the morning of the day I was to see you. N o w I am n o t very well & I really cannot manage the double j o u r ney so I must ask you to p u t the lecture off till the days are somewhat longer. Yours truly William Morris MS: Dunlap Coll. 1 The dating of this letter is highly conjectural. The reason for placing it in 1890 is that Morris was apparently still lecturing, but he was ill, two facts that characterize his situation in 1890. However, if this letter was written in 1890, the Sunday to which he refers is presumably December 7, or December 14; and there is no lecture in Manchester listed in LeMire for either date. The further fact—making it even possible that Morris never gave the lecture he mentions here (and thus further complicating the dating)—is that there is no lecture at all after December 2 (the partial date on the holograph) listed by LeMire for the December of any year, in Manchester.

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L E T T E R S OF WILLIAM 1796

MORRIS Kelmscott House, Upper Mall, Hammersmith December 5 [1890]

· T o JOHN BRUCE GLASIER

(Note this is private: I mean the very words are. Dear Glazier I have seen (Walk) your letter to Walker anent the League & the H . Society, 1 and am thinking that perhaps you may think I owe you an apology or at least an explanation so here it is; I hope not a long one. In the first place I did not write to (it) you before, because I wanted to avoid all appearance of plotting or colloquing. So much for my apparent neglect of you. As to the event itself; there is really little to say beyond the circular, (sent only to the branches & the Council) 2

John Bruce Glasier, c. 1919.

238

1890 I L E T T E R

1796

The whole thing lies in this, that; as of course you noticed in the last conference, there were two parties in the League the old communist one, with which it began, & the anarchist Now supposing these two parties remaining in the League, (are) each must necessarily try to use the other for purposes which it did not approve of. Hence constant quarrel; one party always attacking the other instead of the common enemy: I have gone through this, as you well know before, and I am determined (to) never to stand it again. As soon as there are two parties in any body I am in—then out I go. Yet you should know that the H. Branch would have gone out six months (g) ago if it had not been for respect of my sentiments; they have been very discontented for a long while. As to detail: please understand the H.B. though as numerous as all the rest of the League I think, had no power on the council: if we had stayed in and fought the matter we should have been outvoted every time by at least 8 to 3, so what was the use of our being there? Something I might have done in keeping Commonweal rational but only by threatening withdrawal of supplies: (to) such a censorship of the piper would be too odious for me to endure. And again what would have been the use since I was in any case going to withdraw my subsidy at the end of the year, as I now have done, paying all up to the end. Nay, supposing I had gone on with that subsidy, it would not have saved the paper which was making a fresh deficit every week. I must have doubled it, as I did the early part of the year—up to the Conference in fact.3 Well now what were to do? go once a week to a private hell to squabble causelessly with men that after all we like?4 Or withdraw from the Council? That would have been only a covert and less honest way of leaving the League, and would have hampered both them and us. Call a general Conference? To what end? What more could we discover at it than that we didn't agree? Besides these Conferences are really bogus affairs. In short my dear boy whenever you want to get rid of me you need never put on your boots. I never wait to be kicked down stairs. (Don't misunderstand the affair: we have borne with it all a long time, and at last have gone somewhat suddenly.5 For my part I foresaw all this when we allowed the Bloomsbury Branch to be expelled.6 They deserved it; for it was that pig of a Donald who began it all;7 but they being out, it was certain that the anarchists would get the upper hand. I rather wonder at your being surprised. My article following on Nicol's folly8 should have told you what was up. I meant it as 'farewell'; It was and was meant to be directly opposed to anything the anarchist side would want to say or do. If I had remained in the League after that I must have attacked their position persistently. And why should I? I shouldn't have converted them. You understand I don't want to influence your action up there: none of [ 239 ]

L E T T E R S OF WILLIAM

MORRIS

us do. Your position is different from ours; because you are so far away that you cannot take any part in the management; whereas in my j u d g e ment we must as long as we profess to belong. We have no wish to proselytize amongst the League branches. Any one can join us w h o pleases League or no League; but we dont ask them. And I have no doubt that we shall be just as good friends with you whatever you do. 9 Personally I must tell you that I feel twice the man since I have spoken out. I dread a quarrel above all things, and I have had this one on my mind for a year or more. But I am glad it is over at last; for in good truth I would almost as soon join a White-Rose Society as an anarchist one; such n o n sense as I deem the latter You will have our manifesto 10 soon; and I know you will agree with it; as it will disclaim both parliamentarism and anarchism. Tb change the subject; I am going to send you my new translationbook 1 1 tomorrow. News from Nowhere is already printed in America, and I am going to print it here for a shilling: 12 the Yank, I fancy, is a dollar. Well goodbye and don't be downcast because we have been driven to admit plain facts. It has been the curse of our movement that we would lie to ourselves about our progress & victories & the like. Aha! What do you think of the awakened conscience of Mrs. Grundy re Mr. Parnell? 13 Ain't it delicious? as Mrs. Mowcher says?14 Yours fraternally William Morris MS: Walthamstow. Published: Glasier, 203-205; Henderson, Letters, 328-30. 1 See letter no. 1792 and notes. 2 For the circular letter and branches to which it was sent, see letter no. 1792 and n. 2. 3 The November 8, 1890, issue of Commonweal seems to have been the last that Morris subsidized. It was the last issue, in any event, to bear the words, "printed and published by William Morris and Joseph Lane." As a result of the new financial difficulties Commonweal reverted with the December issue to a monthly, adding a subtitle under The Commonweal: "A Journal of Revolutionary Socialism." 4 Although the individuals with whom Morris quarreled at meetings were probably numerous, one who reproved him by name in print (and presumably therefore also at meetings) was Kitz, who in his "Notes" for the November 29, 1890, issue of Commonweal had written (p. 380) he thought Morris "mistaken in imagining . . . that Socialists have no other task but to educate the people. . . . [B]efore the task of education can even be begun the agitators, or 'disturbance-breeders' if you please, must be at work." 5 Of interest is Nicoll's account, years after the fact, of the precipitating reason for Morris's leaving the Socialist League: "I promised WM to look after Mr Samuels' contributions to the Commonweal in future. But I could not stop him from making speeches, and I believe that the speech at the Kay Street Radical Club on Nov. 11th, about shooting Justice Grantham, forced W M to sever all connection w/ us. He had been hesitating for some time, and

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1797

this decided him" (Nicoll, p. 2). For earlier conflict between Morris and Samuels regarding Commonweal, see letters no. 1592 and n. 2; and no. 1736 and n. 4. 6 See Volume II, letters no. 1492 and n. 2; and no. 1499 and notes 4 and 5. 7 Alexander Karley Donald, see Volume II, letter no. 1270, n. 6. 8 Morris's last article in Commonweal—titled "Where Are We Now?"—appeared in the issue of November 15, 1890 (pp. 361-62). In the October 18, 1890, issue (pp. 329-30) ancj again in the November 1 issue (p. 348), Nicoll (see Volume II, letter no. 1267, n. 4), thi new editor of Commonweal (see letter no. 1736 and notes), printed articles urging revolu4 tionary warfare, saying that the time for education was over—a direct rebuttal of Morris— and calling for a No Rent Movement and a General Strike. 9 Presumably by "you" Morris means the Glasgow Branch of the S.L. Presumably, too, Glasier and his Glasgow Branch remained in the League; and whether there is a connection or not, there are no surviving letters to Glasier in 1891 and very few thereafter. 10 The manifesto, not quite completed at this date (see letter no. 1797) disavowed both Anarchism and Parliamentarianism, as Morris indicates here it would, and rejected as well State Socialism as a goal. For text of the manifesto, see Appendix A. 11 Vol. 1 of the Saga Library. 12 See letter no. 1782 and notes. 13 In 1890, Charles Stewart Parnell (1846-1891), the Irish leader in Parliament who had advocated legislative independence for Ireland, was named as corespondent in a divorce suit brought by Captain William Henry O'Shea (1840-1905) against his wife, Katharine O'Shea (1845-1921), who later married Parnell. Despite the scandal that followed, and a letter from Gladstone urging the rejection of Parnell, the Irish members chose him as their chairman before Parliament reopened on November 25, 1890. But on November 29, Gladstone undercut Parnell by publicly refuting Liberal promises for a new Home Rule Bill: promises Parnell had announced in a manifesto to the Irish people. Finally, the Roman Catholic Archbishops and Bishops of Ireland issued a circular letter, on December 3, declaring Parnell no longer fit to be the Parliamentary leader of the Irish nation, and a few days later, a majority of Irish M.P.'s elected Justin McCarthy (1830-1912) as their new leader for that session. See Annual Register, 1890, Part II, p. 64 ff; see also F.S.L. Lyons, Charles Stewart Parnell (New York: Oxford University Press, 1977), pp. 501-29. 14

1797

OfDaW(J Copperfield.

· FROM A LETTER T O

[GEORGIANA BURNE-JONES ] '

[December 9, 1890]

I have got to rewrite the manifesto for the new Hammersmith Society, 2 and that I must do this very night: it is a troublesome and difficult job, and I had so much rather go on with my Saga work. TEXT: Mackail, II, 240. 1 Mackail, in his notebook, indicates the letter from which this excerpt was taken was to Georgiana Burne-Jones and was dated December 9, 1890. 2 The Hammersmith Socialist Society. See letters no. 1792, n. 1; and no. 1796 and n. 10 (for the manifesto).

[ 241 ]

LETTERS 1798

OF WILLIAM

MORRIS

· T o THE EDITOR

OF T H E Pall Mall Gazette

Kelmscott House, U p p e r Mall, H a m m e r s m i t h D e c e m b e r 13 [1890]

Sir, Will you allow me to correct an error in your notice 1 of the Saga Library. Jon Arnason's folk tales were translated not by Sir G. W. Dasent, but by my friend, Mr. Eirikr Magnusson, helped by Mr. George E. T. Powell.2 Moreover, I should not like it to be thought that I consider the Icelanders "ungrateful" to me (whatever that may mean). 3 I believe that I am estimated rather above than below my deserts by the people of that country, where nature is so rugged, and man so kind and hospitable. I am, Sir, Yours obediently, William Morris TEXT: PMG, December 15, 1890, 2. 1 The review in the Pall Mall Gazette, which appeared (p. 2) in the December 13, 1890 issue, read in part: "The Saga Library is an excellent idea. We have already a fair share of Saga literature, and we have the Eddas, and we have also Dasent's translation of the folk tales which Jon Arnason, of Hafnafiord, gathered up from the lips of the people." 2 Jon Arnason (1819-1889) collected the tales and published them in 1862 under the title Icelandic Legends. The translation by Eirikr Magnusson and George E. J. Powell (1842— 1882) was published by Richard Bentley in 1864. 3 The reviewer wrote that the names of the two editors, William Morris and Eirikr Magnusson, "will command attention in England and respect in Iceland, though truly it says too little for Icelandic gratitude that Mr. William Morris is almost unknown among Icelanders in their own country."

1799 · T o B E R N A R D Q U A R I T C H

Kelmscott H o u s e ,

U p p e r Mall, H a m m e r s m i t h D e c e m b e r 13, 1890 R e c e i v e d o f Mr. B e r n a r d Q u a r i t c h t h e s u m o f £ 1 0 0 1st instalment o n Eyrbyggia Saga as per a g r e e m e n t . 1 W i t h c o m p l i m e n t s and t h a n k s . William M o r r i s 2 MS: Quaritch. 1 The agreement for Vol. 2 of the Saga Library. See letter no. 1787, n. 3. 2 This note, clearly a receipt, is stamped and crossed.

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1801

1800 · T o ANDREW WHITE T U E R

Kelmscott House, Upper Mall, Hammersmith December 15 [1890]

Dear Sir 1 T h e lecture 2 was n o t written; n o r had I any notes. T h e r e was notice of it of any kind. 3 Thanks for your offer4 Yours truly, William Morris MS: Bury Coll. 1 Andrew White Tuer (1838-1900), a publisher and writer whose publishing business became in 1892 the Leadenhall Press. He had a special interest in art, particularly copperplate color engravings, and among his writings was Bartotozzi and His Works (1882). For Tuer's interests as a publisher, see Peterson, History, pp. 29—31. 2 Presumably a reference to Morris's speech on behalf of the S.P.A.B. given at Trinity College, Cambridge, December 11, 1890. Although no text remains, the talk was reported (pp. 286-87) in the Trinity College Trident, I (1890-1891); and in the S.P.A.B. annual Report for 1891, p. 16. The Trident noted (p. 287) that Morris had "insisted on the historical value of old buildings . . . and urged that . . . ancient buildings should be regularly used, but . . . where buildings had to be closed, structural repairs should be thoroughly, though sparingly, attended to." See also letter no. 1793, n. 6. 3 Presumably Morris means there was no notice of the talk after he gave it; but see note 2 above. 4 Possibly Tuer had offered to publish the lecture.

1801 · T o JOSEPH BATCHELOR

Kelmscott House, Upper Mall, Hammersmith December 16 [1890]

Dear Sir1 M i g h t I ask h o w you are getting on with the sample lot of paper w h i c h you kindly promised to make for m e . 2 I think it is about the time w h e n you said I might expect to hear some news of it. I am Dear Sir Yours very truly William Morris MS: Abrams Coll. 'Joseph Batchelor. See letter no. 1779, n. 1. 2 See letter no. 1779 and notes.

[ 243 ]

L E T T E R S OF WILLIAM 1802 · T o JOHN BRUCE GLASIER

MORRIS Kelmscott House,

Upper Mall, Hammersmith December 16 [1890] M y dear Glasier Thanks for letter: I might so much, that at present I will say very little: In the first place I agree with you almost wholly, including Parnell. 1 In the 2nd I am n o t going to retire. In the 3rd w e musn't trouble ourselves about the babble of the press. In the 4th we Hammersmithers will, I have no doubt, be eager to j o i n (an) in any arrangement which would bring us together. Lastly as to the paper I don't like papers; and we have after a very long experiment found out that a sectional paper cannot be run: two things we might do or might be done. 1st we might set u p a penny monthly merely as a means of communication. 2 2nd (but) a general Socialist paper might be started to include all sections. As to the 1st I would do nothing in it as long as a monthly C o m m o n w e a l exists; I would rather support that if I could. 3 As to the 2nd It looks promising: but you of course know the difficulties: W h o is be Editor? H o w will it work under the jealousies of the different sections? Are the Anarchists to be in it? &c &c. Pamphlets are good: Won't you write us one? For the rest speaking & lecturing as much as sickened h u m a n nature can bear are the only things as far as I can see. I am in hopes that I may manage to come your way in the spring 4 & then we can talk these matters more at length & I could tell you things in speaking which in writing slip out of the head. I want to see Glasse & the Aberdeeners also: only of course I shall avoid any influencing the League branches. W i t h best wishes Yours fraternally William Morris MS: Walthamstow. Published: Glasier, 206; Henderson, Letters, 330-31. 1 See letter no. 1796, n. 13. 2 In October 1891, the Society began issuing the Hammersmith Socialist Record as a monthly news bulletin to disseminate information within the Society rather than be for public sale. An announcement on p. 1 of the first issue reads that the sheet had been established "to assist in the socialist Propaganda as far as possible, and to contain a list of proposed Lectures for Sunday evenings, fixtures and arrangements for the ensuing month, and such other information as may from time to time be thought advisable." Sam Bullock (see letter no. 1828, n. 3) was the editor. Glasier became a contributor. The Hammersmith Socialist Record was published intermittently until 1895. 3 Morris may be expressing here a tolerant attitude toward Commonweal to relieve GIasier's concern about his defection from the Socialist League; in the event, Morris did not continue to support or write for Commonweal. 4 There is no record of Morris's having gone to Scotland in the spring of 1891 to lecture, or for any other purpose.

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1890 1803

/ LETTER

1804

· T o EIRIKR MAGNUSSON

Merton Abbey,

Surrey December 16, 1890 M y dear Magnusson I have m u c h pleasure in enclosing a cheque for £50 your half of the 1st payment made by Q. H e will pay the other £100, of which you will have half, w h e n the b o o k is printed. 1 I suppose you saw Saturday's P.M.G., and also my correction of the writer's blunder 2 the article was meant well, but was not too learned. I should be glad of the draft of the map as soon as convenient. 3 Excuse haste. Yours very truly William Morris MS: Iceland. 1 The first payment for Vol. 2 of the Saga Library. See letter no. 1799 and n. 1. 2 See letter no. 1799. 3 Morris probably refers to a sketch of the map for "The Story of the Heath Slayings," which appears on p. 191 of Vol. 2. (It is the second of two maps in this volume; for the first, see letter no. 1789 n. 2.)

1804 · T o J O S E P H B A T C H E L O R

Kelmscott H o u s e ,

Upper Mall, Hammersmith December 19 [1890] Dear Sir T h a n k you very m u c h for your letter & for having taken so m u c h pains with my j o b . 1 T h e lay of the wires in the m o u l d is quite right, and satisfactory in all ways; but as to the size, the printers say that the double sheet 3 2 " χ 1 1 " makes an awkward size, on the other hand I should not have m u c h minded using my sheet of 3 2 " χ 2 2 " as a quarto; therefore if the (mo) sheet can be made to that size 3 2 " χ 2 2 " without causing serious delay or expense, I should prefer it; if not please make it 16" χ 1 1 " . T h e printers say it will cost n o more to print this than it will the double sheet 32 χ 11. You see this paper will be wholly printed by the hand-press. 2 T h a n k i n g you again I am Dear Sir Yours truly William Morris

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OF WILLIAM

MORRIS

One of the Albion presses used at the Kelmscott Press.

t 246 ]

1890 I L E T T E R 1805 MS: Abrams Coll. Published: Hayle Mill, 31. 1 See letter no. 1779 and notes. 2 In January 1891, Morris installed a printing press at No. 16 Upper Mall (see letter no. 1788, n. 2). It was an Albion hand-press, bought second hand. Sparling writes (p. 68): "Except for the change to iron from wood, and the substitution of levers for the screw, this press was essentially similar to Caxton's; indeed, at the end of an hour or so, Caxton would have been comfortably at home with the Press as a whole." For the press, see illustration, p. 246.

1805 · T o HENRY MAYERS HYNDMAN

December 22 [1890]

M y dear H y n d m a n I h o p e you will excuse m e for n o t answering y o u r letter, 1 for w h i c h I heartily apologize. T h e fact is that it was difficult to answer at the time, because n o t h i n g was definitely settled as to Commonweal,2

and afterwards

I let the matter slip out of my m e m o r y amidst my multifarious businesses. I n o w thank you for y o u r friendly letter, but really I have c o m e to the conclusion that n o form of journalism is suited to m e , and I shall n o t write at present in any j o u r n a l . 3 I want to pull myself together after w h a t has been, to m e at least, a defeat; and I have got a lot of literary w o r k o n hand including t w o works m o r e or less propagandist; to wit my " N e w s from N o w h e r e " 4 and the b o o k that I have been w o r k i n g at with Bax 5 w h i c h I am at last going to tackle. 6 W i t h best wishes from Yours very truly, William Morris TEXT: Hyndman, The Record of an Adventurous Life, 331. Published: Henderson, Letters, 331. 1 This letter has not survived. 2 See letters no. 1736, n. 6; and no. 1796, n. 3. 3 Hyndman apparently had asked Morris to contribute to Justice. Morris seems to have distinguished between journalistic articles and lectures: In 1891 and 1894, the texts of several lectures appeared in print injustice: "Idiots and Idiocy," given on February 15, 1891; "Seven Years Ago and Now," delivered on August 30, 1891, and published injustice (p. 1) on September 5, 1891; a speech in support of George B. Lansbury's candidature, given on February 20, 1894, and published (p. 1) injustice on February 24, 1894; "What Shall We Do Now?" delivered on March 11, 1894, and published injustice on March 10, 17, 1894. 4 See letter no. 1696, n. 3. 5 Belfort Bax. See Volume II, letter no. 979, n. 3. 6 Socialism: Its Growth and Outcome. A revision of the articles published by Morris and Bax in Commonweal in 1886 as "Socialism from the Root Up," the book was issued in 1893. See Volume IV, letter no. 2128, n. 2.

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MORRIS

1806 · T o W A L T E R T H E O D O R E WATTS-DUNTON

Kelmscott House,

Upper Mall, Hammersmith December 22 [1890] M y dear Watts I was sorry not to see y o u yesterday; but of course my wife told m e of your letter, 1 and your somewhat bold-realism, o n the subject of the thermometer; also that you were willing to be bored by the (receip ge) having my book sent you. 2 T h o u g h indeed I should have sent you o n e at once, and chanced your kicking it out of the house. Seriously I hope you will like it. T h e Howard Saga, I think the best short saga after Gunnlaug; and the other 2 3 are very good. G o o d luck in general to you, and a fine warm day to come and see us! Yours very truly William Morris MS: BL, Add. MSS. 45345. 1 This letter has not survived. 2 Vol. 1 of the Saga Library. 3 The other two are "The Story of the Banded Men" and "The Story of Hen Thorir."

1807 · T o JOSEPH BATCHELOR

Kelmscott House,

Upper Mall, Hammersmith December 23, 1890 Dear Sir Thanks for your note: 1 by all means go o n with this trial lot of paper as you think best and we can talk as to any alterations in the mould for the next lot, and after we have seen the trial. 2 I return your good wishes heartily and am Yours very truly William Morris MS: Abrams Coll. Published: Hayle Mill, 32. 1 Presumably written in response to Morris's letter of December 19 (see letter no. 1804). 2 When he says "after we have seen the trial," Morris may mean, simply, after he has inspected the paper. He may, however, be referring to the anticipated trial printing, which occurred on January 31, 1891 (see letter no. 788, n. 2).

[ 248 ]

1890 / L E T T E R 1809 1808 · T o HORACE MEERES

Merton Abbey,

Surrey December 23 189[O] Dear Sir 1 Would you do m e the kindness to see to the distribution of the e n closed *£5 amongst the Kelmscott poor people? Mrs. Morris intends writing to you on the subject, as she has some wishes as to part of it at least. I hope you are well amidst this bitter weather and send you my best wishes. I am Dear Sir Yours faithfully William Morris PML. Horace Meeres (1838-1907). From 1870 he had been vicar of Bradwell with Kelmscott. (Bradwell, like Kelmscott, is near Lechlade.) An Oxford B.A., 1860, he had been at Exeter College.

MS:

1

1809 · T o THOMAS JAMES COBDEN-SANDERSON

Kelmscott House,

Upper Mall, Hammersmith Christinas Day 1890 M y dear Sanderson T h e C o m m i t t e e passed a vote to ask you to be Editor; 1 I wonder that you have had no(t) notice of the same. As to pay I seem to see in Percival's2 note an intention of not paying the Editor. So if you please as I am n o w President 3 I will undertake the Editorship under certain conditions, rather than that there should be any boggle about the matter: those conditions are that whatever alterations or expansions there are shall be done wholly by the authors; and also that Crane be asked to undertake the editorship first, & I am only to be fallen back upon in case of need. 4 As you are one of the H o n : Sees: 5 you may consider this as an act of business o n my part. T h e £75 was certainly mentioned on Saturday as part of our assets, but I don't think it was in the balance-sheet proper. G o o d luck to y o u & yours Yours affectionately William Morris MS: Bucknell. 1 Of Arts and Crafts Essays, published in 1893 by Rivington, Percival and Co. (see Volume II, letter no. 1527, n. 2).

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OF W I L L I A M

MORRIS

2

John Guthrie Percival (d. 1914), partner with Septimus Rivington in the publishing firm "Percival and Co.," founded in September 1889. In 1893, the name was changed to "Rivington, Percival and Co." and in 1897 to "Rivington and Co." 3 Morris had just succeeded Walter Crane as president of the Arts and Crafts Exhibition Society. He held the position until his death. 4 Presumably Morris did serve as editor since it was he who wrote the preface to the Arts and Crafts Essays (see note 1 above). 5 In indicating he regards Cobden-Sanderson as one of several Honorary Secretaries, Morris may be giving the title also to Henry Longden and Ernest Radford, who in 1890 were, respectively, Honorary Treasurer and Secretary of the Arts and Crafts Exhibition Society.

1810 · T o FREDERICK STARTRIDGE ELLIS

December 31, 1890

I am very glad that y o u are getting o n so well and like the work. 1 As for me I expect to have my type in a m o n t h , 2 and shall take a r o o m 3 and see about comps. 4 at once. T h e paper also will n o t be later, t h o u g h this matters less as to o u r date of beginning. 5 O n e thing may disappoint y o u — to wit, that we cannot make a d o u b l e - c o l u m n page of it, the page will not b e wide e n o u g h . 6 For my part, I don't regret it: double c o l u m n seems to m e chiefly fit for black letter, 7 w h i c h prints up so close. Jenson did n o t print even his Pliny in double c o l u m n . 8 But it is a case of a fortiori in m o d e r n printing: because we have n o contractions, few tied letters, and w e cannot break a word with the same frankness as they could: I m e a n we can't p u t w h i o n one side and ch o n the other. This makes the spacing difficult, and a wide page desirable. Would you kindly give m e the Initial letters of the first few sheets of o u r copy; I m e a n state w h e t h e r they are A's, B s and w h a t not; I want this for our 'blooming-letters,' 9 so that I may get ready those w h i c h are most wanted. TEXT: Mackail, II, 252-253. Published: Henderson, Letters, 331-32. 1 This letter probably concerns the Kelmscott Press edition of The Golden Legend, which F. S. Ellis edited. It is apparent from what is said here that Morris still intended at this time to print The Golden Legend first. 2 The Golden type. 3 No. 16 Upper Mall. See letter no. 1788, n. 2. 4 Compositors. See letter no. 1811 and notes 1 and 3. 5 By "beginning" Morris means a start at printing The Golden Legend (see note 1 above). As earlier noted, The Glittering Plain was to be the first book printed; see letter no. 1750, n. 5. 6 It was presumably at this time Morris realized the 16-by-l 1-inch paper delivered by Batchelor would not be wide enough to print The Golden Legend in double column. Morris did not, however, abandon the idea of printing The Golden Legend first until February 1891,

[ 250 ]

1890 / L E T T E R

1721

Earliest attempt by Morris to design a floriated initial for the Kelmscott Press.

[ 251 ]

LETTERS

OF WILLIAM

MORRIS

when the paper delivered in January by Batchelor was deemed unsuitable by Morris for the book. (See letter no. 1829 and notes.) In the event, both The Golden Legend and The Glittering Plain were printed in single column. 7 Gothic or any heavy-faced type. 8 Nicolas Jenson's 1476 edition of Pliny's Historia Naturalis, one of the two Venetian incunabulae Morris had used as models for the Golden type, now being completed. For the other book, see letter no. 1734, n. 5. 9 Mackail defines "bloomers" (II, 256) as "the large floriated initials" that were characteristic of books printed at the Kelmscott Press. See illustration, p. 251. See also letter no. 1776, n. 7.

1811 · T o W I L L I A M B O W D E N

Kelmscott H o u s e ,

U p p e r Mall, H a m m e r s m i t h January 3 , 1891

Dear Sir1 Mr. Reeves 2 tells me that you would perhaps (tr) engage yourself to me as (pri) compositor & press-printer in the little typographical adventure I am planning. I should be glad to see you about the matter: could you call on me here? I shall be all Monday morning and should have an hour to spare, if you could reach me by eleven oclock. If not Thursday morning about the same time would suit me as well.3 I am Dear Sir Yours truly William Morris PML. William Bowden (b. 1844?), a retired master printer. As this letter anticipates, he was hired as compositor and pressman at the Kelmscott Press. His son, William Henry Bowden, a compositor, too, joined him in February 1891 and subsequently became overseer. Bowden's daughter, Mrs. Pine, also joined the Press, receiving the same wages as the men and becoming the first woman member of the London Society of Compositors. See Cockerell, "History," pp. 141-42; and Peterson, History, pp. 101 and 180. William Bowden had printed News from Nowhere for Reeves and Turner. 2 William D. Reeves. 3 Whether Morris saw Bowden on the Monday, January 5, or Thursday, January 8, they must have reached an agreement almost immediately. Cockerell, writing that the quarters for the Kelmscott Press were taken on January 12, 1891, adds that Bowden "had already been engaged . . ." ("History," pp. 141-42). MS:

1

[ 252 ]

1891 / L E T T E R

1812

1812 · RECIPIENT UNKNOWN

Kelmscott House, Upper Mall, Hammersmith January 4 [1891]

Dear Sir 1 C o u l d you be in about 4.30 p m tomorrow? I have been looking at the Lubeck Bible 2 (thanks for sending it) it is an exceedingly interesting b o o k : but the copy is very short, it is however a great advantage that the cuts are n o t coloured. O f course it is very dear: I should call £ 3 5 a fair price for it. Still I will have it if it is perfect. R o s : 3 says it has 500 leaves, we can only c o u n t 492; but on the other hand Mr. Cockerell cannot find any lack in it. We cannot find any collation of it in the Bibliographical works already to hand. Yours truly William Morris RS. I will bring Mr. Cockerell's notes of the b o o k . Is there a copy in the Museum4 MS: McMinn Papers. 1 Presumably an associate of Jacques Rosenthal (see note 3 below), who seems, from Morris's reference to him, to have been involved in the sale of the book discussed in this letter. 2 The Low German Bible printed at Lubeck by Stephen Arndes (d. 1519) in 1494. Morris bought the book, presumably the copy at hand (see Sotheby Catalogue [1898], lot 184). 3 Jacques Rosenthal (1854-1937). Born Jacob Rosenthal, he was a member of a Munich family of booksellers. Around 1878 he moved to Paris, where he learned much about medieval manuscripts from Leopold Delisle (see Volume IV, letter no. 2107, n. 1), the curator of the Bibliotheque Nationale. "While in Paris, Rosenthal changed his given name to Jacques. Eventually he returned to Munich, and by 1891 was in business with his brothers Ludwig and Nathan. It is possible that this letter is addressed to one of them. See Rosenthal, "Cartel, Clan or Dynasty? The Olschkis and the Rosenthals, 1859-1976," Harvard Library Bulletin, XXV, 4, October 1977. 4 There is a copy in the British Library at present (BL, IC. 9954), presumably it is the one listed in the 1892 British Museum Catalogue of Printed Books.

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]

L E T T E R S OF WILLIAM 1813 · T o BERNARD Q U A R I T C H

MORRIS Kelmscott House,

Upper Mall, Hammersmith January 7 [1891?] Dear Mr. Quaritch Thank you for the interesting letter enclosed: Everyone I have met with speaks well of the book: 1 and I think the large-paper copies look very well indeed. I heartily reciprocate your good wishes for the n e w Year and am Yours very truly William Morris MS: Brown. 1 If this letter was in fact written in January 1891, Morris was referring to Vol. 1 of the Saga Library. Anticipated in October 1890 (see letter no. 1783, n. 1), it was probably delayed until December (in an entry dated January 5, 1891, Shaw notes [Diaries, p. 685] that May had made him a present of a copy "the other day"). As for the "interesting letter" Quaritch had apparently forwarded, perhaps it spoke favorably of the book and also informatively about Icelandic literature.

1814 · T o ELLIS AND ELVEY

From Morris & Company Merton Abbey Works Surrey January 16, 1891

To Messrs. Ellis & Elvey With M r W m Morris' compliments 1 Kindly acknowledge receipt to the above address. MS: UCLA. 1 Since Morris is writing from Merton Abbey, this note may refer to a Morris and Co. product sent to the firm of Ellis and Elvey, possibly a fabric.

1815 · T o WILLIAM B O W D E N

Kelmscott House,

Upper Mall, Hammersmith January 20 [1891] Dear Sir 1 I am expecting the cases &c from Reeds 2 today so if you have time to spare you might come over tomorrow morning and oblige 3 yrs truly W Morris MS:

PML.

[ 254 ]

1891 / L E T T E R

1817

1

William Bowden (see letter no. 1811). A reference to the Fann Street foundry of Sir Charles Reed (1819-1881) and Sons, where the Golden, Troy, and Chaucer types were all cast. In 1891 Sir Charles's son, Talbot Baines Reed (see letter no. 1934, n. 1), was managing director of the foundry and it was with him that Morris primarily dealt. A note in T. B. Reed's own copy of The Glittering Plain reads: "The types for this book were cast at the Fann Street Foundry from matrices produced from punches cut by French [sic] under Mr. Morris's personal inspection and from his designs." The error in this useful note is the substitution of French for Edward Prince. See Sparling, pp. 57-58; see also Morison, p. 55. 3 Since Morris refers here to the first delivery of the Golden type and thus to the first delivery of type designed by himself, an account by Bowden of this period is apposite: "One of my earliest recollections of William Morris is of the starting of the Press. When the type came in from the founders, he was very anxious to help lay it in the cases; but not having served his time to the business, more often than not put the type into the wrong box. It was very amusing to hear him saying to himself: 'There, bother it; in the wrong box again!' But he was perfectly good-humoured, and presently ran off and came back, bustling up the path—and in my mind's eye I can see him now—without a hat, and with a bottle of wine under each arm, with which to drink the health of the Kelmscott Press" (see Sparling, p. 74). 2

1816 · T o CHISWICK PRESS

Kelmscott House, Upper Mall, Hammersmith January 20 [1891]

Dear Sirs Would you kindly send Mr. Magnusson a set of clean sheets of the Eredwellers 1 as far as it has gone: he wants t h e m to get o n with the index. 2 I shall soon be sending you copy for the appendix. 3 Yours truly William Morris MS: Bodleian. 1 Vol. 2 of the Saga Library. 2 The end material includes notes, genealogies, and an index of persons, places, and subject matter. 3 That is, the Heidarviga Saga.

1817 · T o J O H N H E N R Y M I D D L E T O N

Kelmscott House January 20, 1891

M y dear Middleton, O n e of those books of Olschki's 1 is a fine b o o k otherwise (John Zeiner, U I m , 1474) 2 and rare doubtless, and has moreover a very fine w o o d c u t border to first page and some curious initials: I am n o t buying it because

[

255

]

LETTERS

OF WILLIAM

MORRIS

1. Half-border from Albertus Magnus, De mysterio missae. Ulm, J o h n Z a i n e r , 1473. Hain,449. _ 2. and 3. T w o woodcuts, initial and type, from Boccaccio's De clan's mulieribus, printed at Ulm by John Zainer in 1473. This book contains 80 cuts and a very remarkable initial S .

F r o m Boccaccio's De Claris Mulieribus, printed at U l m by J o h a n n Zainer, 1473

[ 256 ]

1891 / L E T T E R 1817

there is, oddly enough, the same border in another of his books (by the same printer, 1475)3 which is much cheaper. This border is however so fine and so very well printed that I thought you might like it for the Fitzwilliam,4 since though I think it Jew-dear, I should have kept it if I had not got the other. The price is £15, but I daresay O. would take less. Shall I send it you to look at? I have just bought a very fine and interesting book: Speculum Humanae Salvationis (in Dutch), Culembourg, VeIdener, 1483. 5 That says little; but the point of it is that it has in it all the cuts from the block-book 6 Speculum (116)7 and 12 more seemingly of the same date. These are not recut, but are printed from the original blocks sawn in two down the columns of the canopies:8 some of these cuts are to my mind far away the best woodcuts ever done, and generally the designs are admirable: at once decorative, and serious with the devotional fervour of the best side of the Middle Ages. The date of the cutting you know is probably about 1430. Do you know if they have a copy at the University Library? If they have not I should like to show Mr. Jenkinson9 the book when I come your way. My copy belonged to the Enschede people,10 who you may know were a very old firm of type-founders. By the way I expect my press will be at work in about a month. 11 Yours affectionately, William Morris TEXT: Mackail, II, 253-54. Published: Henderson, Letters, 335. 1 Leo Samuel Olschki (1861-1940) was born Samuel Lev Olschki, into a German-Jewish family that printed religious works in Hebrew. Olschki moved to Verona in 1883, changing his name to Leo Samuel, and began to publish and sell books. He also founded two journals, Giornale Dantesco and La Bibliofilia. In 1890, he moved his business to Venice, and in 1897, to Florence. Sometime in the 1890s he befriended the bookseller Jacques Rosenthal of Munich (see letter no. 1812, n. 3); and their two families were joined when in 1912 Olschki's daughter Margherita married Rosenthal's son Erwin. Olschki died in Geneva in 1940. See Bernard M. Rosenthal, "Cartel, Clan, or Dynasty? The Olschkis and the Rosenthal·,, 1859-1976," Harvard Library Bulletin, XXV, October 1977. 2 Johann Zainer (d. 1523) established himself as a printer in UIm in 1472. He was the brother of Augsburg printer Gunther Zainer (d. 1478). 3 Probably Johannes Gritsch's Quadragesitnale, printed at UIm byjohann Zainer in 1475. The Sotheby Catalogue (1898) describes (lot 568) this edition as having a woodcut border on the first page of text, and large woodcut ornamental initials. 4 As director of the Fitzwilliam Museum, Cambridge, from 1889-1892, Middleton had purchased books from Olschki for the library. (See Mackail, II, 253.) Mr. Paul Woudhuysen, Keeper of Manuscripts and Printed Books, has informed me that there is at present no book in the Fitzwilliam printed by Zainer in 1474 and bought from Olschki; presumably Middleton decided against the purchase. 5 Needham identifies (p. 109) the book to which Morris refers as a copy of Spiegel onzer Behoudenisse, printed at Kuilenburg byjohann Veldener in 1483. Morris's copy is now in the PML.

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MORRIS

6

In a block book, each page is printed from a single block of wood on which have been carved an illustration and a caption. Steinberg writes (p. 156): "The great majority of the block-books were cheap tracts for the half-literate to whom the picture was more important than the caption, which anyway had to be very brief because of the laborious process of cutting the letters. Books of religious edifaction lent themselves most easily to this kind of mass production. . . ." Although block books are now regarded as an intermediate step between manuscript books containing woodcut illustrations and books printed from movable type, they were still produced for some years after the introduction of the latter. 7 Morris refers to one of four editions of Speculum Humanae Salvationis (the title in Latin of Spiegel onzer Behoudenisse), which are considered the earliest examples of Dutch blockbook printing. They were produced by an unknown printer or printers. Veldener acquired the original blocks, and reused them in some of his work (see McMurtrie, pp. 174-75; and note 8 below). 8 The PML Catalogue (PB) notes (item 657) that in the Veldener Spiegel onzer Behoudinesse 1483 (see note 7 above) "[t]he fifty-eight double cuts of the four early folio editions . . . are all reproduced . . . sawn in half to fit the quarto page. There are also twelve new cuts made in imitation of the older ones. . . ." 9 Francis John Henry Jenkinson (1853-1923), a fellow of Trinity College, Cambridge, and University Librarian from 1889 until he died. He was an expert on incunabula and made extensive acquisitions of fifteenth-century books for the University Library. Among his own works was an edition of Hisperka Fatnina, published in 1908. 10 The firm founded by Izaak Enschede (1681-1761) at Haarlem has survived into the twentieth century. For a history, see The House of Enschede 1703-1953 (Haarlem: Joh. Enschede en zonen, 1953). 11 Morris may here be anticipating the pulling of the first trial sheet, which occurred on January 31.

1818 · T o J O S E P H BATCHELOR

Kelmscott House, Upper Mall, Hammersmith January 24 [1891]

Dear (B)Mr Batchelor Thanks for your letter: of course I find it not easy to j u d g e from the rough sheet: I note however that the colour seems remarkably good. I think it w o u l d be better to send me samples of whatever experiments you make, as after all I might like t h e m better than you; and even if they were n o t quite satisfactory (it) the(y) paper might be good e n o u g h to use since I am pressed for time. T h e rough specimen seems to m e very good but of course I must wait till I see the smooth. 1 Yours truly William Morris to J. Batchelor Esqre MS: Abrams Coll. Published: Hayle Mill, 32. 1 Replying to this letter on January 26, 1891, Batchelor wrote: "I am to-day sending five quires of paper marked S, and also 2½ quires marked H, and I wait your further instruc[ 258

]

1891 I L E T T E R 1819 tions. . . . The paper no doubt will be quite usable and is Antique [i.e., rough and free of shine], but is not so like the Venetian you left with me as I wish, and as I intend if I make another lot. What I have made will take about a week to finish after I hear from you which you like best, S or H." Sparling, who prints (p. 62) this letter, adds that there is no record of which of the two, S or H, Morris preferred, but that both were used for The Glittering Plain. For "Venetian" paper, see letter no. 1819, n. 2.

1819 · T o J O S E P H BATCHELOR

Kelmscott House, Upper Mall, Hammersmith January 27, 1891

Dear Sir I am in receipt of the trials of paper, for w h i c h I thank you. O n the w h o l e it looks very nice and certainly I can use it. O n l y I must ask is it sized?, 1 because if so it o u g h t

I think it ought be sized some w h a t

harder. As to the t w o qualities I perceive that H is a little thicker, and as it is n o t too thick even for my 4to 2 size I think it w o u l d be preferable, (ev) as possibly S might be too transparent. At the same time if there is any difficulty about finishing at (S.) H , then S will d o . 3 Yours faithfully William Morris MS: Abrams Coll. Published Hayle Mill, 33-34. 1 Sizing is the process of papermaking whereby individual sheets are dipped into a glutinous liquid—known as "size"—then pressed and dried. The purpose of sizing is to make the paper impervious to ink, i.e., to prevent the print-impression from spreading. Paper that is well sized is referred to as "hard." 2 The Glittering Plain was a small quarto book. Although not a matter exclusively related to the size of the book, Morris's concern with the thickness of the paper was part of his general attention to paper weight. Sparling writes (p. 62) that at the very beginning of Morris's search for a satisfactory paper he discarded the French models as too thin and the Dutch as too thick, and decided upon the "Venetian" as the one he preferred. ("Venetian," according to Sparling [p. 62], was "the traditional name for a good Italian paper.") Morris himself in "A Note" says (pp. 135-38) that he took as his model a fifteenth-century BoIognese paper (see letter no. 1779, n. 5) and that Batchelor "carried out my views very satisfactorily and produced from the first the excellent paper which I still use." Presumably Morris was satisfied from the first, though this is sometimes difficult to discern in the early letters to Batchelor. See also letter no. 1832, n. 4. 3 Morris is acknowledging receipt of the paper discussed and described by Batchelor in his letter of the previous day (see letter no. 1818, n. 1).

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L E T T E R S OF WILLIAM 1820 · T o J O S E P H BATCHELOR

MORRIS Kelmscott House,

Upper Mall, Hammersmith January 29 [1891] Dear Sir I was sorry to miss you yesterday; I hope there was nothing absolutely necessary to be said: if you should be coming to town next week, and would give m e notice I could be in on any day except Monday; or if it were necessary or even desirable I could run down to Ashford. Yours truly William Morris. MS: Abrams Coll.

1821 · T o J O S E P H BATCHELOR

Kelmscott House,

Upper Mall, Hammersmith February 1, 1891 Dear Sir Thanks for your letter, I must let you do whatever you think best for this little lot: I have tried it for printing & it looks well; 1 the only thing is that ordinary ink runs o n it a little; if we could make it just that much harder 2 as to stop that; there would be nothing to complain of. As to the next trial I feel certain that you will get it better; and then we can go into the consideration of some stock for me. As to the time of course it would be foolish of me to hurry you, but the sooner I can have it, the better I shall be pleased. 3 Before you begin the n e w lot should rather like to see you: each of these experiments teaches o n e what to expect and what one should try to get; and I feel that I am already more capable of talking the matter over with you to good purpose Thanking you very much for the trouble you have taken in my affairs I am Dear Sir Yours truly William Morris MS: Abrams Coll. Published: Hayle Mill, 34. 1 See letter no. 1817, n. 11. 2 See letter no. 1819, n. 1. 3 About ten reams of the paper were delivered in mid-February. See letter no. 1832 and n. 1.

[ 260 ]

1891 / L E T T E R 1822 · T o [JAMES TREGASKIS?]

1823 Kelmscott House, Upper Mall, Hammersmith February 2 [1891]

Dear Sir1 I enclose a cheque for £35 in payment of the Meliadus. 2 Kindly send a receipt. I should be pleased to see your catalogues from time to time. I am Yours truly William Morris MS: Columbia. 1 Possibly James Tregaskis (1850-1926), a London bookseller. In April 1890 he established with his wife Mary Lee Bennett Tregaskis (1854?-1900) the firm of J. and M. L. Tregaskis, secondhand booksellers. (See The Bookseller [April 5, 1890], p. 348.) In 1893, James Tregaskis became a member of the Bibliographical Society. 2 The Sotheby Catalogue (1898) lists (lot 788) the following: Meliadus Ae Leonnoys printed at Paris by Galiot du Pre in 1528.

1823 · T o WALTER CRANE

Kelmscott House, Upper Mall, Hammersmith February 3 [1891?]1

M y dear Crane All right: as you say n o h a r m could be d o n e by that: for the rest s o m e one at a committee meeting might find some means of helping him. B y the way, d o n ' t you think we o u g h t to have a c o m m i t t e e - m e e t i n g very soon? 2 I am going o u t of t o w n for a week o n the 16th. Should it be before that, or after? I want to see you also about business connected with my press but I must write again about that or wait till I see you. Yours very truly William Morris MS: Crane Coll. 1 The dating of this letter is problematic. Morris's mention of "my press" (i.e., the Kelmscott Press) places the letter betweeen the years 1891 and 1896. However, at no time during those years did he go out of town for a week starting "on the 16th" of February. In 1891, Morris wrote two letters to Crane in February in which he discusses meeting Crane to plan an illustrated edition of The Glittering Plain (see letters no. 1825; and no. 1831 and notes 1-3). Possibly Morris had planned a trip in February 1891, but canceled or postponed it because of the attack of gout he experienced later in the month (see letter no. 1842 and n. 1). 2 Morris refers to the Committee of the Arts and Crafts Exhibition Society.

t 261 ]

L E T T E R S OF WILLIAM 1824 · T o ROBERTS BROTHERS

MORRIS Merton Abbey,

Surrey February 3, 1891 Dear Sirs 1 T h a n k you for your account and cheque (other side for formal receipt of latter. 2 I am n o t much surprised at News from N o w h e r e n o t selling well. People would be apt to think it out of my way. 3 T h e English edition will be out in two to three weeks 4 I am Dear Sirs Yours faithfully William Morris MS: Yale B. 1

See Volume I, letter no. 106, n. 1. The firm began as a publisher of books in 1864. A reference to the American edition of News from Nowhere, published by Roberts Brothers (see letter no. 1696, n. 3). 3 It was eventually to become one of his most popular works outside of England and was translated into French, German, and Italian. See Mackail (II, 243). 4 See letter no. 1782, n. 1. 2

1825 · T o WALTER CRANE

Kelmscott House,

Upper MaU, Hammersmith [February 5, 1891] M y dear Crane By all means come o n Sunday 1 I shall be in all the afternoon. Yrs W Morris MS: Bodleian. 1 Probably to discuss the planned illustrated edition of The Glittering Plain. See letter no. 1831 and notes 1-3.

1826 · T o THE EDITOR OF The Times

Kelmscott House, Upper Mall, Hammersmith February 5 [1891]

Sir, Those w h o care about the remains of the ancient art of our country may well be somewhat anxious about the scheme which is before the public for the building of a memorial, chapel at Westminster to hold the monuments of distinguished m e n in the future, since it is n o w admitted on all hands that there is n o more room for them in the Abbey church. 1 [ 262 ]

1891 / L E T T E R 1826

As representing the Society for the Protection of Ancient Buildings, it is not my business to criticize the various proposals,2 except from one point of view—that is, as to how they may affect the existing ancient buildings. I beg you to allow me a word or two on this point, while there is yet time to say anything concerning the scheme. What I have to say will be very brief. It seems to me that all the proposals err in this respect—that, whereas in this matter the welfare of the noblest building ever raised by Englishmen ought to be the first thing considered, in all these schemes it is considered last, if at all. They all seem to assume the necessity for the new building being connected with the Abbey church—a necessity which for the life of me I cannot see; while, on the other hand, if this connexion be desirable, surely its desirability should not weigh for a moment against any chance of damage to the ancient historical buildings of Westminster. There is a site which is obviously the best one for this memorial chapel, the place in Abbingdon-street now occupied by quite uninteresting modern houses, which would give the best chance to the new building, as it would be well seen there, and might group well with the Houses of Parliament opposite; while—and this is really the important point—it would obviate the risk of damage to the ancient buildings, which are almost certain to be tampered with and altered if any connecting link between the old and the new is attempted. We in the metropolis have treated our most beautiful building but ill for centuries. We have allowed its lovely interior to be cluttered up with a huge mass of the ugliest and vilest undertakers' masonry that can anywhere be seen. We have patched and cobbled its exterior with restorations, and restorations of restorations, till it has been half destroyed as a work of art; we keep the interior, again, in a state of sordid dirt, which is disgraceful both to the Government and the Chapter. But there is still some of it left, and what is left is of the utmost importance, and we profess to think it so. Would it not be well if we were to show some of our boasted "practical common-sense" by not throwing the remains of this treasure away, at the dictate of mere inconsiderate whim? Common-sense surely would tell us that whatever modern building we may erect near the Abbey can always be connected with it, if after long consideration it seems desirable to us or our descendants. But the same common sense forbids us to say that the building shall be a part of the Abbey, whether it damages it or not. Yet this is the plain meaning of these proposals. I am, Sir, Yours obediently, William Morris Hon. Sec. of the Society for the Protection of Ancient Buildings [ 263 ]

LETTERS

OF WILLIAM

MORRIS

TEXT: The Times, February 11, 1891, 4. (Printed also in The Architect, February 13, 1891, 96.) Published: MM, I, 183-85; Henderson, Letters, 335-37. Fragment of draft: S.P.A.B. Archives, "Westminster Abbey." 1 A Royal Commission had been appointed to investigate and report on a plan to build a memorial chapel onto Westminster Abbey. Members of the Commission included George Granville Bradley (see letter no. 1944, n. 3); Canon F. W. Farrar (see Volume I, letter no. 277, n. 1); H. L. Grosvenor, Duke of Westminster (see Volume I, letter no. 370, n. 1); R . J . Lloyd-Lindsay, Baron Wantage (1832-1901); George Cubitt (1835-1903); G. J. Shaw Lefevre; and H. H. Gibbs. A preliminary report had been issued at the end of 1889 and had generated correspondence in The Times and The Architect, among other publications. 2 The Architect, December 10, 1890, referred (p. 373) to a scheme like J. L. Pearson's campo-santo as a possibility. On January 2, 1891, The Architect published (p. 13) a letter from Lawrence Harvey, F.R.I.B.A., instructor of Scientific Masonry, to the City and Guilds of London Institute, suggesting a cluster of chapels around the chapter house, and a burying space along Abingdon Street. On January 23, 1891, The Architect published (p. 51) a sketch by Henry Travis for an underground extension. This had first been suggested in the issue of March 15, 1889. The Builder, January 3, 1891, had published (pp. 7 and 15) a plan by E. J. Tarver (1841-1891) for adding monumental chapels; and in the January 10, 1891, issue had followed (pp. 29 and 30) with still another suggestion for an addition, one by R. H. Carpenter (1841-1893).

1827 · T o THE EDITOR OF THE Liverpool Daily Post

[February 7, 1891]

I certainly think that it would be a great pity if the Art Gallery 1 were to miss the " T r i u m p h of the Innocents." 2 H o l m a n H u n t will always be considered o n e of the great m e n of the nineteenth century, and the c o n science and success w i t h w h i c h he labours to make his pictures a part of himself are most noteworthy. T h e " T r i u m p h of the I n n o c e n t s " is, to my mind, the greatest of his later works, and will, I am sure, retain the interest and admiration of people in the future long after the clever tricky pictures w i t h w h i c h we are so encumbered n o w are forgotten. 3 TEXT: The Liverpool Daily Post, February 7, 1891, 6. 1 The Walker Art Gallery, Liverpool, founded inl873. 2 The Liverpool Daily Post, presumably deleting the salutation and signature, included this letter in an article devoted to public response to the Triumph of the Innocents, along with others from Ford Madox Brown, W M. Rossetti, William Cosmo Monkhouse (18401901), and Dame Millicent Fawcett ([Mrs. Henry Fawcett] 1847-1929). Each letter is preceded by a brief biographical note about its writer, and Morris is described as "the Poet (of the Earthly Paradise), and decorative inventor." Apparently, either a purchase subscription was needed or Gallery officials were undecided about wanting the picture. The letters in support of purchase, including Morris's, were probably written at the request of Harold S. Rathbone (1858-1929), a prominent Arts and Crafts figure in the Northwest of England and the main force behind the campaign to acquire Hunt's painting for Liverpool. A painter, designer, and poet, he was the son of Philip Rathbone (1828-1895), from 1886

[ 264 ]

1891 / L E T T E R 1829 until 1895 chairman of the Arts and Exhibitions Sub-Committee at the Walker Art Gallery, and thus possibly also involved in the effort. (I am grateful to Peter Cormack for the information about the Rathbones and their probable role in the issue at hand leading to Morris's letter.) In the event, the Walker Art Gallery in 1891 did purchase the picture. It was, it might be added, the first, delayed version, begun in the 1870s but not completed until after a second (of the 1880s, and now in the Tate Gallery) was painted. See William Holman Hunt: A Catalogue of an Exhibition at the Walker Art Gallery, Liverpool, March-April 1969, pp. 52-54. 3

Ruskin in a lecture at Oxford in 1883 called the painting "the greatest religious painting of our time," and added: "[LJn this English picture all the story of the escape, as of the flight, is told in the fullness of peace and yet of compassion." For the lecture, see Cook and Wedderburn, 33, 267-86.

1828 · T o NANNIE FLORENCE D R Y H U R S T

Kelmscott House, Upper Mall, Hammersmith February 10 [1891?]

Dear Mrs Dryhurst 1 I enclose the 9 / 4 . 2 as Mr. Bullock 3 has gone o u t of t o w n . I am sorry it has been left so long. W i t h best wishes for your success, I am Yours very truly William Morris MS: Berger Coll. 1 Nannie Florence (Robinson) Dryhurst (1856-1930). She was a contributor to Charlotte Wilson's anarchist journal Freedom from its start in October 1886, supporting it until the end of the century, but also seems to have been a Fabian, as was her husband Alfred Robert Dryhurst (1859—1949). See H. Oliver, The International Anarchist Movement in Late Victorian London (London: Croom Helm; New York: St. Martin's, 1983), pp. 45-46. 2 Presumably for a hundred copies of Freedom, which was priced at one pence per copy. 3 Samuel Bullock. A consulting engineer by profession, he was also a long-time member of the Hammersmith Branch of the Socialist League (see Volume II, letters no. 1531, n. 3; and no. 1540, n. 2). Following Morris at the time of the break from the S.L. in 1890, Bullock in 1891 became the editor of the Hammersmith Socialist Record. In 1893 he married the sister of J. Bruce Glasier, Kitty Glasier (see Glasier, p. 131; see also letter no. 1589, n. 3). During the period of his association with Morris, Bullock was also a Fabian.

1829 · T o FREDERICK STARTRIDGE ELLIS

[February 11, 1891]

This is the state of things. T h e punches all cut, and matrices all struck: 1 I had a little lot of type cast to see if any alterations were required, and set u p a page of the 4to 2 as there was n o t enough for the folio; 3 I had the g recut because it seemed to m e too black. I then ordered five cwt. of the

[ 265 ]

LETTERS

OF

WILLIAM

MORRIS

First trial page p r i n t e d at the Kelmscott Press o n January 31, 1891.

[ 266 ]

1891 I L E T T E R

1829

type, which I am told is enough, and am expecting to have it towards the end of this week or beginning of next.4 As soon as I get it I will set up a trial page of the G.L.5 Then paper—the trial lot turned out not quite right, not sized quite hard enough, though I think better than any modern paper I have come across. He 6 is going to size it harder. But it is only a litde lot (9 reams), therefore I intend printing a little edition of the Glittering Plain on it.7 Moreover we had better not be too cocksure about the paper, we might find it desirable to make a bigger sheet. In any case however we might set up a section or so of the G.L. and let the type be till we had got the paper right.8 I was not going to send you a specimen of the type till we could set up a page of the G.L. But I can sympathize with my pardner's anxiety; and accordingly send him a page of the G.P.,9 of course full of defects, but on the paper and with the types. I don't know what you will think of it; but I think it precious good. Crane when he saw it beside Jenson thought it more Gothic-looking: 10 this is a fact, and a cheerful one to me. TEXT: Mackail, II, 254-55. Published: Henderson, Letters, 337. 1 Edward Prince (see letter no. 1764, n. 3) had finished casting a sufficient supply of the Golden type for Morris to begin printing. 2 The first Kelmscott Glittering Plain. For Morris's impatience to begin printing it, see letter no. 1831 and n. 1. 3 The Golden Legend. 4 Cockerell writes ("History," p. 142) that a "good supply of type" was delivered on February 18, 1891. 5 According to Cockerell's Diary entry for March 30, 1891, trial pages had been printed by that date. 6 Joseph Batchelor. For Morris's concern with the sizing see letters no. 1819 and n. 1; and no. 1821. 7 This was a recent decision (see letter no. 1819 and n. 2). 8 See letter no. 1832 and n. 1. 9 Printed on January 31, 1891. 10 For a comparison of Jenson's Roman and Morris's "more Gothic-looking" Golden type based on it, see illustration, p. 176.

[ 267 ]

LETTERS

OF W I L L I A M

MORRIS

Title page of the illustrated edition of The Glittering Plain, 1894; border and woodcut title designed by Morris.

[ 268 ]

1891 / L E T T E R

1829

Frontispiece and first page of text; illustration by Walter Crane, border and w o o d c u t initial d e signed by Morris.

[ 269 ]

LETTERS

OF WILLIAM

1830 · T o WILLIAM B O W D E N

MORRIS Kelmscott House,

Upper Mall, Hammersmith February 12 [1891] Dear Sir 1 I expect the type here on Tuesday or Wednesday next. 2 But I shall be away then. If you could call here about 11 A M on Saturday we could arrange what is to be done about the type gas fittings 3 &c. So I should be obliged if you could call. Yrs truly W Morris PML. See letter no. 1811, n. 1. 2 See letter no. 1829, notes 1 and 4. 3 In the late nineteenth century, gas firing, through fittings, was used to melt the leaden type for molds. I am grateful to Susan Casteras for this information. MS:

1

1831 · T o W A L T E R C R A N E

Kelmscott H o u s e ,

U p p e r Mall, H a m m e r s m i t h February 12 [1891]

M y dear Crane Thanks for your letter. I think your plan a very good one, and that it would hardly be worth while to confine ourselves to one or two or three pictures: we could do more than the 22 if we got on well. 1 Only as to the frontispiece I should like, if you don't object, to do the border opposite my other one, 2 and you might do another towards the end of the book. 3 I note here that I think it would be better in the bigger cuts to keep to (a sc) something not much bigger than the scale of the figures in the smaller ones. W h a t do you think? I think there would be n o objection to designing the little cuts on a somewhat bigger scale than the actual cuts. My plan of operations at the press (will b) at to the Glittering Plain is this. I have only just about enough paper to print a small edition of about 150 copies; 4 so I propose to bring out that without cuts since I am red hot to begin; and I would print the illustrated copy later on; as indeed I should have to as I have got to wait for the bulk of the paper, perhaps for some time. This would give us plenty of time to get the cuts well done, and I do not think that the little first edition would hurt the illustrated one. I have turned up a book which I did not show you: it seems to me

[ 270 ]

1891 / L E T T E R

1831

Walter Crane, c. 1895.

germaine to our matter. It is late but the cuts were done some 50 years its date,5 and are examples of the Florentine School of book illustration, which I think much better than the Venetian of the same date.6 In this book they are mostly most wretchedly printed, but some of them have survived: I send it you to look at, and you can keep it as long as you like. Underneath you will find the sizes of the pages, for the first p. (of type will be smaller owing to the border than the others.7 I am very sorry that I could not come today. I could call in on Saturday at about 3 if that would suit you, but could not stay above 20 minutes: perhaps this would do Yours very truly William Morris P. S. of course the sooner I can see a design the better I shall be pleased: though I know my ps & qs better than to hurry an artist! MS: Syracuse. 1 Morris refers to the plan for a Kelmscott Press edition of The Glittering Plain to be illustrated by Crane. As this letter anticipates, such an edition was published. Issued from

[ 271 ]

LETTERS

OF WILLIAM

MORRIS

the Press on February 17, 1894 (dated January 13, 1894), it has twenty-three illustrations by Crane engraved by his cousin Arthur Leverett (fl. 1893—1901). It also has two borders (see note 2 below and illustration p. 303) and seven "frames" or partial borders. A large quarto in Troy type, it thus differs from the 1891 edition—a small quarto in Golden type (see letter no. 1750, n. 5). As for the financial arrangement Morris made with Crane, it was to share profits equally, and was the only time he made such an agreement. See Peterson, History, p. 154; and letter no. 1937, n. 3. 2 By "other one" Morris presumably means the border of the title page; and by "fron­ tispiece" he seems to mean the illustration that is proportionately a large part of the page on which the text begins. See illustrations, pp. 268—69. 3 There are no borders or frames, in the book, by Crane; all are by Morris. 4 There were in fact two hundred copies of the first Kelmscott Glittering Plain printed on paper (as well as six on vellum). See Cockerell, "List," p. 148. 5 Morris may refer to the Epistole et Evangelii printed at Florence by I. Giunta in 1551; described (lot 515) in the Sotheby Catalogue (1898) as having 114 framed woodcuts. 6 Florence and Venice were particularly known for the production of illustrated books during the 1470s and 1480s. 7 Morris refers to the proportion between design-space and letterpress-space. See illus­ trations, pp. 268-69.

1832

· T o J O S E P H BATCHELOR

Merton Abbey,

Surrey February 13, 1891 Dear Sir Thanks for your note and your punctuality in getting the paper ready. 1 I shall be out of town next week; but the week after I shall be trying the printing qualities of this lot; and after that shall be prepared to order a quantity. As to the price I have nothing to complain of: In fact I thought it would cost just about the price named in your invoice. 2 I should still like to see you, if I could, before we begin o n the new lot; But meantime I will ask you these questions. W h a t is a convenient quantity (to you) to order? 3 Would there be any difficulty in making the n e w lot at once as thin and as dense as that you have done? For this size of paper I do not want it any thicker (whatever my sample may be.) For a bigger size I might want it a little heavier. 4 Would there be any difficulty in making similar paper in a double sheet ie 16" by 2 2 . " instead of its being 32 χ 11 as you made a specimen? 5 I note here that (the) our having to use it as a quarto would be of n o importance; but that the larger size would be more convenient for printing & would save a considerable expence. I suppose this would make a new mould necessary; but the smaller mould might still be used for the (smaller) paper that I wanted to fold into quarto ((of;) or octavo of our present sheet.

[ 272 ]

1891

/ LETTER

1833

I shall want g o o d deal of the larger size as I am going to print a b o o k of 1000 p.p. 6 I enclose a c h e q u e for the a m o u n t of your invoices, and beg to thank you again for the care & pains you have taken in my little matters. I am Dear Sir Yours truly William Morris MS: Abrams Coll. Published: Hayle Mill, 35-36. 1 Morris refers to the 16-by-l 1-inch "Flower" paper, ten reams of which were first de­ livered on February 12, 1891 (see Sparling, p. 63). The paper was used for printing The Glittering Plain. 2 For a discussion of Batchelor's fee, see letter no. 1779, n. 3. 3 See note 1 above. 4 In introducing Morris's letters to Batchelor, Henry Morris writes (Hayle Mill, pp. 2 2 23): "Of special interest to me, are Morris's requests regarding very fine adjustments to the weight and sizing of papers he ordered. Morris was admittedly no expert on hand papermaking and it must have been somewhat tiresome to Batchelor to be expected to be able to control these qualities to the degree Morris desired. The truth is, that no matter how skilled the craftsmen, there are bound to be differences from sheet to sheet in any paper made by hand, and a sample from any given lot can only be roughly representative of the paper made by one particular crew at one particular making." 5

See note 4 above. Morris refers to the Kelmscott Press edition of The Golden Legend: it was published in three volumes and contains altogether 1,286 pages. 6

1833 · T o J O S E P H BATCHELOR

Kelmscott House, Upper Mall, Hammersmith February 16 [1891]

Dear Sir Thanks for your letter. I could make certain of c o m i n g to Ashford o n this day fortnight March 2 n d by w h i c h time I could have tried the paper in the press again,

1

and could be ready for my order, w h i c h I suppose

w o u l d n o t be less than Vi a t o n .

2

M e a n t i m e w o u l d you kindly set the n e w m o u l d in h a n d 1 6 " χ 2 2 " as I have concluded to make the paper that larger size By the way in case the M o n d a y March 2

3

Tuesday March 3 would

suit quite as well. I am Dear Sir Yours very truly William Morris

[ 273 ]

LETTERS

OF WILLIAM

MORRIS

MS: Abrams Coll. Published: Hayle Mill, 37. 1 A reference to the trial page of The Golden Legend which was printed in March 1891. See letter no. 1829, n. 5. 2 Although the invoice (which has survived) does not indicate the quantity, it shows the cost of the order to which Morris refers here (see Hayle Mill, p. 30). 3 See letter no. 1832.

1834 · T o J O S E P H B A T C H E L O R

Kelmscott H o u s e ,

Upper Mall, Hammersmith February 20 [1891] Dear Sir I think it w o u l d do very well to meet you in London; I could go d o w n to Little Chart afterwards, if it were necessary. As to place of meeting would you arrange that: there would be no reason for lugging you all the way to Hammersmith, as you probably would have business in L o n d o n proper: so please tell me w h e n and where I should meet you on March 3rd and I will keep the appointment. 1 Yours very truly William Morris MS: Abrams Coll. 1 They initially arranged to meet in town on March 3, but Morris because of an attack of gout asked Batchelor to come instead to Kelmscott House that day (see letter no. 1842).

1835 · R E C I P I E N T U N K N O W N

Kelmscott H o u s e ,

U p p e r Mall, H a m m e r s m i t h February 20 [1891] D e a r Sir, 1 I u n d e r s t a n d t h a t y o u offer m e £ 3 . 1 0 for t h e Q u i n e t i t i a n a n d £ 3 t o g e t h e r w i t h t h e i m p e r f e c t P i n s o n 2 for t h e D i a l o g u s . T h i s I a g r e e t o . I w o u l d h a v e called o n y o u this m o r n i n g , b u t t h e g r i e v o u s illness o f m y d a u g h t e r k e e p s m e i n t h e h o u s e 3 Yrs truly W. Morris MS: SUNY, Buffalo. 1 For possible recipients, see letter no. 1733, n. 1. 2 Possibly Morris received, in the transaction he describes in this letter, the imperfect copy of Henry Parker's Dives and Pauper (printed at London by Richard Pynson in 1493) that is listed as lot 395 in the Sotheby Catalogue (1898). 3 In his Diary entry for February 19, 1891, Cockerell noted that Morris was unable to go

[ 274 ]

1891 I L E T T E R 1836 to the S.P.A.B meeting "owing to Jenny's illlness." Still later in the month, on February 28, Jane Morris wrote to W. S. Blunt:"We are in great sorrow, our poor Jenny has had an atttack of brain-fever, and though all immediate danger is past, she is still very ill, with two nurses attending her night and day—the doctor says she will quite recover, and most likely be better in all ways—but it is a bitter trial at present. It was almost a death-blow to me and to May, who was unfortunately in the house at the time. We are pulling through with the help of the sunshine of the last three days" (JM to WSB, pp. 51-52). In his notebook, Mackail, also referring to this episode, noted that Jenny was "taken to Folkestone 19 Mar."

1836 · T o [JOHN PINCHER FAUNTHORPE]

Kelmscott House, Upper Mall, Hammersmith February 21, 1891

Dear Sir T h e windows are in hand n o w and we shall soon have one done. 1 As to the Decorations for the East E n d there is a difficulty about it, since it has been d o n e piecemeal, and I think I had better call o n you o n e day next week and we will consider it together 2 I do not quite understand about the R e r e d o s 3 but you will explain doubtless w h e n I see you. I c a n n o t make a definite appointment today, as I have very serious illness in the H o u s e and am n o t able to leave it for the present 4 but I h o p e things will be better o n Monday w h e n I will write again. I am, dear Sir Yours very truly William Morris 5 MS: Whitelands. 1 Morris and Co. had begun making a series of twelve windows for the Chapel of Whitelands College (see Volume II, letter no. 868, n. 1) in 1885. Here, Morris probably refers to the second group of six, which were installed between 1891 and 1893. However, the first six were put into the chapel between 1885 and 1893, and it is just possible this letter refers to the last of these. For an account of the installation of the windows, as well as of the twelve female saints who are their subjects, see Cole, pp. 12-14. 2 Cole writes (p. 19) that Morris decorated the whole of the east end of the chapel in 1892, after having proposed for years that he should paint the interior walls and roof. Among his designs for the east end were stylized foliage over all the upper walls. In addition, for the lower walls of the sanctuary on either side of the reredos (see letter no. 1744, n. 2) he installed oak panels carved with vine leaves, grapes, and ears of corn. Cole adds (p. 19): "At Morris's suggestion the woodcarvers were encouraged to make mistakes so that the pattern of carving was not regular and mechanical." As for the sequence in which the walls and roof were done, and Morris's views about this sequence, see letter no. 1987. 3 See letter no. 1744, n. 2. 4 See letter no. 1835 and n. 3. 5 The surviving manuscript of this letter is a copy, including Morris's signature, and is in an unknown hand. Since "copy" is written at the top of the manuscript, it was presumably made at Whitelands College.

[ 275 ]

L E T T E R S OF WILLIAM 1837 · T o WILFRID SCAWEN BLUNT

MORRIS Kelmscott House,

Upper Mall, Hammersmith February 23 [1891] M y dear Blunt Thank you for your note; I shall be able to get o n with the work almost at once as I have got my type & have begun setting u p o n e of my little stories. 1 B u t I am uneasy at the n o n arrival of the copy which you have sent; 2 I would have answered your letter at once but was waiting day after day to get said copy. I hope it is all right. Weather? ah! yes. It is 33° Far. outside this morning, and we have had fog for a week of the beastliest description Yours very truly William Morris RS. I am sending through Crabbet by my wifes advice. 3 MS: VSfA. 1 The Glittering Plain. 2 Morris refers to the copy for the Kelmscott edition of Blunt's Love-Lyrics (see letter no. 1788, n. 3). The packet of poems did not arrive until February 27, 1891, according to Jane Morris's letter to Blunt of February 28. She also writes: "The printing is now fairly started, though the work goes very slowly with our two men, soon we shall take two more and get on much faster. Your book I believe will be the third produced by the 'Kelmscott Press'" (JM to WSB, p. 51). 3 Crabbet Park, Blunts estate in Sussex. In view of Blunts intimacy with Jane Morris, it is not surprising she knew where his mail in February 1891 was to be directed and Morris did not, though she presumably had not heard from Blunt for a while: her letter of February 28 concludes, "I suppose and hope that you are too happy to write letters—" (JM to WSB, p. 52). This is not the place to interpret Morris's willingness to take from Jane Morris information about how to communicate with Blunt, or to interpret his willingness to tell Blunt he writes at her direction; but it is apposite here to call attention to these matters.

1838 · T o J. &J. LEIGHTON

[WALTER JAMES LEIGHTON?]

Kelmscott House,

Upper Mall, Hammersmith February 23 [1891] Dear Sir I have found the book in Hain 1 (*8603) he says that there ought to be 4 leaves of table which are lacking in his copy also. 2 H e gives n o guess as to place, printer, or date; but he puts it first of the German editions of which there are several, including t w o of Sorg s.3 T h e type is not the same as in my Bamler. 4 Might it be a Bamberg book? There about 120 Cuts besides repetitions but they are rude. Perhaps

t 276 ]

1891 I L E T T E R

1839

y o u r correspondent would take less for it w h e n he finds that it is imperfect. Except for those 4 ff of table; the n u m b e r of leaves agrees with Hain. T h e O v i d 5 is the same b o o k as my imperfect one, w h i c h seems only to lack the title after all: I will bring it to you. Yrs truly William Morris P.S. I found it in H a i n u n d e r the title Hieronimus. After all I d o n t think it can be an Augsburg b o o k , 6 as the spelling is different. MS: Huntington. 1 Ludwig Hain (1781-1836), author of Repertorium Bibliographicum (Stuttgart: J. J. Cotta, 1826-1838) a survey of the typography of early printed books to the year 1500. Morris owned a set of this work (Sotheby Catalogue [1898], lot 423). 2 The work to which Morris refers is a German translation of Vitas Patrum of St. Jerome, entitled Der Heiligen Altvetter. At his death, Morris, who once planned an edition of Caxton's Vitas Patrum, owned a German Altvater printed at Strasbourg by Johann Gruninger in 1507. The Sotheby Catalogue (1898) describes it (lot 594) as containing numerous hand-colored woodcuts and ornamental initials; some of the leaves are described as stained or mended; and p. 71 is listed as slightly defective. See also Goff, H-216. 3 Anton Sorg (fl. 1475-1495), a prolific fifteenth-century Augsburg printer who specialized in vernacular works illustrated by woodcuts. See Needham, p. 104. 4 Johann Bamler (fl. 1472-1495). A scribe, rubricator, and illuminator, he became a typographer in the 1470s. At the time of his death, Morris owned six illustrated books from Bamler's press, as well as two miniatures by him. See Needham, p. 101. 5 Morris was to own twelve different Ovids (see Sotheby Catalogue [1898], lots 7 0 1 705, 802, 923-28). It is possible that he is here referring to a copy of the Odes listed in 1898 as lot 928. Printed in 1509, it is described as containing numerous outline Italian woodcuts and ornamental initials. It is the only copy of Ovid listed in the Sotheby Catalogue (1898) that lacks the title page. 6 The book was in fact printed at Strasbourg (see note 2 above).

1839 · T o JOHN PINCHER FAUNTHORPE

Kelmscott House, Upper Mall, Hammersmith February 27 [1891?]1

Dear Mr. Faunthorpe T h a n k y o u for your note; I think we may be sure of getting out the estimate for the chapel roof 2 But I am n o t so sure of getting the design finished in time: However if there is anything presentable d o n e I will send it to you. I note w h a t you say about the electric burners 3 Yours very truly W Morris MS: Whitelands.

[ 277 ]

L E T T E R S OF WILLIAM

MORRIS

1

See letter no. 1836. Morris refers to the painting of the ceiling. Morris's design, a sky-blue expanse with gold and silver stars, was executed in 1892. See letter no. 1836, n. 2. 3 Morris refers to the electric fixtures that were planned for use in the Whitelands Chapel. He did not design them until April 1892. They were manufactured by B. Verity and Sons, and installed sometime after May 1892. See Cole, p. 10. See also correspondence between B. Verity and Sons and Faunthorpe (Whitelands). 2

1840 · T o REEVES AND T U R N E R [WILLIAM D O B S O N REEVES]

Kelmscott House,

Upper Mall, Hammersmith February 27 [1891] Dear Sir I send o n various questions & addresses re the Glittering Plain, which kindly attend to. 1 Yours truly William Morris NLS. Reeves and Turner were the distributors of The Glittering Plain (see letter no. 1856 and n. 2). Peterson writes (History, p. 102) that the notice in the Athenaeum (February 21, 1891) that the book was for sale produced surprising results; he quotes Walker: " [ 0 ] n the first announcement in the Athenaeum there was a rush on Reeves & Turner . . . they sold every copy long before the price was announced" (E. Walker to T. B. Reed, November 19, 1891; quoted in History, p. 102).

MS:

1

1841 · T o J . & J. LEIGHTON [WALTER JAMES LEIGHTON?]

Kelmscott House,

Upper Mall, Hammersmith February 28 [1891] Dear Sir Thanks for sending the books: I will speculate o n the little French one, which is curious enough. Lyons I suppose about 1570. 1 T h e Fasciculus Temporum 2 I dont care about. As to the 'Altvetter' 3 it is a very curious & interesting book; but I dont think I will buy it, as I may have to spend some money over the Crawford books: 4 besides I think it is imperfect: have you seen a copy in the museum? You see this copy may have been the very copy Hain saw. Let us try to settle the question before I say yes or n o definitely. T h e cuts are certainly very rude, attempts at works of art, but scarcely getting to that point. I also think it will be a Cologne book. 5

[ 278 ]

1891 / L E T T E R

1842

I would have called o n you with the b o o k this afternoon, but am confined to the house by a slight attack of my old e n e m y gout. Yours truly William Morris MS: Texas. 1 Two possibilities are Jacques de Strada's Thesaurus Antiquitatum printed at Lyons by Jean de Tournes in 1553; and Polybius' Les Cinqs Premiers Livres des Histoires de Polybe, translated by Louis Maigret, and published at Lyons by de Tournes in 1558. See Sotheby Catalogue (1898), lots 1074 and 965, respectively. 2 Presumably Morris did not purchase this copy since he says he does not "care about" it. However, he did eventually acquire three copies of the book, all of which were listed in the Sotheby Catalogue (1898): lot 526 (printed at Cologne by Conrad de Homborch in 1476); lot 527 (printed by Henricum de Wirczburg in 1474), and 528 (printed at Strasbourg by Johann Priiss in 1487). 3 See letter no. 1838, n. 2. 4 The Times, January 28, 1891, reported (p. 13), that "the splendid library formed by the well-known bibliophile, the late Mr. W. H. Crawford [1805?-1888] of Lakelands, in the county of Cork, will be . . . [sold] by Messrs. Sotheby. . . . The sale, which contains upwards of 3,400 lots, will occupy 12 days." 5 Although Morris owned two copies of Der Heiligen Altvetter at the time of his death, one printed in Strasbourg (see letter no. 1838, n. 2) and the other in Leyden (1511), he owned no copy printed at Cologne.

1842 · T o JOSEPH BATCHELOR

Kelmscott House, Upper Mall, Hammersmith March 1, 1891

Dear Sir I am tied to the house by an attack of gout, 1 and I fear there is n o likelihood of my being able to m e e t you in t o w n o n the 3rd instant as arranged. 2 I d o however very m u c h want to meet you, & set the next lot of paper going; or else I shall be h u n g up for want of it. 3 C o u l d you therefore c o m e to m e here on that day, and then I could talk to you in spite of gout. 4 O f course you will find me in anytime on Tuesday. C o u l d you kindly let m e have a line telling m e if you could come, & if not, w h e n we could meet. Ravenscourt Park station o n the District will put you d o w n close to o u r house; 5 minutes walk from it. I am Dear Sir Yours truly William Morris J Batchelor Esqre

[ 279 ]

LETTERS

OF WILLIAM

MORRIS

MS: Abrams Coll. 1 About Morris's health at this time, Mackail writes (II, 255): "Towards the end of Feb­ ruary Morris was laid up for several weeks with a severe attack of gout, attended by other symptoms of an alarming kind. O n consultation the kidneys were found to be gravely affected; and he was told that henceforth he must consider himself an invalid to the extent of husbanding his strength and living under a careful regimen." 2 See letter no. 1834. 3 The second delivery of paper, about which Morris is concerned here, was made on April 22, 1891. It was the paper watermarked with a primrose and known as "Flower" and was intended for The Golden Legend. Morris's order was for ten reams of Antique Medium, 16 χ 22 inches, 25 lb., 480 sheets. See Sparling, p. 63. 4 Batchelor apparently did make the trip to Kelmscott House. O n April 14, 1891, Morris refers to their previous meeting six weeks back—i.e., on March 3. See letter no. 1858.

1843 · F R O M A L E T T E R T O FREDERICK STARTRIDGE ELLIS

[March 4? 1891]

. . . my h a n d seems lead and my wrist string. . . . 1 A n d n o w as to the j o i n t enterprise: I have got my type and am hard at w o r k o n t h e Glittering Plain, w h i c h I h o p e to get o u t in about six weeks t i m e ; 2 about the same time I expect the first instalment of m y due stock of paper; 3 and I don't see why we t h e n should n o t be ready to go ahead w i t h G.L., only I cer­ tainly must see you before we settle matters. M e a n t i m e , as soon as I can stand up, or before, I will get a mere trial page or two of the G.L. set u p , 4 and t h e n you can get some idea of the n u m b e r of pages. Yes, 'tis a fine thing to have some interesting w o r k to do, and more than ever w h e n one is in t r o u b l e — I found that o u t the other day. 5 TEXT: Mackail, II, 256. Published: Henderson, Letters, 337-38. 1 From the effects of gout. See letter no. 1842, n. 1. 2 The Glittering Plain was dated April 4 and issued May 8, 1891. 3 See letter no. 1842, n. 3. 4 The Golden Legend. A trial page was printed in March (see letter no. 1829, n. 5) and fifty pages were set in type by May 11, the day on which the first sheet was printed. See Cockerell, "List," p. 151. 5 Morris may be referring here to his own health, but equally likely to the recent attack suffered by Jenny (see letter no. 1835, n. 3).

[ 280 ]

1891 / L E T T E R 1844 · T o ELLIS AND ELVEY

1845 Kelmscott House, Upper Mall, Hammersmith March 6 [1891]

Dear Sirs Will you kindly send m e o n inspection no. 80 of your Catalogue. Philippus Bergomensis 1 &c and oblige Yours truly William Morris MS: UCLA. 1 Lot 80 of the Ellis and Elvey Catalogue (No. 71) was a copy of Jacobus Phillipus Bergomensis' De Claris Mulieribus, printed in Ferrara by Laurentius de Rubeis in 1497. Morris bought the book and it is now in the PML. See Quaritch's Best Books, item 90; see also Goff, J-204.

1845 · T o J . & J. L E I G H T O N

[WALTER JAMES LEIGHTON?]

Kelmscott House, Upper Mall, Hammersmith March 27, 1891

Dear Sir Enclose a cheque for £186 1 8 1 I am getting o n I believe, but slowly; I have to thank you for your kind attentions to m e while I was so ill. I think the dearest b o o k was the Verard Genealogie des dieux. 2 H o w ever it is a good b o o k and in very nice condition. Yours truly William Morris Ms: McMinn Papers. 1 Presumably in payment for books purchased. 2 At the Crawford of Lakelands Sale (see letter no. 1841, n. 4) lot 389 was De la Genealogie des Dieux, by Giovanni Boccaccio (1313—1375), printed at Paris by Antoin Verard in 1498. h was bought by Leighton for £34.10s. Needham notes (p. 108) that this is the "only French, and only illuminated fifteenth-century edition of this text. It is a good example of Verard's most elaborate, large-folio publications. At least four distinct series of woodcuts appear in the Boccaccio, most or all of which were originally made for other texts. The large mythological cuts are taken from Verard's 1494 Bible des poetes, or paraphrased Metamorphoses, and are copies of Colard Mansion's 1484 Bruges edition of the same text."

[ 281 ]

L E T T E R S OF WILLIAM M O R R I S 1846

· T o JOSEPH BATCHELOR

Kelmscott House,

Upper Mall, Hammersmith April 1 [1891] Dear Sir 1 I have fall short of paper for my first book. Would there be any diffi­ culty in your sending me with the 10 reams w h i c h I am expecting in a 2 fortnight 1 ream (or 2) made in the first mould 16" χ l l " ? If there is any difficulty please tell m e and I will give it up. O f course it is understood that the quality would be the same as the present bulk, & that it (a) would only differ as to size (o). Yours truly William Morris RS. I have had rather a bad b o u t since I saw y o u 3 & am only just recover­ ing. MS: Abrams Coll. Published: Hayle Mill, 37. 1 The Glittering Plain. Although dated dated April 4 in the colophon, the book was not issued until May 8, the delay presumably caused by Morris's running short of 16-by-llinch paper, as he writes here. It may be that Morris, responding to the early success of the book—it was sold out even before printing was finished (see letter no. 1840, n. 1)—de­ cided to print fifty copies more than the one hundred and fifty initially planned (see letter no. 1831). 2 See letter no. 1832, n. 1 . 3 The attack of gout to which Morris refers began at the end of February and lasted five weeks. Presumably when he had seen Batchelor (March 3) it was quiescent, and the "bad bout" was a resumption. For Morris's gout and his visit with Batchelor, see letter no. 1842 and n. 1.

1847

· T o SWAN M O S E S B U R N E T T

Kelmscott House,

Upper Mall, Hammersmith April 2, 1891 Dear Sir 1 I am afraid it may be somewhat late for you to obtain a copy of the n e w volume through my publisher's. 2 But if your agent fails to procure you one, I will try to get it for you. T h a n k you very m u c h for your kind acknowledgement of my work. I am glad you like the " R o o t s of the M o u n t a i n s " : it is one of those of my works it has given m e the greatest pleasure to do. I am, dear Sir Yours very truly William Morris 3

[ 282 ]

1891

I L E T T E R 1848

PML. Swan Moses Burnett (1847-1906) was the husband of Francis E. Hodgson (18491924), author of Little Lord Fauntleroy. A physician born in Tennessee and educated at Bellevue Medical College in New York City, Burnett was also an expert on Japanese art. He practiced ophthalmology and otology in Washington, D.C., and in 1889 became a professor at the Georgetown University Medical School. It is unclear why Morris was will­ ing to help Burnett, presumably a stranger, obtain a copy of The Glittering Plain. Possibly he was pleased that his first Kelmscott Press book seemed in demand. Less likely, but also possible, was that Morris was familiar with articles on Japanese art by Burnett contributed to International Studio, the Craftsman, and the Connoisseur.

MS: 1

2

Reeves and Turner. The firm distributed the Kelmscott Press Glittering Plain and were the publishers of a popular edition (see letter no. 1883, n. 1) which was, Buxton Forman writes (p. 156), "immediately forthcoming." It is, however, unlikely that Burnett, who had presumably written to Morris at the end of March, was seeking a copy of the popular edition. In the event, of the two hundred Kelmscott Press copies printed, the one hundred and eighty offered for sale had been sold even before the book appeared (see letter no. 1840, n. 1). 3 Although the signature is William Morris's, the letter itself is in May Morris's hand. Possibly his most recent attack of gout (see letter no. 1846 and n. 3) made it difficult for Morris to hold a pen.

1848 · T o J O S E P H BATCHELOR

Kelmscott House, Upper Mall, Hammersmith April 3 [1891]

D e a r Sir T h a n k s for your letter: it is a matter of course that the smaller sheet should b e made of the material w h i c h you have in h a n d n o w : so I should like t h e t w o reams 16 χ 11 if it w o u l d n o t delay the delivery: 1 if it would, it n o t so i m p o r t a n t that I should care for it; so if it w o u l d make a delay please d o n ' t trouble any m o r e about it. I am well e n o u g h n o w t o be going t o m o r r o w t o the sea side for a week: so for that time a letter w o u l d find m e c/o Miss L a m b

2

2 EastclifF Gardens Folkestone. So if you have anything to send m e w h i c h w o u l d go in a letter; kindly send it there Yours very truly William Morris MS: Abrams Coll. Published: Hayle Mill, 38. 1 Morris had previously ordered ten reams of 16-by-22-inch paper to be used for

[ 283 ]

LETTERS

OF WILLIAM

MORRIS

The Golden Legend (see letter no. 1842, n. 3), but now needed the smaller size to finish printing The Glittering Plain. See letter no. 1846 and n. 1. 2 Edith G. Lamb (b. 1853?). Her establishment was either a lodging home or a nursing home. Morris, who apparently was combining a visit to Jenny with rest for himself, stayed with a printer-compositor named William A. Vincent and his wife, Louisa Vincent.

1849 · T o THOMAS JAMES

COBDEN-SANDERSON

Kelmscott House, Upper Mall, Hammersmith April 3, 1891

M y dear Sanderson I have sent you that d u m m y 1 today by bookpost and shall be glad of your opinion: I am going to Folkestone t o m o r r o w m o r n i n g (Saturday) my address there is (2) c / o Miss Lamb, 2 Eastcliff Gardens, Folkestone 2 So please send b o o k & all to m e there. T h e cost so done is only s 2 / 0 but I wouldn't m i n d spending another 6 d or I s on it. I am glad that you are so much interested in the press. 3 W r i t i n g is hard w o r k for m e , so n o m o r e at present 4 Affectionately yrs William Morris MS: Bucknell. Published: Printing as Art, 22. 1 In his Journals entry for April 4, 1891, Cobden-Sanderson wrote (I, 304): "I have just received from Morris the 'dummy'; it is a dummy binding by Leighton, to show how he proposes to bind The Glittering Plain." Cobden-Sanderson also annotated Morris's letter, writing on the holograph: "This related to the kind of Binding in wh: 'The Glittering Plain' was to be issued by the publisher R[eeves] & T[umer]." 2 See letter no. 1848, n. 2. 3 In the Journals entry for April 4, 1891 (see note 1 above), Cobden-Sanderson also described his visit, apparently his first, to the Kelmscott Press on March 28, 1891. 4 Writing was difficult presumably because Morris had been ill (see letter no. 1846 and n. 3). Visiting him on March 28, 1891, Cobden-Sanderson noted (Journals, I, 303): "He looked—despite his supper!—a little empty, his clothes hanging somewhat loosely upon him."

1850 · T o BERNARD Q U A R I T C H

Kelmscott House, Upper Mall, Hammersmith April 3, 1891

Dear Mr. Quaritch T h a n k you for your friendly letter; I have turned the corner now, am getting better. So m u c h so that t o m o r r o w I am going to the sea-side for

[ 284 ]

1891 / L E T T E R 1851

a week,1 very much against my will; but I hope while there to begin a little work again, which has been stopped now for five weeks: that is the worst of being ill. I congratulate you on your continuous energy which is really wonderful. Are you going to give the Yankees the first pick of your Lakeland's purchases?2 I rather grudge it them. In about a week, i e as soon as I am back I shall have lots of work for the printer again; indeed I don't think my illness has stopped that work (The Saga Library)3 much; as Magnusson has been able to get on well ahead. With Best wishes I am Dear Mr. Quaritch Yours very truly William Morris MS: Quaritch. 1 See letter no. 1848 and n. 2. 2 See letter no. 1841, n. 4. Americans in the 1890s became for the first time strong bidders in the auctions of medieval manuscripts and early printed books. I am grateful to Nicholas Poole-Wilson for this information. 3 Vol. 2 was being printed at this time.

1851 · To JOSEPH

2 Eastcliff Gardens Folkestone [April 4, 1891]

BATCHELOR

Dear Sir The paper1 came to hand before I left town this morning. I like the colour, & altogether it seems to promise well. Yrs truly William Morris MS: Abrams Coll. 1 Presumably the additional paper needed to finish The Glittering Plain. See letters no. 1846, and n. 1; and no. 1848.

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L E T T E R S OF WILLIAM M O R R I S 1852 · F R O M A LETTER T O FREDERICK STARTRIDGE ELLIS

[Folkestone

April 4, 1891]1 I think I shall make some scratch of a border to each life or section. 2 I want to make it grand. I have a specimen of the n e w paper this morning, it is admirable—couldn't be better. TEXT: Mackail, II, 256. 1

Mackail in his notebook lists a letter from Morris to Ellis on April 4, 1891, and summarizes it: "From Folkestone, about Golden Legend. Has got admirable paper." 2 The saints' lives comprising The Golden Legend. Peterson, glossing the extract printed here, writes (History, p. 211): "Such a scheme was far beyond the resources of the Press at this early stage, but Morris was able to design four full borders (the first one drawn at Folkestone in April), corner borders, and a large number of six- and ten-line decorated initials."

1853 · T o EMERY WALKER

2 Eastcliff Gardens

Folkestone April 8 [1891] My dear Walker T h a n k you for the proofs; 1 they were a great consolation to m e . T h e big ones all look well. As to the small Q & K are t o o small: I must alter t h e m & get H o o p e r 2 to cut the alterations. I is a duffer; nothing will come of it: so I send you another and a Y (done d o w n here both) which shows you that I am getting on. Kindly hand them over to H o o p e r and ask h i m to d o them as soon as he can, & to help o u t my trembling hand a little. I am sending 3 more to Campfield 3 and my hand is m u c h firmer yesterday & today. In fact I am getting o n altogether; nothing but this cold weather keeps m e back now, I think. I don't think I shall come back till Monday. Jenny in good health & spirits 4 Yours ever William Morris MS: Texas. 1 Of the ornamental initials discussed in this letter. They were all cut for The Golden Legend. Morris had most certainly drawn them before he left for Folkestone if they were already cut on wood by the time of this letter; and it was probably about further designs that Mackail writes (II, 256): "While [at Folkestone] he designed the ornamental border for the first page of'The Golden Legend' and several of the large floriated initials. . . ." 2 William Harcourt Hooper (1834—1912) was a wood engraver whose career included work for Sir John Gilbert, John Tenniel, George du Maurier, John Everett Millais, and Frederick Leighton, as well as for The Illustrated London News and for Punch. Early on,

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1891 / L E T T E R 1854 Hooper had been a student of Rossetti at the Working Men's College; and he was, moreover, a committed socialist. A member of the Art Workers' Guild, he had already retired when, according to Sparling (p. 75), he offered at the beginning of 1891 to cut Morris's newly designed border for The Glittering Plain. Subsequently, he was to cut all the Chaucer blocks, and most of the borders for the Press. Of his career Sparling writes (p. 75): "Without his association with the Kelmscott Press, Hooper and his earlier work might by now have been forgotten"; but also "[wjithout Hooper, the work of Morris and Burne-Jones would not have been done the justice it deserved and received." Despite this mutual benefit, however, there was not always harmony between Morris and Hooper. Morris wanted his engravers to take an active, creative role in the production of woodcuts, while Hooper believed it was the engraver's job to reproduce a perfect facsimile. See Peterson, History, pp. 147—48. For a discussion of their differences and the resulting discord, see letter no. 1963 and n. 2. 3 George Campfield (see Volume I, letter no. 28, n. 1) had assisted in some of Morris's early experiments with wood-engraving, including the 1860s plan to illustrate The Earthly Paradise (see Volume I, letter no. 42, n. 3). He had also designed and cut the woodengraved title of Commonweal. In 1891, he engraved some early initials for two Kelmscott Press volumes, The Glittering Plain and The Golden Legend (see note 1 above; see Cockerell, "History," p. 144; Sparling, p. 74; and Peterson, History, pp. 51-52 and 65-66). 4 Morris's visit with Jenny is illuminated in a letter by Jane Morris to Blunt on April 13, 1891. She writes: "My husband has been very ill, the shock of Jenny's illness was too much for him, and he broke down entirely a few days afterwards—he is much better, but not nearly recovered—he has been away the past few days at Folkestone where Jenny is staying, but the weather is so bad he can't be much out-of-doors. I fear it will be a long time before he is anything like his former self. Jenny has made a most miraculous recovery, she writes cheerfully, is quite happy with a nurse-companion, has had none of her old attacks, and we may fairly hope to have her back in a few weeks better than she has been for years" {JM to WSB, p. 52).

1854 · T o J . & J. LEIGHTON

[WALTER JAMES LEIGHTON?]

2 Eastcliff Gardens Folkestone April 10 [1891]

Dear Sir I shall be coming u p to t o w n o n Monday, & intend to call o n you o n Tuesday m o r n i n g , w h e n perhaps I shall see D e r Endchrist. I confess that I was n o t m u c h drawn towards it j u d g i n g from the facsimile; the cuts are n o t only rude, as in the Alt-vetter, 1 but coarse also. I want to have a talk with you about the binding of the Glittering Plain; I have a clearer idea n o w as to w h a t I want, 2 and I (go) could go a little higher than 2/o—say to 3 / o . I see there are a great many M.S.S. in the 2nd part of the Hailstone Library; 3 I shall h o p e to look at t h e m ; some might be w o r t h bidding for. T h e r e seems to b e n o t h i n g else.

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L E T T E R S OF WILLIAM

MORRIS

I am getting better, but slowly. T h e weather is so much against m e . Yours truly William Morris MS: McMinn Papers. 1 See letter no. 1838, n. 2. 2 Possibly as a result of consulting Cobden-Sanderson (see letter no. 1849 and n. 1). In the event, J. & J. Leighton "were to provide for each of [the Kelmscott Press books] one of two simple bindings: full vellum or quarto linen (with blue-grey papers on boards" held together with silk ties (see Peterson, History, p. 120). Morris intended these to be temporary, assuming buyers would have their books more elaborately bound. For a full discussion of Morris's views on bookbinding, see Peterson, History, pp. 117-21. 3 The Sotheby Sale of the Library of Edward Hailstone, F.S.A. (1818-1890), of Wakefield, Yorkshire, which was held from April 23 to April 30. Presumably, Morris had seen, by April 10, the catalogue for the sale.

1855 · T o REEVES AND T U R N E R

[WILLIAM D O B S O N REEVES]

2 Eastcliff Gardens

Folkestone. April 10 [1891] Dear Sir 1 As you see I am away from home, which accounts for my n o t answering your letter before. As to the vellum copies; I think (but cannot be sure till I have looked the sheets over) that I can sell 2 copies at the price of 10 guineas each nett: 2 I will let you k n o w as soon as can: I am coming h o m e o n Monday next as to the number of copies (on paper) I can only send you 180. 3 They will all be neatly b o u n d in parchment by Leighton, 4 unless y o u send m e any orders for them in quires, which please let m e k n o w about as soon as possible. I shall send you only about 150 copies at first, as there has been some hitch about the paper, which delays us. 5 As to the public libraries' copies, 6 I should like to send t h e m copies, specially to the Bodleian, being in my o w n University and to Cambridge & the Brit: Mus: both of which have been very kind & helpful to me. B u t I will send the copies, (&) or supply y o u with the due number to send, which I shall find it easy to do, as I have just 5 more than the 200, or ought to have. H o w are we getting o n with News from Nowhere? 7 Yours truly William Morris

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1891 / L E T T E R 1856 MS: UMaryland. 1 For Reeves and Turner's role as distributor of The Glittering Plain, see letter no. 1856, n. 2. 2 Morris refers to the six vellum copies of The Glittering Plain. Only two were sold, at twelve and fifteen guineas, respectively. See Cockerell, "History" p. 148. 3 Of the two hundred paper copies printed. 4 See letter no. 1854, n. 2. 5 See letter no. 1846, n. 1. 6 It is unclear why Morris includes the British Museum (Library) among those to which he "should like" to send copies. The Copyright Act of 1842, still the governing act in 1891, required that a copy of all publications be given to the British Library; and, on request, to the Bodleian, the libraries of Cambridge and Edinburgh Universities, and Trinity College, Dublin. 7 The large paper copies of the English edition were printed in March; presumably Morris is asking about the two further 1891 printings, done in April and June. (See CW, 16, xxxi.) For a description of the three editions of News from Nowhere published in 1891, see letter no. 1696, n. 3.

1856 · T o [ANDREW WHITE TUER?]

April 10 [1891]

Dear Sir 1 Mr. Reeves of 196 Strand is publishing 2 my first b o o k , T h e Glittering Plain out

I will send you prospectus's of the others as they

come

I shall be pleased to see you at the Kelmscott Press, which is at

present a very small affair. B u t I am o u t of t o w n and still somewhat unwell at present I am Dear Sir Yours truly William Morris MS: Bury Coll. 1 See letter no. 1800, n. 1. 2 Given Morris's arrangement with Reeves and Turner, it is odd he should speak of the firm as "publishing" The Glittering Plain (see letter no. 1751, n. 2).

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L E T T E R S OF WILLIAM 1857 · T o EMERY WALKER

MORRIS 2 Eastcliff Gardens

Folkestone April 10 [1891] M y dear Walker I am coming up o n Monday for certain (bar accidents. Meantime I send you an S 1 for H o o p e r 2 if he will kindly cut it, as I see that we are short of s s & want them badly. 3 Won't you look m e u p o n Monday evening—I am getting o n I think; but slowly: the pains flit about me, but I sleep well & can walk a bit; I think this iron weather keeps m e back. However I shall be able to do some work w h e n I get back. Yours ever William Morris MS: Texas. 1 See letter no. 1853, n. 1. 2 See letter no. 1853, n. 2. 3 Fifty pages of The Golden Legend were in type by May 11, the day on which the first page was printed. Presumably Morris felt an urgency on April 10, because cutting the initials was a relatively slow process and soon all holding back the printing would be the need for them.

1858 · T o JOSEPH BATCHELOR

Kelmscott House,

Upper Mall, Hammersmith April 14 [1891] Dear Sir Could you tell m e w h e n I may expect that first lot of paper; 1 I am much in need of it. I venture to write as it is just the 6 weeks since I saw you last. 2 Yours truly William Morris MS: Abrams Coll. Published: Hayle Mill, 38. 1 For The Golden Legend. 2 See letter no. 1846 and n. 3.

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1891 / L E T T E R 1860 1859 · T o J O S E P H BATCHELOR

Kelmscott House,

Upper Mall, Hammersmith April 15, 1891 Dear Sir Thanks for your letter; as to times of delivery, I shall probably exhaust the 10 reams in about a m o n t h from this date, so that the sooner you can let m e have some more the better, if you could supply (we) m e with the remainder at intervals of a m o n t h it would do I think; but I should be glad to have rather more at a time. I find it will be better for m e to order more than I did w h e n I saw you last as I shall want about 1 Vi tons for the b o o k I am beginning: 1 so please make the order for about 2 tons, 2 I don't quite k n o w the equivalent in reams. Yours truly William Morris Kindly let m e have a line, as I have made this change. MS: Abrams Coll. Published: Hayle Mill, 39. 1 The Golden Legend (see letter no. 1832, n. 6). 2 That Morris anticipated needing a ton-and-a-half of paper for The Golden Legend but ordered two tons, may be taken as the first indication in the letters that he had begun at this time to think about printing more than one book at a time.

1860 · T o J O S E P H BATCHELOR

Kelmscott House,

Upper Mall, Hammersmith April 24 [1891] Dear Sir T h e paper duly arrived o n Thursday and is very satisfactory.1 I shall expect the next supply in a month's time, and should be glad if the amount could be doubled, as I shall be able to get o n faster (then) by the time it comes. May I ask also if you could let m e have some of the smaller paper, 12 lbs to the ream at the same time, or whether I should have to wait longer for this; about 15 reams (wo) of this smaller size would be enough. 2 This had better be outside the other order in case y o u can d o it in the time. I find that the larger size feels thicker than I should have expected from the small addition to the weight per ream; though this may be owing to my want of experience in handling paper; and the thinner paper is more suitable to a smaller b o o k I am printing. 3 If however any considerable

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LETTERS

OF WILLIAM

MORRIS

delay should be caused by the extra order, I will waive it for the present; as the important thing to me is to get more like that just delivered. Yrs truly William Morris MS: Abrams Coll. Published: Hayle Mill, 39-40. 1 For The Golden Legend. 2 Morris is requesting paper for Poems by the Way, which he had apparently decided, at this time, to begin printing, even though the The Golden Legend was in progress (see letter no. 1859, n. 2). Poems by the Way, a small quarto, was the first Kelmscott Press volume printed in two colors and the first in which the smaller printer's mark (see letter no. 1918, n. 3) was used. Printing began in July, was finished in September, and on October 20, 1891, Poems by the Way became the second book issued from the Kelmscott Press. (See Cockerell, "List," pp. 148-49.) For the poems Morris decided to use in the book, some of them written as early as 1870, see letters no. 1869 and notes; and no. 1882, n. 3. 3 See note 2 above.

1861

· T o F R E D E R I C K S T A R T R I D G E ELLIS

Kelmscott H o u s e ,

U p p e r Mall, H a m m e r s m i t h [April 28, 1891]

Dear E. I forgot, we sorely want the first sheet (lopp) 1 for press. This double revising is a great drawback: couldn't you manage to do the correcting in one whack? You will have 4 more pp tomorrow. Yrs. WM. MS: Brown. 1 At this point there is an asterisk supplied by an unknown hand and at the bottom of the letter an explanation: " O f ' T h e Golden Legend,' edited by Mr. Ellis." There is a problem, however. Morris seems to be requesting a sheet containing sixteen printed pages, i.e., one for an octavo book. However, The Golden Legend was a quarto. The first octavo printed at the Kelmscott Press was the Biblia Innocentium, dated October 22, and issued December 9, 1892, too late for any plausible connection with this letter, which not only contains an annotation referring to The Golden Legend but is also on a card clearly postmarked April 28, 1891. One possible explanation is that the annotation on the holograph incorrectly identifies the book, being printed, to which this letter refers. Another possible explanation is that Morris meant to write the plural "sheets, " i.e., two sheets folded quarto and thus containing eight printed pages each.

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1891 I L E T T E R 1863 1862 · T o J . & J. LEIGHTON [WALTER JAMES LEIGHTON?]

Kelmscott House,

Upper Mall, Hammersmith April 28 [1891] Dear Sir As I shall be away during the week, 1 you had better n o t send anything to m y house till my return which will be tomorrow week. As to the last sheets of the Glittering Plain: Mr. Bowden will bring them round to you on Friday. 2 I believe they will then be quite dry. W h a t did the Horae fetch yesterday? 3 the pretty one which I had thought of and abandoned I mean. Yrs truly W Morris MS: Bodleian. See letter no. 1863. 2 For binding. 3 At the Hailstone Sale (see letter no. 1854, n. 3). 1

1863 · T o EIRIKR MAGNUSSON

Kelmscott House,

Upper Mall, Hammersmith April 28 [1891] My dear Magnusson Thanks for your letter. I am n o w (tomorrow) going to c / o Miss Lamb 2 Eastcliff Gardens Folkestone for one week; in case you have anything to send me. I have sent the corrected sheets for revise. 1 I have accepted all your alterations except in o n e o r two places where it was a matter of style only. By the way 'trencher' in English is a mere flat square board, o n which the carver put slices of flesh-meat; and which would n o t hold any liquid. 2 I have seen the blue-coat-school boys 3 eating off them w h e n I was a little boy, & noticed their devices (with much interest) for banking u p a little gravy with a potato toft. It seems our forefathers w h e n they had flesh meat, usually boiled it with dough-puddings. They ate the puddings first to dull the edge of appetite; then supped the brewis (from cups) & then came to the 'piece de resistance.' This was the custom in country places almost in my young days.

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L E T T E R S OF WILLIAM M O R R I S I have n o t h i n g left of the Heath-Slayings but the 'Wolfe-tail' in the 4 shape the last few pp w h i c h include 3 visur, the terror of which has hith­ erto stayed m e but which I will tackle at once. I have made a few verbal alterations (nothing else) in order to bring this part in line with the style (for) with the rest of the b o o k . I am looking anxiously for the preface and notes. With best wishes Yours very truly William Morris MS: Iceland. Extract published: MM, I, 460. 1 The proofs for Vol. 2 of the Saga Library. 2 Presumably Morris was referring to the use of the word in the Heibarviga Saga that occurs on pp. 212 and 213 of Vol. 2. The text reads (p. 212): "Kollgris did even so, and set forth the board, a trencher for each man, and set meat thereon"; and on p. 213: "Then they thrust the trenchers from them with all that was on them, and go to their horses. . . . " 3 Possibly the boys at Christ's Hospital. They wore yellow stockings and long blue coats to the ankle. I am grateful to Margaret Home Smith for this suggestion. 4 See letter no. 1783, n. 7.

1864

· T o JOSEPH BATCHELOR

Kelmscott House,

Upper Mall, Hammersmith April 29 [1891] Dear Sir Since you can send m e the 20 reams of the (16 χ 20) 16 χ 22 in the course of the m o n t h 1 I will order also 20 reams of the 16 χ 11 to be sent m e as soon as you can, say 7 weeks: only I understand that this will not prejudice the delivery of the first lot (16 χ 22.) This 20 reams of 16 χ 11 had better be additional to the order I have already given you. 2 Yrs truly William Morris MS: Abrams Coll. Published: Hayle Mill, 40. 1 See letter no. 1860. 2 See letter no. 1860.

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1891 / L E T T E R 1866 1865 · T o CHISWICK P R E S S

Kelmscott House,

Upper Mall, Hammersmith April 29 [1891] Dear Sir Will you please send Mr. Magnusson {2n) an extra proof of each of the sheets under correction 1 he finds this necessary. Yrs W Morris MS: Bodleian. 1 See letter no. 1863.

1866 · T o EIRIKR MAGNUSSON

Kelmscott House,

Upper Mall, Hammersmith April 29, 189[1] M y dear Magnusson As you will see by my yesterday's letter I shall n o t be here o n Saturday next. C a n you make it Saturday May 2nd? 1 if so write to m e at Folkestone. I enclose the £ 5 with pleasure. I agree that we ought to make the visur literal if we can but sometimes I can't to keep it verse at the same time. 2 However with your help perhaps I may manage. As to the other work I don't think I have ever altered the sense, at any rate I didn't intend to. A n d you see I am responsible for the style, which certainly ought to be homogeneous. Perhaps a word or t w o from m e would explain this to you. However we can wrangle over this w h e n we meet. A little talk is worth much writing. G o o d luck Yours very truly William Morris MS: Iceland. 1 It is unclear how or why Morris could have planned a meeting with Magnusson in London on May 2 since he was to be in Folkestone on that day (see letter no. 1871). Barring the improbable explanation that he planned a round trip between Folkestone and London on that day, the possibility recommending itself is that Morris erroneously wrote "May 2nd"; i.e., writing on April 29 a Wednesday, he meant, by "Saturday next," May 9. 2 See letter no. 1863.

t 295 ]

L E T T E R S OF WILLIAM

MORRIS

1867 · T o T H O M A S JAMES C O B D E N - S A N D E R S O N

2 Eastcliff Gardens

Folkestone [April 30, 1891?]1 M y dear Sanderson I have managed to get down here to keep Jenny company. B u t though I am otherwise quite strong, and feeling fairly well; the gout has d e scended upon m e somewhat, and I cannot shake it off. So I write this to say that I cannot be sure of coming to the meeting next Thursday. 2 W h a t is to be done? If I can't come I will at any rate write a letter. 3 I am very sorry to p u t you all to inconvenience. Yrs affectionately William Morris MS: Bucknell. 1 In a hand other than Morris's, the date "April 1891" has been added to the holograph. The conjecture that the letter was written on April 30 is based on the fact that Morris arrived in Folkestone on that day (see letter no. 1868), and on his writing to Leighton, Murray, and Quaritch, during this stay in Folkestone, that he had gout (see letters no. 1868, no. 1869, and no. 1870). 2 Possibly the general meeting of the Arts and Crafts Exhibition Society held on Thursday, May 7, 1891. Because the Society was under financial strain in 1891, the May 7, 1891, meeting was an important one: at this meeting guarantors were called upon to give aid, and there was a discussion as to whether there should be an exhibition in 1892. See Stansky, p. 247. 3 If in fact Morris wrote a letter for the May 7 meeting (see note 2 above), it has not come to light.

1868 · T o J . & J. LEIGHTON [WALTER JAMES LEIGHTON?]

Folkestone

April 30 [1891] Dear Sir Thank you for your letter, and the trouble you have taken. 1 T h e little Psalter (1858) 2 is cheap commercially, and of great value to me. T h e Offices (2072) 3 seems to m e moderate also, and an interesting book. T h e 12 cent: psalter (2138) 4 is o n e of those books of which you can't say h o w they will go: I thought it might go for less, but I shouldn't have been surprised if it had gone for more, anyhow I am very pleased to have it, as it will be of great use to me. I consider that I have done very well. I do rather covet the psalter 2160; 5 but it is rather a matter of'ways & means.' Could you kindly reserve it till I return to town and I can look at it quietly?

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1891 I L E T T E R 1868

I am rather surprised at the price 2139 fetched. It is a very interesting book, but patchy and unhandsome: Was it B.Q.'s buy?6 What a price that printed hours fetched, all daubed up as it was!7 I now see that M.S.S. are much more uncertain at a sale than printed books. The Horae Mr. Ellis bought was not dear at £71. 8 But I much prefer the earlier books; they are much more 'educational' 9 to use a slang phrase. I shall probably (gout permitting) call on you this day in the morning, and hope to hear a good report of the Glittering Plain. Yours truly William Morris MS: Queensland. ' Leighton had bid for Morris on a number of lots at the Hailstone Sale (see letter no. 1854, n. 3). Needham cites (p. 34) this sale as "perhaps the earliest indication of Morris's growing involvement with medieval manuscripts," and adds that along with the purchases discussed in the present letter (see notes 2-4), "at least four more Hailstone manuscripts and several early printed books eventually came into Morris's possession." 2 Lot 1858 is described in the catalogue as a fifteenth-century manuscript, on vellum, with thirty-two miniatures and an illustrated calendar. It was purchased by Leighton for £16. 3 Officium et Horae B. Mariae Virginis, a fifteenth-century vellum manuscript, with a calendar, sixteen large minatures, floriated borders, sixteen initial letters, and numerous capitals, all in gold and colors. It was bought by Leighton for £27. 4 A fifteenth-century manuscript, on vellum; the capitals on the first page are in gold and throughout, there are ornamented initials. Leighton paid £30.10s for it. 5 A thirteenth-century manuscript, on vellum, by an English scribe, with ten figures illustrating the calendar, and 150 large initial letters and borders illuminated in gold and colors ornamenting the text. It was bought by Leighton for £17. 6 Lot 2139, a Psalter, was not bought by Quaritch, but by a Mr. Ridge, for £100. A fourteenth-century vellum manuscript, with a calendar (ornamented with twenty-four paintings), it was decorated with forty-nine miniatures and forty-one floriated borders. 7 Possibly lot 1373, a rare French Book of Hours, on vellum, described in the catalogue as "'The identical vol' mentioned by Dibdin in his Bibliographical Decameron." It was bought by Quaritch for £100. 8 Possibly the Horae with thirty large miniatures and additions in Old French, mentioned in The Times, April 28, 1891 (p. 10), which sold for £71. It was lot 1392 at the sale and is described in the catalogue as a fifteenth-century manuscript, on vellum, within 456 illuminated borders in gold and colors, ornamented with thirty large miniatures heightened with gold, and numerous capital letters. 9 Morris's meaning is uncertain. Possibly he intends to say that for him the earlier books serve as better models for typography, page layout, and woodcut illustration; and his calling "educational" a slang term is an effort at humor about his allegedly buying expensive books to serve Kelmscott Press needs and not admitting he buys them for the direct pleasure they gave him.

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L E T T E R S OF WILLIAM 1869 · T o CHARLES FAIRFAX M U R R A Y

MORRIS 2 Eastcliff Gardens

Folkestone May 1, 1891 M y dear Murray T h a n k you very much. T h e poems are very interesting to m e , but I doubt if they will thicken my volume directly.' Catherine puzzles m e : 2 I have n o t the slightest recollection of any stanza of it. D i d I write it? Is it a translation? I think n o t the latter; but it is devilish like. It is much t o o long; and I fear it is too rude to be altered. T h e Long Land I like in a fashion. B u t O the callowness of it! It cannot be altered, and I should shudder at seeing such ingenuous callowness e x posed to the public gaze. Item it is tainted with imitation of B r o w n ing (as Browning then was). 3 T h e Story of the flower I shall try to write: the two stanzas are certainly mine, (&) though these also I have utterly forgotten. 4 T h e next ballad is t o o close an imitation of a border one to be either altered or published just n o w I fear. 'Malmsten' is (I think) a(n) translation from a Danish one. 5 T h e Stepmother 6 certainly is. 'St Agnes &c' is a fragment 7 and must stay as such; and I don't feel enclined to publish fragments. I should like to see anything else you can show m e before you go. T h e Edge of the Wilderness I shall look up: I think it will do. 8 T h o u g h I went a drive yesterday I can't shake off my gout which is a nuisance. Again very many thanks; I will consider the matter carefully. Yours very truly William Morris Jenny is very well indeed, thank you, and enjoying herself hugely 9 MS: Texas. Extract published: Mackail, II, 257-58. ' Mackail writes (II, 257) that in May 1891, Morris "was busy in collecting and passing judgment on those shorter unpublished poems of his own which were to form" the main content of Poems by the Way (see letter no. 1860, n. 2). "[Morris] was habitually careless about his own manuscripts," Mackail continues, "and kept no record of what he had written or even of what he had published. Without the help of Mr. Fairfax Murray, into whose hands a number of the unpublished manuscripts had passed, and who had kept a record of all the poems which had ever been printed in magazines or elsewhere, the collection could hardly have been made." 2 In the event, this poem and "The Long Land" (see note 3 below) were not included in the volume. "Catherine" and the others referred to in this letter are contained in a series of drafts in Murray's hand in the British Library (Add. MSS.45298A). Boos has identified (Juvenilia, p. 38) "Catherine" as the poem that Murray titled "The Sleeve of Gold." 3 "The Long Land" was published by May Morris in a section titled "Early Poems" (CW, 24, 58-62). 4 Presumably Morris meant to develop in further stanzas the theme of the two to which he refers. But the "Story of the Flower," like "Catherine" and "The Long Land," was

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1891 I L E T T E R 1871 finally excluded from Poems by the Way, and there is no evidence that Morris did complete it. Boos has identified (Juvenilia, p. 39) excerpts from this poem, as well as May Morris's summaries of its several sketches (CW, 21, xvi, xvii, and 323—40) and has also located a fragment of it (BL, Add. MSS.45298A). 5 The ballad which begins "Malmston had a dream in the night." Published by May Morris (MM, I, 517-18), "Malmston" and "The Cruel Stepmother" (see note 6 below) are translations from the Danish. There is a draft in Morris's hand in the Fitzwilliam (cited by Boos, Juvenilia, p. 32). 6 The ballad which May Morris prints (MM, I, 517) first in her arrangement of Morris's work under the title "Juvenilia." Boos has located (Juvenilia, p. 32) a draft in Morris's hand in the Fitzwilliam. The poem is contained there in "Autograph Ms of 7 Poems and 1 Prose Tale," and is titled "The Cruel Stepmother." 7 Possibly "St. Agnes' Convent," published in CW, 24, 68-69. 8 Morris did in fact include this poem in the book. See CW, 9, 146-48. 9 See letter no. 1867.

1870 · T o BERNARD Q U A R I T C H

Kelmscott House, Upper Mall, Hammersmith 1 May 1 [1891]

Dear Sir I unavoidably lost a good deal of time owing to my illness; but have been at w o r k again o n vol: II 2 w i t h M r . Magnusson for the last three weeks, and I think that we shall have d o n e all o u r part in a little m o r e than a m o n t h ; T h e printer has matter in hand, so that I suppose a few days after that it will go to the binder; say six weeks in all. Yours faithfully William Morris MS: Quaritch. 1 Morris was still at Folkestone on May 1, but wrote his return address as indicated on plain stationery, possibly by way of requesting that replies be sent to Kelmscott House. 2 Of the Saga Library.

1871 · T o EMERY WALKER

2 Eastcliff Gardens Folkestone May 2 [1891]

M y dear Walker Enclosed find the designs of the 2 As. 1 W h i c h you keep. H o o p e r 2 has cut t h e m prettily. Please get t h e m coppered. W h a t news of the Pressman? 3 O n Thursday I saw H y t h e C h u r c h ; 4 terribly restored by Street and Pearson, 5 but still well w o r t h seeing: a spacious early dec: 6 nave; early E. 7 [ 299

]

L E T T E R S OF WILLIAM

MORRIS

transepts: a norman arch in (N) S. aisle of nave; a Norman door, and a wonderfully beautiful E. E. vaulted quire & aisles, with a crypt under the high altar, filled with piles of bones and skulls, the remains of an old battle-field as 'tis (not unreasonably) thought. Outside this choir is not much injured and is delightful. The Ch. stands high up on the steep hillside over the queer little market-town in a lovely place amidst gardens and old stone-walls. Not far off amidst the downland vallies is (Sto) Saltwood castle:8 the house whereof has been restored out of all knowledge, & is a swell's house; but the circle of the walls is left untouched, and is very interesting. I shall try to get to Canterbury before I leave; as I am better; if it will only last. I am getting on pretty well with the border:9 hope to bring it back finished. Leighton bought all those 3 books for me at £74 the lot.10 Not very dear I think: the little psalter only fetched £16.10. 11 That queer book of hours with the Adams and Eves went high. £100 to wit. 12 I decidedly prefer my lot. Good luck! Yours affectionately William Morris MS: Texas. Extract published: MM, I, 664; Henderson, Letters, 338. 1 Probably for The Golden Legend. See letter no. 1853, n. 1. 2 See letter no. 1853, n. 2. 3 Cockerell writes ("History," p. 142) that a pressman, Giles, had been hired on March 2, 1891, when the first sheet of The Glittering Plain was printed and "left soon after this first book was finished," presumably at the beginning of May. Morris in this letter may be asking about Giles's plans, or possibly about a replacement for him. 4 Morris refers to the Church of St. Leonard. The church is cruciform in plan and has a chancel that is much higher than the nave. There is a tower at the west end, the lower part of which is Rectilinear and the upper decorated with a battlement and pinnacles. There is a double roof over the north transept, some of the windows in the nave and transepts are Curvilinear (see note 6 below) and others Rectilinear, and there are trefoiled lancets in the clerestory. For these and other architectural details, see Stephen R. Glynne, The Churches of Kent (London: John Murray, 1877), pp. 60-63. 5 The church was restored in 1875. 6 The Decorated style was the second of the three phases of English Gothic architecture (see note 7 below for the first) and lasted from about 1280 until late in the fourteenth century. As its name suggests, it was characterized by rich decoration and tracery. Ogee arches were also characteristic of the style. The Decorated is often divided into early (to which Morris refers) and late, called Geometric and Curvilinear respectively. It was followed by the Perpendicular. 7 Early English was the first of three phases of English Gothic architecture and was the style of building in England from about 1180 to 1280. Based on Norman and French models, it was often characterized by lancet windows without tracery. 8 Saltwood Castle, which was begun in the eleventh century, had belonged to the Arch-

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1891 I L E T T E R 1872 bishops of Canterbury, but intermittently in lay hands, was fortified by both de Monfort at the time of the Doomsday Survey (1085-1086) and by Essex in the twelfth century. The inner walls describe an irregular oval. There are two domestic dwellings within and the earlier of the two (parts remain from around 1300), possibly the one Morris means, lies against the south wall. In 1170, Saltwood Casde was the rendezvous for the murderers of Thomas a Becket. For detailed description of the entire complex, see Pevsner, Kent, pp. 425-27. 9 For The Golden Legend. 10 See letter no. 1868 and notes 2-4. 11 See letter no. 1868, n. 2. 12 See letter no. 1868, n. 7.

1872 · T o WILLIAM HENRY BOWDEN

Folkestone May 3 [1891]

Dear Sir 1 I see that you are in trouble with your capital Q s . If you can get the lower case u cut off a few of t h e m , 2 and kern the Q itself 3 a little that will save the delay of yet another p u n c h cast; as we shall not want many in all probability not want many of them, please do this if possible w i t h o u t delay. I am glad that you have got the 2 extra copies of the Glittering Plain, as I am short of t h e m . You may expect to see me on Thursday morning; but I shall be h o m e o n Wednesday about 6 p.m. & shall be glad to see you then if you can c o m e in Yours truly William Morris MS: Newberry. 1 William H. Bowden, son of William Bowden (see letter no. 1811, n. 1). 2 It was customary in typefounding to cast the Q and the u as a sort (i.e., a single piece of type); the sort in this case was for The Golden Legend, according to a note on the holograph by Cockerell. 3 Morris may mean to make the kern—or tail—of the Q more pronounced; or simply to smooth the existing one. Possibly, too, he may mean to extend the tail of the Q further under the body of the u. I am grateful to David Greetham for the last suggestion.

[ 301

]

LETTERS

OF WILLIAM

1873 · T o J. & J. L E I G H T O N

MORRIS Kelmscott H o u s e , U p p e r Mall, H a m m e r s m i t h May 8 [1891]

D e a r Sir AU r i g h t : o n l y d o n o t t r i m d o w n t o t h e b o n e ; leave p l e n t y o f r o u g h edges.1 Yrs W.M. MS: Bodleian. 1 Morris presumably refers to the trimming of the pages of The Glittering Plain. He was always concerned that the binder's knife might destroy the proportions of the margins. However, the date of this card (postmarked May 9, 1891) poses a problem. The Glittering Plain was issued on May 8, and it is not clear why Morris would be sending these directions, which pertain to the binding, on the day of publication.

1874

· FROM A LETTER T O [JENNY MORRIS]

[May 10, 1891]

T h e blossom is splendid. . . . L o n d o n in the older parts like the Inns of C o u r t really looks well in this spring-time with the bright fresh green against the smoky old walls. Spring over, it becomes L o n d o n again, and n o more an enchanted city. 1 TEXT: Mackail, II, 260. 1

Although Mackail in the Life does not identify the recipient of this letter, in his notebook he lists a letter to Jenny Morris on May 10, 1891, and summarizes it in part as follows: "working at Eyrbiggia Saga with Magnusson. . . . Just beginning printing of Golden Legend. Beauty of London in Spring." Jenny at this time was at Folkestone.

1875 · T o W A L T E R C R A N E

Kelmscott House, Upper Mall, Hammersmith Monday [May 11? 1891]1

M y dear Crane I forgot to say last night that it seemed to me that in the first horseback picture, 2 the necessities of space seemed to have driven you into making the figures t o o small for comfort so that I don't see w h y you should not have pictures a half or t w o thirds of the page w h e n it seems g o o d . 3 In haste. Yours very truly W. Morris

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1891 / L E T T E R

1875

One of the four illustrations by Walter Crane for The Glittering Plain, 1894.

MS: Syracuse. 1 The year "1891" is provided on the holograph in a hand other than Morris's, presumably that of Crane. 2 For the illustrated Glittering Plain, published in January 1894 (see letter no. 1831, n. 1). Morris refers here to the picture on p. 4 of the book. See illustration, above. 3 Although Morris in this letter offers a compromise, he was in fact dissatisfied with Crane's drawings and remained so (see Peterson, History, p. 154-56). But he used them nevertheless, in contrast to his rejection of drawings by Charles M. Gere and Arthur J. Gaskin he found unsatisfactory, for other Kelmscott Press books. For Gere see letter no. 2059, n. 1; for Gaskin, see letter no. 2071, n. 1, respectively; and for an overview of Morris's correspondence with both of them, see Volume IV, Introduction, pp. xxvi-xxix.

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L E T T E R S OF W I L L I A M

MORRIS

1876 · FROM A LETTER TO [JENNY M O R R I S ] 1

[May 12, 1891]

I have the usual complaint at my pen's e n d of n o t h i n g to tell. . . . T h e weather is beautifully bright and quite hot; the pear and cherry blossom is going off, and spring will soon have slid into summer, t h o u g h the lilac is yet to c o m e . TEXT: Mackail, II, 260. 1

Mackail's notebook lists a letter to Jenny dated May 12, 1891, and the summary quotes the first sentence of the extract as given here. The summary also quotes from the full letter a sentence Mackail did not publish: "first sheet of Golden Legend printed today," presumably because it would repeat his earlier statement (II, 256) that the first sheet was printed "by the middle of May."

1877 · T o J O S E P H BATCHELOR

Kelmscott House, Upper Mall, Hammersmith May 13, 1891

Dear Sir T h e paper has come to hand. 1 If you would let m e k n o w w h a t I owe you so far, with discount allowed 2 I shall be glad to send a cheque. Yours truly William Morris MS: Abrams Coll. 1 Henry Morris reproduces (Hayle Mill, p. 32) one of Batchelor's bills, dated May 14, 1891. It lists charges for the April 22 delivery of paper for The Golden Legend, the molds used in making it, and for a May 12 delivery of paper. The net total is £76.04.2s. 2 Batchelor gave Morris a discount of five percent. See Hayle Mill, p. 32.

1878 · T o [REEVES AND T U R N E R ? ]

Kelmscott House, Upper Mall, Hammersmith May 13, 1891

Dear Sir 1 I beg to acknowledge the receipt of your account re the Glittering Plain and the t w o bills for £ 5 0 & £ 5 8 enclosed therein W i t h many thanks Yours truly William Morris MS: Columbia. 1 It is possible that this letter was addressed to Reeves and Turner, the publishers of the book. If so, then Morris as printer had submitted the two bills to them, presumably requesting payment for the cost of producing the book.

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1891 / L E T T E R

1880

1879 · T o J O S E P H BATCHELOR

Merton Abbey, Surrey May 15, 1891

Dear Sir I enclose a cheque for the a m o u n t I owe you. Kindly send m e a receipt to H a m m e r s m i t h . Mr. O l d h a m 1 is anxious for m e to come & see h i m , w h i c h I shall p r o b ably do some day this early summer: as I should n o t like to miss seeing y o u at the same time, perhaps you w o u l d kindly tell m e w h a t days of the week you are most likely to be at Ford Mills. I am Dear Sir Yours truly William Morris MS: Abrams Coll. 1 The Rev. Richard Samuel Oldham (1823-1913?), the younger brother of Morris's brother-in-law Joseph Oldham. In 1891, Richard Oldham was rector of Little Chart, Ashford, Kent.

1880 · T o EMERY WALKER

Kelmscott House, Upper Mall, Hammersmith [May 15? 1891]

Dear W All right about the Doggeries: 1 you needn't call. Besides T h o r n e 2 is 'influed.' Yrs WM MS: Texas. 1 A reference to Sussex House at No. 16 Upper Mall, adjacent to the Cottage (No. 14), which was the Press's first home. Needing larger premises, the Press moved in May from No. 14 to No. 16. As for Morris's calling Sussex House "the Doggeries," it had been used by the previous tenant to raise dogs. Mackail lists in his notebook a letter to Jenny Morris (which has not survived), written on April 24, 1891, and summarizes it in part: "The dogs are going from Sussex House so he might take that for the Press." Morris's reference here to "the Doggeries" also suggests the date of this letter: Mackail's notebook lists a second to Jenny that has not survived—dated May 15—in which Morris wrote that he "has taken Doggeries." The actual moving date was May 25, 1891. 2 The owner of Sussex House.

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L E T T E R S OF W I L L I A M

MORRIS

1881 · T o J O S E P H B A T C H E L O R

Kelmscott House, Upper Mall, Hammersmith May 20, 1891

Dear Sir Thanks for your letter; I shall m y all means p u t off my visit t o C h a r t 1 till you are at w o r k again. Will you kindly tell m e w h a t delay this stoppage ( w o u ) will make in the delivery of my paper: 1st of the 20 reams of 16 χ 2 2 , 2 & 2 n d the 35 reams of the 16 χ 1 1 . 3 I am obliged t o ask this, as I must make arrange­ ments accordingly: either lot w o u l d keep m e at w o r k . 4 Yours truly William Morris MS: Abrams Coll. Published: Hayle Mill, 41. 1 See letter no. 1879. 2 For The Golden Legend. See letter no. 1864. 3 Presumably for Poems by the Way (see letter no. 1860 and n. 2). But see also note 4 below. 4 Morris may have already begun to think of printing two additional volumes: The Nature of Gothic, dated in the preface (by Morris) February 15, and issued March 22, 1892; and The Defence of Guenevere, of which the first sheet was printed on February 17, and which was issued May 19, 1892. Even A Dream ofJohn Ball and Λ King's Lesson, dated May 13 and issued September 14, 1892, may have been thought about by this time. All of these, along with The Glittering Plain, constitute the first six books issued by the Kelmscott Press, and are small quartos, printed on the 16-by-l 1-inch paper.

1882 · F R O M A L E T T E R T O [GEORGIANA B U R N E - J O N E S ]

[Kelmscott House May 20, 1891]1

The

new

printed sheets of the G. L.

2

look very well indeed. . . .

Pleased as I a m w i t h my printing, w h e n I saw m y t w o m e n at w o r k o n the press yesterday w i t h their sticky printers' ink, I couldn't help lamenting the simplicity of the scribe and his desk, and his black ink and blue and red ink, and I almost felt ashamed of my press after all. I am w r i t i n g a short narrative p o e m to top u p my new b o o k w i t h .

3

M y wig! but it is garrulous:

I can't help it, the short lines and my old recollections lead m e o n . TEXT: Mackail, II, 256-57. Published: Henderson, Letters, 338. 1 Mackail's notebook lists a letter to Georgiana Burne-Jones written on May 20, 1891, and summarizes the part of the letter given here. The summary, however, refers also to parts of the letter not published in the Life and reads: "Has taken the Doggeries, part of the house that Walker's work occupies." 2 Cockerell writes ("History," p. 151) that fifty pages of The Golden Legend were in type by May 11.

[ 306 ]

1891 / L E T T E R

1884

3

Morris refers to his writing of "Goldilocks and Goldilocks" to add to his otherwise completed Poems by the Way (see letter no. 1869 and notes). Cockerell gives ("History," p. 149) the date of composition as May 20 exactly and Mackail, in his notebook summary of this letter (see note 1 above), specifies that the poem to which Morris refers is "Goldilocks." Of interest too is May Morris's account (CW, 9, xxvii): "'Goldilocks and Goldilocks' dropped off the end of [Morris's] pen in this way: during the printing of Poems by the Way Emery Walker went in to my father's study and heard that the volume was all set up and only made so many pages; it was too thin, and Father a little bothered; he thought they 'could not charge two guineas for that.' They parted and Walker came in to dinner the same night, and afterwards my father said: 'Now I'll read you what I've written to fill out the book,' and forthwith chanted this pretty fairy-poem of nearly 700 lines to his wondering and amused crony."

1883 · T o CHISWICK P R E S S

[CHARLES T H O M A S JACOBI?]

Kelmscott House, Upper Mall, Hammersmith May 20 [1891]

Dear Sir W i t h the exception of putting caps for small caps the ( p r o o f ) speci: of the Glittering Plain 1 will do very well; will you please get o n with it at once & ask (see) M r Reeves to supply the paper Yours truly William Morris MS: Bodleian. 1 A reference to the printing of a popular edition of The Glittering Plain, which was issued in 1891, soon after the Kelmscott Press edition appeared in May. Printed at the Chiswick Press, it was published by Reeves and Turner. It served as the copy text for the illustrated Kelmscott Press Glittering Plain. See Buxton Forman, pp. 156-57; and Peterson, Bibliog., p. 61.

1884 · T o ELLIS AND ELVEY

Kelmscott House, Upper Mall, Hammersmith May 20 [1891]

Dear Sirs If you have still the Psalter 1 w h i c h you showed m e the o t h e r day I will take it. I enclose a cheque for £ 1 0 0 w h i c h please credit m e with Yours truly William Morris MS: UCLA. 1 I have been unable to identify the psalter to which Morris refers.

[ 307 ]

L E T T E R S OF WILLIAM M O R R I S 1885

· T o EIRIKR MAGNUSSON

Kelmscott House,

Upper Mall, Hammersmith May 25 [1891] M y dear Magnusson Would you kindly let m e have sheet R and S as soon as convenient; as 1 I wait (gettin) sending t h e m in for revise till I get your corrections. 2 O f course I should be glad of the other matter as soon as you can manage it. I should like to say a few words in the preface about the literary quality of the Sagas. 3 However I must not hurry you. Yrs ever truly William Morris MS: Iceland. 1 For Vol. 2 of the Saga Library. 2 Morris may refer to the preface (see note 3 below). 3 The Erbyggia and Heibarviga Sagas. It is probable that it had been agreed that Magnusson would write the preface and that what Morris means here is that he wants to contribute a passage or section to it. According to Magnusson, he himself wrote the entire preface to Vol. 2. However, he did submit it to Morris for revision, he says, but it is not clear what that meant. See Preface to Vol. 6 of the Saga Library, p. vii.

1886

· T o J . & J. LEIGHTON [WALTER JAMES LEIGHTON?]

Dear Sir I wanted to see you about the M u n i c h Sale; 1 and also by a French one that comes off on J u n e first. 2 Perhaps I can Wednesday m o r n i n g between 11 & 12. If you cannot be in at my house in the evening tomorrow. (Wed) say about 9 ρ convenient to you? Yrs truly W Morris

May 26 [1891]

the way about call t o m o r r o w could you call m or any time

MS: Bodleian. 1 Morris may refer to the sale that was to be held in July 1891, at Ludwig Rosenthal's Antiquariat, in Munich. The sale had been advertised (p. 509) in the May 6, 1891, issue of The Bookseller. For Ludwig Rosenthal, see letter no. 1812, n. 3. 2 Possibly the Sale of the Library of the "Marquis de R." held in Paris June 1-2, 1891. I am grateful to Richard Linenthal for this suggestion.

[ 308 ]

1891 I L E T T E R 1889 1887 · T o J O S E P H B A T C H E L O R

Kelmscott House,

Upper Mall, Hammersmith May 31, 1891 Dear Sir I have lost count of the dates w h e n the paper is due. C o u l d you kindly tell m e w h e n I may expect either size the 16 χ 22 & the 16 χ 1 1 . As I want 1 to arrange accordingly. Yours truly William Morris MS: Abrams Coll. 1 See letter no. 1881.

1888 · T o WALTER T H E O D O R E WATTS-DUNTON

Kelmscott House,

Upper Mall, Hammersmith May 31 [1891] M y dear Watts I am sorry but have n o t got Louis Blanc. 1 T h e Glittering Plain: I am getting a cheap edition p r i n t e d — n o t o\x% yet. 2 I have a copy of the Kelmscott Press one ready for you w h e n you come over. But I shall be away I think next Sunday. Very sorry n o t to see you today. Yours very truly William Morris MS: BL. Ashley 3692. 1 Watts-Dunton may have asked to borrow a copy of Organisation du Travail (1840), the work in which Louis Blanc (1811-1882) outlined his idea of a new social order, based on the principle "From each according to his abilities, to each according to his needs." 2 The Reeves and Turner edition. See letter no. 1883, n. 1.

1889 · F R O M A L E T T E R T O [JENNY M O R R I S ? ]

June 3, 1891

1

It is a hottish close morning, rather dull with L o n d o n smoke. I have just been d o w n the garden to see h o w things were doing, and find that they are getting o n . N o t so many slugs and snails by a long way, and the n e w planted things are growing n o w ; the sweet peas promising well, the p e o ­ nies in bud, as well as the scarlet poppies. All well at the press: we are n o w really getting on, so that finishing the Golden Legend is looking some­ thing m o r e than a dream. 2

[ 309 ]

LETTERS

OF WILLIAM

MORRIS

TEXT: Mackail, II, 260. 1 Mackail dates this extract June 3, 1891, but does not name the recipient. For June 3, 1891, the only letter Mackail lists in his notebook is one to Jenny, which he quotes in part: "The poem I began at Folkestone, oh the length of it!" Possibly both the extract concerning The Golden Legend and the sentence about his poem came from the same letter; but it is unlike Mackail to publish an extract not at least summarized and dated in his notebook. It has seemed best to give here, as the letter, the text published in the Life; and simply to record in this note (as has been done) the sentence concerning the poem, taken from a letter dated June 3, 1891, and identified as one to Jenny. 2 Printing was not to be finished until September 1892, long before which Morris began calling The Golden Legend "the Interminable" (see Mackail, II, 274; see also letters no. 1997 and n. 3; no. 2032; and no. 2038).

1890 · T o GABRIELA CUNNINGHAME GRAHAM

Folkestone June 8 [1891]

Dear Mrs. Graham 1 Thanks for y o u r note & kind invitation to see the stuffs.2 I am away from h o m e till the end of the week; and shall be glad to see t h e m after my return if it is n o t too late. As t o the future as foreshadowed by my b o o k , 3 o n e can only in such a w o r k say w h a t o n e likes oneself. Still you k n o w one m a n is n o t so utterly different from others but that he is sure to share in their likings & hopes; and I am pleased to see that a good many people think my o w n aspirations pleasant at least, and perhaps n o t wholly unreasonable; for w h e n people want a better life I feel sure that they can have it. I am much interested in hearing of y o u r prowess afield. 4 I can't m o w because I have never learned the craft of w h e t t i n g a scythe. W i t h best wishes to yourself and Mr. Graham I am Dear Mrs. G r a h a m Yours very truly William Morris MS: NLS. 1

See Volume II, letter no. 1429, n. 1. Gabriela Cunninghame Graham apparently dealt in textiles, and may either have offered some to Morris directly or have asked him to look at them to decide whether the South Kensington Museum would be interested in purchasing them. In the Scottish R e cord Office there is a carbon-copy letterbook compiled by the Cunninghame Grahams in the 1880s and early 1890s (GD 22/2/98). It contains a letter from Gabriela Cunninghame Graham to the Directors of the South Kensington Museum, dated November 11, 1892, in which she says that she wants £850 for a Renaissance tapestry and £220 each for two others; and a letter that she wrote to a Mr. Macdowell, an auctioneer, on November 22, 1892, 2

[ 310 ]

1891 / L E T T E R 1892 expressing a wish to sell an early Flemish tapestry. I am grateful to Professor Laurence Davies for calling my attention to the letterbook. 3 News from Nowhere, which had appeared in March. 4 Presumably Gabriela Cunninghame Graham had mentioned her own skill with a scythe because in News from Nowhere when Guest first encounters Ellen, with whom he falls in love, she is mowing.

1891

Kelmscott H o u s e , 1

· T o [WALTER JAMES LEIGHTON?]

U p p e r Mall, H a m m e r s m i t h June 9 [1891] Dear Sir Tuesday m o r n i n g I could c o m e in to see the books: if that would suit you please send m e a card. By the way I could n o t possibly get to Sothebys to see Mondays sale books 2 but it seems to m e that 291 Fasciculus & c 3 might be w o r t h looking after, also 184 Ciceronias Epistolae 4 Yrs truly W Morris MS: Bodleian. 1 Although Morris was still at Folkestone on June 9, he used his Kelmscott House stationery in writing this letter. 2 The Sotheby sale to which Morris refers began on June 22 and continued through the 24th. 3 Lot 291 is described in the sale catalogue as a quarto, with numerous woodcuts, printed at Paris by Jean de la Roche in 1513. It was bought by a Mr. Massey for £4.10. 4 An edition of Cicero's Epistolae Familiares, printed at Venice by Wendelin of Speyer in 1470. It was purchased by Quaritch for £5.10, but was apparently not resold by him to Morris. Neither of the editions listed (lots 267 and 268) in the Sotheby Catalogue (1898) was printed by Wendelin of Speyer in 1470.

1892 · T o ALFRED T R U B N E R N U T T

Kelmscott House, Upper Mall, Hammersmith June 13 [1891?]

Dear Mr. N u t t 1 I will give you leave to make the extract, t h o u g h , if I may speak my m i n d , I rather d o u b t the wisdom of taking a piece out of a narrative p o e m . 2 However as I have yea said the asking before, I should n o t like to begin nay saying with You 3 Yours truly William Morris [ 311

]

LETTERS

OF W I L L I A M

MORRIS

Alfred Triibner Nutt, c. 1890.

MS: Schimmel Coll. 1 Alfred Triibner Nutt (1856-1910), head of the publishing firm founded by his father, David Nutt (1810-1863). In 1895 he issued the Northern Library, a series of Icelandic translations; and a collection of English, Celtic, and Indian fairy tales. Nutt was also a folklorist of repute and was founder of the Folklore Journal. 2 Four extracts from Book VI of The Story of Sigurd the Volsung were reprinted, "[b]y permission of the Author," in William Ernest Henley's Lyra Heroica: A Book of Verse for

[ 312 ]

1891

/ LETTER

1894

Boys, published in 1891 by Charles Scribner's Sons, New York. The following year Nutt published a limited edition of the book, a copy of which—presumably sent to Morris by Nutt or Henley—is listed (lot 433) in the Sotheby Catalogue (1898). 3 A note on the holograph reads: "Dear Henley I Here you are. Please thank W.M. yourself. & let me have letter back / again I AIf. Nutt."

1893 · T o CHISWICK PRESS [CHARLES T H O M A S JACOBI?]

Kelmscott House,

Upper Mall, Hammersmith [June 15, 1891?] Dear Sir Will you please send Mr. Magnusson 2 copies, of the first proofs every time, as it seems he cannot do without them. 1 I shall n o t want 2 copies. Also please send m e back my proof of sheet B that I may embody Mr. M's corrections in it before the revise is p u t in hand. Yours truly William Morris Ms: Bodleian. 1 Proofs of Vol. 2 of the Saga Library.

1894 · T o REEVES AND T U R N E R [WILLIAM D O B S O N REEVES?]

Kelmscott House,

Upper Mall, Hammersmith June 16 [1891] Dear Sirs 1 I have come to the conclusion that 250 offered for sale will n o t be too much for the 'Poems by the Way' the title of my n e w book. 2 It is difficult to settle the price till I am able to say h o w many p.p. it will make. If it it comes smaller than the G.P. I shall have to put a smaller price o n it. B u t I do n o t think it will: on the other hand it may come out more p.p. in which case however I will not raise the price above £2.2. So I think you had better announce it as £2.2. the format the same as the G.P. it will be printed in red and black. 3 T h e poems will include some recently written, & some written many years ago. Some have appeared in magazines but with the (one) two exceptions of a little piece out of the Jason, & o n e out of the Ogier, 4 they will n o n e of them have been printed in any book of mine; and the greater part of them have n o t appeared in any form at all. Messrs. Roberts Bros: write m e that they want 500 of the G.P. perhaps [ 313 ]

L E T T E R S OF WILLIAM

MORRIS

you would kindly write to them and tell them the state of the case and find out if they want the cheap edition now printing. 5 They 6 also want to print an edition which would be my copyright, from early sheets of the new vol: I will send them sheets on the definite understanding that they are not to attempt to imitate the style of typography Would you please let them know this. I should have told you that I hope to get out the vol of poems in about 2 months. Yours truly William Morris Ms: Berger Coll. 1 Probably meant for the attention of William D. Reeves, despite the plural salutation. 2 Morris had thought first to title the book Flores Atramenti, according to Cockerel! ("List," p. 149). 3 Peterson notes (History, p. 216) that Poems by the Way, "printed in two colors, with red . . . used for a few lines and the shoulder titles," established a pattern that Morris then continued to use. 4 In the event, "Ogier the Dane" was not included. For poems that were, see letter no. 1869 and notes. 5 See letter no. 1883, n. 1. 6 On the holograph, the sentence beginning here (and ending with "typography") is underlined in red by a hand other than Morris's. As for not imitating the style of typography, Peterson writes (History, p. 196) that "[w]hat Roberts Brothers did instead was to create a photographic facsimile of The Glittering Plain, which they issued in a limited edition of 500 copies in October 1891."

1895 · To

Kelmscott House, Upper Mall, Hammersmith June 17 [1891]

CHISWICK PRESS

Please send all the copy of notes & Preface of Saga Library to Mr. Magnusson not to me. I have mentioned this twice before1 W Morris Ms: Bodleian. 1 It is unclear why Morris reacted so strongly to the misdirection of the notes and preface to him. Conceivably he was simply impatient because it was the third time the Chiswick Press had made the error. Perhaps, however, he initially expected a larger role in the writing of the notes and preface and was now with less than good grace capitulating to Magnusson's virtual control of the material (see letter no. 1885 and n. 3).

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1891 / L E T T E R 1898 1896 · T o CHISWICK P R E S S [CHARLES T H O M A S JACOBI?]

Kelmscott House,

Upper Mall, Hammersmith June 22 [1891] Dear Sir Please send Mr. Magnusson at once a pull of sheet Q also of the first sheet. I enclose a table of contents; 1 there are some hiatus' to be filled in it. I also send sheet I o f Glittering Plain. 2 I shall call tomorrow morning Yours truly William Morris MS: Bodleian. 1 For the Saga Library, Vol. 2. 2 For the popular edition. See letter no. 1883, n. 1.

1897 · T o CHARLES FAIRFAX M U R R A Y

Kelmscott House,

Upper Mall, Hammersmith June 30 [1891] I didn't take that little book 1 with m e after all bring it with you if you come o n Sunday. WM

would you kindly

MS: Texas. 1 It is unclear what book Morris means and to whom it belonged. Possibly he had left behind a book when visiting; possibly also Murray owned the book and Morris wished to borrow or inspect it with a view to purchase.

1898 · T o CHISWICK P R E S S [CHARLES T H O M A S JACOBI?]

Kelmscott House,

Upper Mall, Hammersmith July 8, 1891 Dear Sir I enclose a cheque for £16.2.6 with apologies for having forgotten your account 1 Yrs truly William Morris MS: Bodleian. 1 It is unclear why Morris needed to settle an account with the Chiswick Press at this time. Possibly he had not paid his bill for the printing of stationery, which the Chiswick Press apparently supplied him (see letter no. 1688).

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L E T T E R S OF WILLIAM 1899 · To EMERY WALKER

MORRIS Kelmscott House,

Upper Mall, Hammersmith Friday [July 10, 1891?]1 My dear Walker The Fates insist on a new K which will be wanted (if it can be got) in 4 days, (not including Sunday I suppose) So would you kindly get it put on the wood and delivered to Hooper to cut, and ask him to do it as soon as possible—also kindly copper it as soon as poss. I hope you will have good days tomorrow & Sunday2 Yrs Ever William Morris MS: Texas. 1 The conjectural dating assumes the "K" to which Morris refers was the woodblock for The Golden Legend mentioned with less urgency when he writes to Walker on July 14 and July 15, 1891 (letters no. 1903 and no. 1905). 2 See letter no. 1903 and n. 4.

1900 · To EIRIKR

2 Eastcliff Gardens Folkestone July 11 [1891]

MAGNUSSON

My dear Magnusson Somehow I forgot to write about the ships.1 All right you can send them on. Also it was all right about Thorolf Kegward,2 as the sheet was not worked. I hope you are better now. I shall not be at home till after next Friday; & then I shall at once set to work at Heimskringla.3 Yours very truly William Morris MS: Iceland. 1 The ships in Chapter XXXVI (pp. 250-52) of the Heidarvtga Saga. Presumably Morris planned to add a note discussing them. 2 "Thorolf Kegward" is Doroddor Kergardr of Heibarvtga Saga and is also called Thorod Kegward in the Preface, p. xxxvi. 3 Volumes 3-6 of the Saga Library.

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1891 / L E T T E R 1902 1901 · T o JOHN BRUCE GLASIER

2 Eastcliff Gardens

Folkestone July 13 [1891] M y dear Glasier I shall be at h o m e again o n Friday evening next and shall be delighted to see you, that evening or Saturday or Sunday. C a n offer you beds if you will let m e know 1 Excuse haste Yours fraternally William Morris MS: Walthamstow. 1 Of interest is that the tone and content of this letter suggest Morris was not involved in the activities bringing Glasier to London this year, in contrast with previous years. L. Thompson describes (p. 81) Glasier as speaking from "many platforms" at this time, and presumably his chief platform, in London, was that of the Socialist League. Wherever Glasier would be going in London on this trip, it is clear from this letter, Morris would not.

1902 · T o EnUKR MAGNUSSON

2 Eastcliff Gardens Folkestone July 13 [1891]

M y dear Magnusson I send back the sheets of preface and notes, 1 with a few remarks & alterations, to which kindly give your attention: they are mostly little points of style; but I think y o u will if not agree with m e , at least see the force of my objection to slating the Sagaman for Thorgunna, 2 w h o I really think excellent. T h e Gudleif episode, if n o t historical literally, (as of course it is not) is in a sense historical, as you yourself remark, in showing the impression the Vineland voyages had made o n men. 3 Also it is one of the finest things in the Saga, and I don't think we ought to let people suppose we grumble at it. M y remarks in the preface, as above said are n o t needed & so in any case had better come out: all the rest seems to m e good. I will 'targe tightly,' as Ensign Maccombich D h u says4 T h e Chiswick Press; I don't think they will be long over it I shall b e back h o m e o n Friday. I h o p e you are better Yours ever truly William Morris Excuse paper writing in Lodging House at night WM MS: Iceland. Published: MM, I, 459.

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LETTERS

OF WILLIAM

MORRIS

1

To Vol. 2 of the Saga Library. Although probably understood at the outset that Magnusson would oversee scholarly apparatus, Morris balked at times (as here) at Magnusson's decisions. See also letter no. 1885 and n. 3 2 See Preface (pp. xxx-xxxi) and Chapters L-LV of the Eyrbyggia Saga. Thorgunna was a south island woman, noted for her costly belongings. 3 See Preface (pp. xxviii-xxix) and Chapter LXIV, pp. 179-83. This chapter of the Eyrbyggia Saga describes how Gutleif, a great seafarer, is blown west from Ireland to America, "where he is saved from the Indians by their chief, Biorn the Broadwickers' Champion" (quoted words from Index I, p. 331). 4 In Scott's Waverly, Callum Beg mounts guard over the hereditary tailor of Sliochd nan Ivor, and, as he expresses himself, "targe[s] him tightly" till the tailoring job is finished. Morris has misremembered the character, substituting Ensign Maccombich Dhu for Callum Beg.

1903

· To

EMERY WALKER

Folkestone

July 14 [1891] My dear Walker Thank you for your letter & the trouble you have been taking. Yes, I think it was best to (pull) print that sheet again; a misprint of that kind1 though it does not otherwise matter, is such a defacement of the book,— and 'tis a 2 guinea book let us remember. Apropos of which I have a letter from Reeves saying that he has (enclosed) subscribed all the 250. Also enclosing a letter from Cornish 2 of Birmingham weeping & moaning that he can only have 6 copies. Really my cupidity is rising & I begin to regret that I didn't put the book at £5. The vellum grey?3 have you noticed that vellum printing always does look grey in some lights? Jenny and I prayed for fair weather for you on Saturday and Sunday. I can imagine how Shakespeareolatry has blighted Stratford.4 We are going and expedition today, to Rye & Winchelsea.5 The Big Big D 6 looks very well; but there is a little nip at the top that Hooper could set right in a minute. So perhaps he had better do it. I shall be home again on Friday evening. Yrs affectionately William Morris The border I took away to finish

the K intervening7

Ms: Texas. 1 A note in Walker's hand, attached to the holograph, reads: "The misprint mentioned was I think in 'Poems By the Way'. I suppose I had ordered it to be re-printed in M's absence." 2 The bookseller James Cornish of 37 New Street, Birmingham.

[ 318 ]

1891 I L E T T E R 1904 3

Thirteen copies of Poems by the Way were printed on vellum and sold at about twelve guineas. See Cockerell, "List," p. 149. 4 Another attached note by Walker reads: "We had taken our staff to Warwick and Stratford-on-Avon and I had said Stratford wd. be a pleasant town but for Shakspeare." 5 Morris was with Jenny at Folkestone, nearby to Rye and Winchelsea, and had already been there several days. Jane Morris in a letter to Blunt, July 16, wrote: "I have good news of Jenny, her father is with her for a week which gives her the greatest pleasure possible, they wander about the downs together like two happy babies" (JM to WSB, p. 55). 6 Probably the ten-line floriated " D " that appears on p. 32 of Poems by the Way. 7 The border for Poems by the Way; for the woodblock "K," see letter no. 1899.

1904

· T o THACKERAY T U R N E R

Folkestone

July 15 [1891] M y dear Turner, I shall not be at the meeting tomorrow, so write a word about R y e church. 1 I think we have had it before us some time ago. 2 T h e nave very fine transition or early early english has been very badly mauled by Street (Young) 3 But the choir and its aisles; early Early-English, with all the piers & arches save one rebuilt in perpendicular has not suffered yet, and they are getting money together to destroy it. I mention all this because I seem to remember that w h e n we had it on before it was spoken of as of little account, whereas it is on the contrary a very fine and mostly early Church. There are 3 great flying buttresses propping up the East wall; 1 14th (th) century; one rebuilt, & one with the ashlar mostly stripped off. They show you a small scale model of an exceedingly beautiful N o r m a n font (about 6" high) which looks contemporary with its style. Winchelsea Church 4 has been somewhat bedevilled; inside plaster (stipp) stripped off East windows restored, but otherwise not damaged; but they are itching to destroy it. As you will all know it is a superb Edwardian fragment. An Edwardian house at the corner of one street; (they called it the Water Bailiffs prison & court house) 5 has been just badly faked up: they have left its old trussed rafter & the beam roof to the upper story, & the beams & joints of the lower one, but have oiled and varnished the wood. Yours very truly William Morris MS: S.P.A.B. Archives. 1 St. Mary's Church, Rye. Presumably at the meeting to which Morris refers, it was agreed Turner would inquire about the church. OnJuIy 17, 1891, he wrote to the vicar, the Rev. Arthur John William Crosse (1857-1948), that the S.P.A.B. had learned subscrip-

[ 319 ]

L E T T E R S OF WILLIAM M O R R I S tions were being raised to "carry out further works." Adding that the Society had long been interested in the church, Turner asked Crosse to inform the S.P.A.B. of the changes proposed and to say who the architect would be. 2 Morris was correct in thinking the S.P.A.B. had taken up St. Mary's Church (see note 1 above) earlier. In 1883 the church was being restored, and a visit by the S.P.A.B. Committee had determined that "the restoration of the nave with its aisles was found to be almost completed." The Society had then forwarded to the "Restoration Committee" of the church a report criticizing what had already been done and "urging that the unrestored portion of the building . . . be treated in a more conservative way." In responding to the Society, the vicar wrote there were no more funds available for restoration and "therefore nothing more would be done to the church." See the S.P.A.B. Annual Report for 1883. 3 Arthur Edmund Street (1855-1938), the son of George Edmund Street, received his B.A. from Magdalene College, Oxford, and in 1878 entered his father's office. His most notable achievements as an architect were the completion of the Law Courts, which he undertook in association with Sir Arthur Blomfield after G. E. Street's death in 1881; and the completion of the American Church in Paris, also left unfinished by his father. After the turn of the century, he abandoned architecture and turned to literature, his special interest being poetry. In 1907 he published Martial—120 epigrams translated into English verse. See Journal of the Royal Institute of British Architects (January 9, 1939), p. 256. 4 St. Thomas's Church, Winchelsea. Although much of the original fabric had been demolished by the nineteenth century, the c. fourteenth-century chancel and its side chapels had remained intact. The east window in the chancel was restored in 1850, though much medieval glass in the church survived. See Pevsner and Nairn, Sussex, pp. 633-34. 5 The Court House, built of stone, was begun in the fourteenth century, heightened in the fifteenth century, and much restored in the nineteenth. See Pevsner and Nairn, Sussex, p. 636.

1905

· T o EMERY WALKER

Folkestone

July 15 [1891] Many thanks: Please get on with the K. 1 which is very good. B. 2 ought to want it on Friday at latest; but I dare say he has been beating about the bush as usual. I will show you a letter of his will make you laugh. R y e & Winchelsea came off well: 3 the latter especially very beautiful. Yrs WM. MS: Texas. 1 See letter no. 1899. 2 Presumably William Bowden or his son William H. Bowden. 3 See letter no. 1903 and n. 5.

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1891 / L E T T E R 1908 1906

· T o CHARLES FAIRFAX MURRAY

July 17 [1891]

M y dear Murray I shall be at h o m e all Saturday and on Sunday afternoon. Item I want 1 to settle accounts about the Speculum: since I can fork out. Yrs W Morris MS: Texas. 1 Possibly the Dutch Speculum Morris bought in January (see letter no. 1817 and n. 5).

1907

· T o JOSEPH B A T C H E L O R

Kelmscott House,

Upper Mall, Hammersmith July 18 [1891] Dear Sir I have not yet o p e n e d the bundles of the last paper you sent, but I have no doubt it is all right, as the rest has been very satisfactory. T h e smaller size (16 χ 11) seems to m e particularly good, and a great improvement on the first little lot: I enclose a cheque for £89 14 6 which kindly acknowledge Yours truly William Morris MS: Abrams Coll. Published: Hayle Mill, 41.

1908

· T o J. & J. L E I G H T O N [WALTER JAMES LEIGHTON?]

Kelmscott House,

Upper Mall, Hammersmith July 18 [1891] Dear Sir I have already got the Meliadus 1528 1 —so yours will not be of use: otherwise I (shal) should have been glad to keep it. I will bring it back M o n d a y m o r n i n g with a book I want you to bind for me. Yrs truly W Morris Vellum has come but I fear is too short for my clumsy dyeing: I will try a sheet. 2 MS: Bodleian.

[ 321 ]

LETTERS

OF W I L L I A M

MORRIS

1

See letter no. 1822 and n. 2. Morris refers to the bindings for Poems by the Way. The entire Kelmscott Prees issue of 313 copies was bound in vellum, and Cockerell writes ("List" p. 149) "[a] few of the vellum covers were stained at Merton red, yellow, indigo, and dark green, but the experiment was not successful." 2

1909 · T o CHISWICK P R E S S

[CHARLES THOMAS JACOBI?]

Kelmscott House, Upper Mall, Hammersmith July 23 [1891?]

Dear Sir Enclosed is the cheque I was going to bring with me o n Monday. I clean forgot it, for w h i c h I apologise. Yours truly William Morris MS: Bodleian.

1910 · T o [ALFRED T R U B N E R N U T T ? ]

Kelmscott House, Upper Mall, Hammersmith July 24 [1891?]

Sir 1 Would you kindly send me on inspection to the above address the Joannes Damascenus (Barlaam & Josophat) N o 256 in your catalogue; 2 and also the Vincentius Bellovacensis Speculum Historiale: no. 2 5 9 . 3 I am Str Yours faithfully William Morris MS: Schimmel Coll. (Ex). 1 Possibly Alfred T. Nutt (see letter no. 1892, n. 1). 2 Morris owned two editions of Barlaam et Josophat. The copy to which he refers here may have been the one previously in the library of Edward Shipperdson (see Goff, B-126). I am grateful to Paul Needham for indicating to me the provenance of this copy and of the other (purchased by Morris at the March 1891 Crawford of Lakelands Sale [see GoU", B125; see also letter no. 1841, n. 4]). Both copies are now in the PML. 3 At the time of his death, Morris owned two editions of Vincent of Beauvais's Speculum Historiale, both printed at Strasbourg by Johann Mentelin. The Sotheby Catalogue (1898) lists them as lot 1192—a first edition (now at the PML); and lot 1193—an undated edition, which the Catalogue dates c. 1474.

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1891 / L E T T E R 1911 1911 · T o BERNARD Q U A R I T C H

Kelmscott House,

Upper Mall, Hammersmith July 25 [1891] Dear Mr. Quaritch I am glad you think the G.L. satisfactory so far;1 I quite honestly think it is so. As to your questions I find n o difficulty in answering them under the conditions you give m e . 1st as to the extent of the b o o k — 1 5 0 0 p.p. about, (this pretty certain) 2nd as to time of completion, probably next June (1892) 2 3rd T h e cost: from £1200 to £1400 including doing u p in boards covered with grey hand-made paper, which I think a satisfactory temporary binding. 3 O f course if you please you might have some copies done u p in a more costly way, at an increase in cost, which would mean an increase in selling price. I should add that I propose to give my work o n designing the ornament, 4 just as Ellis does his transcribing. 5 Mr. Burne Jones has promised to design m e a frontispiece for the book 6 and for my part I feel sure that there will be a moderate public w h o will like it very much. Yours very truly William Morris MS: Quaritch. 1 Morris may have shown Quaritch fifty pages, or even more, of The Golden Legend. By May 11, when the first page was printed, fifty were in type, and it is likely that at least these had been printed by the date of this letter. 2 Printing was completed in mid-September and the final volume issued in November 1892. 3 See letter no. 1854, n. 2. 4 For this book Morris designed four borders; corner borders; small and large initials and shoulder titles. See Cockerell, "List," p. 151 and Peterson, Bibliog., pp. 19-20. 5 In fact, not Ellis but his daughter Phillis Payne transcribed it. See letter no. 1750, n. 8. 6 In the event, there was no frontispiece: two illustrations designed by Burne-Jones were, however, used, and they were placed in the first volume, facing pages 105 and 245. Of interest is the information Harrison and Waters give (pp. 162—63): "The two illustrations were not engraved until August 1892. . . . There were most probably six illustrations planned . . . but in his enthusiasm to complete [The Golden Legend] Morris did not wait for [Burne-Jones] to prepare them."

[ 323 ]

LETTERS

OF W I L L I A M

MORRIS

1912 · T o EMERY WALKER

Folkestone 2 Eastcliff Gardens Sunday [July 26, 1891]

M y dear Walker H o o p e r did not c o m e in: so please take the p h o t o ' d woods 1 out of the drawer: he had better cut the letters first & then they will see about a border. 2 if you remember you

the Bowdens want two little Bs of

coppers I m e a n . 3

Kindly remember the cartoons (tapestry for M e r t o n ) 4 Dearie will tell you w h a t he wants. I h o p e you had a g o o d day at Penshurst. 5 I shall try to get to Antiscrape o n Thursday. 6 Yours ever William Morris MS: Texas. 1 By "photo'd woods" Morris refers to woodblocks prepared for engraving: Morris's designs, done in India ink on paper, were photographed by Walker on collodian plates, and the negatives, removed from the glass, were attached by means of albumen to end surfaces of woodblocks, where they were then engraved by hand. However, electrotypes were also used: these were treated copper plates, onto which the image had been photographed and then etched out by acid. This process allowed limitless multiple imprints of a design, unlike woodcut blocks, which eroded with use and were eventually discarded. Electrotypes were introduced at the Press at Walker's urging and were accepted by Morris after Walker demonstrated to him that he, Morris, could not distinguish between a print made directly from a woodblock and one made from an electrotype of the same. See Peterson, History, p. 135. 2 Presumably for The Golden Legend. 3 Cockerell writes ("History," p. 144): "AU the initials and ornaments that recur were printed from electrotypes, while most of the titlepages and initial words were printed direct from the wood." For a description of electrotyping, see note 1 above. 4 A reference, possibly, to the Stanmore tapestries (see letter no. 1725, notes 2 and 3). Vallance writes (p. 121) that Burne-Jones's drawings were relatively small—fifteen inches high. They were photographically enlarged to the full cartoon size of the tapestry, presumably by Walker. 5 Penshurst Place, near Tonbridge, Kent, had belonged to the Sidneys, and Sir Philip Sidney (1554-1586) was born there. The hall, sixty-four feet long, was built in the fourteenth century. Pevsner and Newman write (West Kent, p. 438): "The hall is miraculously preserved, entirely in its medieval state," adding in a note, "[e]xcept that the central louvre in the roof, where the smoke escaped, is gone." 6 There was an S.P.A.B. meeting on Thursday, July 30, 1891.

[ 324 ]

1891 / L E T T E R

1912

Carpet-weaving looms at Merton Abbey, 1890s.

[ 325 ]

LETTERS

OF WILLIAM

Emery Walker, c. 1891.

[ 326 ]

MORRIS

1891 / L E T T E R 1914 1913 · T o GEORGIANA BURNE-JONES

[Folkestone

July 29, 1891]1 I am ashamed to say that I am n o t as well as I should like, and am even such a fool as to be rather anxious—about myself this time. B u t I suppose the anxiety is part of the ailment. I hope you are better, as I have still some anxiety left for the service of my friends. O n Sunday we had a strange show: a sea-fog came on in the afternoon after a bright morning, which gradually invaded the whole land under the downs; but we clomb to the top of them and found them and all the uplands beyond lying under a serene calm sunny sky, the tops of the cliffs towards Dover coming bright and sharp above the fog, and throwing a blue shadow o n it; below a mere sea of cloud, n o t a trace of the sea (proper), wave o n wave of it. It looked like Longjokull 2 (in Iceland), only that was glittering white and this was goose-breast colour. I thought it awful to look on, and it made me feel uneasy, as if there were wild goings on preparing for us underneath the veil. TEXT: Mackail, II, 261. Published: Henderson, Letters, 338-39. 1 Mackail in his notebook lists a letter to Georgiana Burne-Jones dated July 29 and summarizes it: "(Folkestone) description of a sea-fog." 2 Langjokull, the largest glacier in western Iceland. Morris had seen it during his 1871 trip to Iceland. In his Journals he wrote (CW, 8, p. 76): "[0]ver [the] shoulder [of the mountain HloSufell] we can see now the waste of Long-Jokul, that looks as if it ended the world, green-white and gleaming in the doubtful sun; that and a faint tinge of green on the lava of Skialdbrei3 is the only thing in that distant landscape that isn't inky purple: it was a most memorable first sight of the wilderness to me."

1914 · T o AGLAIA C O R O N I O

Folkestone

July 29 [1891] My dear Aglaia I am really ashamed of myself for n o t answering your kind letters b e fore: please excuse m e o n the grounds that I have a lot of things always pressing on m e to do. Again amidst o n e thing or other I forgot to keep a copy of the Glittering Plain, and there is n o t a copy to be had for less than about £4. H o w ever promises must be kept, and I believe I can let you have one of my own; 1 I must look w h e n I get back h o m e tomorrow. I suppose you will want a copy of the n e w b o o k (my poems) 2 Item I will give you one for yourself, as I shall have a fair number of copies for myself this time. I have been here a good deal keeping company with Jenny w h o has been here mostly since her illness. 3 She n o w seems better than she has

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LETTERS

OF W I L L I A M

MORRIS

been for a long time—in fact quite well. O n Friday week I am going to take her over to France on Friday week if all goes well. 4 This is the doctor's orders; otherwise I should stay at home & get on with my work, which interests me very much. We are going to N W France Rheims & thereabout 5 & shall be away a fortnight. 6 Mean time I shall be in town for a week from tomorrow. I suppose you will not be in town: if you were I should be so glad to come & have a talk with you. A fortnight ago we were somewhat your way; R y e & Winchelsea to wit. 7 Do you know them? They are delightful places, especially Winchelsea, and we had a beautiful sunny day for our outing to them. O n Sunday we had such a strange afternoon & evening; there came on a sea fog which lay heavy on the sea and the lower parts; but we clomb the hills, which are handsome here, and got clean above the fog into a beautiful calm sunny evening, and looking down saw the sea blotted out as it were by a mass of rolling clouds: it almost reminded me of one of the great glacier fields in Iceland except that was grey instead of glittering white The tops of the cliffs on towards Dover stood up sharp & clear above it. It was beautiful but rather awful & uncanny: looked as if the world were new made almost. 8 — Well, at any rate I hope I shall see you soon. I am a bad letter writer, or you would have heard from me before. Yours affectionately William Morris MS: Yates Coll. (Ex). Published: Henderson, Letters, 339-40. 1 Once again it is worth noting that Morris's forgetfulness about promises to Aglaia Coronio, and at this time his apparent reluctance to see her, contrast sharply with the content and mood of his early letters to her. 2 Poems by the Way. 3 Both Jenny and Jane Morris had suffered health crises in July 1891, Jane because of the strain of caring for her daughter. Jenny was sent to Folkestone, and Jane went to Birkenhead. Morris in turn traveled to Folkestone to be with Jenny for a week (see letter no. 1903, n. 5). 4 Jenny and William Morris did leave England on Friday, August 7. 5 In the event they visited Abbeville, Beauvais, St. Riquier, Riems, Laon, Soissons, Gournay en Bray, and St. Germer en Fly (see letters no. 1921, no. 1922, no. 1924, no. 1926, and no. 1928). 6 By August 26, Jenny and William as well as Jane Morris were back in London, "all much better for our different wanderings," wrote Jane Morris to Blunt on August 27 (see JM to WSB, p. 57). 7 See letters no. 1903, n. 5; and no. 1905. 8 It is interesting to compare Morris's description of the scene, in the letter to Aglaia, with one sent the very same day to Georgiana Burne-Jones (see letter no. 1913). Here the emphasis is on "as if the world were new made almost," whereas in the letter to Georgiana the scene made him "feel uneasy, as if there were wild goings on preparing for us underneath the veil."

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1891 / L E T T E R 1915 1915

· T o EMERY WALKER

Folkestone

July 29 [1891] M y dear Walker Thanks for your letter & the maps. 1 N o 1 is small, but it can't be helped now: they both look very pretty. I am glad you liked Penshurst: 2 the only antiquity I have seen this time is 'Caesar's Camp,' 3 that we walked to last night. A headland of the Downs, a beautiful place: but as to Caesar, I rather suppose it to have been made a good many centuries before him, & that it was a city of the ancient people. As to Sanderson's paper: 4 there is no difficulty about his having a (re) Vi ream of the large: but before he has the other please ask Collins 5 if there is enough to print the poems and Mr. Blunts book 6 which will be somewhat smaller say about 20 sheets 250 copies with about 20 overs. Jenny sends love: she is very well; I am not quite up to the mark: if I can get into trim before I go, I think it will do me good going. I hope to be up to antiscrape t o m o r r o w (Thursday) 7 Yrs affectionately William Morris MS: Texas. 1 Probably Morris refers to photographs, prepared by Walker, of maps for Vol. 2 of the Saga Library. For these maps Morris or Magmisson would submit a rough sketch that included the names of places. An employee of Walker and Boutall then drew a finished design and a line block was made from it. See Peterson, Bibliog., p. 137. 2 See letter no. 1912, n. 5. 3 "Caesar's Camp" is the misnomer of an earthwork fortification, north of Folkestone, that was probably not constructed by the Normans. See "Ancient Earthworks," in The Victoria History of the Counties of England: Kent (London: Archibald Constable and Co., 1908; rpt. Folkestone: Dawsons of Pall Mall, 1974), pp. 415-16. 4 To use in his trade as bookbinder. Cobden-Sanderson had, in 1887, abandoned the use of marbled endpapers in favor of plain handmade paper (see Tidcombe, p. 38). The first book listed (p. 328) by Tidcombe as using Morris's paper is a blank quarto bound in limp vellum, finished April 4, 1892. (For an example of Morris's handmade used as ends, see Tidcombe, p. 344.) 5 W. Collins, leading pressman at the Kelmscott Press. See Sparling, p. 41. 6 See letter no. 1788, n. 3. 7 Cockerell noted in his Diary for July 30, 1891: " W M . at S.P.A.B."

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L E T T E R S OF WILLIAM 1916 · T o W I L F R I D SCAWEN BLUNT

MORRIS Kelmscott House,

Upper Mall, Hammersmith August 1 [1891] My dear Blunt By all means go to Merton where you will be shown everything I shall only be there for a few hours o n Tuesday next (leaving at 4 ) ' My wife is still in Cheshire but is coming back on Tuesday 2 for business: 3 (As for me) She says she is very well. As for me I am going to take Jenny over to France next Thursday and shall be away with her probably for somewhat more than a fortnight. I must plead guilty to having done nothing to your book yet: because I could not. But w h e n I am back from France everything will be ready and I will get on with it at once, and it will n o t take long to do if you look through the proofs speedily. I am sorry that there should have been this delay H o p i n g to see you before long I am Yours very truly William Morris V&A. That is, at Birkenhead. See letter no. 1914, n. 3. 2 On August 4, Jane Morris did return to London (see letter no. 1918), where she and Morris were together for two days before he joined Jenny in Folkestone on the sixth, to prepare for their departure for France the next day. On that day—i.e., August 7—Blunt had lunch with Jane Morris at Kelmscott House, according to an entry in his Diary (see Blunt, Diaries, I, 54-55; also cited in JM to IVSB, p. 57). 3 See letter no. 1918 and n. 2. Jane was going to see a dentist in London. MS:

1

1917 · T o AGLAIA C O R O N I O

Kelmscott House,

Upper Mall, Hammersmith August 1 [1891] Dear Aglaia I shall be very glad to see you o n Tuesday: but I may n o t be h o m e till about 5.20 as I go to Merton that day: 1 if you could come on Monday you could come earlier, as I shall be in all day (and glad to be, being Bank Holiday. With many thanks for your kind letter I am Yours affectionately William Morris MS: Berger Coll. 1 See letter no. 1916.

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Chintz-printing and glass-painting workshops at Merton Abbey, 1890s.

L E T T E R S OF WILLIAM M O R R I S 1918 · T o JENNY M O R R I S

Kelmscott House,

Upper Mall, Hammersmith August 3 [1891] Dearest own Jenny Thank you kindly for writing to me; I was glad to hear of you. N o t h i n g that I can see seems like to (kn) hinder my coming o n Thursday. 1 I was surprised to hear o n Saturday that your m a m m y was coming u p tomorrow (Tuesday) She has (t) got to (to) get her teeth looked to again it seems: she talks of going back again while we are away: O f course I shall be very glad to see her. 2 I have been utilizing Bank Holiday in drawing a colophon ornament for the poems. 3 I have n o w quite finished all the copy for them. It seems the doctor-man went away last Friday: 4 so I couldn't see h i m However I have seen Dr. Gordon Hogg 5 yesterday instead, and he was very reassuring, and indeed seemed to think that I was very well; as i n deed I think I am now. We have had rather thundery & showery weather: it is thundering now: b u t the garden looks quite beautiful between the showers, & I have quite enjoyed this quiet day. Well, darling, I shall write to you Wednesday telling you what my train will be, though I fear I shall n o t be able to get away before the usual one. Goodbye dear child. Your loving William Morris By the by this letter came for you on Saturday. 6 MS: BL, Add. MSS.45340. 1

To begin their trip to France (see letter no. 1914 and notes 4-6). The awkward language in which Morris alleges himself pleased that Jane is returning home, and his earlier offerring Blunt information about her travel plans (see letter no. 1916) strongly suggest Morris was aware of their relationship and felt obliged to tolerate it. If in fact he knew they would meet—as they did at least once and on the very day he left England (see letter no. 1916, n. 2), his trip to France can be seen as an imperfect reprise in miniature of his journey through Iceland in the summer of 1871 while Jane Morris and Rossetti stayed at Kelmscott Manor: seen as imperfect, because Morris, this time, was reluctant to go, preferring to stay at home and absorb himself in the Kelmscott Press. 3 Morris presumably refers to the printer's mark. Peterson writes (Bibliog., p. 7): "He was apparently so pleased with his new printer's mark that he used it twice: at the end of the table of contents and on the colophon page." For this mark, see illustration, p. 355. 4 Possibly William Lang (see letter no. 1740, n. 2). 5 In his Diary for August 2, 1891, Cockerell wrote that Morris "had invited me to come in in the afternoon & I went at 4 and stayed till 8. Emery Walker there & Dr Hogg part of the time." Cockerell added, "Had a splendid talk about novels . . . " but he did not make clear whether Hogg was still present when they talked about literature. 6 The letter Morris enclosed has not survived. 2

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/ L E T T E R 1920

1919 · T o JAMES LEIGH JoYNEs

Kelmscott House,

Upper Mall, Hammersmith August 4, 1891 M y dear Joynes I laughed so much at your letter to my business-man, 1 that I had n o strength to carry out my original intention of writing to you in character. You shall have your ' o n e extra' copy of Poems by the Way. I am really ashamed of not answering your other letters; but n o w I have once begun I shall n o doubt (go) drop a letter in your direction n o w and again. Are you allowed to take any interest in politics? I mean of course S o cialist Politics? H o w curiously things have changed since the older days of the S.D.F.! I am sometimes rather elated, oftener dissappointed at the course of events. B u t I am in truth too busy still in all ways to let the dissappointment hang o n to me. I am going a fortnights turn in France on Thursday with my daughter: this is a great dissipation for me; and to say the truth I feel very loth to go, though I shall like it w h e n I get there n o doubt. I dont sympathise with the moderners whose chief desire always seems to be to be somewhere where they are not. O u r trip is to be an architectural one (as it can hardly help in France) about as far as Rheims and back by another way. I forget whether you study architecture with the same historical ardour that Bax does: I have given h i m so many lessons that he n o w begins to pretend to an independent judgement on the subject. I am but a stupid letter writer, a heavy-handed bloke in such smaller literary exercises. Besides it is such a time since I have seen you, that I really do n o t quite k n o w what to write about: & so will end with best wishes. Yours ever truly William Morris MS: BL, Add. MSS.45345. Published: MM, II, 600. 1

Morris may mean Henry Halliday Sparling, who became Secretary of the Kelmscott Press in 1891. For his career in full, see Volume II, letter no. 1121, n. 1.

1920

· RECIPIENT U N K N O W N

Kelmscott

House,

U p p e r Mall, Hammersmith

August 4 [1891] Dear Sir T h e illustrated edition of T h e Glittering Plain must necessarily take a long time to do: though Mr. Crane has begun to work on it. 1 If you look at the Athenaeum you will probably see it announced there w h e n it is

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getting on. I will also keep your address & give you particulars w h e n it is within measurable distance of publication Yrs faithfully W Morris I may as well call your attention to my reprint of Caxtons' Golden Legend (Bernard Quaritch), which will appear about next June. TEXT: Perry Catalogue, 37. 1 It was not finished until January 1894 (see letter no. 1831 and notes).

1921 · T o JANE M O R R I S

Tete de Boeuf

Abbeville1 August 8 [1891] Dearest Janey Writing in an inn b e d r o o m is done under difficulties; but here are a few lines to you since Jenny is writing to May. All well: we have had a very agreable day, though it began drizzly: we have found it so pleasant here that we are n o t going o n to Amiens till tomorrow morning We went a nice drive in the morning to St Riquier (about 8 miles) many were the magpies o n the road. I expected a quite flat country, but to my surprise found a very pretty breezy chalk downland, only of course all under tillage or wood. St Riquier a town decayed into a village and untidy and rather dismall: b u t the church exceedingly fine, and unrestored: 2 the late statuary in the W. Front much above the average of its date: the sacristy much painted with nice 15 century naif pictures with dogrell (in French) under them. 3 We couldn't go into the Library to see the gospels, as the curator was away on his holiday. 4 However it does n o t matter as moveable works of art are so much less important to see than immoveables on such journeys. We had a jolly walk by the canal and river-side instead, (which was much better for us,) finishing by buying 'a present from Abbeville' for you in the (wo) form of a w i d e - m o u t h e d j u g with comic lady & gentleman on it, rude modern, but traditional pottery. Jenny would have it for y o u — d o n t fear it only cost 3f 50. Altogether this is a jolly, cheerful old town, (Jenny) and the church a miracle of beauty. Jenny is enjoying everything to the full, and is very good & dear. Dinner-time is n o w coming on, and that is a pleasing epoch in a decent French Inn like this So here an e n d with best love. I have been all right, and think I shall keep so. Your loving WM

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1891 I L E T T E R 1922 MS: BL, Add. MSS. 45338. Published: CW, 23, xviii; MM, I, 665-66; Henderson, Letters, 340-41. 1 Abbeville was the first stop on the tour of cathedral towns of northern France that Morris and Jenny made between August 8 and 26, 1891. See letter no. 1914, notes 4-6. 2 Morris probably refers to the abbey church of the monastic complex of St. Riquier. The abbey, originally founded in 625, was destroyed and rebuilt several times. In the second half of the seventeenth century it was restored in the late medieval style by the Marquis d'Aligre, the commendatory abbot who introduced the reform of St. Maur. The Marquis d'Aligre and the Maurists also built two blocks of monastic buildings. 3 By "dogrell" Morris means the verses, describing life and death, that are under a mural painting in the treasury above the sacristy. The painting illustrates a legend called "The Three Dead and the Three Living," and tells of three young noblemen hunting in the country and their encounter with three skeletons, armed with picks and shovels, who urge them to reflect on their fates, turn away from worldly pleasures, and prepare themselves for eternity. I am grateful to Jean Michel Brioist and Patricia Cockram for the information in this note and note 4 below. 4 At present, there is in the west aisle the site of a library that has been empty since 1891. Presumably the library had not yet been permanently closed when Morris visited. As for the gospels he mentions, there is in the library of Abbeville an illuminated manuscript called the "Bible of Charlemagne" that came from St. Riquier. Possibly it is the book to which Morris refers.

1922 · T o PHILIP SPEAKMAN W E B B

Hotel D Angleterre

Beauvais August 11 [1891] My dear Fellow, Here I am after 33 years, 1 and yet not as melancholy as I suppose I ought to be. T h e Cathedral 2 here n o t having run away, n o r indeed having changed at all that I can see may partly account for that. I think I like it better than ever with the little extra knowledge I have got hold of since then. T h e town also is very pleasant, and full of old houses, and comes as a blessing after Amiens town, which is dull, bourgeois, and in a word gritty, and is much improved for the worse since I saw it last by the addition of some beastly buildings of the (3rd) Napoleonic style inconceivable almost outside Zola's books. 3 As for its Church, it must be said that it is not ruined by its restorations. I came upon it at the ( N ) S. W. angle face to face with the big St Christopher, & thought that S aisle & its (car) sculpture so curiously nailed on to the wall most delightful. Inside there is n o alteration except that the 2 bronze bishops have been shifted to the 3rd bay westward; and have had dishonest-tailor's iron railings p u t round them. I really had n o time to look carefully over the details though Jenny and I had a spell at the west front. So I bought those photos of the medallions which J.R. had done in the lump; 4 they are beyond everything good and interesting, & can be photographed. However we spent an hour over

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the stalls to our great pleasure. Jenny almost refused to leave the Church when we were going away: she was delighted and is well and very happy. Abbeville we liked hugely; except for that jolly place which names the (steet) street of the 6 mills, which is quite swept away, the town is little damaged. The big church5 has had its flanks restored, not very badly, but inside it is scarcely touched, and the W. Front has not been meddled with: also it still looks like part of the town, and is altogether lovely. I liked the inside better than I did last time. One day we drove out some 8 miles to St Riquier, through a pretty up & down chalk country, & found a queer very decayed town with two enormous late 17th Century seminary buildings, (an) a 14 cent: belfry much modernised and a lovely church6 wholly unrestored front and nave, flambouyant, transepts & quire early 14th with additions & insertions that seemed to my ignorance like English flowing dec:7 & not flamb.8 There was a beautiful sacristy all painted up with (pi) wall pictures9 in fair condition; besides some fine pieces of Early goldsmiths' work The statuary in the W.F. terrible good, I think the best Flamboyant I have seen10 N.B A great farm-yard ran along the N side of this Church, and we went in there to look at it (the church). 4 French dogs big sitting in the litter of a shed barked at us no allowance, but we thought they were tied up and went on, but when we came back out bounced a big one very flamboyant, but did not get so far as the legs of the rear guard (me to wit) chiefly I think because 3 or 4 bloused French men cursed him till all was blue. Item the street opposite our hotel at Amiens had a name less gritty than itself, to wit 'the Street of the naked dead bodies without heads.'11 I think we shall stay here till over Thursday & then go on to Soissons & thence to Reims where we shall be on (M) Sunday & Monday next. Tomorrow if the weather is tolerable we shall drive out to Gournay and St. Germer: 12 if you see Coquerel 13 tell him so; if you see Kate it might amuse her to look at this letter. If I knew where to write to her I would do so. Yours affectionately William Morris 14 MS: V&A. Published: MM, I, 666-68; Henderson, Letters, 341-42. 1 Morris refers to a visit he made to northern France in August 1858. Webb and Faulkner were his companions. See Mackail, I, 136. 2 The Cathedral of St. Pierre, a Gothic structure begun in 949. It is unusual in that it consists only of a transept and choir with an apse housing seven chapels. (A Romanesque church of the tenth century, Notre Dame de la Basse Oeuvre, occupies the site of the missing nave.) The cathedral is a tall structure, the vaulting in the interior exceeding one hundred and fifty feet in height. 3 There are references to the architectural style of the Second Empire throughout the

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Sydney Carlyle Cockerell, 1917.

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LETTERS

OF WILLIAM

MORRIS

Rougon-Macquart series. See especially La Curee in which Saccard's mansion, an example of the architectural style of the Second Empire, is described as "ce Batard opulent de tous les styles" ("that fecund bastard of every style") (Emile Zola, Ouvres completes, ed. by H. Mitterand [Paris: Cercle du Livre Precieux, 1966-1970], 2, p. 324. 4 For reproductions of these medallions, see John Ruskin's The Bible of Amiens (1880— 1885) in Cook and Wedderbum, 33, pp. 148-74. 5 St. Wulfrum's. The church, started in the late fifteenth and continued through the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, was never completed. It is a tall Gothic structure decorated in the Flamboyant style (see note 8, below), unusual in that the "West Front" faces south; its worshippers kneel in prayer toward the south. Apparently the plan of the city of Abbeville made the orientation of the church necessary. 6 For the town of St. Riquier and its ecclesiastical buildings, see letter no. 1921 and n. 2. 7 See letter no. 1871, n. 6. 8 The Flamboyant style, which marked French Gothic architecture in the second half of the fifteenth century, is characterized by flowing and flamelike tracery. 9 See letter no. 1921 and n. 3. 10 See letter no. 1921 and n. 2. 11 Rue de Corps-Nude-Sans-Teste. 12 See letter no. 1924, notes 5 and 6. 13 Sydney Carlyle Cockerell (1867-1962), Morris's private secretary after 1892 and the successor in 1894 to Sparling as Secretary of the Kelmscott Press, and a trustee of Morris's estate after his death. Born into a family of coal merchants, Cockerell had as a young man entered the family business, but he soon after met Ruskin and became his protege. At meetings of the S.P.A.B., to which he was elected in 1890, Cockerell met Morris; and in October 1892 was formally employed by him to catalogue Morris's library (see Cockerell's Diary entry for October 19, 1892). But it was as Secretary to the Kelmscott Press that he was most fully associated with Morris. Moreover, from Morris's death until the closing of the Press in 1898, Cockerell was to supervise, with Emery Walker's help, the production of the last few books to be printed. The final one was A Note by William Morris on His Aims in Founding the Kelmscott Press, Together with a Short Description of the Press by S. C. Cockerell, & an Annotated List of the Books Printed Thereat, issued in 1897, and consisting of the three items the title indicates. After Morris's death, Cockerell was briefly secretary to Wilfrid Scawen Blunt; and later, in 1900, became director of the Fitzwilliam Museum, Cambridge. He was also to enlarge his circle of friends and acquaintances among the notable and famous (in 1924 he became a trustee of the estate of Thomas Hardy). Selections from his correspondence, published as Best of Friends (1956), were the basis for Hugh Whitemore's play of that title, first produced in 1988. As for "Coquerel," Morris this time was not misspelling a person's name (as he often did). It amused Cockerell to think himself descended from Galeazzo Coquerelli, a fictitious ninth-century Sicilian bandit; and Morris, Webb, and Walker often referred to him as "Coquerel." For his life and career, and a detailed account of his association with Morris, see W Blunt, Cockerell; and Cockerell's Diaries, BL, Add. Mss. 52623-37. 14

Following Morris's signature is a note from Jenny Morris to Webb: "Dear Mr. Webb, I All the lovely places & buildings which I am now seeing for the first time have brought thoughts of you to me, when you & Father & our other friends were making your first journeys in France, and have made me wish to write a line of remembrance & love to you. I can't be finding them (more) less beautiful & noble than you did first, though you knew more about them. I With best love from Jenny Morris."

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1891 / L E T T E R 1923 1923

· T o EIRIKR MAGNUSSON

Beauvais

August 13 [1891] My dear Magnusson Thanks for your letter. I left England last Thursday; the day before I saw the printers & told them to accept your corrections in the rest of the book as final. 1 I will write t h e m a line today egging them on: I have done n o more of Heimskringla than the MS which you have. I conclude that it will make our first vol: 2 all right, and the next will be Olaf the Holy. 3 By all means go on with Har(l)ald Hardra5a 4 and also w h e n we meet I might read over a good lump of the Olaf Holy with you. At the same time I propose to make n o delay in sending the first vol: to press. As soon as I return I shall look over what you have revised and shall send it to press as soon as it is ready. I don't think it will be any dis-advantage if some of the text flows over into the vol: of notes &c. but the reverse: 5 because it will to some people it will add an interest in the last vol: & force them to buy it. Also we can make vols II & III thicker than I without any hurt I think. I shall be at R e i m s (if you like to write to the Poste Restante there) as late as Monday next. 6 But I shall be h o m e again in not much more than a week. With best wishes Yours very truly William Morris MS: Iceland. 1 Vol. 2 of the Saga Library. 2 The first volume of the Heimskringla (Vol. 3 of the Saga Library). For the contents of this volume, see letter no. 1786, n. 3. 3 That is, the second volume of the Heimskringla. See letter no. 1786, n. 3. 4 One of the stories that was included in the third volume of the Heimskringla (see letter no. 1786, n. 3). 5 By "vol: of notes &c" Morris refers to the planned fourth volume of the Heimskringla, and this letter suggests he would have liked to have one of the stories of the Heimskringla held over to it. In the event, the fourth volume was not published until after Morris's death; and Magnusson, planning and producing it alone, devoted it exclusively to a long introductory essay by himself about Snorri Sturlason and to indexes and corrections. See letter no. 1786, n. 3. 6 See letter no. 1926.

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L E T T E R S OF WILLIAM 1924

· T o EMERY WALKER

MORRIS Beauvais

August 13 [1891] M y dear Walker Many thanks for your letter and inclosures: I chuckled over the upside1 2 d o w n A T h e y all look very well. Thanks also for the smokes: I have written to Prince: he has now done e i h 1 η ο ρ r t. T h e t does not look well; I think I shall have to redesign it. T h e e also looks a little wrong, but might be altered. T h e rest look very well indeed. I shall be pretty certainly at h o m e on August 30. I leave for Soissons tomorrow, and I suppose shall get to R e i m s on Saturday, and shall stay at least one whole day there, so that letters will find me there Monday. But I don't think we shall find any place better than this: the t o w n is delightful quite apart from the C a t h e ­ dral 3 & St Stephens. 4 Also our inn is comfortable which is something. We went a long drive yesterday (morning drizly afternoon downright wet, but a jolly drive of near 20 miles & back) and saw the two churches of Gournay en Bray, 5 and St Germer en Fly: 6 both early & interesting; the second exceedingly beautiful: a huge church norman, with vaulting and (choir partt) insertions of Transitional and a long lady-chapel with its ves­ tibule, time of St Louis (late 13th century) T h e chapel (not the vestibule) has been restored, pretty badly; but had 3 stained windows (of its own date) about as good as any I (hav) ever saw. T h e rest of the church quite u n restored: also there are grills of 12 century round the choir. T h e west end traditionally said to (be) have been burned by the Burgundians (c 1470) is very defective, but a plain (but good) abbey gateway remains. Altogether a wonderful church. Gournay, a much smaller church; the nave very early Norman, (before the middle of century I should say) but with transition vaulting: transepts & choir mainly transition with each a big early decorated window in it; east end square and window coming low down. T h e carving on caps 7 of nave very curious, no two alike; mostly rude (some very) but many beautiful. I am sorry to say that this admirable nave has been badly restored, even to the recutting of some of the caps: perhaps the French society 8 might stop this game, as those that are left are extraor­ dinarily valuable. As to the W front it was 13th century; but is n o w 19th and bad at that; they have even done n e w sculptures for the tympanums. 9 As for the t o w n of Gournay it is uninteresting: but they make cream cheeses of the very best. Crede mihi experto. Abbeville is still a very jolly town; they have not restored the W front or the inside of St Wulfram. 1 0 Also I went to see St Riquier 8 miles out; 1 1 a quite unrestored church; mostly flamboyant & very fine whereof I will tell you w h e n I come back. Certainly the Cathedral h e r e 1 2 is one of the wonders of the world: seen by twilight its size gives one an impression almost of terror; one can

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scarcely believe in it. But when you see the detail, it is so beautiful that the beauty impresses you more than the size. We are just going to read the late stained glass at St Stephens,13 which is very amusing & lots of it. The arms of the Chapter 14 are gules a cross argent with 4 keys of the same cantonned, if I blazon it right /TTT - M t n e a r m s of the town gules a pale argent. The town has lost \Tii—T *ts wa Us but they are in a way traceable, for the town ditch fed x l · ' by two little rivers goes all round: there is a very big central place also, so that the plan of the town is very good. Jenny sends love: she is very well and enjoying herself hugely She is a capital traveller; refusing to be put out by anything. Good luck Yours affectionately William Morris I will write to May: but you might tell her not to send on letters except she knows that I either want them, or would like them. MS: Texas. Extracts published: Mackail, II, 262-63; Henderson, Letters, 342-43. 1 Morris refers here and in the ensuing discussion to the Troy type, the black-letter font he designed after the Golden. Cockerell notes ("History," p. 142) the Troy was begun in June 1891 and designs for the lowercase alphabet finished by the beginning of August and those for tied letters and capitals in September. See also letter no. 1935, n. 6. 2 Test impressions of the punches made by blackening them in a flame and then stamping them on paper. 3 See letter no. 1922, n. 2. 4 The Church of St. Stephen was begun around 997 and was also known as St. Vast. Badly damaged by a fire that swept Beauvais in 1180, the church was extensively rebuilt during the twelfth century. A distinguishing feature of the rebuilding was the construction of vaults to support the roof. 5 One of the two is a cruciform collegiate church dedicated to St. Hildevert. It has a thirteenth-century facade and two western towers. A Romanesque arcade marks the interior, and a large, geometrically traceried window distinguishes the east end. See Bumpus, p. 226. 6 The second of the two is the Church of St. Germer. The architecture has been described as transitional from Romanesque to Pointed. Built in the thirteenth century, the church was probably designed by the master-builder Pierre de Montereuil (1226-1267). See Bumpus, p. 226. 7 Morris refers to the pillars of the nave. As he notes, their capitals are each ornamented differently. 8 Morris probably refers to the Learned Societies of France, a federation formed in 1885 under the auspices of the Societe des Amis des Monuments Parisiens (founded in 1884), "for the purpose of more efficiently protecting public buildings in that country" (see the S.P.A.B. Annual Report for 1885, p. 37). 9 Ordinarily the tympanum is the triangular space formed by the pediment or arch above a window or the lintel of a door.

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MORRIS

10

See letter no. 1922, n. 5. See letter no. 1921, n. 2. 12 See letter no. 1922, n. 2. 13 The Church of St. Stephen is rich in stained-glass windows, the earliest dating from the twelfth and thirteenth centuries and the latest from the sixteenth. For a detailed history and description of these windows, see V. Leblond, L'Eglise Saint-Etienne de Beauvais (Paris: Henri Laurens, 1929). 14 Presumably the arms of the Chapter of the Cathedral of St. Pierre. 11

1925 · T o CHISWICK P R E S S [CHARLES T H O M A S JACOBI?]

Beauvais

August 14 [1891] Dear Sir There is n o need to send o n any more proofs. 1 You can accept Mr. Magnusson's correction as final. Please get on as fast as you can with the Saga Library Yours truly William Morris MS: Bodleian. 1 For Vol. 2 of the Saga Library.

1926 · T o EMERY WALKER

Reims

Marne August 16 [1891] M y dear Walker Will you excuse pencil since Jenny has got the ink. We have just come out of the cathedral, 1 which, though a wonderful place, is, if I am right, not so great a work as Amiens, Beauvais, or Soissons. T h e latter was our last place o n o u r way here. I thought the Church there most extraordinarily beautiful. 2 Except for the end of the N transept (which is (() early decorated) it is all of the earliest gothic, not very big (but wide) of great simplicity and of the utmost refinement. T h e S. transept is much lower then the N . and is apsidal, the interior of it of two vaulted stages comparable in beauty to Hugh's 3 work at Lincoln (though n o t like it) Gothic at its best. There have been some bad restorations there but it is not destroyed. T h e worst is the black-lining of the ashlar 4 of the choir down to t h e triforium. 5 Here the outside has already been restored (an) (including the work they are doing to the S. transept, which looks very bad) but excepting the W front with its amazing wealth of imagery. T h o u g h they do n o t

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1891 / L E T T E R 1926 here seem to touch the figure sculpture. Perhaps it might be of use to memorialize the French Society 6 on this & some other points. Here the whole of the clerestory (except two windows of the choir blocked by the restoration at present) has its stained glass, of the most splendid quality, though a good deal patched. If Grant Allen 7 should see it he would find it justified his views of jewelry completely; for no collection of gems could come within a hundred miles of it. AU the way from Beauvais to Compiegne, Soissons and here, the churches seem very fine and mostly early. T h e Country round Soissons is very beautiful It is built on the side of the Aisne, a river about as big there as the Thames at R e a d ing: we saw vines there for the first time this journey. T h e arms of Soisson city are azure a fleur de lys argent. T h e chapters carries I think under a chief of France a tower. T h e tinctures I did not see as I take my information from a lamp-post by the Cathedral of Louis Napoleons time (I suppose) since the fleur de lys were bees? There are some fine tapestries hung up in the aisles here in very good preservation c 1520 I think. 9 They make splendid ornaments. I intend studying them & the stained glass & the sculpture tomorrow properly. I heard from Bowden that he had sent on another sheet & some G. L. but it has not yet come; will tomorrow I suppose. Jacoby has sent me two sheets of the cheap By the Way: 10 it looks well. I have not done one letter 11 since I started my work being mostly staring & walking & eating. We intend going on to Laon on Tuesday, which will probably mean getting to Folkestone on Saturday or Sunday next & h o m e the day after. So it will be hardly be worth while to send on any letters even if I knew where to send them to. Kindly get H o o p e r to do the colophon 1 2 before he goes off if you can as otherwise it might stick us. I hear that you are still not well. I wish you were here, as I think you would enjoy yourself But no doubt it will do you good to go to Italy. 13 Yours affectionately William Morris I find that I shall be going to Beauvais again & expect to be there next Saturday; so if you feel inclined to risk a line you can write to me at the Hotel D'Angleterre Beavais. WM St R e m y 1 4 a very fine church: some glass there even finer than that in cathedral 12th Century MS: Texas. Extract published: Henderson, Letters, 343-44. 1 The Cathedral of Notre Dame in Reims. The building replaced an older church, destroyed by fire in 1211, which in turn had been raised on the site of the basilica where King Clovis was baptized by St. Remigius (see letter 1725, n. 8). Except for the west front, the

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OF WILLIAM

MORRIS

cathedral was completed by the end of the thirteenth century, and the remaining facade erected in the fourteenth, following thirteenth-century designs. The cathedral has been long regarded as a masterpiece of medieval architecture: the three doors are decorated with statues and above the central one (dedicated to the Virgin Mary) was a rose window framed in an arch also decorated with statuary. In World War I, the rose window and several of the statues were damaged, and one of the spires of the cathedral was destroyed. 2 The Cathedral of Notre Dame in Soissons. It was begun in the second half of the twelfth century and finished at the end of the thirteenth. Three hundred and twenty-eight feet long and eighty-seven feet wide, it has vaulting over the nave one hundred feet high. The cathedra] has one tower, built in the thirteenth century. The south transept ends in an apse; and the apse, and the choir as well, contain stained-glass windows dating from the thirteenth century. The facade of the north transept dates from the end of the thirteenth century. 3 Morris probably refers to Hugh of Wells (d. 1235), Bishop of Lincoln, who had the nave of Lincoln Cathedral built and the hall of the palace completed. Morris may however have meant Hugh's predecessor, Saint Hugh (1134-2300), Bishop of Lincoln (1186-1200), who had the greater part of Lincoln Cathedral rebuilt and whose shrine is contained in it. He was canonized in 1220. 4 The masonry. 5 The gallery above the aisle in a church. 6 See letter no. 1924, n. 8. 7 Morris here refers to "Democracy and Diamonds," published (pp. 666—76) in The Contemporary Review, May 1891, in which Allen (see letter no. 1613, n. 4) excoriates those who wear jewelry and bird feathers, calling such people vulgar and unfavorably contrasting their desire for rare natural objects with the pleasure to be taken in works of beauty produced by artists and craftspersons. No doubt Morris was pleased by the article. Allen wrote (p. 674): "[T] he truly civilized man of high moral feeling . . . will love William Morris's calico prints better than feathers and furs of barbaric origin." 8 Louis Napoleon's coat of arms was dotted with bees, replacing the fleur-de-lis which had been used by the Bourbons. (Louis regarded the fleur-de-lis as an emblem of the ancien regime and the bees by contrast as a symbol of industrious workers.) He was invoking the revolution of 1789, which had replaced the fleur-de-lis with the bee for the same reason. 9 The tapestries at the Cathedral of Notre Dame in Reims (see note 1 above). The tapestries, seventeen in number, were woven possibly at Arras or at Tournai. They were given to the cathedral in 1530 by the Archbishop Robert-de-Lenoncourt, whose coat of arms appears in all of them. The series depicts the life of Mary, patron saint of the cathedral, and in the lower side sections of each tapestry appear prophets or other personages related to the central scene; also, there is (at bottom center) an explanation of the main scene, given in ryhmed verse in either Old French or Latin. 10 The popular edition of Morris's Poems by the Way. Buxton Forman writes (pp. 15960): "It was not to be supposed that the short issue of the Kelmscott Press [issued October 20 but possibly already subscribed for by July 1891] would suffice to meet the needs of the reading public; and the editio princeps was accordingly followed at once by an edition [published by Reeves and Turner and] printed at the Chiswick Press." 11 For the Troy type (see letter no. 1924 and n. 1). 12 For the Kelmscott Press edition of Poems by the Way. 13 Morris refers to the tour of Italy that Walker took with the Art Workers' Guild, the travelers including also Shaw and S. C. Cockerell (see letter no. 1922, n. 13). Leaving London September 16 and returning October 4, the group visited Milan, Verona, Venice, Padua, Mantua, and Pavia. The beginning of a long letter from Shaw to Morris, written from Venice, September 23, is of ancillary interest here: "I write to you partly because if

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1891 / L E T T E R 1927 I do not, Walker will; and he will tell you anything he thinks will please you, regardless of his private mind; but chiefly because I must work off my growing irritation and escape for a moment from the fearful solitude created by these 27 men, most of whom have taken up art as the last refuge of general incompetence. . . . They . . . buy the antiquities which [are being made] under their very noses. Even Walker has just paid 3½ francs for a threespouted brass thing supposed to be a lamp, but really a sort of candle-snufF incense burner which would stink him out of Hammersmith Terrace if he attempted to use it. The ring at the top is bent, and the stand is damaged and dirty. These evidences of age console him for the flagrant modernity of the combustion chamber, or whatever they call it." The letter concludes: "Walker says he will write as soon as he can settle down to it—also that he has not been inside S. Maria Salute, as the outside is enough for him" (see Laurence, pp. 308-12). 14 The Church of St. Remy, in Reims, was started during the eleventh century but not completed until the fifteenth. It contains the mausoleum of St. Remigius.

1927 · T o WILLIAM H E N R Y B O W D E N

Rheims August 17 [1891]

Dear Mr. B o w d e n I send you back the proofs corrected; but of course I shall want to see the corrections of my poems before they go to press. Yes I should like (to) H o w s e 1 to get o n with Mr. Blunt's poems as soon as he is free of mine. As to y o u r position I will by all means consider it, as I think the request reasonable; 2 but I must talk matters over with you o n my return. I expect to be h o m e in about a week. It is scarcely w o r t h w h i l e writing to m e meantime, as I am n o t quite sure of my whereabouts for some days but think I shall be at Beauvais again o n Saturday next; so if you think it well to chance it write to m e at the H o t e l D'Angleterre Beauvais Oise. Yours truly William Morris PML. H. Howes, one of the compositors of the Kelmscott Press. For other volumes of the Press on which he worked, see Peterson, pp. 13, 40, 61, 109. 2 Possibly William H. Bowden had requested that his own position be advanced since his father (William Bowden), a master-printer, was about to retire from the Press, and since several other compositors were being hired. W H. Bowden did become overseer in 1891. MS;

1

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L E T T E R S OF WILLIAM M O R R I S 1928

· T o PHILIP SPEAKMAN W E B B

Boars-head

Hotel de la Hure Rue du Bourg Laon August 19 [1891] M y dear Fellow Thank you very much for your letter, both Jenny & I. We are here on the Burg of Laon, 1 a very pleasant and interesting place, but bad for draught cattle as you go up to it zig-zag. 2 Yesterday we went all round the walls, if round can be said of a shape like this S —""N They are mostly complete and everywhere to be ^N^ __ /traced. They must be very old, though of course perpetually patched; mixed up too with the live rock (the hill is a sand-hill) square bastions, & round; 13 century buttresses & so on: a modern citadel at one end, and a beastly brick building (a Lycee) are the only things that break the circuit seriously There are many beautiful things in the houses: the old bishops palace with a long row af St Louis windows giving on to the ramparts, a curious and beautiful Cloister inside, and a transition chapel over a crypt (earlier mostly) a beautiful little Templars Chapel of 3 dates, the last, transition; and lots of gateways & windows which you can see besides all you cannot; a very strange early church with a decorated west front tacked on to a 17th century Benedictine monastery; 3 gates of the town. And all below the ramparts the great plain on one side (or two) and on the other the winding coasts of the sand-hills, of which this is an outlyer—This seems wonderful doesn't it?—and is. Unhappily it poisoned by the very bad restoration of the Cathedral, 3 which more unhappily still is yet in progress. However I will say nothing more about that until I am before the S.P.A.B. 4 T h e Church 5 is, (or has been) a very fine one. Low nave arcade enormous triforium beautifully vaulted, in fact another aisle, (which is rather the manner of this part of France) and short clerestory. T h e detail where not restored is delightful; a clump of acanthus caps amongst others being as good as ever I saw. T h e east end (sqare) square, which however does not make it much liker to an English Church. T h e S transept unrestored outside, (as yet) has a huge decorated w i n d o w in it, and decorated doorways, very lovely and elegant. I did not see the inside of the Cloisters, because I quarrelled with the sacristan w h o wanted to sell me photos: as soon I came into the church, telling him I didn't want photos of restored churches: so he said he was going away till next Saturday. T h e outside of the Cloisters are in the street and have little dwellings of folk in them; so they are unrestored: nothing could be more beautiful: 6 we saw t h e m this morning with the market people sitting up against them, like old times. After I wrote to you we saw Gournay 7 & St. Germer; 8 both well worth

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1891 I L E T T E R

1928

West front of the Cathedral of Notre Dame in Laon, 1891.

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L E T T E R S OF WILLIAM

MORRIS

seeing I must tell you about them when we meet. We went from Beavais to Soissons; stopping two or three hours at Compiegne, and going through Pitou's forest9 by a sort of omnibus train in the cool of the evening. Soissons is a jolly town; beautiful country all about; not many ancient houses, but (in the town itself) all old ones of stone. As to the church, 10 it is a wonderful work, not very badly restored, especially outside: though the W front has been first mutilated and then Church-wardened. The apsidal transept I had heard of there (S) turns out to be rather a transeptal chapel, the roof being only on a level with the parapet of the nave: it is exceedingly beautiful inside (outside you cannot get near it for the houses) with a great vaulted triforium over the aisle. AU this is of the earliest pointed; but the end of the N transept is early decorated, delicate & beautiful: it has a big door on its east side Altogether I seldom saw a building which I found more difficult to leave. As for Reems, imprimis the town is a dull & mostly modern one; as for the Cathedral,11 there seemed to me something amiss with it, I couldnt tell what, except that it seemed pinched I mean inside. Of course the amount of beautiful sculpture lavished upon it is amazing; Almost the whole of the original glass (unrestored) is left in the clerestory, and is a miracle of colour; and the W front as you see it down the street with its mass of imagery is as wonderful as anything that one can see—Why grumble then? Perhaps it was the disturbance of restoration still going on (about the S. transept) which makes everything seem unsafe. The W front is not restored yet; I wonder if it might be possible to save it. Of the buttress angels most I think are the old figures, but their wings have been humbugged. The beautiful & epical imagery of the N transept has not been injured, though the church has been restored all down that side. St. Remy 12 is a most interesting church little injured by restoration except the curious W front, which is restored both churchwardenly & architecturaloorally. Inside it is a wonder. First two transition bays, then # eleven Norman ones, then very early transition transepts choir and chapels, but all of a piece: huge triforium beautifully vaulted running through everything. Of course the vaulting of nave (very wide ()) low for a French church) is pointed not Romanesque. Besides some ridiculous modern glass which makes the church too dark, the choir has some splendid 12 cent: glass; the east window the finest I ever saw, I think—such a mass of blue! Well now paper is running short, and about all these things there must be question and answer when we meet old fellow. I expect to be at the S.P.A.B tomorrow week. 13 Tomorrow we go to Noyon, and on Saturday shall be at Beauvais again; shall go to Amiens Sunday or Monday, sleep there & cross on Monday or Tuesday, sleep at Folkestone [ 348 ]

1891 / L E T T E R 1929

and home Tuesday or Wednesday. This is a chopped up letter, & I don't know if Jenny can write in it, as she is busy looking with all her eyes; but at any rate she sends her love.14 MS: V&A. Extract published: MM, I, 668-70; Henderson, Letters, 345-47. 1 Morris probably speaks of "The Burg of Laon" to distinguish the town itself, situated on an isolated ridge, from the suburbs of St. Marcel and Vaux, which are situated at the bottom of the ridge. 2 AU the roads connecting the town itself with the surrounding area are cut in zig-zags on the steep slopes. 3 The Cathedral of Notre Dame in Laon was built after 1111, when the previous cathedral was burnt. It is unusual in that the choir terminates in a straight wall rather than an apse. A square central tower forms a lantern within the cathedral. The west front has three porches and above the center one is a rose window, whose magnificence has been compared to that of Notre Dame, Paris. See Auguste Bouxin, La Cathedrale Notre-Dame de Laon (Laon: A. Cortillot, 1890), pp. 129-35. For the west front, see illustration, p. 347. 4 Cockerell's Diary entry for August 27, 1891, notes that Morris was at the S.P.A.B. and that he reported on his trip and several of the towns he had visited, including Laon. 5 Morris probably refers to the Church of St. Martin, which dates from the middle of the twelfth century. 6 The cloisters were built before the present cathedral. 7 See letter no. 1924 and n. 5. 8 See letter no. 1924 and n. 6. 9 Morris refers to Ange Pitou by Dumas Pere. 10 See letter no. 1926 and n. 2. 11 See letter no. 1926 and n. 1. 12 See letter no. 1926, n. 14. 13 See note 4 above. 14 Jenny was able to add to the letter, though Morris forgot to sign his own name or to close in any fashion. The next words after "sends her love" were written by Jenny (and signed by her) and read as follows: "And will put it in with her own hand dear friend, thanking you much for including her in your letter to Rheims. Sorry I am to leave Laon, in spite of the destroyers, but it seemed worse here than elsewhere; one sees it gone [thin?], but to see the link between us & the makers of such beauty roughly broken & to be able to (say) do nothing against it is too much. Goodbye with love; we are off to Noyon. Jenny Morris."

1929

· To

EMERY WALKER

Folkestone

Tuesday [August 2 5 , 1891] 1

Dear W. Crossed today roughish passage but nobody sick. I am quite well (in answer to your question) Noyon 2 quite a delightful place. We come home tomorrow afternoon. Wont you come in about 9 p.m Yrs WM. [ 349 ]

L E T T E R S OF WILLIAM

MORRIS

MS: Texas. 1 This note is on a card postmarked August 25, 1891. 2 See letter no. 1928.

1930

· T o CHISWICK P R E S S

[CHARLES T H O M A S JACOBI?]

[September 1891?]

Sir I send the preliminary. 1 I thought it was all settled &finished. Please get on with it and the Poems. 2 Yrs truly William Morris MS: Bodleian. 1 Possibly the Preface to Vol. 2 of the Saga Library, which Magnusson had revised and sent on to Morris for his review. See letter no. 1923. 2 The popular edition of Poems by the Way (see letter no. 1926, n. 10).

1931

· T o CHISWICK P R E S S [CHARLES T H O M A S JACOBI?]

Kelmscott,

Lechlade September 8 [1891] Dear Sir I send herewith pp 95 to 108 inclusive of Saga Library; and must beg you to get on with the printing as Mr. Quaritch is pressing me: I shall be here till next Tuesday I believe Yrs truly W Morris More copy will follow in 2 days: MS: Bodleian.

1932 · T o EiRIKR MAGNUSSON

Kelmscott House, Upper Mall, Hammersmith September 9 [1891]

My dear Magnusson I have just got your letter: I must confess to have been back from France just a fortnight today, 1 but I had so much to do what with business,

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1891 I L E T T E R 1933 what with settling my family at Kelmscott that the days slipped past without my writing to you. I am very glad to hear that you have been able to complete the work; 2 I shall get with great relish on to Heimskringla. Only I thought we had settled to leave the life of Snorri to the 4th vol. 3 There would be some advantage in this, as it would make that vol: very interesting; but if you much prefer putting it into the first I do n o t want to press an objection. By all means let us have a turn at Olaf the Holy. 4 I go down to Kelmscott again o n Saturday and shall be there all the week and over the Sunday at end of it ie Sunday 20th isnt it? Would the week following suit you to come here? We should have the house to ourselves, & could be quiet and industrious; Kindly let m e k n o w about this: Otherwise you might come for a day or two next week to Kelmscott: but there my time will n o t be so much my own. B u t as y o u k n o w you will be as welcome as possible there. I am quite eager to see o u r vol: out. Yours very truly William Morris MS: Iceland. 1 See letter no. 1929. 2 For Vol. 2. A letter from Magnusson to Quaritch, dated September 16, 1891 reads: "I write to let you know that I have passed for Press the last sheet of the present vol. of the Saga Library" (Quaritch Archives). 3 Morris refers to the essay on Snorri Sturlason, written by Magnusson; it was in fact included in the fourth volume of the Heimskringla. See letter no. 1923, n. 5. 4 Apparently Morris and Magnusson were beginning their revisions of the manuscript for the second volume of the Heimskringla (the Olaf Saga) while the first was was being printed. See letter no. 1923 and notes 2 - 3 .

1933 · T o JENNY M O R R I S

Kelmscott House,

Upper Mall, Hammersmith September 10 [1891?] M y o w n darling Jenny, T h a n k y o u so much for your nice little letter. W h a t games your really catching fish! We are having quite beautiful weather here now, though a little murky before the wind got u p this morning for the said wind is in the E. London smoke in consequence. I went to M e r t o n yesterday, & thought it looked very pretty: all was going well there. In the evening I dined with uncle N e d & showed h i m my borders for the first time, and he praised them very much. 1 I am doing a little illuminating j o b today which is a lazy work that pleases m e exceedingly. 2

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OF W I L L I A M

MORRIS

But I must do my duty & go to the antiscrape early this afternoon. 3 Altogether I have had some distinguished pleasures this spell; w h i c h however cannot take away my allegiance from Kelmscott. I shall be so glad to be back to you dear. T h e r e n o w I have just dined luxuriously off a Kelmscott duck; m u c h too swell a dinner for a solitary; but A n n i e 4 offered m e n o t h i n g else. Well darling I suppose I shall n o t write again; O I forgot; I told t h e m at M e r t o n to send o n that Gerrard to you. 5 Best love o w n child Your loving father W.M. MS: BL, Add. MSS.45340. 1

It is uncertain which borders Morris means. Cockerell's Diary records two by this date, one on January 22, 1891, "a design just completed for a border to be used in the Glittering Plain," and another on August 8, 1891, described simply as "a new border . . . superbly done." Possibly, however, Morris by this date had completed more than these. 2 In his annotated list of Morris's manuscript work, Fairbank refers (p. 69) to "three leaves [undated] of a large HEIMSKRINGLA, on vellum." Since Morris was preparing the Heimskringla at this time, the "little illuminating job" to which he refers in this letter was possibly the three leaves listed by Fairbank. 3 Cockerell's Diary entry for September 10, 1891, notes: "W.M. at S.P.A.B. & Gatti's." Cockerell's brief reference to the S.P.A.B. meeting suggests no urgent business was transacted; but later, presumably at Gatti's, a discussion about possible books to print at the Kelmscott Press occurred, and it includes the first recorded reference to the Chaucer. "[Morris] is willing to print 'The Nature of the Gothic' if [George] Allen will give him a free hand. He has thoughts of printing Scott's novels, as well as Chaucer & the Bible, after he has completed The Golden Legend & all his own books." (It might be noted that of these books, only The Nature of Gothic and the Chaucer were completed; see letters no. 1959, n. 3; and no. 1961, n. 7, respectively). 4 Possibly Annie Wheeler (see letter no. 1966 and n. 6). 5 A copy of Gerard's Herbal (see Volume I, letter no. 278, n. 4) that had been used for reference in the dye-works at Merton Abbey.

1934 · T o TALBOT BAINES REED

Kelmscott House, Upper Mall, Hammersmith September 11, 1891

Dear Mr. R e e d 1 T h a n k you for your letter: I have b e e n away & t h e n in t o w n for 5 days very busy, & I am going away again t o m o r r o w & shall be away for t w o Sundays, and then perhaps in t o w n for one. I should save very much to have a talk over the old books w i t h you; but I think I had better write you w h e n you will be certain to find m e in. I think I am chiefly after w o o d c u t books at present; but have got 2 or

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1891 I L E T T E R 1935 3 Basle books (Rodt 2 & Richel) 3 also a black letter Milanese Zarotto 4 which has a very interesting &, I think beautiful form of letter. H o p i n g to see you soon, I am Dear Mr. R e e d Yours faithfully William Morris Mr. Prince has done most of the L.c. letters of my black type. 5 MS: St. Bride. 1 Talbot Baines Reed (1852-1893), son of Sir Charles Reed (see letter no. 1815, n. 2). T. B. Reed was at this time director of the type-founding firm (Sir Charles Reed and Sons) established by his father. A writer, T. B. Reed published in 1887 A History of the Old English Letter Foundries, but he was best known for his boys' stories, most notably The Fifth Form at St. Dominic's. In 1892, he helped found the Bibliographical Society. Morison writes (pp. 54-55) that Reed met Morris and Walker through the Arts and Crafts Exhibition Society and that it was Reed who persuaded Morris to read a paper on "The Ideal Book" at a meeting of the Bibliographical Society, on June 19, 1893. 2 Sotheby's Catalogue (1898) lists (lots 565 and 933, respectively) two books printed by Rodt: Moralia by Gregorius Magnus, Basel, c. 1469; and Summa de Viciis by Gulielmus Paraldus, Basel, 1472. 3 In the Sotheby Catalogue (1898) there are two books printed by Bernhard Richel listed (lots 117 and 174, respectively): Fortalicium Fidei by Alphonsus de Spina, Basel, c. 1475; and a Vulgate edition of the Bible, Basel, 1475. 4 La Legenda et Ia Vita del Glorioso Patre San Francesco, printed in Milan by Ant. Zarota (da Parma) in 1477. See Sotheby's Catalogue (1898), lot 458. 5 The Troy type (see letter no. 1935, n. 6).

1935 · T o JENNY M O R R I S

September 23 [1891]

I expect the b o o k — t h e "Poems by the Way"—will be all printed t o morrow, 1 and will go to the binders o n Monday. They are printing the colophon sheet 2 today, which is exciting. Item, Mr. Quaritch has sent m e in a specimen copy of volume 2 of the Saga Library, 3 so I suppose I shall bring it along with m e . I shall probably bring along a copy of the cheap 'Glittering Plain,' 4 and the cheap 'Poems by the Way' will soon be out. 5 So you see, my own, that if it doesn't rain 'blue elephants' it may almost be said to rain n e w books of mine. D o you know, I d o so like seeing a new b o o k o u t that I have had a hand in. Mr. Prince is also getting o n with the new fount of type, but w h e n I shall begin to print with it I really don't know. 6 Before I finish the news, I must tell you that about 6 o'clock yesterday a stout m a n called (like a Scotch farmer) and announced himself as the

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keeper of the dogs at the Doggeries; he said he had wanted to take the house again, 7 but I had forestalled him, and n o w he wanted to rent the kennels of m e : h e was so polite that all I could say was that I did n o t think I would, also that I would ask my wife. O f course I w o n ' t let h i m have them. I am going to give a dinner party o n Friday to Ellis, Phillis and C u t h bert and Harry. 8 And then on Saturday, h o for Kelmscott! I shall be so glad to see my dear again. TEXT: Mackail, II, 265-66. 1 The Kelmscott Press edition of Poems by the Way is dated September 24, 1891. 2 See illustration, p. 355. 3 See letter no. 1936. 4 See letter no. 1883, n. 1. 5 See letter no. 1926, n. 10. 6 The Troy. The first book printed in this type was The Recuyell of the Historyes of Troye, one of Morris s favorite medieval works. (See letter no. 1750, n. 2.) A black-letter font, the Troy showed the influence of Peter Schoffer of Mainz (see letter no. 1772, n. 2), Giinther Zainer (see letter no. 1817, n. 2), and Anton Koberger (1445-1513) of Nuremberg. Morris had begun designing the type in June 1891, and it was fully cast by Edward Prince at the end of December. Also used for the first time in the Kelmscott Press edition of The Recuyell was the third font designed by Morris—the Chaucer—which differed from the Troy only in size, being Pica instead of Great Primer (see letter no. 1954 and notes 2-4). Ready in June 1892, the Chaucer type was used for the list of chapters and the glossary of The Recuyell. See Cockerell, "List," pp. 151-52 and 162-64; see also Peterson, Bibliog., pp. 24— 27. For Morris's decision to reduce the Troy to the Chaucer type, see letter no. 1948 and n. 2. 7 See letter no. 1880, n. 1. 8 Morris refers to F. S. Ellis, his daughter Phillis, one of his sons, and Henry Halliday Sparling. For Phillis Ellis, see letter no. 1750, n. 8.

1936 · T o BERNARD Q U A R I T C H

Kelmscott House, Upper Mall, Hammersmith September 23 [1891]

Dear Mr. Quaritch T h e binding of vol 2 seems all right: 1 but I agree with you that the point after the 2 is not wanted & is better away.2 Yours truly W Morris MS: Quaritch. 1 Of the Saga Library. 2 The volume designation on the spine to which Morris refers reads "Vol. 2" (no period follows the 2).

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1936

C o l o p h o n for t h e Kelmscott Press edition of Poems by the Way, 1891.

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OF WILLIAM

1937 · T o W A L T E R C R A N E

MORRIS Kelmscott House, Upper Mall, Hammersmith September 24 [1891]

M y dear C r a n e I am sorry to say than I find it quite impossible to be present tonight, and I scarcely k n o w what to say about the position unless I were present, please make my apologies to the meeting. 1 As to the Glittering Plain, I will call o n you t o m o r r o w m o r n i n g if I do n o t hear from you stopping m e ; I shall be very pleased to see your work, and h o p e we may soon set about cutting some blocks. 2 I will write out a m e m o r a n d u m and bring it with m e , as I quite agree with you that it is best to have these things explicit from the first 3 Yours very truly William Morris. RS. R e the A & C. I am quite willing if it is a matter of raising funds to find say £ 5 0 towards t h e m . 4 MS: Yale B. 1 Probably a meeting of the Arts and Crafts Exhibition Society (see note 4 below). 2 For the illustrated edition. 3 The memorandum, dated September 25, 1891, reads: Proposals for (pulbis) producing an illustrated edition of the Glittering Plain The illustrations to be drawn by Walter Crane & cut on wood by Mr. Leverett or others to Walter Cranes satisfaction. The book to be printed at the Kelmscott Press (with) with William Morris' ornaments. Any profit that may result after the genuine expenses have been paid to be divided equally between the said Walter Crane & William Morris (Crane Coll.) As to sharing profit from the book, Peterson notes (History, p. 154) this was "an arrangement Morris never again offered to an illustrator." 4 In 1891, the Arts and Crafts Exhibition Society was experiencing financial difficulties (see letter no. 1867, n. 2). Because of this, and because the members felt the work that had been shown in 1890 represented a decline in quality, it was decided not to hold the fourth exhibit until 1893. See Stansky, pp. 246-48.

1938

· T o WILFRID SCAWEN B L U N T

Kelmscott H o u s e ,

U p p e r Mall, H a m m e r s m i t h O c t o b e r 6 [1891] M y dear Blunt All right; will n o w kindly send B o w d e n the extra copy, & especially the revises so that we may begin (pin) printing off the b o o k , w h i c h we are

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now quite ready to do. 1 You spoke of giving me some money on account before your departure:2 if you were to give me £50 on account that would be quite enough till the book is finished. I shall be here till Friday morning when I return to Kelmscott: Pray excuse haste. Yours faithfully William Morris V&A. Apposite to "extra copy" and "revises" is Blunt's Unpublished Diary entry dated September 30, 1891: "We have arranged that Natalia is to be suppressed and instead of it that the old Proteus Sonnets shall be reprinted . . . with certain new sonnets and some of those omitted from the earlier editions. The suppression of Natalia was decided on in consequence of a wild letter from Margaret [Talbot], who imagined that the poem described the relations between herself and her husband and me, and, although the poem had really nothing to do with her, she was so urgent that I could not refuse. [Margaret Talbot was the wife of the Military Secretary at the British Embassy in Paris; see Longford, pp. 281-84]." Blunt's Diary entry continues: "It put Morris to a great inconvenience, for Natalia was already in print, and I was obliged to explain the circumstances to him, when he at once and most good naturedly consented to the change." (Peterson notes [Bibliog., p. 10] that "[t]he change involved cancelling eighteen pages of type.") What Blunt gave Jane Morris as the reason for suppressing Natalia can be surmised from her response. On October 22, she wrote to him (JM to WSB, p. 58): "I daresay you were right not to include Natalia. I had not thought of it from the sacriligious point of view."

MS:

1

2 In his Unpublished Diary entry for September 30, 1891, Blunt wrote in part: "I have been away for two nights to Kelmscott to see Morris about the printing and to wish Mrs. Morris good bye for the winter. It was very perfect weather, and we did our gudgeon fishing and walks as usual and I made a little love to Mrs. Morris, poor woman, for the quite last time. Jenny is better than she has been for several years. Her devotion to her father is most touching and his to her."

1939 · T o WILFRID SCAWEN BLUNT

Kelmscott House,

Upper Mall, Hammersmith October 9 [1891] My dear Blunt Many thanks for C h e q u e : 1 T h e sooner we can have the revises back the better: 2 As soon as we can get them we set to w o r k printing. Excuse haste I am just setting off to Kelmscott. Yours very truly William Morris MS: V&A. 1

See letter no. 1938. Of interest is that Jane Morris proofread Blunt's Love-Lyrics, and throughout the printing sent Blunt comments on the poems. See for example letter no. 1938, n. 1. As Peterson 2

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notes (Bibliog., p. 11), she was not known to have proofread any other Kelmscott Press volume. (Lady Gregory also corrected proofs.)

1940 · T o T H O M A S JAMES

COBDEN-SANDERSON

Kelmscott House,

Upper Mall, Hammersmith October 11 [1891] My dear Sanderson Many thanks for your kind letter. I should like to see you about the J. B. binding 1 especially as I am n o w getting out books where there is more margin of expense (what a metaphor!) 2 & should like them done carefully. Yours affec: W Morris MS: Bucknell. 1 Presumably the binding for a copy of A Dream of John Ball (1888) that Cobden-Sanderson finished on March 31, 1892. For a description of the binding, see Tidcombe, p. 324. 2 Morris intends a joke about margins of Kelmscott Press volumes, much wider than those of ordinary books printed in the nineteenth century. (See for example letter no. 1831 and n. 7.) For a serious discussion by Morris on the subject of proper margins, see Appendix B.

1941 · T o ALICE B O Y D

Manor House

Kelmscott Lechlade. October 13, 1891 Dear Miss Boyd Thank you for sending me the copies of the t w o letters. 1 as to the first (numbered 325 I have n o objection to its publication. 2 B u t the 2nd (383) dated April 27th 1882 3 I must with very great regret ask you n o t to p u b lish. It contains a j u d g e m e n t o n a friend and contemporary which I thought true at the time, but it does not follow that I think so now. But that is n o t so much the point; the letter was addressed to o u r dear friend in all privacy, and as a private utterance wears quite a different face to what it would wear as a public one. W.B. Scott doubtless understood exactly what I meant, (and) as I knew he would w h e n I wrote it. B u t the general public would most certainly misunderstand it, and I and several other persons would be in one way or other sufferers from that misunderstanding.

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1941

Jane Morris, c. 1890.

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MORRIS

O f course there can be no more objection to the publication of the first part of the letter than to (325) being published; so to (av) avoid all possibility of mistake I return both copies, with the objectionable part of (383) crossed out 4 I repeat that I am exceedingly sorry to seem to stand in your way in this matter; but after all my own opinion is that the publication of the passages which I have crossed out would be as much a disaster to the book as to me: and I cannot help thinking that both you and Mr. M i n t o 5 will look at it from that point of view on consideration. With kindest regards from myself and my wife Believe me to be Yours very truly William Morris UBC. Morris refers to two of his own letters to William Bell Scott, which Alice Boyd wished to see included in the work being edited by William Minto (see note 5 below), titled Autobiographical Notes of the Life of William Bell Scott and Notices of his Artistic and Poetic Circle of Friends 1830-1882 (published in 1892; Minto also wrote the last chapter). Scott had died in 1890. 2 In this first letter to Scott, dated May 6, 1875 (see Volume I, letter no. 272), Morris thanked him for his Poems and for the dedication. The letter appears in its entirety on pp. 212-14 of Volume II of the Autobiographical Notes. 3 This second letter was written soon after the death of D. G. Rossetti (he died April 9, 1882). See Volume II, letter no. 792; and note 4 below. 4 In the event, the letter was included (p. 309) in the book, without the passage to which Morris here objects. It speaks of Rossetti's "arrogant misanthropy" and lack of "the grain of humility which makes a great man one of the people" (see Volume II, letter no. 792 and n. 2). 5 William Minto (1845-1893), author, editor, and critic. By 1891, he had published English Prose Writers (1872), English Poets (1874), and several novels including Was She Good or Bad? (1889). A professor of Logic and Literature at Aberdeen University as well, he wrote Logic, Inductive and Reductive, published posthumously in 1893. MS:

1

1942

· T o CHARLES FAIRFAX M U R R A Y

Kelmscott

October 17, 1891 M y dear Murray I am glad to find that you are over here again. 1 I shall be up in town on Tuesday and shall hope to see you at once. As to the vellum(s) Gunnlaugs 2 that is a lark: Walker and I missed them about a m o n t h ago, hunted for them all over the house, and concluded to wait till they turned (out) up which they have: I suspect that I sent them to you by mistake for those coloured Gunther Zeiner cuts 3 which are still in my chest.

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1891 I L E T T E R 1943 Will y o u kindly let m e have the said Gunnlaugs as they want finishing. Yours very truly William Morris MS: Texas. 1

Murray presumably had recently returned from Italy to England. See letter no. 1729, n. 1. 3 I have been unable to identify the sheets—presumably loose leaves containing woodcut drawings—to which Morris refers. 2

1943 · T o JENNY M O R R I S

Kelmscott House,

Upper Mall, Hammersmith October 22 [1891] Dearest o w n Child T h a n k you for your letter, which I was so glad to get. It was all right about the portmanteau; and I should n o t have been anxious about it only I remembered that there was a label on it to Lechlade, and I stayed such a short while in o u r shop at Oxford St. that I thought they might have made a mistake. M y dear I hope you are enjoying this unmitigated wet day. Yesterday was showery, but beautifully bright between the showers; but today is about the wettest day yet. I have been to call o n the Grange this morning & found them all well; I am n o w (except for this little letter) doing my story, 1 which I want very much to get o n with; yesterday I had many little odd business jobs to do, & so could n o t work o n the story till the evening, w h e n I did good bit. I go to the Anti-scrape this afternoon, 2 & shall see Webb and the others afterwards I suppose. 3 May & Harry were at dinner here on Tuesday night; & May came in yesterday morning again; I thought her looking much better, & she said that she was so and had slept well except o n the night of the storm. I should tell you that Monday and Tuesday were very high tides here; the water was nearly over the wall. I think that comes from o u r floods; I mean that there is so much land water in the river that it cannot get away comfortably in one ebb, so that the flood-tide brings a lot of it back again. T h e printers are n o w o n Mr. Blunt's book. I have o n e sheet and it looks very gay & pretty with its red letters, but I think I prefer mine in style of printing. 4 T h e leaves are coming off very fast here; the tulip-tree has changed colour; it is quite bright yellow, and almost looks like as if sunlight were come into the garden this dull day. Well my dearest Child as I shall write to you again, even if there is n o

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MORRIS

news, I will ask you to p u t up with these 3 sides: I shall be so glad to see you o n Monday. 5 Best love to my o w n & to mother. Kind regards to Miss Coates. 6 Your loving father William Morris RS. Here is a proof of the S which I did the last time but one I was at Kelmscott: I t h o u g h t you might like to see it. 7 W.M. MS: BL, Add. MSS.45340. Extract published: Henderson, Letters, 347. 1 The Well at the World's End. 2 At this time the S.P.A.B. was protesting proposed restoration at Westminster Abbey (see letter no. 1944 and notes). 3 Cockerell was one of the others who met at Gatti's afterwards and of interest is his Diary entry for October 22, which reads: "W.M. at S.P.A.B. & Gatti's. He talks of getting another press. One volume of the Golden Legend is printed. The black letter fount is almost ready, & he thinks of making a beginning with John Ball, Chaucer to follow, & also perhaps the Gesta Romanorum." 4 By "mine" Morris means Poems by the Way and by "style of printing" he presumably refers to his book not having—as Blunt's Love-Lyrics does—the woodcut initials printed in red. Peterson, in a discussion of the lettering, notes (History, p. 221): "There are . . . only two known instances in which Morris succumbed to outside pressure in designing the Kelmscott Press books . . . [one being Blunt's persuading] Morris, against his better judgement, to print the initials of the Love-Lyrics in red." In the event, no other Kelmscott volumes were to have colored initials. (See Cockerell, "List," p. 149.) 5 Jane and Jenny were at Kelmscott Manor. 6 Presumably Jenny's most recent nurse-companion. 7 Possibly for Love-Lyrics (see note 4 above), or for The Golden Legend, also in production at this time. (Morris added his postscript across the top of the page because he had run out of space.)

1944 · T o THE EDITOR OF THE Pall Mall Gazette

October 22 [1891]

Sir, 1 T h e Society for the Protection of Ancient Buildings ventures to ask you to publish the accompanying correspondence 2 between it and the D e a n of Westminster 3 relative to the proposed restoration of Westminster Abbey. T h e society considers it the duty of all cultured Englishmen to watch carefully any such proposals, b o t h because it is a difficult and delicate task to put m o d e r n w o r k into an ancient and traditional w o r k of art, and because the consequences of a mistake in dealing with this peerless national m o n u m e n t would be so disastrous and so irreparable. T h e society t h o u g h t itself b o u n d to seek information in the most direct way from

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those who are responsible to the nation for the treatment of one of its most precious possessions, wishing above all to have authoritative information in view of disquieting rumours that are abroad. Nevertheless, that information has been wholly refused, and the public are still in the dark as to what is going to be done in this most important matter. The society feels compelled to ask (and will press the question by every means in its power), is the public to have no opportunity of forming a judgement on the proposals of the Dean and Chapter before the work is actually done? The society ventures to think, Sir, that if this is to be the case the Dean and Chapter misconceive the duties which their position as guardians of one of our noblest buildings imposes upon them.— We are, Sir, on behalf of the Society for the Protection of Ancient Buildings, Thackeray Turner, Secretary, Richard C. Grosvenor, Hon. Sec, William Morris, Hon. Sec, J. Hen. Middleton, Hon. Sec. TEXT: PMG, October 27, 1891, 2. 1 The editor of the Pall Mall Gazette at this time was Edward Tyas Cook (1857-1919), who had succeeded W. T. Stead in 1890. 2 The correspondence to which Morris refers concerned repairs to the fabric, and consisted of letters exchanged by the S.P.A.B. and the Dean of Westminster Abbey. The Pall Mall Gazette, October 27, 1891, published, following Morris's letter (p. 2), only abstracts from the exchange. The S.P.A.B. Annual Report for 1892, pp. 32-33, also contains part of the exchange only. See also note 3 below. 3 George Granville Bradley (1821-1903). He had been a master at Rugby, 1845-1858; Headmaster of Marlborough, 1858-1870; and Master of University College, Oxford, 1871-1880. A close friend of Tennyson and of Dean Stanley (see Volume I, letter no. 635, n. 2), he became Dean of Westminster in 1881, and thereafter was active both in seeking the restoration Morris and the S.P.A.B. condemned and in reforming the finances of the Abbey. He resigned as Dean a year before his death.

1945 ·

Kelmscott House, Upper Mall, Hammersmith November 7 [1891]

RECIPIENT UNKNOWN

Dear Sir,1 (Nov) January 26 2 will do very well for the date of my lecture 'On the Woodcuts of Gothic books'. You understand of course that it is a 'Lantern' 3 lecture. Kindly send me a warning again about a fortnight before. Yours very truly William Morris Ms: Berger Coll.

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MORRIS

1

Morris may have sent this letter to Henry Benjamin Wheatley (1838-1917), Secretary of the Applied Arts Section of the Society of Arts (founded in 1754 and known also as The Royal Society for the Encouragement of Arts, Manufactures and Commerce). Another possibility is that Morris's correspondent was Sir Henry Trueman Wright Wood (18541929), Secretary of the Society. 2 "January 26" determines the dating of this letter. On January 26, 1892, Morris delivered a paper titled "The Woodcuts of Gothic Books" to the Society of Arts. Peterson concludes (Ideal Book, p. 122) that the substance of this lecture was probably the same as one on Gothic illustrations and printed books that Morris had given on November 28, 1890, at the Art Workers' Guild, because identical illustrations were used for both lectures. (For a description of Morris lecturing on the first occasion, see Peterson, Ideal Book, p. 122.) LeMire, who does not refer to the 1890 lecture, lists (p. 319) two deliveries of the January 26, 1892, version, on February 21, 1894, and on December 14, 1895. 3 There were thirty-seven slides at both lectures; Peterson states (Ideal Book, p. 122) that the talks were identical. The text of the lecture indicates that at least one of the slides was prepared from the leaf of the Gerard Leeu Aesop (see letter no. 1772, n. 3) that Morris had purchased in October 1890.

1946 · T o JAMES TREGASKIS

November [8, 1891]

Dear Sir 1 111 keep the D e Keyser 2 and will bring it r o u n d to you to have that odd leaf put in in somewhat m o r e than a week Yrs truly W Morris MS: Berger Coll. 1 See letter no. 1822, n. 1. 2 Possibly Boethius' De Consolatione Philosophiae printed at Ghent by Arend de Keyser in 1485. At the time of his death, Morris owned a copy, and the Sotheby Catalogue (1898) describes it (lot 311) as having been mended.

1947 · T o WILFRID SCAWEN B L U N T

Kelmscott House, Upper Mall, Hammersmith November 17 [1891]

M y dear Blunt I am sorry, but I really don't see h o w we can manage to print m o r e than the 300 (and say 6) of yours poems. 1 You see we have already w o r k e d off 96 p.p. and the type of these is almost all distributed: ( o f ) it would be like beginning the work again to print an extra 50. T h e finished sheets look very nice indeed.

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1949

I d o n t think it will be above 2 m o n t h s before we are d o n e printing. I suppose you want it b o u n d like m i n e : or how? 2 Yours very truly William Morris V&A. In the event, 300 paper copies of Love-Lyrics were printed (none on vellum). 2 Like Poems by the Way, Blunt's book was bound in stiff vellum. See Cockerell, "List," p. 149. MS:

1

1948

· FROM A LETTER T O

[FREDERICK STARTRIDGE ELLIS?]

[December 11? 1891]1

. . . it is so big 2 that it is n o use thinking of printing the C h a u c e r in double columns with it unless the b o o k were to be as big as Eggstein's Gratian's D e c r e t u m 3 TEXT: Mackail II, 274. 1 Mackail's notebook lists a letter to F. S. Ellis, dated December 11, 1891, and describes it as being about Morris's "new type." The Troy type, discussed in this letter, was being cast at this time (see letter no. 1935, n. 6). 2 The Troy. Peterson writes (History, p. 94) that an early trial page set in the Troy type "was a passage from Chaucer's 'Franklin's Tale'" and that "from the beginning . . . Morris had the type in mind for his great edition of Chaucer." However, Morris (who had probably seen the trial page when he wrote the present letter to Ellis) "had a firm grip on financial realities," Peterson continues, "and he saw that printing the collected works of Chaucer in a type as large as the Troy was out of the question." For a discussion by Morris about reducing the size, and for his eventual decision, see letter no. 1954 and notes 2-4. 3 Gratian's Decretum was printed by Heinrich Eggstein at Strasbourg in 1472. Mackail describes (II, 274) it as "a leviathan among printed books, of which an uncut copy measures twenty inches by fifteen and weighs nearly thirty pounds." Morris owned a copy (see Sotheby Catalogue [1898], lot 559).

1949 · RECIPIENT UNKNOWN

Kelmscott House, Upper Mall, Hammersmith December 11, 1891

Dear Sir I really scarcely k n o w h o w to advise you: if you are to follow art, it is not e n o u g h that you should dislike other work, but you must also have some strong bent towards the practice of a {pat) special form of art; otherwise by n o means attempt it, or you will find your enthusiasm for that also will wane speedily.

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MORRIS

For in order to turn out good art you must work with real industry, & not allow any corner of your mind to be indolent. Furthermore I am bound to tell you that art is in a thoroughly rotten condition at present; almost all the so-called artists being quite bad workmen; though sometimes, poor fellows! they really do love art and beauty at the same time. A lamentable position to be in. So that my advice to anyone who wants to be an artist of any kind is: by no means try to make your livelihood by art unless you find it impossible to make it by any other means. If you are fond of art and can practice it somewhat in any branch, make that holiday work. Since you are a Socialist, you can probably understand that this degredation of the arts is the natural and necessary consequence of false society, which breeds artificial famine on all hands. It cannot possibly be remedied until freedom of labour enables us to think of something not merely utilitarian. I must confess though I am sorry for your trouble, I am always glad when I hear of middle-class person riding rusty under his work, because then he can feel what an abominable tyranny our Society of inequality is. Wishing you more comfortable under the inevitable burden, (which comfort I think you will best gain by entering heartily in the struggle against Capitalism) I am Dear Sir Yours truly William Morris RS. Yes by all means come & see me: try some Sunday afternoon. Next Sunday if you can, as I expect to be out of town the Sunday following MS: Iowa.

1950 ·

Kelmscott House, Upper Mall, Hammersmith December 11 [1891?]

RECIPIENT UNKNOWN

Dear Sir I am not able to go long distances to lecture at present: to go to your place lecture & come back again would take me 6 hours of a winter night; and my doctor forbids me to do such things; as I am getting old and am not so well as I was. Yours truly William Morris Ms: Dunlap Coll.

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1891 / L E T T E R 1952 1951 · T o CHARLES FAIRFAX M U R R A Y

Kelmscott House,

Upper Mall, Hammersmith December 12 [1891?] My dear Murray Walker has sent m e in two more prints of the drawings 1 done by a n other process. 2 if you don't come in this evening I will bring them round to you before 10 t o m o r r o w m o r n i n g to see if you think they will do. Yrs truly WM. MS: Texas. 1 Possibly the two illustrations by Burne-Jones for The Golden Legend (see letter no. 1911, n. 6). 2 It is unclear what Morris means by "another process." Since the cutting of woodblocks for illustrations meant first securing a photographic image to the wood surface (see letter no. 1912, n. 1), Morris may refer simply to the use of photography in this manner; or he may mean walker had altered the chemical formula for effecting the adhesion. As for sending the prints to Murray, before attaching them to the wood, Mackail may help explain why Morris did, if in fact this letter refers to illustrations for The Golden Legend. Mackail writes (II, 279) that Murray "touched up" photographic copies of Burne-Jones's drawings before they were used for engraving.

1952 · T o THOMAS H A R D Y

Kelmscott House,

Upper Mall, Hammersmith December 15 [1891] Dear Sir 1 T h a n k you very much I shall be very pleased to receive your b o o k & to read it. 2 I have read t w o of your books with much pleasure, Far from the Madding Crowd, 3 & T h e return of the Native. 4 T h e first o n e is the most pleasing and I suppose you would look upon it as the most typical of your works. B u t there is a great deal of close study of nature, (I mean h u m a n save of that ilk) in the return, besides the beauty of the mise en scene 5 which with you is a matter of course. Again with many thanks I am Yours faithfully William Morris ins: Dorset. 1 Thomas Hardy (1840-1928). Michael Millgate notes (p. 319) that Hardy had sent Morris a copy of Tess (though Millgate says the book was delivered in November) and adds that Hardy and Morris had not met. There is no documentary evidence they did, but they may have encountered each other at S.P.A.B. meetings (Hardy had joined the Society in

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OF WILLIAM

MORRIS

1881 or 1882). This would have been particularly possible when the S.P.A.B. took an interest in buildings near Dorchester: in 1882-1883, when Hardy "offered . . . to keep a watchful eye on Winbome Minster"; and in 1889 when he was concerned with Stratton Church. See Michael Millgate, Thomas Hardy: A Biography (New York: Random House, 1982), pp. 235 and 302; see also the S.P.A.B. Annual Report for 1882. 2 Tess of the D'Urbervilles (see note 1 above), which was published in three volumes in 1891. There is a presentation copy listed (lot 427) in the Sotheby Catalogue (1898). 3 Published in 1874. 4 Published in 1878. 5 Though in dozens of instances I have resisted temptation to call attention to Morris's spelling errors, trusting the reader to believe my transcriptions faithful, my courage fails me this time and I wish to point out Morris put the accent aigu over this word.

1953 · F R O M A L E T T E R T O

FREDERICK STARTRIDGE ELLIS

[December 19? 1891]

I am at work at my story 1 and other trifles. TEXT: Mackail, II, 274. 1 Mackail writes (II, 274): "This was one of several romances" Morris began in his later years "and discontinued either because he was not satisfied with them or from mere lack of time."

67 Mount Ephraim 1

1954 · T o EMERY WALKER

(thats the address) December 20 [1891] M y dear Walker Thanks for the photos: 2 which look very well indeed. I must say that I am in some doubts as to which I shall have cut, the English or the Pica; 3 I am almost inclined for the Pica, as it will give us more variety. However we will talk about it w h e n we meet; which I am afraid will n o t be till after Xmas, 4 as I dont think I shall come u p this week. If I do I will send you a card to warn you thereof. This is not such a bad place, I mean the place itself; plenty of open c o m m o n & the like, though Podsnap 5 very busy in Villa building. T h e country about very pretty u p & down woody country. I went to Speldhurst yesterday to see our glass which interested m e naturally; 6 the village very pretty (good old black & white inn) 7 except for one Podsnapian mansion and—the Church which is a beastly modern abortion I suppose about 50 years old, and n o doubt takes the place of some interesting old building. I have begun the n e w small bloomers, 8 but have done little, since long

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walks in the morning are rather the order of the day. Story getting on however.9 Good luck Yours affectionately William Morris Thanks for doing the other photos. MS: Texas. Extract published: MM, I, 664. 1 Morris was at Tunbridge Wells until December 29 (possibly visiting Jenny). 2 "In December 1891," writes Peterson (History, p. 94), "Emery Walker made several photographic reductions of passages . . . set in the Troy type to help Morris envision the best size for his third fount [the Chaucer]." 3 Morris was considering whether he should reduce the Troy type from eighteen points to fourteen points (English) or to twelve (Pica). See also note 4 below. 4 In January 1892, after trial pages of "The Cook's Tale" and of "The Tale of Sir Thopas" had been printed in Troy type, Morris decided on Pica as the size of the Chaucer type—a decision apparently anticipated by the thoughts expressed in this letter, and one with which he was to be uneasy (see Peterson, History, p. 94). Cutting was done by Edward Prince between February and May, and the Chaucer type was ready by June 1892. See Cockerell, "History," p. 143. 5 The officious and self-complacent man of business in Our Mutual Friend. 6 Morris refers to the stained-glass windows done by the firm for the Church of St. Mary the Virgin, Speldhurst, Kent, between 1873 and 1876. Seven windows were installed during these years. See Sewter, II, 178-79 for descriptions of the windows; and I, pi. 444-49 and 503-504 for illustrations. 7 See letter no. 1957, n. 1. 8 That is, floriated initials. These were probably intended for The Golden Legend. 9 See letter no. 1953 and n. 1.

1955 · T o A N D R E A S S C H E U

Tunbridge Wells

December 28, 1891 My dear Scheu Many thanks for your kind good-wishes, which I return most heartily. I come back to town tomorrow, and shall be at home next Sunday afternoon & evening. Is there no chance of seeing you then. I should so like to have an all round good talk with you. 1 Your affectionate friend William Morris HSH. It is possible Morris's kindly tone here is an effort to assure Scheu of continuing friendship: there are only scattered, infrequent (surviving) letters from Morris to Scheu after 1886, and several of these are unhelpful replies to apparent solicitations of aid in job-seeking, including one asking, it would seem, for employment at Merton Abbey (see letter no. 1683). For another instance of Scheu's asking for help, see letter no. 1709.

MS:

1

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MORRIS

1956 · T o EMERY WALKER

Tunbridge Wells

December 28 [1891] My dear Walker I am coming up to town tomorrow Tuesday. Wont you come in to dinner, say 8 p.m. if you cant you can perhaps come in later. Yrs affectionately William Morris MS: Texas.

1957 · T o EMERY W A L K E R

67 Mount Ephraim

Tunbridge Wells January 8 [1892] M y dear Walker I intend coming h o m e o n Monday for the inside of the week. I shall be at Hammersmith by 5 p m . So please if you can come to dinner at 7.30 or 8. If not I shall be glad to see you later. T h e old inn at Speldhurst 1 turns out to be a very interesting house It is really inside a regular small Kentish house or hall (with) of framed work; with (can) open roof with huge canted tiebeams & king post and (stuts) struts. AU in very good order really; the framing of the old screen left also. In short quite a pleasure to see: I should have thought it of the 14 century; but the mouldings of the screen looked somewhat later; perhaps (and) addition. Splendid weather here, but rather cold at times. Hoping to see you o n Monday I am Yours affectionately William Morris MS: Walthamstow. 1 Speldhurst is in Kent. The inn is the George and Dragon.

1958 · T o [ALFRED T R U B N E R ] N U T T

Kelmscott House,

Upper Mall, Hammersmith January 16, 1892 Dear Sir1 Thank you very much; but it is too big for m e to touch. I can't afford it Yours truly W Morris

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1892 I L E T T E R 1959 MS: Schimmel Coll. 1 This note is on a postcard addressed to "Mr. D. Nutt." Morris erroneously added "Mr." to what was by this date only a firm name (see letter no. 1892, n. 1). Possibly too he intended to write "Mr. A. Nutt"—head of the firm—and through a slip of the pen substituted the "D."

1959 · T o [FRANK O R R O B E R T ] SMITH

Kelmscott House, Upper Mall, Hammersmith January 23, 1892

M y dear Smith 1 I should be glad of some m o n e y in about a fortnights time if you can manage it. H o w about Merton? I want to finish that paper hanging. 2 If the influ: is still there, they had better send m e u p the design, as I shall be here till this day week. ( W w o ) Would you please order me another lot of that silk tape for b o o k - b i n d i n g : this time it had better be about 3 times the last quantity as I have o n e b o o k ready & another will be in t w o m o n t h . 3 the narrow size is w h a t I want. I h o p e you & your brother are keeping well. Yours very truly William Morris I shall be calling in o n Tuesday or Wednesday 4 MS: New South Wales. 1 Mackail writes (II, 241) that Frank and Robert Smith, who had been the two principal submanagers of Morris and Co., were admitted to partnership in the firm after George Wardle retired in 1890. For the terms of the partnership agreement between Morris and the Smiths, see Harvey and Press, pp. 195-96. 2 Possibly for Stanmore Hall, Middlesex, for which Morris and Co. did extensive decorative work between 1888 and 1896. 3 The first was probably Blunt's Love-Lyrics, dated January 26 and issued February 27, 1892; and the one to be ready "in two month[s]" Ruskin's The Nature of Gothic. It was dated February 15 and issued March 22, 1892. A small quarto printed in Golden type, with a preface by Morris, it was published by George Allen, Ruskin's publisher (see letter no. 1974, n. 2). Five hundred paper copies were made, the largest printing to that date of any Kelmscott Press book. See Cockerell, "List," p. 149. 4 Morris's postscript appears at top of the holograph.

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L E T T E R S OF WILLIAM 1960 · T o JOHN PiNCHER FAUNTHORPE

MORRIS Kelmscott House, Upper Mall, Hammersmith January 25 [1892]

Dear Sir I will call o n you one morning this week: 1 I am n o t sure yet which, as I have to call o n someone in your neighbourhood & it wld: be convenient to make it o n the same morning. I will write you as soon as I know Yrs. truly W Morris MS: Berger Coll. 1 To discuss work being done by Morris and Co. for the Whitelands College Chapel. See letters no. 1836, notes 1—2; and no. 1839, notes 2—3.

1961 · T o GIACOMO B O N I

Kelmscott House,

Upper MaU, Hammersmith January 28, 1892 Dear Signor Boni 1 I scarcely k n o w h o w to answer the kind letter which you sent m e from Altamura which perhaps accounts for my having left it unanswered so long. I hope you will have pardoned m e even before this for being so remiss. Since you are so much interested in the printing I send herewith a (scr) scrap of paper which has a line or t w o of another type which have had cut, 2 and which is just going to be used. I am going to reprint the first book printed in English, ' T h e Recuyelles or Goderyings of the Histories of Troy' 3 which Caxton translated from the French of R a o u l Lefevre, 4 and which was printed in the house of Colard Mansion at Bruges, probably by Caxton. It is a curious collection of Greco-roman Mythology 'ad m e n t e m Medii-Aevi.' 5 I am preparing to print Chaucer also; 6 and the English Gesta R o m a n o r u m , 7 a very beautiful b o o k of a M S of the early 15th century, English of the best period. I am also egotist enough to intend printing my o w n works a good deal. T h e next that comes o u t will be my earliest vol: ' T h e Defence of G u e nevere.' 8 I have to thank you for sending m e the little p h o t o : of the beautiful Byzantine ornament; there is nothing so delicate & beautiful, as the carving of that period. They have been terrifying us here with reports of restorations of the Pisa pictures. 9 Considering what I had heard of the later proceedings at

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Assissi, I could not believe that they were really repainting; but of course I was glad to hear the letter which you were kind enough to send to our Society and which was so reassuring. I hope you are keeping free from the Influenza, which seems to have been both democratic & International enough to please even a Socialist like to me. With best wishes & many thanks I am Dear Signor Boni Yours very truly William Morris TEXT (facsimile): Tea, G. Boni, I, ix-xii. 1 Giacomo Boni (1859—1925). An archeologist, he had begun his career by training as a draftsman in the office of the Director of the Palazzo Ducale in Venice and then studying there at the Higher School of Architecture. He taught himself Greek, Latin, and English— the last in order that he might read Ruskin (Boni and Ruskin met in 1882). He wrote a series of articles for the Adriatico, criticizing the restoration in the Palazzo Ducale, and though dismissed when his superiors read them, he was ultimately taken back. Later articles published in the Tribune of Rome attracted the attention of Francesco Crispi (1819-1901), Minister of Public Instruction, who called Boni to Rome, where he was eventually asked by Pope Leo XIII to advise on the state of the Sistine Chapel. In 1898 he was put in charge of the excavations of the Forum. See The Times, July 8, 1925, p. 15. (The S.P.A.B. list of members for 1892 includes Boni and identifies him as "Architetto, Direzione Generale Delle Antichita e Belle-Arte, Roma.") 2 Possibly Morris had sent Boni a copy of Poems by the Way and Boni had praised the typography, expressing interest in the Golden type, and thus prompting Morris to send him "a line or two of another type" just cut, i.e., the Troy. 3 I n giving the work this title, Morris probably had in mind the 1502 edition of Caxton's translation, printed by Wynkyn de Worde (see letter no. 1750, n. 3), that was titled The Recuyles or Gaden'ge to Gyder of Ye Historyes of Troye. For the Kelmscott Press edition, titled The Recuyell of the Historyes of Troye, see letters no. 1750, n. 2; and no. 1935, n. 6. 4 Raoul Lefevre was a priest and the chaplain and secretary of Philip the Good (13961467) of France. He drew and composed his work out of various books in Latin, translating into French. The Recuyell was made in 1464. 5 In the manner of the Middle Ages. 6 The Works of Geoffrey Chaucer, the printing masterpiece of the Kelmscott Press, generally referred to as the "Kelmscott Chaucer," was one of the first books Morris thought of printing; but it was not finished until May 8, 1896 (issued June 26). Edited by F. S. Ellis, it was a folio printed in "Chaucer" type (see letter no. 1954, notes 2-4) and had a woodcut title designed by Morris and eighty-seven illustrations by Burne-Jones. Four hundred and twenty-five copies were printed on paper (originally 325 were intended, see Volume IV, letter no. 2327); there were thirteen on vellum. For the history of the Chaucer, beginning with the first recorded reference to it, an entry in Cockerell's Diary on June 11, 1891, see Peterson, Bibliog., pp. 101-15 and History, pp. 228-57. For the references in Morris's correspondence that help construct a history of the book, see letters no. 1948 and n. 2; no. 2009 and n. 8; no. 2011 and n. 2; no. 2072 and n. 3; and no. 2074 and notes 2 and 6. See also Volume IV

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LETTERS

OF W I L L I A M

MORRIS

7

Gesta Romanomm, a collection of stories in Latin, originally compiled in England in the fourteenth century and circulated as a manuscript. It was first issued as a printed book about 1472, and subsequently Wynkyn de Worde made an English translation. Morris, who at the time of his death owned four editions of the book, never printed it, and there is no mention in surviving sources of plans to publish it at the Kelmscott Press, though Cockerell did note: "The black letter fount is almost ready, & he thinks of making a beginning with John Ball, Chaucer to follow,—also perhaps the Gesta Romanorum" (Cockerell's Diary, October 22, 1891). 8 See letter no. 1881, n. 4. The Kelmscott Press The Defence ofGuenevere, and Other Poems was a small octavo in Golden type. Dated April 2, and issued May 19, 1892, it was sold by Reeves and Turner, whose 1889 reprint was basically used as the copy text (see Peterson, Bibliog., p. 14). Three hundred paper copies and two on vellum were printed. For the Kelmscott Press edition Morris divided the poems into three groups: those based on Malory's Morte a"Arthur, those drawing on Froissart's Chronicles, and a third of no special origin. See Cockerell, "List," p. 150; see also Buxton Forman, pp. 38-41; and Peterson, Bibliog., pp. 14—15. For the binding, see letter no. 1978 and n. 1. 9 The S.P.A.B. Annual Report for 1892 listed the Campo Santo, Pisa, as a building that had come to the attention of the Society. The Times, January 6, 1892, published (p. 12) a letter from Holman Hunt, written from Rome, in which he deplored the plan to repaint the frescoes in the Campo Santo and asked that it be stopped. Of interest too is a note by Boni, dated 1892, which reads: "I have received a lovely letter from William Morris on the same subject of the Campo Santo of Pisa, and everyone seems satisfied" (trans. Patricia Cockram). For Boni's letter in the original, see Luca Beltrami, Giacomo Boni, con lettere e un saggio hibliografico (Milano: Tipografia Allegretti, 1926), p. 175; cited by Eva Tea, "Morris e Boni," Libri del Giomo (October 1926), p. 514.

1962 · T o EMERY WALKER

Tunbridge Wells February 2, 1892

I've enclosed one little block 1 which please get coppered as soon as you can: that will make six; and I can go o n with t h e m . T h e others I will see H o o p e r about o n Saturday, they want some retouching; and o n e I fear must be plugged; but I can't tell till I see my design. I fear H o o p e r must have been in a bad t e m p e r w h e n he cut it, and was damning my eyes for hurrying h i m . A very slight touch or t w o will set the others right. D o n ' t tell H o o p e r my jokes as he is sensitive & might cut up rough, & I don't want to quarrel with him, as he has been very obliging as well as skillful. PML. Probably for The Defence of Guenevere (see letter no. 1961, n. 8), the first sheet of which was printed on February 17, 1892. Morris designed several initials as well as other ornaments for the book, including a floriated " B " ten lines high and a woodcut border on the first page. MS:

1

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I LETTER

1963 · T o EMERY WALKER

1964 Tunbridge Wells

February 4 [1892] M y dear Walker Thanks for note and proof of Hooper's cuts. 1 I think I had better wait till I have seen my designs & talked to H o o p e r about them: I think these not at all good: in fact I think them downright bad, and chiefly of use as illustrating every fault that a w o o d cut can have. 2 O f course I k n o w that he can do better, and that h e is doing this out of perversity. Anyhow, anybody can do them as well as this, as they are quite unintelligent in cutting; and Leverett 3 may as well cut t h e m at a lower price. B u t I daresay with a little talking to I can bring H o o p e r round and get him to do better: if not I must in future go to someone else. I send one back for you to get coppered, which is all right. O f course these outline pieces want much more skill & feeling than the white out of black ones. B u t I thought he was all right, as the first lot were not ill done. Meantime I have 6 to go o n with which is perhaps enough for the present, so there is n o desperate hurry. Yours affectionately William Morris MS: Texas. 1

See letter no. 1962 and n. 1. Peterson writes (History, p. 147) that when Hooper began to work at the Press there were "almost immediately . . . disagreements between [him and Morris]. Morris, like Ruskin before him, believed firmly that the craftsman ought not to be merely the tool of an artist-designer. In practice this meant that the engraver should participate in the creative process by adapting and modifying the artist's design as he tranfers it to the surface of the woodblock. Hooper's entire career, however, had been devoted to producing exact facsimiles of the drawings given to him. This fidelity to the design was in fact a matter of pride . . . : he was delighted on one occasion when Ruskin was unable to distinguish one of his proofs from the drawing on which it was based." 3 Arthur Leverett (see letter no. 1831, n. 1). 2

1964 · T o J. & J. L E I G H T O N

[WALTER JAMES LEIGHTON?]

Kelmscott House,

Upper Mall, Hammersmith February 10 [1892] Dear Sir T h e lettering will do very well for Mr. Blunts Poems. 1 Thank you for showing m e the Lettou & Machlinia 2 but I do n o t much care about it; so I will bring it back to you tomorrow (Thursday) afternoon Yours truly W Morris

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L E T T E R S OF WILLIAM

MORRIS

MS: Bodleian. 1 Morris refers to the lettering on the spine: "THE / LOVE I LYRICS I AND / SONGS / OF / PROTEUS / BY / W.S. I BLUNT / 1892." It was in Golden type, presumably provided by Morris. 2 John Lettou (fl. 1480) was the first printer in the city of London. He began printing in 1480 and took William de Machlinia (fl. 1482-1490) as a partner in 1482.

1965 · T o E D I T H G. L A M B

Kelmscott H o u s e ,

U p p e r Mall,

Hammersmith

February 17, 1892

Dear Miss Lamb 1 I shall be happy to do what you want; but you must first tell m e what price per yd: the Landlord will go to. 2 I have been looking for your note of the quantities & have mislaid it, so I must ask you to send it again please with your answer. Jenny is pretty well thank you With best wishes I am Yours very truly William Morris MS: Colorado. 1 See letter no. 1848, n. 2. 2 Possibly Edith Lamb had asked Morris if he would supply wallpaper for her own flat or house, to be paid for by her landlord.

Kelmscott House, 1

1966 · T o JENNY MORRIS

Upper Thames February 23 [1892] Dearest o w n child This is after dinner so I think I may tell you h o w I am getting on. I have lost two things; first my brushes (for drawing) second my cold. I fmd I can do withought either of these, as I have found some brushes which I can work with as to the first loss; and as to the second, what is the use of sniffing w h e n there is no one to sniff at. N o w for local news: the waters are out a little, owing to the melting snow: It is a cold rather windy day, but not unpleasant; brilliantly sunny at first; n o w cloudy with gleams of sun at times. It froze last night; but took to a sharp shower in the morning. As to the house, it seems in good order. T h e green-room has had its rotten w o o d - w o r k removed, and smells mouldy no longer; the whole house is clean and neat.

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1892 / L E T T E R

1966

Mary Giles, c. 1885; and William Giles, c. 1906.

As to the garden, they are late here; there are two or three crocusses out, but most of them are not above ground even; the winter acconite is not fully in blossom; and the yellow jasmine is over. The great thing is snow-drops which are everywhere, but mostly double: however they give one a delightful idea of spring about: there are a few violets out, and here & there a coloured primrose; and some of the hepatica roots have flowered, but show no leaves. But how pretty it looks to see the promise of things pushing up through the clean un-sooty soil: everything seems doing very well & Giles seems to understand his work;2 so I think we shall have a beautiful garden this year. My dinner was served in style, so that I felt quite proud of such attentions; and Mrs. Giles seems a nice kind simple person.3 Now as to myself. First, my dear, I will tell you a tale. I had forgotten to bring a watch-key: I asked Mrs. Giles to lend me one, and she pro[ 377 ]

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MORRIS

duced the one I had left here; I thanked her(e) and put it in my waistcoat pocket: on retiring I sought the said key in said pocket, and found it not I sought then (but calmly I assert) with the help of a candle all about the house &: found it not. Then I said never mind the time doesnt matter these 2 days but as a last resource pinched my waistcoat all over, and, as I live by bread! there it was in the corner of my waistcoat. Doubtless it had heard my chuckle and my 'that's all right' and had seized the opportunity to bore a hole in my pocket and dissappear, in the false hope that it would reach, not my waistcoat lining but the wide world. N.B. my waistcoat is brand new. Last night I wrote out tale (a good bit)4 this morning I have doing bloomers5 with tolerable success. I will presently post this letter, & then go a little walk for my health's sake on the usual promenade. I forgot to mention the 'fowells' as Annie Wheeler 6 used to spell them. There has been a small hatch of which 4 are alive in the back kitchen. The 3 late chicking we left in November are alive and like to grow up into poor specimenes. Item there is a hen sitting on duck's eggs: and two or 3 more will soon be 'broody' Will you show this letter to mother, my own dear, and give her my best love; and best love to you, darling Jenny. I dont suppose I shall write tomorrow as I think I get home before 2 on Thursday. Goodbye dear own child. Your loving father William Morris MS: BL, Add. MSS. 45340. Published: Henderson, Letters, 347. 1 "Writing from Kelmscott on his London stationery, Morris canceled "Mall" and inserted "Thames"; and canceled also "Hammersmith." He left "Kelmscott House" however. 2 William Giles (1856-1932) was the caretaker and gardener at Kelmscott Manor; and since Morris in this letter seems to be approving his work for the first time, he may have been hired recently. I am grateful to the late A. R. Dufty for providing me with the information given here and in note 3 below. 3 Mary Giles, presumably hired as the housekeeper. She and her husband (see note 2 above) lived in Garden Cottage beside the Manor. Their daughter Ada was a servant at the Manor as well. 4 Possibly Morris had begun writing The Well at the World's End, which May Morris says [CW, 18, xxx) was started in early 1892, but which did not appear until 1896. May Morris, noting that The Well was in hand a long time "not only in printing (when it was put aside for other things) but in the writing," says that Morris continued the writing of it through 1893 (though part of it was set in type for a Kelmscott Press edition in April 1892) "and always with the feeling of its being a comfortable 'long job,' not to be hurried through." It did not appear, in fact, until 1896. For the book's publication history, see letter no. 2081, n. 1. 5 Probably for The Defence of Guenevere (see letter no. 1961, n. 8). 6 Possibly the name taken in marriage by the woman referred to by Morris as "Annie Cook" in earlier letters (see Volume II, letter no. 863). It is possible also that Annie

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1892 / L E T T E R

1967

Wheeler was a different person, a neighbor who lived near Kelmscott Manor, and that she and Jenny were friends from childhood. In either case, whether Annie Wheeler was servant or neighbor, the references to her in the letters suggest that a friendship between her and Jenny existed (see for example, Volume IV, letter no. 2364).

1967 · T o EnuKR M A G N U S S O N

Kelmscott House, U p p e r Mall, H a m m e r s m i t h February 25 [1892]

My dear Magnusson I hope the printers will have sent you a proof of the first sheet of Heimskringla.1 if you will kindly send me your corrections I will embody them in (th) my proof, & you can see the revise the cleaner and we can fight over that if there is any difference of opinion. Which is not like to be I think. I am now ready to go strait on ahead with the book and will keep no one waiting. A to map. Would it not be enough for this vol: to have a small map in the usual place in these vols: (and) with just the districts marked; and then in the 4th vol: a bigger folding one. 2 please tell me what you think. With best wishes Yours very truly William Morris P. S. 'Craft' we should use where I have left it; it is the due old English word cf: Ars Moriendi trans: 'The Art and Craft how well to die.'3 MS: Iceland. 1 OfVoI. 1 of the Heimskringla (the third Saga Library volume). 2 Morris apparently had discussed with Magnusson the inclusion of maps in the Heimskringla. This letter indicates Morris wanted partial maps of Norway in each volume and Magnusson had suggested "a bigger folding one" for the first. The maps were handled as Magnusson seems to have preferred: there is a large folded one in a pocket pasted to the back cover of the first volume. There are none in the others. See also letter no. 1976 and notes 2 and 3. 3 Morris is probably referring to the translation, in Vol. 1 of the Heimskringla, that reads (pp. 18-19) "Of Odin's Crafts." The text speaks of Odin's prophetic powers as "spell-craft" and refers also to Odin's ability as "sorcery" and as knowledge of where things are, and of how to "bind with words alone whose might be dwelling" in mountains and rocks and mounds. Odin became famed for "all this craft," earning the fear of foes and trust of friends.

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L E T T E R S OF WILLIAM

MORRIS

1968 · T o P E T E R PAYNE

Kelmscott House

February 29, 1892 Dear Sir 1 I forgot: as to the Defence of Guenevere the price will be 2.2. T h e publisher Messrs Reeves 196 Strand London. MS: Allegheny. 1 Peter Payne (b. 1845). A hosiery manufacturer, he was also the librarian of the Hinckley Free Library in Leicester from 1876 to 1897.

1969 · RECIPIENT U N K N O W N

Kelmscott House,

Upper Mall, Hammersmith March 3, 1892 Dear Sir Thanks for your note. T h e books I have already printed are 1. T h e Glittering Plain: 2 Poems by the Way. 3 Wilfrid Blunts poems: these are all published by Messrs Reeves & Turner 196 Strand; but the copies are all sold & are only to be had at an enhanced price of the booksellers. I have just finished also T h e Nature of Gothic the (cleb) celebrated chapter from Ruskins Stones of Venice. This is published by Mr. G. Allen 1 8 Bell Yard Temple Bar. & will be ready in a month. 2 T h e Golden Legend in 3 quarto vols: will be published by Mr. B. Quaritch 15 Piccadilly about June: 3 As to the Recuyels of the Historyes of Troy; that is begun, but will be some time about: it will be in 2 quarto vols (about 700 pp) But I cannot tell you price or publisher at present. 4 I should add that it is necessary to order a copy of these books from the publisher some time before they are published; as they are all likely t o b e sold before they are ready for delivery There is generally some announcement of my books in the A t h e naeum: but in any case if you write to m e I shall have much pleasure in answering you I am Dear Sir Yours truly William Morris MS-. Walsdorf Coll. Published: Peterson, The Golden Legend, n.p. 1 George Allen (see letter no. 1763, n. 6). 2 See letter no. 1959, n. 3. 3 It was not issued until November.

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I L E T T E R 1970

4 It was published by Quaritch, and issued on November 24, 1892. Paper copies were priced at nine guineas, and five printed on vellum at eighty pounds.

1970 · T o JOHN BRUCE GLASIER

Kelmscott House,

Upper Mall, Hammersmith March 9, 1892 M y dear Glasier I have been trying to find time to write a long letter to you, but seeing that I have not found the time for that I had better write a short one at once. Thanks very much for your said letter. As to the subjects of it I had perhaps better get over the disagreable part of them, and say that it does not seem as if I should be able to come to you this spring; though I should very much like to do so If I possibly can come, I will turn the matter over. Isn't autumn a possible time. 1 For the rest I quite agree with your views as to the present position & so I am sure do all here. I sometimes have a vision of a real Socialist party at once united and free. Is it impossible? Here in London it might be done I think but the S.D.F. stand in the way. 2 Although the individual m e m bers are good fellows enough as far as I have met them, the society has got a sort of pedantic (arrog) tone of arrogance & lack of generosity which is disgusting, 3 and does disgust both Socialists & non-Soc. Their last feat in trying to spoil the Chelsea Election for the L.C.C., 4 although they had n o programme better than theirs, 5 was a wretched piece of tactics; and n o w the anti soc. both Whigs & Tories go about saying that the Chelsea S o cialists are only 170. 6 Whereas that means nothing more than the branch of the S.D.F. W h a t do you think of the said L.C.C. Election? I am pleased o n the whole. It is certainly the result of the Socialist movement, and is a labour victory, as the affair was worked by the Socialist & labour people. O f course I don't think that much will come of it directly; but I do think it shows a great advance. Item the L.C.C. so far has to my o w n experience shown itself an amazing improvement o n the old red-tape public bodies: 7 the antiscrape has on 3 separate occasions had deputations to them and had been received from a h u m a n point of view; arguments listened to & weighed, and opinion changed in consequence. This for a public body is certainly wonderful. O f course I dont think much of gas & water Socialism, 8 or indeed of any mere mechanical accessories to Socialism: but I can see that the spirit of the thing is bettering, and in spite of all dissappointments I am very hopeful.

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L E T T E R S OF WILLIAM

MORRIS

I send by this post a copy of the said song book: 9 you will find some of the old well worn fellows amongst them. Well I hope we shall meet somehow. Walker (by the way) is going to Scotland the end of this week. He will tell you all news. Consider about the autumn & tell me. 10 Meantime Good luck! Yours fraternally William Morris MS: Walthamstow. Published: Glasier, 206-208; Henderson, Letters, 348. Extract published: CW, 20, lvi-lvii. 1 There is no evidence that Morris lectured in Glasgow in either spring or autumn of 1892. 2 It is apposite to note that in reproaching the S.D.E for standing in the way of socialist unity, Morris is silent about the Socialist League. Possibly he was aware that Glasier's ties to the S.L. were unbroken and wanted to avoid criticizing the organization. 3 Morris was scheduled to speak at a meeting sponsored by the North Kensington Branch, S.D.E, on February 21, 1892 (see LeMire, p. 286; and Justice, February 20, 1892, p. 4). No report of the lecture has been discovered, but if he did give it, his reference in this letter to S.D.F. "arrogance" and "lack of generosity" may have had something to do with the reception the talk received. 4 The Chelsea contest was part of the triennial election for the London County Council (see note 7 below) held on March 5, 1892. The two main parties in the Chelsea Borough election were the Progressives and the Moderates. The first was supported by both the Metropolitan Radical Federation and the London Trades Council. In the Chelsea Division, however, in addition to two candidates from each of the main parties, there were two Socialists, W. Geard and H. Quelch (see Volume II, letter no. 979, n. 5), presumably with the S.D.F. as their major backers. See The Times, February 8, 1892, p. 7; February 26, p. 3; and February 29, p. 8. 5 It is unclear, syntactically, whose program Morris intends by "theirs." Probably he meant the Socialists, since they were in competition with the Progressives. Of some interest, The Times, February 26, 1892, wrote (p. 3) that the "principal claim" of Geard and Quelch (see note 4 above) was their demand for "the right of free-speech at World's End"; presumably Morris did not regard this demand as a principle in a program. 6 Quelch received 170 votes. The Socialists on the whole however did somewhat better, polling 196 votes in Chelsea. See The Times, March 7, 1892, p. 10. 7 The London County Council came into being as a result of the County Councils Act of 1888 (see letter no. 1571, n. 3). Formerly, local London Government had been administered by the City Corporation, vestries, and twelve district boards. See Sydney Low and Lloyd C. Sanders, The Political History of England 1837-1901 (Longmans Green, 1905; rpt. Greenwood, 1969), p. 203, and pp. 296-97. 8 A derisive characterization of Fabianism, resulting from Sidney Webb's insistence that the Fabian program include a demand for lowered gas and water rates. See Commonweal, March 12, 1892, p. 42. 9 Chants for Socialists (see Volume II, letter no. 908, n. 1), which was reprinted in 1892. 10 See note 1 above.

[ 382 ]

1892 / L E T T E R 1971 1971 · T o WILFRID SCAWEN B L U N T

Kelmscott House,

Upper Mall, Hammersmith March 12, 1892 M y dear Blunt I don't k n o w if you have heard from Reeves about your book. T h e 220 copies offered for sale have all been sold, and Reeves has handed m e £200 on account for you Would you object to my taking my share of my account thereof? as I want a little cash. I am charging you £150 for the printing which was a good deal more than I thought it would cost: but the b o o k finally was much longer 1 than I had estimated and the red printing, 2 there being a great deal of it nearly doubled the cost of the presswork You have paid m e £ 5 0 , so there remains £ 1 0 0 for m e . T h e binding is extra and will cost something over £30; 3 shall I pay Leighton's bill for this? I have told h i m to bind your copies, 4 and I hope I have done right in so doing. I am glad that you will make something out of the book; for when Reeves pays u p (th) the whole there will be a good balance in your favour, without reckoning the copies you keep. So I think we may congratulate ourselves o n a success. 5 T h e weather is damnably cold here, we have had a regular winter frost for 10 days past, & it is n o t gone yet. T h e printing generally is going o n well. Yours very truly William Morris V&A. For changes made by Blunt that affected the length of Love-Lyrics, see letter no. 1938, n. 1. 2 See letter no. 1788, n. 4. 3 See letter no. 1964 and n. 1. 4 Of the three hundred paper copies printed, two hundred and twenty were offered for sale. Presumably most of those not for sale were kept by Blunt, though the number of presentation copies Peterson has located and listed (Bibliog., pp. 11-12) is much lower. 5 It is worth observing that Morris offers no congratulations on the book's contents, nor does he in any other letter to Blunt about the volume. F. S. Ellis, writing to Francis Jenkinson, March 14, 1892, noted: "Morris is so good natured that he does not like to say 'no' but is printing [Blunts] book surely against the grain. To describe Mr. B's poems accurately I think we must borrow a word from Mrs. Gamp's vocabulary 'rubbidge'" (CUL, Add. 6463; first sentence quoted by Peterson, Bibliog., p. 11).

MS:

1

[ 383 ]

L E T T E R S OF WILLIAM 1972 · T o THACKERAY T U R N E R

MORRIS Kelmscott House,

Upper Mall, Hammersmith March 25 [1892] T h e address is R e v d Herbert Candy 1 O r t o n Vicarage Atherstone. MS: S.P.A.B. Archives. 1 The Rev. Herbert Candy (1832?-1894?) was at this time vicar of St. Edith's, Ortonon-the-Hill, Atherstone, Leicestershire. See also letter no. 1988 and notes.

1973 · T o THEODORE W A T T S - D U N T O N

Kelmscott House,

Upper Mall, Hammersmith March 25, 1892 M y dear Watts You k n o w what a heavy coach I am in writing letters, so I hope you will pardon my delay in thanking you for your review in T h e A t h e naeum, 1 so friendly and appreciative as it was, which I do n o w most heartily. ' T h e versified prose' of the latter part of the article & Wordsworth there anent raised a grin in m e : also the hint about the Browning Society. 2 You know, though Browning was a poet, he had not a non—but an anti-poetical side to him; and this is why he has achieved a popularity amongst the 'educated middle-classes.' W h o though they are badly educated are probably over-educated for their intellect. Yes the Briton has no interest in a book if it is merely a work of art, ie if it is meant to endure, the ephemeral is all he cares about; as he naturally thinks his own dear life so damned important. A n d yet though I am not a patriot (as you know) I doubt if said Briton is more anti-poetical than the m e n of other nations. Only he seems more anti-artistic, I think because he has gone further through the mill of modernism; some survivals of the old artistic spirit still cling in a queer paradoxical way to Frenchmen & Germans: to Englishmen none, unless they have gone through the mill and come out at the other Excuse this yarn and with thanks again & best wishes Believe m e Yours very truly William Morris C o m e again as soon as you can MS: BL, Ashley 1218. Published: Henderson, Letters, 349-50.

[ 384 ]

1892 I L E T T E R 1974 1

Of Poems by the Way. The review appeared in the March 12, 1892, issue of the Athenaeum, pp. 336-38. 2 Watts-Dunton had written (Athenaeum, p. 337; see note 1 above): "Even as it is the unpoetic part of Browning's work that has given birth to the Browning cult, so it is the unpoetic part of Wordsworth's work that has given birth to the Wordsworth cult. And it is just because the versified prose of Wordsworth and the prose without versification of Browning can by their very defects reach the British public—a people who, however superior in all other matters, are immeasurably less poetic in temper than the Zulus or the Maoris—that the one has been able to get a hearing for his noble and indeed priceless lessons of conduct, and the other a hearing for his lovely descriptions of Nature."

1974 · T o GEORGE ALLEN

Kelmscott House, Upper Mall, Hammersmith March 30 [1892]

Dear Mr. Allen 1 T h e r e were n o copies of the N a t u r e of Gothic printed; if there had been I should have offered some to you. 2 Yours truly William Morris MS: Dunlap Coll. 1 See letter no. 1763, n. 6. 2 By "no copies" Morris probably means no copies printed on vellum. Presumably Allen, as publisher of The Nature of Gothic, would have found it profitable to sell vellum copies had there been any. For the Kelmscott Nature of Gothic, see letter no. 1959, n. 3.

1975 · T o [GRANT?] ALLEN

Kelmscott House, Upper Mall, Hammersmith March 30 [1892]

Dear Mr. Allen 1 I return this paper with only 3 signatures: 2 but I have sent o u t the o t h ers to hopeful addresses, & I think you may expect some more from them. I find most people object to the hanging in this case but fail to see the preposterous lack of logic in c o n d e m n i n g the p o o r lads to the living death of a prison. Perhaps because they don't k n o w w h a t an English prison means & think it is h u m a n e ! Yours very truly William Morris MS: 1 2

PML. Possibly Grant Allen (see letter no. 1613, n. 4). Morris may refer to a memorial asking for a reprieve of the sentences passed upon

[ 385 ]

LETTERS

OF WILLIAM

MORRIS

Frederick Eggleton, Charles Raynor, and Walter Smith, who at the Aylesbury, Bucks., Assizes were charged with the murder on December 12, 1891, at Pilstone of two gamekeepers, Joseph Crawley and William Puddenphat. On February 23, 1892, Raynor and Eggleton were found guilty of murder and sentenced to death, and Smith was found guilty of manslaughter and sentenced to twenty years of penal servitude. A memorial asking for a reprieve was sent to Henry Matthews, the Home Secretary, but the request was rejected. (See The Times, February 24, 1892, p. 5, and March 17, p. 12.) Commonweal, March 12, 1892, asserted (p. 37) that the three men had been hunting and had been attacked by gamekeepers and had defended themselves.

1976 · T o E I R I K R M A G N U S S O N

Kelmscott H o u s e ,

U p p e r Mall, H a m m e r s m i t h March 30 [1892] M y dear Magnusson I shall be very happy to see you on Sunday: but I have an engagement w h i c h will keep me away (fir) during the m o r n i n g till early dinner at 1. but of course you & Magnus 1 can have the run of the house meantime: bed is at your service if you can stay till Monday morning. As to maps I think that would be a good plan: 2 only shouldn't we get in the Jomsburg settlement & Swoldr in the first vol. 3 T h e visur 4 I must try it, & should prefer the shorter measure if I could manage it. Till we meet Yours very truly William Morris MS: Iowa. 1 Magnus Magnusson was the son of Eirikr's brother, also named Magnus. In 1884, Magnus Magnusson left Iceland to live with his uncle in England. A student of classical languages, he eventually went to America and taught English for a while at the Gustavus Adolphus Academy (now College) in Minnesota. I am grateful to Finnbogi Gu3mundsson of the Iceland National Library for this information. 2 Morris seems at least to be accepting Magnusson's suggestion there be a large folding map of Norway in Vol. 1 of the Heimskringla. Since, however, the only one published was this map (see letter no. 1967, n. 2), it is unclear why Morris speaks here of maps in the plural. Perhaps Magnusson had suggested others and Morris was agreeing. See also n. 3 below. 3 There are no maps of Jomsburg and Swoldr in Vol. 1 or any other. (Jomsburg was a fortress on the island of Rugen and is mentioned several times in the Heimskringla; Swoldr, though described as an island by Snorri Sturlason, is defined in the Glossary [Vol. 4] as "a river port.") 4 See letter no. 1783, n. 7.

[ 386 ]

1892 I L E T T E R 1977 1977 · T o R O B E R T B O N T I N E

CUNNINGHAME GRAHAM

Kelmscott House, Upper Mall, Hammersmith March 31 [1892]

Dear Mr. Graham I am really sorry that I cannot help your correspondent in the matter of the pictures; especially as it is depriving Lady Burdett C o u t t s 1 of the o p portunity of getting rid of some of her troubles. 2 B u t I really cannot help. T h e fact is I hate R e y n o l d s so heartily that I never look at his pictures except w h e n I am compelled, and partly therefore, I suppose, am n o j u d g e whatever as to w h e t h e r some beastly sleasy daub is by h i m or some other impostor of the period. Pray excuse m e , I feel rather strongly on the point. I can only say that I sincerely h o p e that Mr. M c l n t y r e 3 will be able to fool some capitalist to the top of his bent. Times are changing curiously are they not? I am sorry for the hideous blunder of the Paris Anarchists, 4 especially as I fear it may go the worse with the p o o r chaps in the dock today in consequence. 5 B u t after all I don't think it will do anything like the h a r m to Socialism w h i c h it would have d o n e 3 or 4 years ago. W i t h best wishes Yours very truly William Morris NLS. Angela Georgina Burdett-Coutts, Baroness Burdett-Coutts (1814-1906), the daughter of Sir Francis Burdett (1770-1884) and the granddaughter through her mother of Thomas Coutts (1735-1822), the banker. She was the friend of many eminent Victorians, including the Duke of Wellington, Sir Robert Peel, Disraeli, Gladstone, Dickens, and Henry Irving, as well as of Napoleon III. Although she participated in the family banking business, she most decidedly made her mark on her age as a philanthrophist and social reformer. As a social activist, she benefited the Church of England by building, in Westminster, St. Stephen's, with its program of education and social work; and by founding, in Australia and South Africa, the bishoprics of Adelaide and Capetown. In England, she introduced sewing and cookery into the elementary schools; helped found in 1884 the National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children; led the Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals; pioneered model tenements in Bethnal Green, 1862; and began a garden city on her Holly Lodge estate at Highgate. She also tried to improve the living and working conditions of the poor in Ireland, where she revived the fishing industry at Baltimore, County Cork, and started a fishery training school; and in 1877-1878, during the RussoTurkish War, she aided the Turkish peasantry. For the Chicago Exhibition of 1893, she compiled Woman's Work in England. In 1871, she was raised to the peerage and in 1881 married William Lehman Ashmead-Bartlett. She is buried in Westminster Abbey. For a full biographical account, see Patterson, Angela Burdett-Coutts. MS:

1

2 Presumably Lady Burdett-Coutts wanted to sell paintings by Sir Joshua Reynolds. In the Christie's Sale of the Burdett-Coutts Collection (1922), a number of paintings by Reynolds were included (see Patterson, Angela Burdett-Coutts, p. 233).

[ 387 ]

L E T T E R S OF WILLIAM M O R R I S 3

Possibly Dr. John Mclntyre (1857-1928), a pioneer radiologist who was also Cunninghame Graham's physician. There is evidence that Dr. Mclntyre was a collector of paintings: a letter from Joseph Conrad to Edward Garnett, September 29, 1898, refers to Mclntyre's owning a Corot and a Whistler. I am grateful to Professor Laurence Davies for calling my attention to the letter; for its text see Frederick Karl and Laurence Davies, The Collected Letters of Joseph Conrad (Cambridge and New York: Cambridge Univ. Press, 1986), II, 94-96. 4 There had been a number of bombings by anarchists in France, in the first two months of 1892. The Times, March 14, had reported (p. 5) an attempt in Paris to kill with dynamite, Benoit, a judge who had tried several anarchists. The Times, March 28, 1892, reported (p. 8) that on the previous day, there had been a bomb explosion in the rue de Clichy, at the home of the Deputy Public Prosecutor, who had been prosecuting several cases in which anarchists had been indicted on various charges. 5 This is a reference to what became known as the trial of the Walsall Anarchists. On January 7, 1892, three men were apprehended at Walsall and charged with being in conspiracy with a Walsall man who had a previous arrest record, for manufacturing bombs to be used by anarchists. By March 30, 1892, the day the trial began, six men, known as the "Walsall Anarchists," had been indicted: Victor Cailes (b. 1859), a French engine driver; Fred Charles (see Volume II, letter no. 1502, n. 1); John Westley (b. 1860), a brushmaker; William Ditchfield (b. 1849), a filer; Joseph Thomas Deakin; and John Battola (b. 1862), a shoemaker. They were either members of the Walsall Anarchist Club, or associated with it, and they had all been charged with conspiracy and the possession of explosives. The police had searched the premises of the Club and had allegedly found pamphlets, published in Europe and the U.S.A., advocating violence. When the trial concluded, two men— Westley and Ditchfield—were found not guilty, and the other four were convicted of possession of explosives. None was found guilty of conspiracy. On April 5, Charles, Battola and Cailes were sentenced to ten years penal servitude and Deakin to five. See The Times, January 8, 1892, p. 4; January 9, p. 7; March 30, p. 14; March 31, p. 8; and April 5, p. 8. See also Commonweal, January through April, 1892 (issued weekly).

1978 · T o J . & J. L E I G H T O N

[ W A L T E R JAMES LEIGHTON?]

Kelmscott House,

Upper Mall, Hammersmith April 4, 1892 Dear Sir I have concluded for the new binding for the Guenevere, and also for the lettering to be written. 1 We shall send it you Thursday I expect. Yours truly William Morris MS: Bodleian. 1 Presumably Morris means he has decided on the binding he wants and on how the lettering on the spine is to be done. The Defence of Guenevere was the first Kelmscott Press book to be bound in limp vellum and the first on which the title (i.e., the word "Guenevere") was calligraphically inscribed. The lettering was done by Herbert Ellis (see letter no. 1984, n. 1) for the entire issue of 300 copies on paper and ten on vellum. (See Peterson, Bibliog., p. 14). For the spine, see illustration, p. 389.

[ 388 ]

1892 / L E T T E R

1978

Spine of the Kelmscott Press edition of The Defence of Guenevere, 1892; lettering d o n e by H e r b e r t Ellis.

[ 389 ]

L E T T E R S OF W I L L I A M 1979 · T o CHARLES HASLEWOOD SHANNON

MORRIS Kelmscott House, Upper Mall, Hammersmith April 4 [1892]1

Dear Mr. Shannon

2

T h a n k you for the Dial 3 w h i c h duly arrived. I confess that I looked at the art p o r t i o n of it with some w h a t mixed feelings, as the talent & the aberration of the talent seemed to me to be in about equal proportions. 4 As to the literary p o r t i o n 5 I will say n o t h i n g as that has to do with my o w n Craft; I shall be very pleased to see you at M e r t o n ; only give me a day or two's notice. I am u p & d o w n b e t w e e n t o w n & C o u n t r y for the next m o n t h : but I shall be at M e r t o n in all probability this day week. 11th)

(Monday

T h e (ea) clearest direction for you for M e r t o n Abbey is to go

to W i m b l e d o n & walk over, a little m o r e than a mile. Yours faithfully William Morris Ms: BL, Add. MSS. 58090. Published: Charles Ricketts: Letters & Journals, 20. 1 In Charles Ricketts: Letters & Journals this letter is dated 1893 and described as addressed to "Dear Mr. Ricketts and Shannon." However, the reference to Merton Abbey confirms the dating as 1892 (see letter no. 1982), and salutation on the holograph is to Shannon alone (for Shannon, see note 2 below). 2 Charles Haslewood Shannon (1863-1937), a lithographer and painter who had studied at the Lambeth Art School. He and the artist Charles de Soucy Ricketts (1866-1931) produced The Dial intermittently, issues appearing in 1889, 1892, 1893, 1896, and 1897. In the early 1890s, they founded together the Vale Press, much influenced by the Kelmscott Press, and for which Ricketts designed fonts, bindings, and illustrations. (Books were first issued in 1896, and, according to Colin Franklin, "Ricketts [said] . . . Morris on his deathbed wept at the sight of Vale Press books" [see Private Presses (London: Studio Vista, 1969), p. 82].) Shannon and Ricketts also illustrated Oscar Wilde's A House of Pomegranates (1891), as well as Daphnis and Chloe (1893; see Volume IV, letter no. 2139, n. 2). At the end of the 1890s, Shannon began painting portraits and self-portraits. 3 Morris refers presumably to the 1892 issue of 7 ¼ Dial (see note 2 above). The Sotheby Catalogue (1898) lists it as part of lot 273. 4 Quite possibly Morris disliked, in the 1892 issue, engravings by Reginald Savage and Lucien Pissaro ("The Palace Burns and Behemoth" by the first and "Sister of the Woods" by the latter). Along with Shannon and Ricketts, Savage and Pissaro supplied illustrations; and it is improbable that Morris, writing to Shannon, would have referred to his work and that of his close friend Ricketts as an "aberration of talent." It is very likely that Shannon and Ricketts, here at least, represent "talent." 5 Included in the 1892 issue were a poem by John Gray tided "Parsifal, imitated from the French of Paul Verlaine," another by T. Sturge Moore titled "To the Memory of Arthur Rimbaud," poems by Herbert H. Home and John Gregg, and two tales by Ricketts himself. The magazine was printed at the Vale Press (see note 2 above), and possibly was sent to Morris as much as an example of the book arts as for the sake of its contents.

[ 390 ]

1892

/ LETTER

1980 · T o JENNY MORRIS

1980 Kelmscott House,

Upper Mall, Hammersmith April 9, 1892 Dearest o w n Child T h e boat-race is over 1 and so is my entertainment. Annie 2 provided splendidly for us; the m e n I think were a little shy, but I think they e n joyed themselves: the day is most brilliant, Oxford w o n the race; but I suppose that you care for that as little as I do. All is well at the Press: we have printed 3 sheets (a signature & a half) of the J o h n Ball; 3 and are n o w doing some Recuyells. As the garden it really looks very well considering & has come o u t wonderfully since we left. T h e almond blossom is beginning to go off: the daffodils are all out, and some of those also are going off: the hyacinths are coming o u t one after the other. A n d the leafage has made great strides; there is still a good bit alive in the old chestnut tree. I have naturally n o t done much work today, but happening to be awake at 6 a.m. I went & got my book and wrote several pages of story 4 before I got up. M y new old books turned out very well, 5 cost very little money and are quite interesting; some of the bindings quite beautiful Walker & Ellis dined here last night, I did a good afternoons work before they came besides writing a lot of business letters. I have your pig under my eye my dear, and will drive h i m to Merton on Monday. I hope you had a fine day yesterday It cleared u p beautifully as I went along. Well my dear goodbye with best love till we meet on Wednesday, best love to your Mother, tell her that I have ordered the veal & hammer. M y own dear goodbye. Your loving father William Morris MS: BL, Add. MSS. 45340. Published: Henderson, Letters, 350. 1 In 1892 the annual Oxford and Cambridge Boat Race was rowed on April 9. 2 See letter no. 1966, n. 6. 3 The Kelmscott Press edition of Morris's prose romances A Dream of John Ball and A King's Lesson was issued as a small quarto, and was the first Kelmscott volume to include woodcut illustrations. Morris had considered printing John Ball in the Troy type (see letter no. 1935, n. 6), but in fact used the Golden. Although dated May 13, the book was not issued until September 24, 1892, due to delays in the printing of the illustrations (see letters no. 2022; and no. 2035 and notes). It was sold by Reeves and Turner, who had published the first edition in 1888 (see Volume II, letter no. 1471, n. 2), though the text was set from the third edition (1890) with some revisions by Morris. See Cockerell, "List," p. 150; see also Peterson, Bibliog., pp. 16-18.

[ 391 ]

L E T T E R S OF WILLIAM 4 5

MORRIS

The Well at the World's End (see letter no. 1966, n. 4). Presumably Morris refers to manuscript or printed books recently purchased.

1981 · T o J . & J . LEIGHTON [ W A L T E R JAMES LEIGHTON?]

Kelmscott House,

Upper Mall, Hammersmith April 13 [1892] Dear Sir I will n o t keep the M.S. book. I have packed it up for you, if you will send for it. I shall be back in town on Thursday next week I believe. I have looked through the Laurence Catalogue, 1 & there seem as if there were some things in my way. 2 So we can talk of t h e m when I see you again. Yours truly William Morris MS: Bodleian. 1 The Lawrence Sale was held at Sotheby's, May 9-12, 1892 (see letter no. 1989, n. 1). 2 For Morris's interest in books in the Lawrence Sale, and titles of some of those he eventually purchased, see letters no. 1989; no. 1991; and no. 1995, and the notes to those letters.

1982 · T o CHARLES HASLEWOOD SHANNON

Kelmscott House,

Upper Mall, Hammersmith April 13, 1892 Dear Mr. Shannon 1 I am much vexed that you were n o t allowed to see the works at M e r ton Abbey on Monday; 2 It seems that a n e w regulation had been made of which I knew nothing, or I would have asked you to take my letter with you. I will write to you a day or two before I am sure of going to Merton and if you please will meet you somewhere & go down with you if you can come. I am Dear Mr. Shannon Yours very truly William Morris MS: BL, Add. MSS. 58090. 1 See letter no. 1979, n. 2. 2 See letter no. 1979.

[ 392 ]

1892 I L E T T E R 1984 1983

· T o J. & J. L E I G H T O N

[WALTER JAMES LEIGHTON?]

Kelmscott House,

Upper Mall, Hammersmith April 19 [1892] Dear Sir Would you be in at about 4 30 on Thursday afternoon? I ask as I shall be in town only for a few days & am very busy. B u t I could call on Friday morning if I miss you on Saturday. 1 Yrs truly W Morris Ms: Bodleian. 1 Presumably Morris meant to write "Thursday," and "Saturday" is a slip of the pen.

1984 · T o JENNY M O R R I S

Kelmscott House,

Upper Mall, Hammersmith April 21, 1892 M y darling Child I got h o m e in good preservation yesterday: Walker dined with m e in the evening & Herbert Ellis 1 came in to talk about his writing for the Guenevere. 2 Afterwards we went to Ellis' w h o couldn't come out b e cause he had a cold: and there we talked—you will be surprised to hear— of books. It drizzled here all yesterday till the evening; w h e n it rained pretty hard: it is n o w just clearing up beautifully after a dull early morning (only just struck 9 though) and I am imagining h o w beautiful the Kelmscott garden will be looking, and h o w everybody x will be saying, 'What a beautiful rain! I shall expect quite a burst of beauty w h e n I come back next week, or I shall be disappointed, my dear. T h e garden here looks really nice however. T h e hyacinths are all fully out, and look very pretty sprinkled all over the garden. May's n e w bought plants will do well after this rain. T h e pear blossom is opening & will be very beautiful in 2 days. Please apologize for me, my dear, to Miss Strick; 3 whereas I somehow got a letter of hers into my pocket while I was taken two of my own: I posted it to her at the Oxford Station and I hope she got it duly. I did a little bit of work at my tale, 4 and this morning I am going to have a few hours fair copying of it, as I am rather in arrears on that side of things. Tomorrow is a M e r t o n day, to finish with a talking (do) evening at the Art Workers Gild. 5 You will be sorry to see that Nicholl & Mowbray two of our old C o m [ 393 ]

L E T T E R S OF WILLIAM

MORRIS

rades have got into trouble with the Commonweal 6 It was very stupid of Nicholl, for it seems that he stuck in his idiotic article7 (befo) while Mowbray was away8 so that the latter knew nothing of it. I think Mowbray will get off.9 I am sorry for him & even for the Commonweal though I have had nothing to do with it for 18 months. Well darling own give my best love to your mother and take it yourself also my dear. I will write again before I come down. Your loving father William Morris "including the rooks MS: BL, Add. MSS. 45340. Extract published: Mackail, II, 238. 1 F. S. Ellis's son, Herbert Moates Ellis (1857-1940). He was a partner in Withall and Ellis, Architects and Surveyors (see Peterson, Bibliog., p. 15). 2 Herbert Ellis (see note 1 above) was calligraphically inscribing the title on the spine of each copy (see letter no. 1978 and n. 1). 3 Etta Strick, presumably Jenny's companion. (The Kelmscott Visitor's Book [BL. Add. MSS. 45412] gives her full name.) 4 The Well at the World's End. 5 In 1892 Morris was Master of the Art Workers' Guild; Cockerell's Diary entry for April 22 reads: "A.W.G. Meeting at Barnard's Inn on Restoration. W.M. in the chair & in good form. Philip Webb spoke impressively." 6 David J. Nicoll was at this time secretary of the Walsall Prisoners' Amnesty Committee, working for the release of the Walsall Anarchists (see letter no. 1977, n. 5). On April 9, 1892, he published an angry editorial in Commonweal titled "The Walsall Anarchists condemned to Penal Servitude" in which he attacked the judge, the Home Secretary Henry Matthews, and the police, and also wrote (p. 57): "[Don't] be surprised if your houses are shattered with dynamite. . . . Perhaps . . . it will be just when the oppressed strike back at you without ruth and mercy. Only don't whine for pity in these days; for it will be useless." This piece was followed on April 16 by another in which Nicoll wrote (p. 61) that Henry Matthews was the real criminal, alleging he had organized an intrigue involving the police and the judiciary to get the defendants convicted. See also note 8 below. 7 The article of April 16. See note 6 above. 8 Possibly because his wife was seriously ill. According to Commonweal, April 23, 1892, p. 3, Mary Benoist Mowbray (b. 1856) died only a few hours before her husband's arrest. Through Morris's intervention, Mowbray was let out on bail to attend her funeral. See E. P. Thompson, p. 593. 9 The case was tried at the Central Criminal Court on May 6, 1892. Mowbray, as Morris predicted, was discharged, but Nicoll who was tried at the same time was sentenced to eighteen months' imprisonment. See The Times, May 4, 1892, p. 11; May 5, p. 12; and May 7, p. 14. See also E. P. Thompson, 1st ed„ 682-84.

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1985

· T o WILFRID SCAWEN B L U N T

Kelmscott,

Lechlade April 30, 1892 M y dear Blunt Herewith I send you a very unbusinesslike looking statement of (y)our accounts together, 1 which however is correct; item a cheque for the balance. 2 I would have sent before, but rather expected to hear from you, after your return to England. 3 I hope you like the book n o w you have seen it. Most people do: T h e only discordant note on the subject was by Pennell 4 of the Star. 5 However as he is a cur by profession, one should not be annoyed at his making his livelihood by the only art he understands. We shall be back in town next Wednesday & I shall hope to see you soon afterwards. Yours very truly William Morris

David J. Nicoll, c. 1900.

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MS: V&A. 1 The enclosed account, informally written by Morris himself on his own stationery and dated like the letter April 30, reads as follows:

to printing Love Lyrics & Sonnets of Proteus at the Kelmscott Press— Λ £150 To binding 305 copies paid Mess". J &J Leighton paid by Mr. Blunt last autumn.

[

45 (195.)195

50

J

received from Mess" Reeves and Turner on Mr. Blunts behalf

—342 (392) 392

Balance due to Mr. Blunt

£197

2

Morris enclosed also with his letter a check for £197, dated April 30 and drawn on Lloyds Bank, Ltd. 3 Blunt and his wife Lady Anne had returned to England by the middle of April. See his Diaries, I, 65. 4 Joseph Pennell (1857—1926), an American graphic artist and illustrator. He had lived in London since 1885 and in 1892 was art critic for The Star (founded in 1887). Pennell was a strong advocate of Whisder but a splenetic adversary of people and institutions he dis­ liked. Among his works were the illustrations for Henry James's English Hours (1905) and Italian Hours (1909), and a biography, The Life of James McNeill Whistler (1908), co-authored with his wife, Elizabeth Robins Pennell (1855—1936). He was to quarrel again with a Kelmscott Press book—the Chaucer—though this time not about the merits of the content. See Volume IV, letter no. 2438, n. 3. 5 I am unable to find in The Star a review by Joseph Pennell of Love-Lyrics. Possibly— though unlikely—Morris refers to remarks Pennell was reported as having made in conver­ sation. Possibly, too—though equally unlikely—"Pennell of the Star" published his review in a journal other than The Star.

1986 · T o EMERY WALKER

Kelmscott, Lechlade May 2 [1892]

M y dear Walker We are c o m i n g h o m e o n Wednesday, and I should be m u c h obliged if you w o u l d c o m e in that evening about 9. We had a lovely day here yes­ terday w h i c h was g o o d for the gathering in the Park 1 of w h i c h of course I have n o t seen any account, also g o o d for you at Worthing. Many thanks for sending on the proof, 2 w h i c h seems all right, t h o u g h H . has in o n e instance cut the patch on the trousers, but for once w h e r e it don't matter. As to the burnished proofs o n India paper 3 they are really

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1987

not much use to me, as you know. Looking again at the proof I see one place which will have to be altered, where in the pursuit of paradox H . has cut through a line which ought to have joined: however 'tis not in the 'Corner' 4 which is the one I want most. — A h I see he has altered (by) my drawing to its disanvantage in the 'Corner;' so his principle of exact copying has gone by the board, and I can chaff him. 5 In any case you had better be so kind as to get all the 3 coppered. A rough afternoon today & wind got round to east so I hope for a change. I have finished the border for the G.L. 6 this morning; but there is a difficulty which we must discuss together. Yours affectionately William Morris MS: Texas. 1 The annual May Day celebration, which in 1892 was held in Hyde Park. For a report of the ceremony, see The Times, May 2, 1892, p. 7. 2 It is unclear to which Kelmscott Press volume Morris is referring. A possibility is A Dream ofJohn Ball (see letter no. 1980, n. 3), but if so, the reference to "trousers" is puzzling: there is only one illustration, the frontispiece, and in it the figure of Adam wears an animal skin wrapped as a tunic around his waist (see illustration p. 426). Conceivably Morris refers to this tunic. 3 Presumably for ornamental initials for A Dream of John Ball. 4 I.e., a corner border. 5 For a discussion of Morris's disagreement with Hooper's "principle of exact copying," see letter no. 1963 and n. 2. 6 For The Golden Legend.

1987 · T o J O H N PiNCHER F A U N T H O R P E

Kelmscott House,

Upper Mall, Hammersmith May 4, 1892 Dear Mr. Faunthorp I have been away from h o m e & have only just got your letter. H o w ever I can call on you next Friday at about 11.30 if that will suit. Meantime I may say that I think your council make a great mistake in wanting the walls done first.1 T h e fact is they would do very well as they are; whereas the roof is so perversely hideous as it is, that it makes the whole chapel ugly and dreary to the last degree. We could alter all this by painting the roof, and make the chapel look decent. 2 There is another point of more importance still to myself as a designer, viz that I cannot quite tell what the walls want till the roof is done, since the painting of the [ 397 ]

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MORRIS

roof will quite change the look of the building. So that all things considered I think it will be impossible for me to design the walls first: However perhaps I can point all this out more clearly when I see you. I am Yours truly William Morris MS: Whitelands. 1 See letter no. 1836 and n. 2. 2 See letter no. 1839 and n. 2.

1988

· To

THACKERAY T U R N E R

Kelmscott May 4 [1892]

Dear T. I sent off the report1 to B. St2 on Friday or Saturday last I forget which. I am just going to write to Candy.3 Yrs truly WM. MS: S.P.A.B. Archives. 1 It is uncertain to which report Morris refers. In the S.P.A.B. Archives, "Orton-on-theHiIl," is an undated report that may be a draft of the one Morris enclosed with his letter. It begins by describing St. Edith's, Orton-on-the-Hill (see letter no. 1972, n. 1), as "unrestored" and then enters into a minute description of the exterior and interior of the church. Referring to repairs that may be necessary, it advises that money available should be spent in the first place to make the entire church "watertight and sound." It advises that "the ancient plaster remaining] throughout the Church . . . should be left undisturbed" and, referring to windows on the north side of the nave, asserts that "it would be absurd and misleading to replace the 18th century decayed mullions with sham ealier tracery." Examples of other recommendations are that the brick gable to the mortuary chapel not be replaced with stone; and that if a window be glazed, it should be done with plain and clear glass in lead-work. The report is signed by Oliver Baker (1856-1939), a Birmingham artist and antiquary, and for many years a correspondent for the S.P.A.B. 2 Buckingham Street, where the S.P.A.B. had its headquarters in 1892. 3 See letter no. 1972, n. 1.

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I LETTER

1989 · T o BERNARD QUARITCH

1990 Kelmscott House,

Upper Mall, Hammersmith May 10, 1892 Dear Mr. Quaritch Thank you: the no. 69 1 I consider mine, & am glad you bought it for me. As to the other (88) 2 I will have it also: it is certainly a fine specimen of its period and in good condition. Yours very truly William Morris ins: Quaritch. 1 A reference to the Sotheby Sale of the Library of Edwin Henry Lawrence which was held May 9-12, 1892. The catalogue describes lot 69 as a fifteenth-century Psalter, written on vellum, decorated with numerous capitals, illuminated in gold and colors, and having nine large drawings. It was purchased by Quaritch for £36 and sold to Morris, who paid an additional five percent as commission (see Quaritch's Sales Cotnm. Book). 2 In the Sotheby Catalogue for the Lawrence Sale (see note 1 above), lot 88 was also a manuscript on vellum, a Breviarium, written by an Anglo-Norman scribe and decorated with seventy floriated borders depicting birds, animals, and human figures. Quaritch paid £195 for it. See also letter no. 1991 and n. 2.

1990 · T o J. & J. LEIGHTON

[WALTER JAMES LEIGHTON?]

Kelmscott House,

Upper Mall, Hammersmith May 12, 1892 Dear Sir I enclose a cheque for the amount of your account. O n the whole I think I have done very well. I bought the big imperfect Bible of Mr. Quaritch for £65 1 —Looking over it I think it very cheap: at least it will be to me, as the work in it is first rate. T h e O r d o ecclesiasticorum 2 I think rather dear: but it is an interesting book. I must get you to m e n d the binding for m e a little. Looking at the Breviarium 3 again I don't think the price very high. It is certainly quite out of the way as to excellence in its period. T h e little Horae 4 you bought m e gives m e complete satisfaction; I never saw better work of its period, which is almost the best. I consider it well worth £100. I was sorry to miss y o u last night & hope to have the pleasure of seeing you here soon. Yours truly William Morris

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MORRIS

MS: McMinn Papers. 1 See letter no. 1991, n. 1. 2 Morris refers to Ordo Ecdesiasticorum Graduum Pro Urbe Roma, a fourteenth-century vellum manuscript, by an Italian scribe, with painted capitals and a miniature of a Bishop, for which Leighton paid £31 (see Lawrence Catalogue, lot 479). Morris did in fact purchase it (see Sotheby Catalogue [1898], lot 696). 3 The manuscript Morris had bought from Quaritch, see letter no. 1989, n. 2. 4 Possibly lot 286 at the Lawrence Sale, a small fourteenth-century manuscript on vellum, Heurs de Nostre Dame de la Sainte Trinitet, du Saint Esperit et Vigile des Morts, now in the PML. There is, however, a problem with this choice. Leighton paid £77 for the manuscript, and Morris in the present letter says he considers it "well worth £100." If Morris means he considers it worth the £100 he paid Leighton, he is saying also that he paid a commission of nearly thirty percent on the £77 paid by Leighton. Possibly, though unlikely, Morris means the book is worth £100, even though he—Morris—paid Leighton less than that amount.

1991 · T o BERNARD Q U A R I T C H

Kelmscott House, Upper Mall, Hammersmith May 12 [1892]

Dear Mr. Q u a r i t c h I enclose a cheque for the balance I owe on the Lawrence books, i n cluding the big bible and the binding. 1 I am much pleased with all of the purchases; and looking carefully over the Breviarium think it a very fine b o o k , quite removed from the c o m monplace and I cannot see h o w it can be considered dear, in view of the high prices paid for books that are commonplace. 2 W i t h thanks Yours very truly William Morris MS: Quaritch. 1 The Latin Bible Morris purchased through Quaritch was lot 41 in the Lawrence Sale (see letter no. 1989, n. 1) and is described in the catalogue as a thirteenth-century manuscript on vellum, with eighty-five bordered initial letters by a Flemish artist. Philip Duke of Burgundy had presented it to the Abbey Church of Marguerite, near Lille in Flanders. Quaritch paid £62 for it and sold it to Morris for £65 (see Sales Comm. Book). The "binding" to which Morris refers was a separate item (lot 383). It was made in Mantua in 1478 by P. J. de Puzbach and had belonged to Edward VI. In addition to the four items mentioned by Morris in this and his previous letter (see letter no. 1989), Quaritch's Sales Comm. Book lists a fifth that was purchased at the Lawrence Sale and sold to Morris: lot 534 in the Lawrence Sale, a thirteenth- to fourteenth-century Psalter, written on vellum by an English scribe, with each page ornamented alternately with gold and color capitals, 83 historiated initials, 333 borders, and 99 illuminated miniatures. Quaritch paid £112 for the Psalter and charged Morris a five percent commission (see Sales Comm. Book). 2

See letter no. 1989, n. 2. In addition to the £195 he paid for the book at the auction, Quaritch charged Morris a five percent commission (see Sales Comm. Book., p. 195).

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I L E T T E R 1993

1992 · T o ELLEN GATES STARR

Kelmscott House, Upper Mall, Hammersmith May 13 [1892] 1

Dear M a d a m

2

You are very w e l c o m e to go over the works at M e r t o n Abbey any day. (They are closed o n Saturday afternoon)

Please show this card to

Mr. M o o r e the Manager, w h o will show every attention. O u r meetings here are at 8 p.m. every Sunday. 3 Yours truly William Morris MS: Berger Coll. 1 The card on which this note was written is postmarked 1892 (and is addressed to "Miss Starr" [see note 2 below]). 2 E l I e n Gates Starr (1859-1940), co-founder with Jane Addams (1860-1935) of HullHouse in Chicago, was visiting the rector of Toynbee Hall, the Rev. Samuel Barnett, and his wife (Morris's card is addressed to the Barnetts' residence: St. Judes Vicarage, Commer­ cial St., Whitechapel). In May 1892, Starr wrote to Addams: "Thursday I go out to William Morris' work shops at Merton. He sent me a Permission" (The Papers of Jane Addams, ed. Mary Lynn McCree Bryan [Ann Arbor: Univ. microfilms, 1985], reel 2, frame 1310). Of interest, in 1899, Starr established a bindery at Hull-House, after returning from fifteen months of study with T.J. Cobden-Sanderson. See 100 Yeats at Hull-House, ed. Mary Lynn McCree Bryan and Allen F Davis (Bloomington and Indianapolis: Indiana Univ. Press, 1990) passim. 3

Of the Hammersmith Socialist Society. Starr's apparent interest in the Society makes it apposite to note that in 1916 she became a candidate for alderman in Chicago. She was defeated, but during the campaign had declared that neither a woman nor a socialist could be elected, and that she had stood for office only for educational purposes. See The New York Times (obit) February 11, 1940, p. 49.

1993 · R E C I P I E N T U N K N O W N

Kelmscott H o u s e , U p p e r Mall, H a m m e r s m i t h May 17 [1892?]

Dear Sirs 1 Thanks for n o t e I want the vellum the same size as the last supplied. I measured it as above 16 3Λ χ 22 3/4 but 17 χ 3 3 will be simpler: I suppose the sheets are n o t exact as to size n o r n e e d they be. Please c o n ­ sider my measurement as the limit, of variation. Yours truly William Morris MS: Dunlap Coll. 1 By 1892 Morris was receiving vellum from two suppliers: Henry Band of Brentford, Middlesex, and William J. Turney and Co. of Stourbridge, Worcestershire. Morris had, according to Sparling (p. 64), turned to the latter "when the growing needs of the Press

t 401 ]

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OF WILLIAM

MORRIS

outran the capabilities of the Brentford works." (See also Peterson, History, p. 110 and p. 343, n. 10.) Cockerell notes ("History," p. 146) that the six vellum copies of The Glittering Plain (1891) were printed on supplies obtained from Rome, but that it was impossible to get a second shipment as the vellum of the supplier was all required by the Vatican.

1994 · T o J E N N Y M O R R I S

[Kelmscott]

May 18 [1892] Dearest o w n Child I have waited till after tea that I might give you the latest news. We have had quite a shower, and I really hoped we were going to have a wet evening and night; but it has cleared u p again for the present. T h e country certainly needs rain sorely, but it it looks beautiful. T h e fields are all butter-cuppy though the grass is not as high as it should be. T h e elms are mostly green up to their tops. T h e hawthorn n o t out, but the crabs beautiful, & also that white-beam (I think they call it) with the umbelliferous flowers. In the garden we have lots of tulips out looking beautiful: the white blue-bells & some blue ones: some of the anemones are in blossom & they all soon will be: they are very lovely. There are very few yellow flowers n o w in the garden. Fancy! those grape hyacinths are only just beginning to fade. Apple-blossom for the most part only in bud; but that cherry-tree near the arbour opposite my window is a mass of blooms. T h e heartseases are beautiful: very big. a few of the Iceland poppies are out: these will go on a long time. T h e gooseberries are not all gone we shall have a fair sprinkling Two of the little cherry trees o n the wall by the frame have cherries o n them. Finally the rasberries are showing for blossom. & as to seedlings Giles 1 has lots of things to plant out: so we shall have a good late summer garden As to the 'poulaine' Two more broods of ducks; all the others doing well save that 2 out of the 18 were killed by some accident T h e second oldest go into the water n o w and behave very well; but the 3rd oldest (the 16) being let out today went too far up the ditch and had to be hunted by Giles & me, and brought back again for all the world like naughty children. As for the chicken they all doing well but the last hatch was not abundant, only 4 coming off. O f the live-stock there remains only myself to speak of: I got to my tale 2 last night directly after tea and worked o n till 11 when I went to bed like a good boy; I have been working at it all day today, and have done a good deal though there were intervals of duckling hunting & garden strolling as above. M y darling goodbye with best love to you & Mother. I shall be so glad to see you on Saturday. Your loving father W.M.

[ 402 ]

1892

I LETTER

1996

MS: BL, Add. MSS. 45340. Published: CW, 18, xxxv-xxxvi. 1 See letter no. 1966, n. 2. 2 The Well at the World's End (see letter no. 1966, n. 4).

1995 · T o J . & J . L E I G H T O N

[WALTER JAMES LEIGHTON?]

Kelmscott House,

Upper Mall, Hammersmith May 23 [1892] Dear Sir I enclose a cheque for £50 for my ordinary account. T h a n k you for sending the note to Oxford St. B u t I have cash now. I will keep the Grafton. 1 Yours truly William Morris MS: Bodleian. 1 Morris refers here to a first edition of Richard Grafton's A Chronicle at Large and meere History of the Affayres ofEnglande and Kinges of the same from the Creation of the World unto the first yere of the reigne of Our Sovereigne Lady Queene Elizabeth. Morris purchased the book and it is described (lot 557) in the Sotheby Catalogue (1898) as containing woodcut titles, woodcuts, and initials, the "first and last leaf and [a] leaf to the Reader in facsimile, some [leaves] inlaid and margins mended." Richard Grafton (1513?—1572) was an English printer and chronicler who printed the Great Bible (1544) and The Book of Common Prayer (1549). A Chronicle at Large was printed at London in 1568 by Henry Denham (fl. 1563—1590?) for the publishers Richard Tottle and H. Toye.

1996 · T o JENNY M O R R I S

Kelmscott

Wednesday 5.30 [May 25, 1892] Dearest darling Jenny 1 I have been working hard at my paper hanging all day & last night I did a good bit of Well, though I went to bed at eleven: but then you see I began on it at 8. It was very hot last night & close so that we had hope of thunder-rain: but today is jewel-bright with N . E . again. Certainly both the fields & the garden want rain badly, especially as they did n o t have Thursday's rain here. There are n o t many (tul) flowers in the garden mostly the later tulips, very small because of the drought: but the apple blossom is not all over yet, and there is much of it; the Blenheim orange covered to the top. T h e elms are quite green, and all the trees look lovely: pretty well as to blackbirds, cuckoo I have heard at times all day. Two couple of the silly

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L E T T E R S OF WILLIAM

MORRIS

lapwings seemed very anxious to let me know where their nest was. The sheep are penned up in the big field; it is pleasant to hear their noise & to see their wooly backs, and the lambs which are now grown like stout & rather ruffianly boys. As for the poulayle: both the ducks & the chickens that smiled on us the other day are well and growing hard. The ducks have had a water place fenced off for them in the ditch, and are very happy: their foster-mother has left them. There has been another brood of chicken off-—eleven. Giles2 expects a brood of ducks & another of chicken off in a few days, and there is also a 3rd hen sitting. Mary3 looks well again: I was sorry to hear that Adams4 has got influ. badly. I had a beautiful vegetarian dinner today: sparrow grass & poached eggs & pan-cakes! By the way Annie 5 forgot my bacon—That is of no impor-

The Green Room at Kelmscott Manor.

[ 404 ]

1892

I LETTER

1997

tant to me; but joined to the fact that she put n o bacon in the pie; it looks [almost?] as if she were going to turn Jeu>. I hope sincerely this is not the case I got in such a mess (to) down in the Green R o o m , 6 and painted myself so much that I feel quite happy sitting up here in the tapestry 7 elegantly and like a gentleman!! After that goodbye my darling with best love to you & Mother. I shall just go & post this & perhaps have a short walk on the Langford R d , & then come in and get to the Well. Best love dear. Your loving father WM. T h e Thames is not low nor the ditch. MS: BL, Add. MSS. 45340. Extract published: CW, 18, xxxvi. 1 The frequency with which Morris wrote to Jenny during the latter part of May (18, 25, 26, 30), without having anything in particular to say, suggests that he was especially anxious about her at this time. 2 See letter no. 1966, n. 2. 3 Possibly Mary Giles (see letter no. 1966, n. 3). 4 Probably a neighbor. 5 See letter no. 1966, n. 6. 6 A room on the ground floor of Kelmscott Manor. Of some interest in the Green Room is the fireplace, in which the tiles were designed by Morris in the 1870s. For a description of the Green Room, see A. R. Dufty, A Guide to Kelmscott Manor (London: The Society of Antiquaries, 1984), pp. 12, 15, and 29 (illustration). 7 The Tapestry Room. See letter no. 2062, n. 2.

1997

· T o JENNY M O R R I S

Kelmscott

Thursday (don't know day of month) [May 26, 1892] Dearest o w n child T h a n k you for your dear letter. 1 Bacon came all right; I am so glad it was only accident & not principle that left it out. This is only to say that I shall be at h o m e Saturday at about 11.30. Work all right. Paper-hanging done so far:2 so that I can make sure of terminating the interminable 3 before I come back. I went up to Buscott W o o d just now, and saw the harebells beautiful just within. Also I heard the herons squawk. T h e fields are sadly burnt I must say. H o w jolly it would be to be here w h e n the rain comes!

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OF WILLIAM

MORRIS

Now these are all the tales I have to tell you for the present: I am so glad you rejoice in your discovery of Putney Park Lane. Best love to Mother & to old you. Your loving Father WM MS: BL, Add. MSS. 45340. 1 If this letter was written in 1892, as seems probable, it was the second to Jenny in two consecutive days (see letter no. 1996). This would indicate that Morris answered her most recent one to him the same day he received it. Possibly there is further evidence in this of his anxiety concerning her at the time. 2 At Stanmore Hall. 3 The Golden Legend (see letter no. 1889, n. 2).

1998 · T o B E R N A R D Q U A R I T C H

Kelmscott H o u s e ,

U p p e r Mall, H a m m e r s m i t h

June 1, 1892 Dear Mr. Quaritch Herewith I send a memorandum embodying my views as to the R e cuyell.1 I may tell you in addition that I hope to have the book printed, if not bound before the end of this year.2 Expecting your answer I am Yours very truly William Morris MS: Quaritch. 1 In the Quaritch Archives there is a draft, dated June 1, 1892, in Morris's hand of the memorandum: its substance was repeated in the formal agreement drawn up on June 3, 1892 (see letter no. 2000, n. 1; for the memorandum, see Quaritch Archives). In a reply also dated June 1, Quaritch wrote in part: Dear Sir, I have received your Memorandum dated June 1, 1892, respecting the sale of The Recuyell of the Historye of Troy as to be reprinted by you from the Caxton original edition. 1 agree to all the points and details of your memorandum, but I hope you will slightly modify the terms of payment. 1. To receive one half of the amount due to you one week after delivery of the stock 2 to receive the second half three months after delivery of the stock. . . . 2

The printing of The Recuyell was finished on October 14, 1892.

[ 406 ]

1892 I L E T T E R 2000 1999 · F R O M A LETTER T O EDWARD PHILIP P R I N C E

June 2, 1892

I believe in about three m o n t h s ' time I shall be ready with a n e w set of sketches for a fount of type o n English body. 1 TEXT: Cockerell, "History," 143. 1 "English body," known in France as St. Augustin, designates a fourteen-point type font. Cockerell writes that the sketches to which Morris refers were not forthcoming. He adds that later in the year, in November, Morris "bought a copy of Augustinus De Civitate Dei, printed at the Monastery of Subiaco near Rome by Sweynheym and Pannartz, with a rather compressed type. . . . He at once designed a lower-case alphabet on this model, but was not satisfied with it and did not have it cut. This was his last actual experiment in the designing of type, though he sometimes talked of designing a new fount, and of having the Golden type cut in a larger size." See Cockerell, "History," p. 143. For the copy of De Civitate Dei to which Cockerell refers, see letter no. 2067, n. 4.

2000 · T o BERNARD Q U A R I T C H

Kelmscott House, Upper Mall, Hammersmith June 4, 1892

Dear Mr. Q u a r i t c h I enclose the draft agreement w h i c h I approve of all particulars. 1 Yours very truly W Morris MS: Quaritch. 1 Dated June 3, 1892, the document (now in the Quaritch Archives) reads: Agreement between Mr. William Morris of Kelmscott House Hammersmith W. and Mr. Bernard Quaritch of 15Picadilly London,W.

\ Concerning the sale and purchase of Mr. William Morris' reprint of Caxton S "The Recuyell of the Historyes of Troy."

1 The edition to consist of 300 copies on fine hand-made linen paper, and 5 copies on vellum. 2 Mr. Morris agrees to sell 275 of the above copies on paper, bound in vellum or morocco at Seven pounds (£7.) each, and two copies on vellum at Fifty pounds (£50) each. 3 Mr. Morris engages not to sell any of his 25 copies on paper until Mr. Quaritch has exhausted his stock. 4 Mr. Morris agrees to have the book printed and delivered bound, not later than the end of March 1893.

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OF WILLIAM

MORRIS

5 Mr. Morris stipulates that Mr. Quaritch shall publish the paper copies at the Subscription price of Nine Guineas (£9.9.0) but Mr. Quaritch to be at liberty to close the subscription on the day of issue, and to put his own price on any copies left unsold at that time. 6 Mr. Quaritch, or his executors, agrees to purchase the 275 copies on paper and two copies on vellum, at the prices before mentioned, viz. £7. each for copies on paper, and £50. each for the copies on vellum. 7 Payment to be made as follows;—One half of the amount due, to be paid one week after delivery of the Stock, and the second half three months after delivery of the stock. 8 Mr. Quaritch agrees to supply the 5 copies for the public libraries 9 Mr. Quaritch undertakes to give preference to any orders given for the book to Mr. Morris, should there be any difficulty about supplying copies. Bernard Quaritch William Morris

2001

· T o H E R B E R T M O A T E S ELLIS

Kelmscott H o u s e ,

U p p e r Mall, H a m m e r s m i t h June 9, 1892 Dear M r . Herbert 1 All this time I have n o t said anything to you about your w o r k o n my books. 2 I thank you very much for taking such care & pains over them; I think they are very well written & look vey well indeed, and for that size and shape of b o o k look decidedly better than the stamped gilded letters. Again very many thanks. I am going to send a copy each of the Guenevere, the Poems by the Way & the Nature of Gothic for you to your brothers 3 at n o 7 4 and (fo) perhaps you would n o t m i n d fetching t h e m away w h e n you c o m e that way; as we are not very g o o d packers here, & I am afraid of their coming to harm. W i t h kind regards I am Yours very truly William Morris PML. See letter no. 1984, n. 1. 2 Herbert Ellis's calligraphic writing of the title on the spines of copies of the Kelmscott edition of The Defence of Guenevere (see letter no. 1978, n. 1). An unknown hand has placed an asterisk after the word "books" and explained at the top of the holograph that Morris refers to Ellis's calligraphy for The Defence. 3 Ellis had three sons. 4 Presumably No. 7 Hammersmith Terrace. MS:

1

[ 408 ]

1892 / L E T T E R 2003 2002 · T o J . & J . LEIGHTON [WALTER JAMES LEIGHTON?]

Kelmscott House,

Upper Mall, Hammersmith June 9 [1892] Dear Sir I enclose a cheque for the binding account. I have been looking at the d u m m y Golden Legend, and do n o t quite like its appearance: we must try again. 1 I think I can give you a pattern which would help: but I am going out of town o n Monday & shall be away a full week. Yours truly W Morris MS: Bodleian. 1 Leighton apparently prepared dummy bindings for Kelmscott Press volumes to let Morris see in advance how the work when finished would look. It is clear that this was the case for The Glittering Plain (see letter no. 1849, n. 1).

2003 · T o CHISWICK PRESS [CHARLES T H O M A S JACOBI?]

Kelmscott House,

Upper Mall, Hammersmith June 10 [1892] Dear Sir I send E for press 1 though I rather think I have sent it before. However it does n o t matter. Kindly send m e a set of clean sheets as they are done. From Monday 13th to the end of the week my address will be at Kelmscott Lechlade. Yours truly W Morris MS: Bodleian. 1 The Chiswick Press followed traditional nomenclature in designating signatures, and Morris refers here to Signature E of the first volume of the Heimskringla: he was returning the proofread contents of this signature.

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MORRIS

2004 · T o CHISWICK PRESS [CHARLES THOMAS JACOBI?]

Kelmscott House,

Upper Mall, Hammersmith June 11 [1892] Dear Sir I want you to get o n with the Saga Library please: You have got a good deal of copy, and I will send you a lot more in a weeks time. I have send back for revise up to K inclusive but have got back nothing after E. 1 Please get o n a little Yours truly W Morris MS: Bodleian. 1 Signature E. See letter no. 2003 and n. 1.

2005 · T o CHARLES FAIRFAX M U R R A Y

June 11, 1892

M y dear Murray Could you come in tomorrow (Sunday) to dinner if you can; as H o o p e r has sent in his proof l and we are going to KeIm: Monday. Yours WM (What a pen!) MS: Texas. 1 It is unclear whether Morris refers to a drawing with which Murray was involved. Cockerell says ("History," p. 144) Murray sometimes redrew in ink designs made by Burne-Jones in pencil, but does not specify which ones. However, one of the books at hand at this time was The Golden Legend, and whether or not Murray was involved, BurneJones's two illustrations for it (see letter no. 1911, n. 6) were engraved in "June and August 1892 when the third volume was approaching completion" (Cockerell, "List," p. 151). Possibly the proof to which Morris refers was for one of them.

2006 · T o JENNY MORRIS

Kelmscott House,

Upper Mall, Hammersmith June 21, 1892 Dearest o w n child Here I am preparing to do a bit of work so that we may have the pleasanter time together w h e n we meet next week, my own. I have done an

[ 410 ]

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hour's work before breakfast, and this evening on my return from Merton I intend to do something serious, as I shall have a long spell to myself. It blew hard from the S.W here yesterday and was much warmer: there was a slight sputter of rain about 4 p.m. On the whole a nice day. This morning wind is back N W, it is very bright but rather cold again: very pleasant however. The garden is really very pretty: the sweet williams are all out; a good many roses, 'such as they are'. Foxgloves very pretty. The quinces seem fast on, & the mulberries are beginning to set. One nice thing about the garden here is that it makes no pretence at being a country one, and as a suburban garden it does well; it will be a great rest to me to walk in it a bit these days. As to the Press all goes well: we have finished the 1st part of the R e cueils,1 which is however more than a 3rd of the whole. We are printing off News from Nowhere at present,2 as the compositors were over running the press men. It looks very well. Now my dear I must be off to London town first; and then to Merton. I hope you are enjoying yourself my darling Best love to you & Mother and kind regards to Miss Strick.3 Goodbye dearest from Your loving Father William Morris MS: BL, Add. MSS. 45340. 1 The Recuyell of the Historyes of Troye. 2 The Kelmscott Press edition of News from Nowhere. An octavo volume in Golden type, with black and red ornaments, it was the last book issued by the Press to use paragraph symbols. The text was set up from one of the three editions by Reeves and Turner (see letter no. 1696, n. 3), with minor corrections by Morris. (See Cockerell, "List," p. 153; see also Peterson, Bibliog., p. 34.) Dated November 22, 1892, the book was not issued until March 24, 1893, the delay resulting from Morris's decision to include a woodcut illustration as a frontispiece (see letter no. 2059 and notes 3 and 4). 3 See letter no. 1984, n. 3.

2007 · To JENNY

Kelmscott House, Upper Mall, Hammersmith June 25 [1892]

MORRIS

My own darling Child Thank you so much for your dear letter to me, it was such a pleasure to me to read it! But you mustn't work too hard at letters to me my dear. I am enclined to feel sad that the longest day is over; but after all it will be a month or so before there is any real change in the length of days. Yes [ 411 ]

L E T T E R S OF WILLIAM

MORRIS

I am very glad to be done with the S.K.M. It is tiresome work, for it is only here & there that one finds anything worth looking at. 1 Thursday we also had a wet morning, so that there were big puddles on the mall; but the afternoon was fair, and yesterday was a lovely day. Today is pleasant, but with little sun, (now 3 p. m.), & looks like rain: but I am thinking h o w the peas will grow. T h e garden here keeps very pretty, there are so many roses of a sort; not the wonders like at Kelmscott but still very pleasant; they and the sweet williams & foxgloves make the main of the flowers, but the orange lilies are beginning at last. Just think, I had quite a fine dishful of cherries from the garden yesterday & the day before! Item I ate them all. I am doing a good day's work today, and am quite enjoying the rest of it after the S.K.M. I am at work at my title-page for the Golden Legend again & hope to finish it these days. 2 —And there is our Saturday aftern o o n organ 3 just begun. T h e tide is high as I write and it looks very nice, and a big barge with deals has just gone by. T h e children are not quite at their noisiest yet; but I don't mind them today; I haven't got t h e m on the nerves. Did you hear h o w Lord Spencer 4 is going to sell his famous library? 5 I must say I am sorry; it has been so long established, that it has been a place to refer to, to look for a book which couldn't be found elsewhere. And it would have been so easy for him to live without selling it if he had only k n o w n . 6 Today Lord Dudley's 7 pictures are being sold. 8 Really it seems as if the noblemen were going to resign. I wish the Government would buy the books in the lump: but I'm afraid that they won't. Well own darling I shall write a line to you or your mother before I come down. It will soon be Wednesday, won't it dear? w h e n we shall meet. Goodbye my own love Your loving father William Morris MS: BL, Add. MSS. 45340. 1 From 1876 until his health broke down in 1895, Morris was an examiner of works submitted for the National Competition of Schools of Science and Art and Art Classes at the South Kensington Museum (see Volume II, letter no. 889, and n. 2). In the July 30, 1892, issue, The Buildemoted (p. 82) that "[t]he exhibition of student work in connexion with the National Competition of Schools of Arts has been held this week at the South Kensington Museum." 2 Cockerell notes ("List," p. 151) that the title was engraved in August 1892. It was the first woodcut title designed by Morris. 3 Presumably there was a music recital for members of the Hammersmith Socialist Society every Saturday. 4 Morris refers to the library of John Poyntz Spencer (1835-1910), fifth Earl Spencer,

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2008

who was Lord-Lieutenant of Ireland under Gladstone from 1868 to 1874, and was later Irish Secretary, holding the post until 1885 when the government fell. While out of office from 1886 to 1892, he urged the cause of Home Rule. (For the sale of Spencer's library, see notes 5 and 6 below.) 5 The Althorp Library, belonging to the Spencers, was sold en bloc to Enriqueta Rylands, widow of cotton manufacturer John Rylands (1801-1888). To house the books, she had built The John Rylands Library, Manchester, designed by Basil Champneys (1842-1935). When she bought the Althorp collection, it was considered the finest privately owned library in England. 6 The Times, June 17, 1892, announced (p. 9) the sale (see note 5 above), which was brought on by the depression in agriculture prices affecting landowners. Morris, unaware that Spencer's need was long-standing, may refer here to a report in The Times (July 25, the day of this letter) that indicated (p. 12) improved weather conditions and revived hopes for a good harvest. However, a letter from Spencer to E. Thompson written two years earlier suggests that a good future harvest would have made little difference: "[T]he heavy depression in agriculture which has for many years prevailed renders it extremely difficult for me to keep locked up the large amount of capital which the books here represent" (see John Poyntz Spencer, The Red Earl: The Papers of the Fifth Earl of Spencer 1835-1910, 2 vols., ed. Peter Gorden [Northhamptonshire: Northhamptonshire Record Society Publications 1981-86], II, 196). 7 William Ward, first earl of Dudley (1817-1885). He had been a trustee of the National Gallery and when building his own collection had acquired a reputation for paying excessive prices for paintings that he wanted. 8 The Dudley picture sale was considered one of the most important that had occurred for several years. Representatives of museums competed with dealers and private collectors on the day of the sale, June 25, 1892. Fairfax Murray bought a Hobbema for 1900 guineas. See The Times, June 14, 1892, p. 9; June 23, p. 4; and June 27, p. 8.

2008 · T o J . & J. LEIGHTON [WALTER JAMES LEIGHTON?]

Kelmscott House, Upper Mall, Hammersmith June 29, 1892

Dear Sir H e r e is the cash. 1 I find neither type is the same as the 1473. I am glad to have the b o o k as it is certainly a very fine one for m e w h o cannot afford the 1460-ers. 2 I always said that the price was low. It is such a pretty b o o k to look at that I (shall) feel inclined to get you to strip off the beastly 'ecclesiastical' marocco someday. Yrs truly W Morris Kindly

send

receipt

and

other

communications

Kelmscott Lechlade for 8 days 3 MS: Bodleian.

[ 413 ]

to

Manor

House

L E T T E R S OF WILLIAM

MORRIS

1

Presumably for the books purchased and mentioned in this letter, not for bindings of Kelmscott Press volumes. 2 Morris presumably means any book printed in the 1460s, not works obtained by Leighton at the Lawrence Sale. There were in fact no incunabula from that decade among Leighton's purchases. 3 This last sentence, clearly a postscript, was written by Morris across the top of the page because he had run out of room at the bottom.

2009 · T o JENNY M O R R I S

Kelmscott House,

Upper Mall, Hammersmith July 10, 1892 Dearest darling Jenny Here I am (bu) much r u n about by business but so glad to write you a line or two, my own. Walker breakfasted with m e yesterday (he couldn't dine Saturday) & I dined with h i m afterwards. Madame Krapotkine 1 was there, also Miss Philpott; 2 Walker brought the latter in afterwards to see my books a little: I thought her a very intelligent & pleasant young woman. M . Krapotkine had her (adored) infant with her, a nice little round Russian of about 5 years. 3 I duly go to Bax's today hard labour till about 11. p.m. I shall be glad w h e n it is over. 4 All is well at the Press & I have some more ornaments come from the wood-cutter 5 & am expecting the 2 n d picture of G.L. tomorrow. 6 T h e garden is still quite pretty; the orange lillies still out the white ones in full blossom, 2 or 3 sunflowers, some few hollyhocks, and a (gro) crowd of poppies, small but so beautiful. T h e grass o n the lower lawn is a good deal burnt however. Yesterday was n o t a very nice day, and today is a sulky o n e with a N E wind. I had a letter from aunt Georgie pressing me so much to go down there & saying that uncle N e d wanted see m e about the woodcuts, 7 that down I shall go o n Saturday afternoon if you dont mind, you two. After all it will make n o difference as to my coming on the Tuesday (tomorrow-week, my own) 8 N o w my dear child I think I must be off to see after my entertainment of Friday at Merton, and two or three other things before I go to Bax Best love my dear dear child to you & dear Mother. Your o w n William Morris P.S. I opened your letter by mistake with my o w n ; for which pray pardon: I perceive it to be Mary deMorgans; 9 so it matter less (best love MS: BL, Add. MSS. 45340.

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1892 I L E T T E R 2010 1

Sophie Aranieff (1856-1938) had married Kropotkin in Switzerland in 1878, where both were in exile. 2 Stanley Weintraub conjectures (Shaw, Diaries II, 738) that a Miss Philpot with whom Shaw, Emery Walker, and S. C. Cockerell went on an outing in July 1891 may have been the daughter of Mr. and Mrs. H. S. Philpot, who were Fabians. Although the connection is uncertain, it is likely that the person to whom Morris refers in this letter was the one with whom Shaw was acquainted. 3 See letter no. 1571 and n. 6. 4 Morris refers here to the preparation of Socialism: Its Growth and Outcome, which he and Bax published in 1893 (see Volume IV, letter no. 2128, notes 2 and 3). 5 Possibly for The Recuyell of the Historyes of Troye. 6 One of the two illustrations for The Golden Legend designed by Edward Burne-Jones (see letter no. 2005, n. 1). 7 Although Morris earlier in this letter discusses illustrations for The Golden Legend, it was about designs for the Kelmscott Chaucer that Burne-Jones wanted to see him. By the end of June 1892, with the Chaucer type completed, the "idea of the Chaucer as it now exists, with illustrations by Sir Edward Burne-Jones, then took definite shape" (see Cockerell, "List," p. 163). 8 Morris is writing to Jenny at Kelmscott Manor, where she and Jane Morris were staying together. In a letter to Blunt written on July 12, Jane describes their stay: "The weather has been delightful ever since you left. I and Jenny have been quite alone for several days—She makes herself happy with books and picking flowers" (JM to WSB, p. 69). 9 See Volume I, letter no. 582, n. 2.

2010 · T o JENNY M O R R I S

Kelmscott House, Upper Mall, Hammersmith July 14 [1892]

M y o w n Jenny darling I will write a line or t w o to tell you w h a t I am u p t o ; as it seems quite a long time since I saw you my dear. We have had wet, and seem like to have more: it rained again yesterday evening, & pretty m u c h all night I think, and is grey and coldish today. I worked hard at my story on Tuesday; 1 and this m o r n i n g I have finished o n e p o e m that was stopping the way, & b e g u n another: for there are t w o of t h e m . 2 Yesterday I began to try & design some little letters about this size 3 but found it hard at first, as I told your m o t h e r w h e n I w r o t e to her yesterday, 4 and didn't get on: however at last I did about 8 that I think will do, and Walker has t h e m to p h o t o . 5 T h e garden looks a little autumny today; as if before long the flowers w o u l d be all hollyocks & sunflowers: however it is very pretty: and the hollyocks are quite like hedges. Most of the quinces have fallen off; but e n o u g h are left to make a g o o d crop if they will only ripen there.

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MORRIS

Well, dear, these are my movements; that I go to Rottingdean 6 on (Sunday) Saturday afternoon, come back here Sunday ditto and finish off my business o n Monday, & so h o m e to you Tuesday o w n dear. 7 Never mind about chickens & peas dear; had very good dinner I assure you. I have just had a chop, which I love; and broad beans, which you love also. N o w presently I am off up town to do some little businesses & then to (amti) anti-scrape. Tomorrow is my Merton 'afternoon-tea'. Only there will be n o tea. Goodbye dearest child with best love to you & Mother. Your o w n father William Morris MS: BL, Add. MSS. 45340. Extract published: CW, 18, xxx. 1 The Well at the World's End. At the end of the month, according to Cockerell, Morris was "writing away" at The Well, which he estimated would "run into at least 700 pages" (see Cockerell's Diary, July 31, 1892). 2 Presumably Morris refers to two poems in The Well at the World's End occurring close to each other in the text, but it is difficult to determine which two he means. In Book II, Chapter 34, a nine-stanza song given voice by Ralph is followed, after a short prose passage, by another of four stanzas that he sings, and these two would fit the situation. However, Book II is about midway in the tale (written in four Books), and since Cockerell's Diary for October 19, 1892, notes that The Well was at that date "approaching completion," it seems likely that in July Morris was much further along than Book II. There is a brief poem in Book IV, Chapter 22, a point that Morris may well have reached in July (Chapter 29 of Book IV concludes the entire work). But it is not followed by a second poem. 3 Probably for The Recuyell. See letter no. 2009. 4 This letter to Jane Morris seems not to have survived. 5 The first step in preparing woodblocks for engraving (see letter no. 1912, n. 1). 6 See letter no. 2009 and n. 7. 7 To Kelmscott Manor. See letter no. 2009, n. 8.

2011 · T o JENNY M O R R I S

Kelmscott House,

Upper Mall, Hammersmith July 16 [1892] O w n Dearest Child O u r party at M e r t o n Abbey went off very well. 1 There were about 40 I think, and we had o u r drinks in the carpet room after we had gone round. T h e afternoon had cleared u p after a threatening morning & was very pleasant, so that the place looked its best: that is very beautiful. It is warm and the country smell is in the air again: the garden here does really look very nice. I am doing a little bit of work before going to Rottingdean today: I

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/ LETTER 2012

shall be back tomorrow evening. I thought I was really obliged to go and look after my Chaucer's illustrations. 2 I shall probably do a little work in the evening (tor) today, as they go to bed early. M y dear I think the fruit-picking-jam-making, great fun. Mayn't I help w h e n I come down. 3 Only I promise not to neglect the fishing, as perhaps the perch may be on now. Item if we got a fair day we might have a dry dinner under those willows. All well at the press & generally. N o w dearest child this is the end of this shabby apology for a letter; also as you will not get this till Monday, I shall n o t write again before I see you, my darling Your own William Morris MS: BL, Add. MSS. 45340. 1 See letters no. 2009 and no. 2010. 2 See letter no. 2009, n. 7. 3 See letter no. 2009, n. 8.

2012 · T o GILBERT REDGRAVE

Kelmscott House,

Upper Mall, Hammersmith July 16 [1892] Dear Sir 1 In answer to your letter, I must tell you that the matter is o u t of my hands, as I am (up to the present) n o t the publisher but the printer only of the Kelmscott Press books, and I have already sold this book to Mr. Q u a r itch. 2 I fear that I can do n o more than show Mr. Quaritch your letter; but having made my terms with h i m I feel that I have n o locus standi whence I could press h i m in any way. You see there was n o price for the book settled w h e n you were kind enough to send me your order; n o r was it settled till my sale to Mr. Q u a r itch. I must add that it was understood between us that I should hand over to Mr. Q. my list of subscribers, which seemed & seems to m e a natural arrangement to make. M u c h regretting that there should be any misunderstanding about the matter, & that you should be put to any inconvenience therein, I am Dear Sir Yours truly William Morris [ 417 ]

LETTERS

OF WILLIAM

MORRIS

MS: Franklin Coll. (Ex). 1 Gilbert Redgrave (1844-1941) was the son of Richard Redgrave (1804-1888), the painter. He was the chief senior inspector of the National Art Training School, an early member the Bibliographical Society, and the editor of his father's papers, published in 1876 as A Manual of Design. His most important work was A Short- Title Catalogue of English Printed Books, 1475-1640, co-authored with Alfred Pollard and issued by the Bibliographical Society in 1926. 2 Morris probably refers to The Golden Legend. For the terms of his agreement with Quaritch concerning this book, see letter no. 1757 and notes 1 and 2.

2013

· T o REEVES AND T U R N E R

[WILLIAM D O B S O N REEVES]

Kelmscott House, Upper Mall, Hammersmith July 16 [1892]

Dear Sir All right about the copies 1 for the libraries. 2 As to the vellums I shall have 7 (seven) copies to sell: 3 the price the same as the Glittering Plain £10.10. Yours truly William Morris PML. Morris writes about the Kelmscott Press edition of News from Nowhere, which was sold by Reeves and Turner (see letter no. 2006, n. 2). 2 For the library copies required by the Copyright Act of 1842, see letter no. 1855, n. 6. 3 Ten copies of News from Nowhere were printed on vellum. Presumably Morris kept three for himself. Peterson lists (Bibliog., 34) one presentation copy on vellum, given to F. S. Ellis. MS:

1

2014 · T o CHISWICK PRESS

Manor House Kelmscott, Lechlade July 20 [1892]

Dear Sir Kindly send m e (to above address) sheets M & N of Saga (s) Library: as I have mislaid the proofs. 1 Please send by return as I want to correct and send back to you. Yours truly William Morris MS: Bodleian. 1 For the first volume of the Heimskringla. See letter no. 2003 and n. 1.

[ 418 ]

1892 / L E T T E R 2016 2015 · T o R O B E R T REYNOLDS STEELE

Kelmscott House, Upper Mall, Hammersmith July 21 [1892]

M y dear Steel 1 Thanks for you letter: I am glad to hear that y o u are getting o n a bit with those respectable Bedfordians 2 As to the Glanville, I suppose y o u want m e to write a preface; 3 all right, only you will find m e a sad procrastinator I fear; 4 also I shall want to see (fo) y o u r matter. G o o d luck Yours ever William Morris MS: BL, Add. MSS. 45345. 1 Robert Reynolds Steele (1860-1944) was a medievalist and a grammar-school teacher of science. A member of the Early English Text and the Bibliographical Societies, he produced for the latter a catalogue of English printed music to the end of the sixteenth century. Among his other works were an edition of Morris's The Defence of Guenevere, and Other Poems, published by the De La Mare Press in 1904; and an edition of the unpublished works of Roger Bacon, which Steele began in 1905 and which became a lifelong project for him. In 1892, he joined the Hammersmith Socialist Society, and the minutes record him as chairing a meeting, April 22, and lecturing, May 1, on "First Principles." His name, however, drops out of the minutes soon after. See Ham. Min. Book. 2 Presumably Steele had recently been appointed science master at the Bedford Grammar School. The school, a noted one, was founded in 1552 by Edward VI. 3 Morris refers to Steele's selections from De Proprietatibus Rerum, by Bartholomaeus Anglicus (fl. 1230—1250), also known as Bartholomew de Glanville. The work was an encyclopedia of the Middle Ages, first printed about 1470, and issued in about 1495 by Wynkyn de Worde in an English translation made in the fourteenth century by John de Trevisa (1326-1412). Steele's edition was published in 1893 under the title Medieval Lore: An Epitome of the Science, Geography, Animal and Plant Folk-Lore and Myth of the Middle Ages: Being Classified Gleanings from the Encyclopedia of Bartholomew Anglicus on the Property of Things (London: Elliot Stock). The book does have a preface by William Morris (for text of the preface, see MM, I, 286-89). 4 Morris finished the preface in November 1892 (see letter no. 2061).

2016

· T o REEVES AND T U R N E R

[WILLIAM D O B S O N REEVES]

Kelmscott House, Upper Mall, Hammersmith July 22 [1892?]1

Dear Sir Thanks for the account and cheque. 2 I understand everything except the account of the N e w s from N o w h e r e . T h e first edition is the large paper copies I suppose: for you have not accounted to m e for any other

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MORRIS

edition:3 but on the other hand I thought you had sold nearly 8000 copies. Kindly explain what the figures mean Yours truly William Morris

Robert Steele, c. 1895.

[ 420 ]

1892 / L E T T E R 2 0 1 8 MS: Walsdorf Coll. 1 The dating of this letter is uncertain. The year 1892 has been chosen because Morris talks of 8,000 copies of News From Nowhere having been sold. Since the main issue of the book was a pamphlet in paper wrappers that appeared in the spring of 1891, it is plausible to assume that an annual report a year after publication would show 8,000 copies sold. 2 Presumably for sales of The Glittering Plain and News from Nowhere, but possibly of The House of the Wolfings and The Roots of the Mountains as well. 3 In 1891 Reeves and Turner had issued three editions of News from Nowhere (see letter no. 1696, n. 3). Morris's confusion probably stems from the fact they were issued simultaneously. Since only 250 large paper copies were printed, Morris may mean by "first edition," either the pamphlet (see note 1 above), or all three editions together.

2017 · T o FREDERICK STARTRIDGE ELLIS

[Lechlade] July 25 [1892] Monday

M y dear Ellis W o n t you come to dinner 7½ t o m o r r o w Tuesday? 1 If not I shall be in at 11.30 a m & all day Yrs W.M. MS: Fitzwilliam. 1 Possibly to discuss The Golden Legend, of which Ellis was the editor, since the final volume was at this time approaching completion (see letter no. 2005, n. 1). Morris and Ellis did meet the next day, but they dined at Ellis's home (see letter no. 2019) at No. 17 Hammersmith Terrace. G. B. Shaw, who visited Hammersmith Terrace that evening to see the Sparlings, wrote in his Diary for July 26, 1892: "They were in . . . Ellis's garden next door with Morris."

2018 · T o G E O R G E JAMES H O W A R D

Kelmscott House, Upper Mall, Hammersmith July 27, 1892

M y dear George 1 Many thanks for the photos of carpets: 2 it was very kind of you to think of m e in the matter. T h e y are very beautiful carpets & the designs will be very useful to me. Mr. Salting 3 has a small carpet of the same quality of design, & I suppose execution; it used to be exhibited at the S.K.M. I am up from Kelmscott o n business for a few days. T h e others are d o w n there and like to be for some time. Is it quite impossible that you should come d o w n to us there? M y wife and I w o u l d be very glad to see you. Yours affectionately William Morris

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OF WILLIAM

MORRIS

MS: Howard Coll. 1 See Volume I, letter no. 44, n. 1. 2 I n I 892 the Howards had purchased a number of rugs from Cardinal and Harford, and from Liberty and Co. They had acquired four from the latter that are described in Rosalind Howard's account book as "antique" Persian. Possibly George Howard felt these would be of interest to Morris and had sent him photos of them. For the complete record of the Howards' carpet purchasing in 1892, see Castle Howard Archives: J23/105/25. For Rosalind Howard, see Volume I, letter no. 177, n. 1. 2 Possibly George Salting (1836-1909), an Australian who settled in England in 1857 and became a notable art collector. During his lifetime, his outstanding collection of Chinese porcelain was on loan to the South Kensington Museum, and in his will he bequeathed his diverse collection of paintings and art objects to the National Gallery, the British Museum, and the South Kensington Museum (renamed the Victoria and Albert Museum in 1911). He bequeathed three small carpets to the S.K.M., the most spectacular of which might be the one mentioned by Morris: the field is covered with palmettes, birds, and cloudbands. I am grateful to Ms. Wendy Hefford for suggesting the possibility.

2019 · T o JENNY MORRIS

Kelmscott House, Upper Mall, Hammersmith July 27, 1892

Darling o w n child This is just a little n o t e to let you k n o w that I am alive and well. Walker couldn't c o m e to dinner yesterday; so I dined with the Ellises; May & Harry came through the d o o r of c o m m u n i c a t i o n as we sat by the river after dinner. 1 May seemed better I t h o u g h t 2 T h e y ('the Sparlings') are c o m i n g to dinner tonight along w i t h Walker. I shall have a r u n - a b o u t t o w n today, as I have m u c h to attend to. I had a sheet of illumination from Mr. R e u t e r 3 today; the press is going o n very well, and I have still m o r e proofs to look over. 4 So dear child I must ask you to excuse this very short n o t e with my love to you & M o t h e r . Your loving father William Morris RS. T h e hollyhocks are in full b l o o m n o w and look splendid; but the garden is n o t Kelmscott. M y old books do look very nice, but

I wish

y o u were looking at t h e m with m e . goodbye Dear child MS: BL, Add. MSS. 45340. 1 The Sparlings lived at No. 8 Hammersmith Terrace, the Ellises next door at No. 17 (see letter no. 2017, n. 1). 2 May had recently been on holiday in France with Sparling (see Shaw, Diaries, II, 838). 3 Edmond George Reuter (b. 1845), who had been a designer for a firm of Staffordshire potters and who did illuminations as an avocation. At the 1889 Arts and Crafts Exhibition, Reuter had shown Morris a sonnet which he—Reuter—had composed and illuminated (see Aymer Vallance, "British Decorative Art in 1899 and the Arts and Crafts Exhibition,"

[ 422 ]

1892

/ LETTER

2020

The International Studio, 9, (1900), Part III, 184-85, 189). According to Cockerell, it was this piece of work that first prompted Morris to commission Reuter to illuminate a copy of The Roots of the Mountains. Subsequently, in 1895, Reuter was to decorate two copies of the Kelmscott Press edition of Syr Percevetle of Gales. The work to which Morris refers in the present letter was for The Recuyell of the Historyes ofTroye. Cockerell, in his Diary entry for July 28, 1892, noted that Morris had "had some pages of the Recuyell experimentally illuminated by Reuter." (See also Peterson, History, pp. 136-38.) 4 Possibly for The Recuyell or for the third volume of The Golden Legend—or for both.

2020 · T o JENNY MORRIS

Kelmscott House,

Upper Mall, Hammersmith July 29 [1892] Dearest own Jenny Today is (morning) is quite bright & beautiful; & yesterday was quite a fine day after the morning. This is the usual h o w - d e - d o letter as I have nothing special to say: my time has been rather more cut u p than usual this visit. Ellis has gone back to Torquay. Walker is going to take Dolly 1 & Mrs W. 2 to Ambleteuse (near Bologne) o n Saturday, and is coming back o n Monday, poor man! T h e Spencer Library is not be sold by auction; it has been sold in the lump to an Englishman, & so will n o t go o u t of the country. 3 Today I am going to M e r t o n & tomorrow afternoon I go to see Kate 4 unless Magnusson comes, as I do n o t think h e will. N o w my own deary, proofs are so flying about 5 and I also have just had a telegraph from Mr. Smith telling m e to look at Chelsea o n my way to Merton, that I must wind up this very short & shabby with best love to you & Mother. Your loving father William Morris T h e holly hocks look splendid in the sun this morning; I walked there a m o m e n t just after breakfast. Tuesday of course by usual train MS: BL, Add. MSS. 45340. 1 Dorothy Walker (1878-1963), the only child of the Walkers. See also Volume II, letter no. 1532, n. 2. 2 Mary Grace Walker (see Volume II, letter no.1523, n. 3). 3 It was in fact sold to Enriqueta Rylands (see letter no. 2007, notes 4—6). 4 Probably Kate Faulkner. 5 See letter no. 2019 and n. 4.

[ 423 ]

L E T T E R S OF WILLIAM M O R R I S 2021

· T o SYDNEY CARLYLE COCKERELL

Kelmscott,

Lechlade August 3 [1892] My dear Cockerell 1 We shall be very glad to see you here on Friday; so please do not fail. You will find (it) a convenient train the 1.35. Take ticket for Lechlade. Change at Oxford: (You will have to wait there an hour) go on by Whitney & Fairford train. At Lechlade my trap & man will meet you. Waggonette, brown horse pepper & Salt man not in livery. Friday one thirtyfive at Paddington for Lechlade Station. If I tell you any more I shall confuse you. Yours very truly William Morris MS: Huntington. Published: Meynell, Friends, 66; Henderson, Letters, 350—51. 1 This was Cockerell's first visit to Kelmscott (it occurred soon after he became Morris's librarian and secretary; see letter no. 1922, n. 13). Cockerell stayed at Kelmscott for a week, August 5—11, and his Diary (BL, Add. MSS. 52772) records the visit in some detail. Given the increasingly important role he was to play in Morris's affairs from this point on, it is apposite to reproduce some of the detail of Cockerell's own full record of the visit. For August 5 he wrote: "Reached Kelmscott Manor at 6. W.M. was at the door & the first thing he did was to take me over the house & through the garden & down to the Thames. Except Hever and Ingham I don't think I have ever seen any house so beautiful. It looks as if it had risen from the ground with the old fruit trees about it—the grey stones like them tinted yellow with lichen. In the evening W M . played draughts with Mrs. Morris." Some other daily entries read in part as follows: August 6: "After lunch Miss Strick [see letter no. 1984, n. 3] drove W.M. & me through Lechlade to Inglesham. The church is being repaired, mainly at W.M.'s expense, by Micklethwaite [see Volume II, letter no. 1281, n. 2] who was to have met us, but could not come." August 7: "After supper played whist with W M . & Miss M. until Miss M. went to bed, when W M . wrote some 'Well at the World's End.' Much talk from time to time about printing, Kelmscott Press, etc." August 8: ". . . At 6.30 Professor Middleton came. In the evening the talk was about old books, buildings, and saints." August 9: "In the morning walked with W M . Miss M. & Miss Strick to Eaton Hastings. . . . A little church with quaintly cusped 13th century doorway & 13th c. windows, two of them fitted with Burne-Jones-Morris glass. W.M. talked about Iceland as we walked. In the aftn. went to see the little Kelmscott Church, this time accompanied by Mrs. Morris and Prof Middleton as well. . . . In the evening played at 'twenty questions' & the talk was about Art, W.M. maintaining that the only perfect work of art was a fine building finely decorated, & expressing his disregard for pictures." August 10: "Drove with W M . Mrs. M. and Miss M. & Miss Strick to Great Coxwell, passing over the pointed mediaeval bridge at Radcot & lunching at Faringdon, a pretty little town with a fine church a good deal restored. . . . Walked on towards the Folly [a pub] with W M . who was enthusiastic over the blue whitehorse hills in the distance. Drove afterward to Coxwell where the superb tithe barn quite carried him away. He declared that it was the finest piece of architecture in England, and wanted to build a house like it. He had not seen it when he wrote 'The House of the Wolfings'. . . . After looking at it for some time we went on to the little church which has some pretty tracery, & 2 15th c. brasses to William Morys & Jehane wyf of William Morys, oddly enough. The drive home was a very pretty one through Coleshill

[ 424 ]

1892

I LETTER

2023

Highworth & Buscot . . . W.M. speculating as to whether the Kelmscott Press could not be moved from Hammersmith & set up in the meadow here!" August 11: ". . . drove with W.M. to Lechlade for the 7.25 train. Came up with him to Paddington. He told me the names of all the interesting places & objects on the way & pointed out the house they were rebuilding in the 26th chapter of'News from Nowhere.'" (For other references to Cockerell's Diary entries during this stay at Kelmscott, see letter no. 2022, notes 1 and 2; and no. 2024, n. 1.)

2022 · T o E M E R Y W A L K E R

Kelmscott

August 6 [1892] M y dear Walker I shall n o t come back till next Thursday. I suppose we shall meet at the SPAB and that you will come (up) in afterwards.' but anyhow come in to dinner about 7 on Friday if you can. I have Hoopers proof the title of G.L. & think it looks well: 2 a few things (due to the facsimile theory) 3 would be better altered, but dont much matter. Some other points n o t due to the above theory could be easily altered. Kindly let H have the J o h n Ball as soon as it can be done as I want to finish that work. 4 N o t much work this time but am wrestling a little with the n e w letters outside page. Yrs affectionately William Morris MS: Texas. 1 Presumably on Thursday, August 11. In his Diary for that day, the last of his visit to Kelmscott (see letter no. 2021 and n. 1), Cockerell wrote: "I saw [Morris] again at Antiscrape Com. in the evening. Tea afterwards at Gatti's." 2 Cockerell's Diary for August 11, 1892, also noted: " W M . had proofs [with him in the evening] of the title page of'The Golden Legend' & of the 2 B-J illustrations. . . ." 3 A reference to what Morris in earlier letters to Walker had called Hooper's "principle of exact copying" (see for example letter no. 1986). For a discussion of Morris's disagreement with Hooper on this point, see letter no. 1963, n. 2. 4 See letter no. 2035 and notes.

2023 · T o [CHARLES EDWARD KEATES?]

Kelmscott House,

Upper Mall, Hammersmith August 11 [1892?] Dear Sir 1 Your letter dated the 6th has only just been handed in to m e : and I find the block and the proof at the same time. 2 The(y) ornaments seem very satisfactory in cutting except that I think they are scarcely (cu) scraped deep enough for my style of work.

[ 425 ]

T w o versions of the frontispiece for the Kelmscott Press edition of A Dream of John Ball, 1892.

1892

/ LETTER

2024

T h e first block is even yet n o t deep enough; M r . Walker will I believe (send yo) write to you about it, as t h e block is at his office at Cliffords I n n O r if you can call here I have another little block for you. I shall be in on M o n d a y m o r n i n g till after 11 ο clock. I am Dear Sir Yours truly William Morris PML. Possibly Charles Edward Keates (fl. 1870-1901), a London wood engraver. Peterson mentions Keates for the first time in connection with The Recuyetl (see Bibliog., p. 26), and it may be that Keates began to do work for the Press around the time of this letter. He was to continue working for Morris, engraving ornamental borders and floriated initials, and the title pages for many of the Kelmscott Press books, including The Recuyell (see note 2 below), Reynard the Foxe, Maud, Keats, and Hand and Soul. For printer's proofs of these, and of other engravings by Keates for Morris, see Keates's Album. For Morris and Keates after August 1892, see letter no. 2066; and also Volume IV. MS: 1

2 If Keates was the recipient and the year of this letter was 1892, the block and the proof to which Morris refers may have been for ornamental initials or woodcut borders for The Recuyell.

2024 · T o JENNY M O R R I S

Kelmscott House,

Upper Mall, Hammersmith August 12, 1892 Dearest o w n child I really have a tale t o tell you this time, a tale beginning almost from the m o m e n t I took my leave of you. For (ch) Cockerell & I went o u r ways & I took my paper hanging design along 1 and it was laid o n t h e space betwixt the b o x and t h e body. Lo w h e n we getting near Paradise Farm, says Cockerell, 'have y o u got your paper hanging?' Says I did I take it? Says h e yes, I p u t it d o w n there. Well! it was gone. T h e good Cocker­ ell offered t o get d o w n & seek it which of course I would n o t allow; so we drove back (I was very good) & lo! there it lay o n the road just where one turns off from Kelmscott: and so we picked it u p and drove off to the station & just caught t h e train, t h o u g h we saw it c o m e in. I h o p e Joe is n o n e the worse for the bustling we gave him. This is the e n d of the tale. It was a beautiful day yesterday, and is rather finer today I think, and quite hot, w i n d S.W or thereabout I have been in t o w n today, to Oxford Street, where they were very pleased with the n e w design. Yesterday I was very busy, but Walker & Ellis helped m e to spend the evening, & I saw May in t h e morning, & thought h e r looking better, though n o t fleshy Ellis is having his ears looked to this time: as I went d o w n B o n d St I saw

[ 427 ]

LETTERS

OF W I L L I A M

B l a c k t h o r n pattern.

[ 428 ]

MORRIS

1892 / L E T T E R

2024

him going into his nephew's shop, 2 & followed him in and had lunch with him, & we have just driven d o w n here in a cab. Walker is to come to dinner (to talk printing) this evening. T h e garden still looks very bright & pretty, though a little burned. T h e grapes are really wonderful. Ah! I have forgotten the quinces I must go out and look so that I may make my report. There are a g o o d many left on, but they don't seem to grow fast. T h e m e n are hard at w o r k painting & cleaning and have got on well with the dining-room; and it will certainly look very nice & clean. T h e press is all right; and we are getting on so fast that we shall soon have to begin Reynard the Fox. 3 We have printed off 2 sheets of Mcails b o o k now. 4 There my o w n dear is all the news. I do so wish I were with you this lovely weather. I h o p e Jack is all right & is going to stay on till I come next Thursday. 5 Best love, darling, to you & M o t h e r Your o w n WM. MS: BL, Add. MSS. 45340. 1 Probably the Blackthorn design, one of two completed in 1892 (the other was the Bachelor's Button). Clark says (p. 17) of the Blackthorn: "This is perhaps the supreme example of Morris's ability to combine a number of different plant growths (. . . five) within an exceptionally complex geometric structure (a net built up on a vertical 'turnover' pattern)." On August 8, during his stay at Kelmscott Manor, Cockerell (see letter no. 1922, n. 13) wrote in his Diary: "Spent the morning and part of the afternoon in washing in a blue background to an elaborate new wall paper design of W.M.'s." See illustration, p. 428. 2 Presumably Morris means the bookshop at 29 New Bond Street, once occupied by Ellis himself and now taken over by his nephew Gilbert Ifold Ellis (see Volume II, letter no. 1118, n. 1). 3 The History of Reynard the Foxe, by William Caxton, was to be the tenth book issued by the Kelmscott Press. The text was edited by H. H. Sparling and was based on William Caxton's translation from the Dutch (1481; 2d ed. 1488 or 1489). Printed as a large quarto, in Troy type, the book has a woodcut title designed by Morris and engraved by C. E. Keates (see letter no. 2023, n. 1). Dated December 15, 1892, it was issued January 25, 1893. Quaritch was the publisher. See Cockerell, "List," pp. 152-53; and Peterson, Bibliog., pp. 29-31. 4 Morris refers to the Kelmscott edition of J. W. Mackail's Biblia Innocentium, the full title of which reads: Biblia Innocentium: Being the Story of God's Chosen People before the Coming of Our Lord Jesus Christ upon Earth, Written Anew for Children by J. W. Mackail, Sometime Fellow of Balliol College, Oxford. The ninth book issued from the Press, it was first to be printed in octavo. It was dated October 22, issued December 29, 1892, and sold by Reeves and Turner. The publisher's name was not indicated in the book, but Peterson quotes (Bibliog., p. 28) from a letter Sparling wrote to Peter Payne, December 29, 1892: "The name and address of publishers [Reeves and Turner] were omitted from the colophon, though I do not quite know for what reason. It was probably caused by some arrangement made by Mr. Mackail or some mistake between him and Mr. Morris." (MS. Balliol College Library). Of interest also is the following note by Peterson (p. 28): "The Kelmscott edition

[ 429 ]

LETTERS

OF WILLIAM

MORRIS

was to have been illustrated with approximately two hundred wood-engravings designed by Burne-Jones, of which twenty-five designs were completed. These—as redrawn by Robert Catterson-Smith—were published in The Beginning of the World: Twenty-five Pictures by Edward Burne-Jones (1902)." 5 J . H. Middleton. The identification is confirmed by a reference in Blunt's Unpublished Diary to Middleton's presence at Kelmscott Manor on August 11, 1892: "Morris is unfor­ tunately away, but Mrs. Morris and Jenny are here, and John Henry Middleton." Of no further relevance to Middleton, but an illumination of Kelmscott Manor at the time that Morris writes to Jenny, is the rest of the passage: "We slept together, Mrs. Morris and I, and she told me things about the past which explain much in regard to Rossetti. Ί never quite gave myself,' she said, 'as I do n o w ' " (see JM to WSB, p. 69).

2025

· RECIPIENT U N K N O W N

Kelmscott H o u s e ,

U p p e r Mall, H a m m e r s m i t h August 14 [1892?] 1 Dear Madam I regret that I C a n n o t make use of y o u r designs for initial letters, as I do all that sort of thing myself. I am Dear M a d a m Yours truly WMorris MS: LeMire Coll. 1 There is no conclusive reason for placing this letter in 1892. The other possible years are 1893, 1894, and 1895. However, in 1894 and 1895 Morris was at Kelmscott Manor on August 14, and in 1893 he seems also to have been there on that date.

2026 · T o JENNY MORRIS

Kelmscott House, Upper Mall, Hammersmith August 15, 1892

Dearest o w n Jenny Our

letters I suppose will cross o n c e m o r e : thank you my dear for

yours, & y o u r tale, w h i c h was better than mine. Magnusson ( D ) duly came o n Saturday, & we worked all the afternoon & evening (with inter­ vals of Ellis) and all yesterday till 5 p.m. I was tired e n o u g h w h e n it was over, but m u c h relieved w i t h having d o n e it.

1

I have b e e n w o r k i n g hard this spell, my dear, and shall be so glad to c o m e to you o n Thursday. I am d o i n g n o w my frontispiece for the R e cuyels, 2 and h o p e to finish it on Wednesday. All is well at the press, but we shall be a little slack next week, as t w o of the m e n are going t o take

[ 430 ]

1892

I LETTER

2027

a holiday. As it happens this is n o t very inconvenient. We have had bright sunny weather all the time except Saturday afternoon, when it rained a(t) bit. B u t there has been much wind: and last night it blew quite a gale from the S.W. There were a good many pears o n those high trees at the back of the greenhouse, but they were all blown off and smashed except a few which I have set Wass & J o h n n y 3 to gather if they can. Said pears are rather nice when they are ripe. Wass has brought m e in some of those big red plums today & I ate two of them; they were quite nice. Walker dines with m e tete a tete tonight, & tomorrow I go to Uncle Neds to dinner. I lectured last night (in o u r place) 4 & May & Harry were with m e at supper; I thought May looking much better. I am quite well, & so far have had rather a good time. I am aware that this letter is a scrubby one. B u t y o u said once that you liked even scrubby ones my o w n , so kindly accept it and also my best love. Best love to Mother. I hope she is the better for the warmer weather, & that Jack 5 is pleased to see the slate colour, as he calls English blue sky. Goodbye o w n darling Your loving father WM. MS: BL, Add. MSS. 45340. 1 They were at work on the first volume of the Heimskringla. 2 The Recuyell has no frontispiece, and Morris means the title page. The block for the engraved title was cut by C. E. Keates, who seems to have completed his work at the beginning of October. See Peterson, Bibliog., p. 26. 3 Possibly the children of servants at Kelmscott House. 4 LeMire (p. 286) gives only this letter as his source of information that Morris lectured to the Hammersmith Socialist Society on August 14. No other evidence of the talk seems to have survived. 5 J. H. Middleton (letter no. 2024 and n.5).

2027 · T o CHISWICK P R E S S

Kelmscott House,

Upper Mall, Hammersmith August 16 [1892] Mr. Sparling tells m e that you have n o copy of the Saga—in this case there must be some copy (a considerable lot) lost. I have sent you everything u p to p. 95 of the Tryggvi-Sag. 1 Chap: 85 and the last proof I have is in Chap 26. H o w can this be accounted for? nearly 60 p.p. of copy? W Morris [ 431 ]

LETTERS

OF W I L L I A M

MORRIS

William Broadbent, c. 1895.

MS: Bodleian. 1 Morris refers to "The Story of King Olaf Tryggvison." It was the sixth (and last) saga included in the first volume of the Heimskringla.

[ 432 ]

1892

/ LETTER

2028 · T o PHILIP SPEAKMAN W E B B

2028 Kelmscott

August 19 [1892] M y dear Fellow Your letter got here o n Wednesday, but I did n o t come here till yesterday (Thursday) after post-time; so this is the first post I could answer it by. I will see oxford St about the piano-job next week, but in the meantime I have written to Mr. R . Smith (F. is away) 1 by this same post, briefly telling him what the state of the case is and—in short calling him off w o r rying Kate. 2 O f course neither they n o r our client k n o w the state of the case, the latter n o t in the least. H e has had I believe a jury-piano awaiting the pretty one, and is rich enough to have a dozen if he wants 'em. His only hardship is to be kept out of the enjoyment of the beautiful one, but of course that cannot be helped; and indeed I fear that it is hardly a hardship to him, whereas he probably doesn't care for either that or any other form of beauty. However he seems a good tempered sort of chap, & if necessary I will see h i m myself and explain as much as may be necessary to h i m . I am coming u p to town next Thursday again & will make a point of seeing Kate & getting her to show m e the piano; if that would be pleasant to her. D o you think Broadbent 3 is the best man to see her? W h a t is his speciality? (Does'nt) Isn't the right man some one w h o understands hysteria, which, as I have heard say, simulates often other forms of disease, so closely as to deceive really experienced persons? 4 I (write) make this note in the dark, so to say, & quite for your private notice. O f course I understand well h o w averse she would be to seeing anybody else. Well I hope to see you next Thursday. All pretty well here. T h e day clearing lovelily this afternoon after yesterdays gloom & closeness. Yours affectionately William Morris V&A. Morris may be saying that he wrote to Robert Smith because Frank Smith was away. If so, it is possible that Frank was the brother to whom he usually wrote, and that most of the previous letters to "Smith," the given name not specified, were addressed to Frank. See, for example, letter no. 1959; and Volume II, letter no. 1323. 2 Kate Faulkner, who was decorating a piano for Morris and Co., had previously painted them for the firm (see Anscombe, p. 22; ACES Catalogue, 1888, p. 142; and Marsh, p. 220). At this time she was ill and finding it difficult to proceed with the work in hand. On August 16, 1892, Webb wrote to Morris; ". . . Oxford Street has felt obliged to put some pressure on Kate as to the time when she will be able to finish the piano, which is surely a ferocious one in this case. I roughly measured the work done . . . last night, and came to the conclusion that the rest . . . could not be done before another 10 months have slipped by. Kate began it last October, and the work has been going on steadily through all the hard MS:

1

[ 433 ]

LETTERS

OF WILLIAM

MORRIS

disabilities of her state." Webb then referred to her need to house hunt (Kate Faulkner had to give up her Queen Square residence) and spoke again of her bad health. He continued: "I think the best way would be for Kate to go on with the work as long as she can, as the sudden cessation of it would be but an added stroke of pain, but this would depend on the temper of your client. If time is not of real importance, he could hire from Broadwood another piano till the decorated one is done" (MS. V&A, RCCEE 17.) 3 Sir William Henry Broadbent (1835-1907), the physician who was treating Kate. He had been a lecturer in medicine at St. Mary's Hospital, London, from 1871 to 1878, and had also done research in cancer, paralysis, and aphasia. He became Physician in Ordinary to the Prince of Wales in 1891, and was knighted in 1893. In 1896, it was he who confirmed that Morris was suffering from diabetes and complications (see Mackail, II, 323). For Morris's first reference to Broadbent in connection with himself see Volume IV, letter no. 2451. 4 Of interest is Morris's apparent awareness of conversion hysteria (and its symptoms), the illness that had the attention of Josef Breuer and Sigmund Freud about this time. It is unlikely that Morris knew their work. Ernest Jones credits (p. 27) poet and essayist Frederic William Henry Myers (1843—1901) with first making their investigations known in England, in an account delivered to a meeting of the Society for Psychological Research in April 1893, three months after the first Breuer-Freud article on the subject appeared in the Neurologisches Centralblatt (January 1893). (See E. Jones, The Life and Works of Sigmund Freud, II [New York: Basic Books, 1955].) Perhaps more apposite to the present letter, in August 1892 an International Congress of Experimental Psychology was meeting in London, and there were daily press reports of the lectures given. On August 2, 1892, The Times, for example, reported (p. 6) the inaugural address by Henry Sidgwick, the President, in which he "said they were glad to have so full a representation of the French hypnotists, and especially of the school of Nancy. For without desiring in the least to deprecate the value of the Salpetriere study of hypnotism as applied to hystero-epileptic patients, the broader lines on which the school of Nancy had worked were those which investigators in England—and he believed in Europe generally—had chiefly followed. . . ." Freud had studied with the leaders of both schools—Hippolyte Bernheim of Nancy; and Jean Martin Charcot of the Salpetriere School in Paris, and had translated the works of both (see Jones, Freud, I, 210-12). Finally, that Jenny had been an epileptic since 1876 meant that Morris had been consulting with her doctors over a period of many years; and it is perhaps likely that he had heard of conversion hysteria—and of research in France and Germany on the illness—from one of Jenny's doctors.

2029 · T o SYDNEY CARLYLE COCKERELL

Kelmscott

August 20 [1892] My I my was

dear Cockerell send enclosed with. This my 2nd day of this time. Beautiful day today laziness extreme: I could just manage to spoil o n e 'bloomer'—that all. 1 Yrs WM.

MS: Clark Library.

[ 434 ]

1892 I L E T T E R

2030

1

Possibly for The Golden Legend. On the holograph of this letter, Cockerell annotated "bloomer" as a "Design for Kelmscott Press initial." See also letter no. 1810, n. 9.

2030 · To EiRiKR

Manor House Kelmscott, Lechlade [August 24, 1892?]

MAGNUSSON

My dear Magnusson Thanks much for proofs & letter: I have looked at the visur in the portion of the Olaf the Holy 1 which you sent me, and (I) have tried a piece; but I find I cannot get on at all without the ordo verborum & dead literal trans: like you have given You see your verses are in a different style and even metre to mine, and yet having read them the metre and style won't get out of one's head, (this) and prevent me from writing the things in my way. I have now done all the visur for which you have given me translation in the Olaf Tryggr: Saga:2 would you kindly send me the rest, from chap. 90. (Halfred's Sword Stave)3 onwards and then I shall soon run through the rest of the Saga. By the way, I do not think we ought to translate o5al4 freehold:5 as I understand the matter; a freehold tenure belongs (purely) to the purely Feudal period and implies no individual ownership under the King who was the owner of all as God's vicegerent: all other free holders had to pay (servi) service directly or indirectly to the King. Was not this the very tenure which Fairhair6 had forced upon Norway. Of course I don't mean to say that that it runs on all fours with the later feudal holding; nor do I think the matter of tenures in the North, (and in England also before the Conquest) is free from (complexity) obscurity. Of course in modern times the tenure has has no relation to the feudal freehold: copyhold is the only vestige of feudality in our tenure & it is fast dissappearing7 The 03al land I suppose on the other hand to have been the tribal land which in the disintegration of tribal life which took place before Fair-hair's time had passed to the great lords and was held by them arbi-trarily, much as the Highland Chieftains have held the clanlands in Scotland since Dutch Bills time: 8 I think we had better use the word 'free' in any case which commits us to nothing Yours very truly William Morris I shall be in town on Saturday for a week. MS: Iceland. Extract published: MM, I, 460.

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OF W I L L I A M

MORRIS

1

The second volume of the Heimskringla (Vol. 4 of the Saga Library). For the first volume of the Heimskringla. See letter no. 2027, n. 1. 3 Morris refers to the eight-line poem, or song, near the conclusion of Chapter XC, in which Hallfred, the "Troublous-Skald," uses the word sword in every line but one, after the king commands that he make "a stave about the sword [he has given Hallfred] and let the sword come into every line." When the king comments on the omission, Hallfred answers, "Put there are three swords in one line" (the last line of the poem reads: "Of three swords am I worthy"). 4 Obal is translated as ancestral property, inheritance (in land), family homestead in Zoega's A Concise Dictionary of Old Icelandic (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1910). The word connotes also that there is no obligation to an overlord in the land tenure, though there is family obligation. 5 Freehold means land held for life or with the right to pass it on through inheritance. It is usually used to distinguish the tenure it describes from leasehold. 6 From "The Story of Harald Hairfair." 7 Copyhold, which was virtually abolished in 1894, means, in English law, land tenure that is less than freehold and that is proved by a written record in a manorial court. In the medieval period, manorial land being worked by a serf could be transferred with the lord's consent to anyone else, i.e., to another serf or to a freeman. The transfer would be noted in the lord's records and the person acquiring the land would receive a copy of the record. Hence, the term copyhold. In the nineteenth century copyhold was still applied to ownership obtained through transfer of land between two tenants on an estate. This system of landholding was originally outside the common law, and it was not until the fifteenth century that common law courts began to recognize copyhold. I am grateful to Joseph Biancalana for the explanation of the term as given here and also of obal in note 4 above. 8 William of Orange; i.e., after 1689. 2

2031 · T o ALFRED JOHN W Y A T T

August 28 [1892]

Dear Sir,1 T h a n k you for y o u r letter. I should be very pleased to w o r k with you if we could hit u p o n some plan together. I h o p e to be in C a m b r i d g e some time this a u t u m n w h e n I could have the pleasure of seeing you; I shall also be in t o w n this day week (in the afternoon I shall be at home) but I should n o t like to ask you to come all the way from C a m b r i d g e to see me, t h o u g h I should be very pleased to have some talk together. I do n o t think I should be able to set to work at once, so full as my hands are of work: but my h o p e is to tackle Beowulf, w h i c h n o one can appreciate in the present versions I think. 2 O f course I am well aware of the great difficulty of dealing w i t h it because every word w h i c h it is necessary to substitute for the old one (every word that is w h i c h has not its exact equivalent in m o d e r n English) must be weakened and almost destroyed. Still as the language is a different language from m o d e r n English and n o t merely a different form of it, it can, I would h o p e be translated and n o t paraphrased

[ 436 ]

1892 / L E T T E R 2032 merely. Anyhow I intend to try if I can get anyone to help m e w h o knows Anglo-Saxon (as I do not) and could also set m e right as to the text and its grievous gaps. I should much like to know what you think of the adventure. I am Dear Sir Yours truly William Morris TEXT: MM, I, 493-94. Published: Henderson, Letters, 351. 1 Alfred John Wyatt (1861-1935), who had received his B.A. from Christ's College, Cambridge, the previous year. He was to become an examiner in the Medieval and Modern Languages Tripos, and a tutor in English for the London B.A. honors, and for the M.A. examinations. He was also the editor of several Anglo-Saxon texts, including Old English Riddles (1912), and a modern English prose rendering of Beowulf (1894), possibly based on the one he prepared for Morris (see note 2 below). 2 At this time Morris planned a metrical version of Beowulf. Since he was not an AngloSaxon scholar, he asked Wyatt to prepare a prose translation, to help him in following the original, and he also arranged to read through the original with Wyatt. Mackail writes (II, 284): "The plan of their joint labours [was] settled in the autumn of 1892. Mr. Wyatt began to supply Morris with his prose paraphrase in February, 1893" (see Volume IV, letter no. 2111, and Morris worked at his version through the year, reading it to Burne-Jones "regularly on Sunday mornings in the summer."

2032 · T o JENNY MORRIS

Kelmscott House

Upper Mall, Hammersmith August 29, 1892 Dearest darling Child I have been getting o n comfortably and have been quite well. Yesterday (it was a beautiful afternoon) I dined with May & Harry; and after dinner we sat out a doors & watched the tide coming u p & the boats going about. (So you see we have a river as well as you.) 1 B u t presently I felt sleepy, and lay back in a garden chair, and so did May, and w e meditated for o n e minute & then went to sleep, and slept for ½ hour. They came in to supper to me afterwards after lecture. 2 We have had lots of rain these last 3 days, & both yesterday & today it looked at 8 a.m. as if it would rain all day: but somehow it has cleared up, and it is n o w (3.30) a beautiful afternoon. I have done a good deal to the interminable, 3 but nothing else except watch the printing of the cuts; they are n o w after some difficulties getting on with Adam & Eve & will finish it tomorrow, and on Wednesday b e fore I go I shall see a proof of the Paradise. 4

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LETTERS

OF W I L L I A M

MORRIS

"Angels W e l c o m i n g Saints i n t o Paradise," illustration by E d w a r d B u r n e - J o n e s , w o o d c u t b o r d e r by Morris, for the Kelmscott Press edition of The Golden Legend, 1892.

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2033

I rather expect to bring Mr. Murray with me on Wednesday but he is not quite sure whether he will be able to come. Please tell your Mother. My dear I am to see you so soon that I will make no excuse for a short letter today: especially as I must now go and have a look at the printers. Best love my own child to you and your mother from Your loving father William Morris MS: BL, Add. MSS. 45340. 1 Jenny was at Kelmscott Manor. 2 The Hammersmith Socialist Record 11 (August 1892) lists (p. 4) R. A. Muncey as scheduled to deliver a lecture on August 28 but gives no title for the talk. 3 The Golden Legend. 4 A reference to the two Burne-Jones illustrations for The Golden Legend. The first depicts Adam, Eve, and Michael in the Garden of Eden; and the second shows angels welcoming saints into Paradise (see illustration, p. 438).

2033 · T o CHISWICK P R E S S

Kelmscott House, U p p e r Mall, H a m m e r s m i t h September 3 [1892]

I send N O P Q R 1 for press: but I want M 2 back (sent to you Thursday) to make an alteration on P 173. 3 If it is worked I must have a revise:4 please get with setting up the copy in hand. WM. MS: Bodleian. 1 Of the first volume of the Heimskringla (see letter no. 2003 and n. 1). 2 Signature M begins with p. 161 and ends with p. 176. The chapters contained in the signature are part of "The Story of Hakon the Good," which begins on p. 147 and ends on p. 193. 3 On p. 173 are the conclusion to Chapter XX ("Battle at Ogvaldsness") and the beginning of Chapter XXI ("Law-Making of King Hakon"). On p. 173 are two poems (the first begins on p. 172) that are part of Chapter XX. Given Morris's concern with the need for proper translation of Icelandic metaphors (see for example letter no. 2030), it is likely that the alteration he wished to make here (even if the Chiswick Press had already made proof corrections) was in one of the two poems. 4 "Worked" presumably refers to the changes made by the printer in the first set of proofs (i.e., the equivalent of galley proofs) and "the revises," to the resulting new proofs (i.e., page proofs) sent back to the author for a final review.

[ 439 ]

L E T T E R S OF WILLIAM M O R R I S 2034 · T o JENNY M O R R I S

Kelmscott House,

Upper Mall, Hammersmith September 5 [1892] M y o w n darling Child T h a n k you for writing (to) so nicely to m e : only I hope it did not give 1 you m u c h trouble. I am off o n the Wayzgoose by 9 ο clock, and the day seems likely to be very fine, though it will be cold in the evening: yesterday I went to Uncle Neds in m o r n i n g & saw C r o m ; I then dined with May & Harry in company with Walker and Murray. Went t o the Lecture in the evening, where a Yankee spoke, 2 and gave an amusing lecture concerning his native country to which he was nowise complimentary. N o w m y dear I must stop as I have to write a line to your M o t h e r about Ellis coming & then it will be about time for me to start. So with best love goodbye till Wednesday. Your loving father William Morris MS: BL, Add. MSS. 45340. 1 A Wayzegoose is an annual festival held in summer by the employees of a printing firm and consisting of a dinner and an excursion into the country. Originally, it meant an enter­ tainment provided by a master printer for his workmen "about Bartholowmewtide" (24 August), marking the beginning of the season of working by candlelight. After the Kelmscott Press was established, a Wayzegoose was held annually, Morris and May Morris joining in. There was a dinner at a hotel in or near London, and the printers "celebrated with a lengthy programme of toasts, songs, and recitations." See Peterson, History, p. 182; and p. 183 (for the bill for the 1894 outing). 2 On Sunday, September 4, 1982, at a meeting of the Hammersmith Socialist Society, Henry Gaylord Wilshire (1861-1927) spoke on "The American Revolution, No. 2." See Ham. Soc. Rec, 12 (September 1892), p. 4.

2035 · T o EMERY WALKER

Kelmscott House,

Upper Mall, Hammersmith [September 6, 1892?]1 M y dear Walker Perhaps this will do: (the S however is bad) (better now) and the Adam is rather cramped u p . 2 B u t perhaps Mr. H o o p e r can set it right, & make it more elegant. I helped myself out of that piece of Ludovico, 3 which by the by is more than halfway towards blackletter. M r . H o o p e r can have it to help h i m if he likes take care it don't run d o w n hill 4 Yours W Morris I think it is m u c h better 5

[ 440 ]

1892 / L E T T E R

2035

? Frederick Startridge Ellis, drawing by E. WyIy Grier, c. 1889.

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LETTERS

OF W I L L I A M

MORRIS

MS: Texas. 1 The dating of this letter is based on Cockerell's Diary entry for September 6, 1892, in which he writes in part: "Went to show a book to Walker. Found him with W M . who took me in to see the Kelmscott Press. Saw proofs of the newly cut frontispiece to John Ball 2 A reference to the spacing of letters in the lines of verse included in the frontispiece of A Dream ofJohn Ball. The verse reads: "When Adam delved / And Eve span I Who was then the / Gentleman." 3 Vincentino Ludovico degli Arrighi, a sixteenth-century Italian writing master. Peterson identifies (Bibliog., p. 18) the "piece" referred to by Morris in the present letter as Arrighi's Il Modo (1526); and the Sotheby Catalogue (1898) lists (lot 256) Il Modo as part of a larger volume on calligraphy, made up of four Renaissance writing manuals bound as a single volume. For a discussion of this volume (now located in Kelmscott Manor) and Morris's use of it as a model for calligraphy, see Fairbank, pp. 54—55. 4 It is unclear what Morris means, but possibly Hooper was being given license to rearrange the lines of the verse into four (as the 1892 version was in fact arranged); and Morris was concerned that if each of the four were progressively shorter a slantline from top to bottom and going right to left would be created by the new line endings. For a comparison of the two versions (1888 and 1892), see illustration, p. 426. 5 By "it" Morris presumably means the most recent proof of the frontispiece (see note 1 above).

2036 · T o FRANK K I T Z

Kelmscott House, Upper Mall, Hammersmith September 7, 1892

M y dear Kitz I have written to Mr. M o o r e 1 by this post telling h i m that y o u w o r k e d with us for about 2 years (is that right) and that you worked satisfactorily and k n e w y o u r business: 2 also that we parted (from) with you because we were reducing our staff. I have asked Mr. M o o r e . . . anybody w h o refers to h i m . 3 Wishing you luck I am Yours fraternally William Morris MS fragment: Bass Coll. 1 The manager of the works at Merton Abbey at this time. See letter no. 1992. 2 This is the first evidence in the letters that Kitz had worked for Morris at some point in the past (Boos notes [Diary, p. 65] he had done so in the late 1880s). In 1885 Morris had asked Cobden-Sanderson if he could give Kitz employment (see Volume II, letter no. 1053). Possibly Morris subsequently hired Kitz because he had remained unemployed. 3 It is quite likely Kitz had asked Morris himself for a letter of reference. If in fact he had, Morris seems only to have been willing to have Moore (not the manager when Kitz was there) give a favorable response if asked. Morris's not volunteering to write a reference

[ 442 ]

1892 / L E T T E R

2038

himself or to take a more active part in helping Kitz, in 1892, may mean that in fact Morris had not been satisfied with him as an employee. The ellipses indicate that a part of the letter is missing.

[September 15, 1892?)1

2037 · T o [ELLIS AND ELVEY?]

Dear Sirs I will keep the Peter Shoeffer, 2 which is a pretty book, & pleases m e much. You may also send m e the little Jenson b o o k (Aretinus de Bello Gothico 3 I think it was) and the little b o o k with the curious type like a MS. Gerard de Flandria 4 was it not? As to the others I will call and see ( i f ) some of 5 MS fragment: Berger Coll. 1 I have found it impossible to date this letter with any confidence and have chosen September 15, 1892, only because Cockerell in his Diary entry for that date records visiting Morris and seeing a SchofFer Morris had acquired—presumably recently. 2 Ellis's Valuation includes seven books printed by Peter SchofFer. 3 Possibly De Bello Italico, trans, by Brunus Aretinus, which Nicolas Jenson printed at Venice in 1471. Ellis's Valuation shows Morris had purchased a copy of this edition (now in the PML). 4 Possibly one of the following two books included in the Sotheby Catalogue (1898): lot 474: a first edition of Petrus Haedus's De Amoris Generibus, in Roman letter, printed at Trevisa by Gerard de Flandria in 1492. Or, lot 505: Laudivii Equitis, printed in "a small neat" Roman letter at Treviso by Gerard de Flandria, n.d. 5 The first page of Morris's letter ends here and the rest of it is missing.

2038 · T o JENNY M O R R I S

Kelmscott House,

Upper Mall, Hammersmith September 16 [1892] Friday Dearest o w n darling As I am going to be o n business in town today I will write at once (9 am) Yesterday was a most lovely day all day long, with a good deal of wind though. Today is pleasant & quite warm but n o t so brilliant. Tell your m o t h e r that, n o t seeing my way to the duck, I sent it (not) in to May, w h o I have n o doubt made good use of it. All is going well at the Press: we shall have the Recuils ready for the binders in a m o n t h , 1 and meantime shall get o n with Reynard. 2 As to the garden it is much as it was last time, except that the grapes are getting ripe:

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L E T T E R S OF WILLIAM

MORRIS

I shall hope to bring a few with m e w h e n I come down. T h e quinces are at last 'wisibly swelling', and there are a good many of them. I had letter from Bill 3 yesterday morning (we m e t the postman) & he said he had sent me a book, which was kind of him. If you should have it sent to Kelmscott, it may as well wait my coming there. I think Walker will come to see us down there, but we have hot settled the time yet: he deserves something for missing the Italian trip. 4 Webb tells m e that Kate, w h o was much troubled at having to leave her house 5 (as I think I told you) has found another which is suitable, in a nook near the Foundling: 6 am glad of this, as it will take some worry off her. Well darling this is a short note, b u t I must n o w see to things, as I shall have a busy day, so goodbye with best love to dear you and dear Mother. Your loving father William Morris P. S. I did some (good) hours good work on the interminable 7 before I went to the antiscrape yesterday 8 MS: BL, Add. MSS. 45340. 1 The Recuyell of the Historyes of Troye. 2 The History of Reynard the Foxe (see letter no. 2024, n. 3). 3 Probably William De Morgan (see Volume I, letter no. 356, n. 3). 4 Morris in saying Walker missed "the Italian trip" refers to a tour of Italy planned by the Art Workers' Guild and then abandoned "because of cholera" in Italy (see Shaw, Diaries, II, 652). 5 See letter no. 2028, n. 2. 6 The Foundling Hospital, established by Thomas Coram (1668-1751), was in Guildford Street. 7 The Golden Legend. 8 In his Diary Cockerell indicates that after the S.P.A.B. meeting on September 15, he had supper with Morris and Webb and there was "talk about Munera Pulveris [Ruskin's treatise on political economy] etc."

2039 · T o R O B E R T REYNOLDS STEELE

Kelmscott House,

Upper Mall, Hammersmith [September 18, 1892?] My dear Steele (shall we drop mistering?) 1 Many thanks for the photo: of Lydgate, 2 which is a very good drawing and has a really portrait-look about it. I am n o w getting on with printing the Recueyl and it looks very well.

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1892 I L E T T E R

2040

H o p i n g that you will be in t o w n soon and that we shall meet. I am Yours very truly William Morris MS: BL, Add. MSS. 45345. 1 See letter no. 2015, n. 1. 2 John Lydgate (1370?-1451?), a monk of Bury St. Edmunds whose Troy Book was written between 1412 and 1420 and first printed in 1513. It is unclear why Steele had sent Morris a copy of a picture of Lydgate. It may simply have been because he was aware of Morris's current focus on medieval recounting of the fall of Troy. Although there is no apparent relevance to the present letter, it may be apposite to note that in 1894, Oskar Sommer wrote: "[A]s regards getting up and artistic execution, [the Kelmscott Recuyell] is all that can be desired; but from my point of view, that of the critic and philologist, it is absolutely without any value. . . . If Mr. Morris was determined to make the Trojan War the subject of one of his beautiful books, why did he not select Lydgate's Troy-Book, so infinitely superior to 'The Recuyell,' which from a purely literary point of view, has no value whatever?" (quoted by Peterson, Bibliog., p. 26).

2040 · T o J O H N B R U C E GLASIER

Kelmscott House, Upper Mall, Hammersmith September 19, 1892

M y dear Glasier Many thanks for your letter: I have by n o means forgotten my promise; but you r e m e m b e r that I told you I could n o t come till late in the year, and n o w I must say definitely that I cannot c o m e till well o n in N o v e m ber: 1 my family affairs prevent m e d o i n g so. 2 Again you must n o t engage m e for m o r e places than Glasgow & Edinburgh as I cannot stay longer than 3 days I h o p e that this will n o t be a dissappointment: but in any case (we) I cannot help it. We are rather h u m - d r u m here, but hold together. I wish we could do more, but do n o t see how. Best l u c k — Yours fraternally William Morris MS: Walthamstow. 1 In the event, Morris did not lecture in Scotland in 1892, though he scheduled a talk for November 25 and then canceled it because of a crisis in Jane Morris's health. See letters no. 2050; and no. 2054 and n. 3. 2 Probably a reference to Jane Morris's health (see letter no. 2053 and n. 1).

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L E T T E R S OF WILLIAM 2041

MORRIS

· T o J . & J. L E I G H T O N

[WALTER JAMES LEIGHTON?]

Kelmscott

September 23 [1892] Dear Sir T h e G.L. has come to hand, & looks very well: the only serious blemish is that they have pasted in up the end sections of the book, which must be avoided in the mass of the book; or they will be spoiled. 1 T h e b o o k lies open well but is a little 'crinkley' here and there: Kindly caution them about this. T h e whole b o o k looks very well indeed. Thank you for sending m e the Vitas Patrum; but I do n o t quite like it; it has been terribly washed and humbugged about; and there are at least eleven leaves in facsimile, n o t two only as the cutting specifies. O f course it is a very interesting book. Will it be time if I bring it u p to you next week, or shall I send it back by post? I rather dread the latter. H o p i n g all will go well with the G. L and thanking you for your trouble y o u have taken in the matter, I am Yours truly William Morris MS: Yates Coll. 1 Morris refers to the binding of The Golden Legend done by the firm of J. & J. Leighton: he seems to have received from Leighton a first specimen copy of a bound volume and Morris's directive presumably concerns the binding of the remaining copies. His concern with the end papers is explained by Peterson (Bihliog., p. xxxv): "One peculiarity of the books [issued by the Kelmscott Press] may be summarized in this pronouncement by Cobden-Sanderson (whose ideas much influenced the Kelmscott Press binding style): 'The end papers . . . should . . . not be pasted on; they also should be sewn with the rest of the book. And for this purpose additional sections of plain paper should be supplied to the binder by the publisher to be bound up at the beginning and end of the volume' ('Bookbinding: Lecture by T.J. Cobden-Sanderson', in Transactions of the National Association for the Advancement of Art and Its Application to Industry [1890], p. 467). Occasionally the first or last leaf of an ordinary gathering was made to serve as a pastedown."

2042 · T o J . & J. LEIGHTON [WALTER JAMES LEIGHTON?]

Kelmscott

September 27 [1892] Dear Sir Thanks for your note. As to the Turrecremata, 1 I will of course pay for it on delivery, but must ask you to keep it for a few days, as I have n o cash to speak of at my bankers: I will call o n you this day week at latest. I think there are 12 vellums of the J o h n Ball: 2 if so please send Mr. [ 446 ]

1892 / L E T T E R 2043 Reeves 7 & keep the rest for me. Would you please get the following printed as a slip and p u t in the copies of G.L. 3 If this book (is) be b o u n d it (may) should be cut o n the fore-edge and tail, but n o t so much so as to touch the shortest leaves; the top edge should not be cut. In n o case should the book be pressed, as that would destroy the ' i m pression' of the type and thus injure the appearance of the printing. By the way it is the Cancels4 that are printed o n the bigger & whiter paper: I don't think it matters at all (excep) especially as the book is n o t bound. Yours truly William Morris MS: McMinn Papers. 1 Possibly the copy of Meditations, by the Spanish Dominican monk Johannes de Turrecremata (1388-1468), printed at Numeister in 1479. The book was advertised (p. 370) by J. & J. Leighton in the September 17, 1892, issue of The Athenaeum. 2 There were eleven copies on vellum (see Cockerell "List," p. 150). 3 See letter no. 2041 and n. 1. 4 By "Cancels" Morris presumably means what would today be called cancellantia (sing. cancelans)—i.e., leaves containing corrections, inserted in place of excised ones. For additional information, see Fredson Bowers, Principles of Bibliographic Description (Princeton, 1949), pp. 243-44.

2043 · T o EDWARD BURNE-JONES

Kelmscott

September 29 [1892?] Dearest N e d I am coming to Hammersmith tomorrow: so I shall come on Sunday unless you tell me not. All well Your affectionate William Morris MS:

PML.

[ 447 ]

L E T T E R S OF WILLIAM

MORRIS

2044 · T o J. & J. LEIGHTON [WALTER JAMES LEIGHTON?]

Kelmscott

September 29 [1892] Dear Sir I return slip with an addition: 1 do not understand the technical words of the binding trade; but I should have thought that if they did n o t touch the shortest leaves they could n o t hurt the (bo) borders. I am coming to town tomorrow (Friday) and if I do n o t see you at Hammersmith before, I will call at your place about 4 p m , as I shall be returning here next Wednesday: however if it were necessary to see you I could r u n up any day. W i t h many thanks for your kind attention and promptitude, I am Yours truly William Morris MS: Bodleian. 1 For The Golden Legend (see letter no. 2042). The final wording of the slip that was placed in the book 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."

2045 · T o JENNY MORRIS

Kelmscott House,

Upper Mall, Hammersmith October 1, 1892 Dearest o w n Child This will be a very shabby little letter as I am writing it in a m o m e n t snatched from my work with Magnusson. 1 N o r can I tell you any particular news. I did buy that hat: Also last night I beat your mother out and at draughts. Item the quinces are yellowing at last. It rained very heavily this m o r n i n g but has been quite beautiful since 12.30. I hope you have had a little sun. T h e press was little stopped for lack of proofs this week end, but will be all right o n Monday. 2 M y room has a kind of river of J o h n Balls in it at present, so I shall be able to bring you one o n Wednesday. 3 Walker is looking hard-worked & anxious again. I hope he will be able to come down with m e . So my dear own Jenny goodbye for the present with best love from Your loving father William Morris MS: BL, Add. MSS. 45340.

[ 448 ]

1892 / L E T T E R

2045

Edward Burne-Jones and Margaret Mackail, c. 1892.

[ 449 ]

L E T T E R S OF WILLIAM

MORRIS

1

Reviewing proofs of Vol. 1 of the Heitnskringla. In progress was the printing of Reynard the Foxe and Biblia Innocentium (see letter no. 2024, notes 3 and 4, respectively). 3 A Dream of John Ball had been issued September 24. The presentation copy to Jenny Morris is dated October 28, 1892 (see Peterson, Bibliog., p. 18), that is, more than three weeks later than October 5, 1892 (the Wednesday to which Morris refers). The inscription reads: "to Jenny / with W M's best love I Oct 28th 1892." 2

2046 · T o CHARLES FAIRFAX M U R R A Y

Kelmscott House,

Upper Mall, Hammersmith Sunday [October 2, 1892]1 My dear Murray I am at h o m e if you will come in today; I have your John Balls & Can impart the same. 2 Dinner at 1.30 Yours WM MS: Texas. 1 On the holograph the date has been added by a hand other than Morris's, presumably Murray's. 2 It is unclear why Morris uses the plural; perhaps Murray had ordered both a paper and a vellum copy. Peterson lists no presentation copies inscribed to Murray (see Bibliog., p. 18).

2047 · T o BERNARD Q U A R I T C H

Kelmscott,

Lechlade October 7, 1892 Dear Sir Thanks for your letter & remittance. 1 I am glad you like the boarding oftheG.L.2 I must needs say that, looking at the finished book, I am proud of it, and of having pushed it through so promptly. It is just 2 years ago that Ellis & I began talking about doing it in this very house where I am writing. 3 H o p i n g that the other works that you are likely to publish for me will be as successful, I am Yours very truly William Morris P.S. I am very sorry that I shall n o t be able to be at your sale dinner: 4 R e

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1892

/

LETTER

2047

List at end of Vol. 3 of the Saga Library.

[ 451 ]

L E T T E R S OF WILLIAM

MORRIS

the new vol: of the Saga Library it is very nearly ready but (q) not quite.5 It will make about 400 p.p. The map we shall put off for a future vol: of Heimskringla6 The present vol: will have no notes or long preface, which will be relegated to the last vol.7 This one will only have beside the text a list of the metaphors in the scraps of Scaldic poetry, which we have thought necessary to translate as literally as possible.8 This first vol is of the greatest possible interest: mythologically, historically, and artistically. WM MS: Quaritch. 1 For The Golden Legend, delivered to Quaritch by October 4, 1892 (see Peterson, BibHog., p. 22). Since Morris was printer and Quaritch publisher, the remittance was payment to Morris for the printing and binding of the book. A receipt in Morris's hand, dated October 7, 1892, indicates that the total cost was £1350 for the 500 copies (MS. Bodleian, c. 436, fol. 184). For the agreement among Ellis, Morris, and Quaritch for The Golden Legend, see letter no. 1757 and notes 1—3. 2 A reference to the binding for The Golden Legend, in quarter holland (blue paper on boards), done by J. & J. Leighton. The title was printed in black on paper labels on the spines of the three volumes. For other discussion by Morris of this binding, see letter no. 2041 andn. 1. 3 See letter no. 1750 and n. 1. 4 In fact, Morris did attend the dinner, which was held on October 28, 1892. Peterson writes (Bibliog., p. 23) that on that day "at the Blue Posts Restaurant, Cork Street, there was a dinner to celebrate the publication of The Golden Legend. . . . The guests, in addition to Morris and Ellis, were Dr. F. J. Furnivall, Edward Gordon Duff, Joseph Knight, Dr. Richard Garnett, William Blaikie, William Michael Rossetti, Emery Walker, and C. F. Ellis." 5 Vol. 3 of the Saga Library (the first volume of the Heimskringla), published in February 1893. 6 In the event, the map of Norway was included (see letter no. 1967, n. 2; and also n. 7 below). 7 In the first volume of the Heimskringla, there is on an unnumbered page in the front matter a "Translator's Note," which reads: "As this work is to be published in four volumes, we think it best to keep the general body of Notes for the last; only printing in each volume an explanation of the metaphors contained in the staves of verse which occur in it." The note ends by referring to the presence in this first volume of the map of Norway, "with the names of the Saga period." As for the preface and other notes to which Morris refers, they do in fact comprise the fourth volume (Vol. 6 of the Saga Library), prepared by Magnusson and published in 1905. 8 The end material of each of the first three volumes of the Heimskringla is titled "Explanations of the Metaphors in the Verses." In the first volume, these notes occupy pp. 381 through 410. A note characteristically contains Morris's translation of a metaphor, the Icelandic original in quotation marks, and the literal meaning of the words comprising the figure, as well as other amplifying information at times.

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1892 I L E T T E R

2048 Kelmscott House, 1 Upper Mall, Hammersmith

2048 · T o G E O R G E BERNARD SHAW

October 7, 1892 M y dear Shaw Your only way of interviewing m e would be by c o m i n g d o w n here w h i c h I very sorry you can't do, if you really can't. 2 but to say truth I consider that I have piece of luck in n o t being a professional journalist any longer. Just think if I were still Editor of C o m m o n w e a l I should have had to write something about Tennyson. As it is I needn't and flatly, as you have guessed, I won't. I really d o n t k n o w don't k n o w what to say of him; and as I think you will agree the present is the worst time to say anything. D o n t you think Lord L o m e (out) o u g h t to be made Laureat? 3 Wouldnt that please all parties? I shall be d o w n here again in something less than a fortnight C o u l d n ' t you come then. Try. Yours truly William Morris MS: BL, Add. MSS. 50541. 1 Morris wrote this letter on his Kelmscott House stationery but his reference to "coming down here" indicates he wrote from Kelmscott Manor. 2 Apparently Shaw wanted to interview Morris about Tennyson, who had died on O c tober 6. As this letter suggests, an interview proved unfeasible and Shaw in the event seems not to have written about Tennyson at all: there is no indication of any article on Tennyson by Shaw at this time in Laurence, A Bibliography, or in Shaw's Diaries. Shaw may have hoped to elicit an opinion from Morris as to who should succeed Tennyson as Poet Laureate. Morris's joking recommendation of Lord Lome (see note 3 below), in concluding the letter, makes this possible. 3 John Douglas Campbell (1845-1914), who became the ninth duke of Argyll in 1900. Morris had previously referred to him slightingly (see Volume II, letter no. 1058 and n. 14), and Lord Lome was in fact the author of several volumes of verse. Apparently Morris's fancy was taken with the joke: Cockerell, in his Diary for October 13, records that at Gatti's, after an S.P.A.B. meeting, Morris again proposed Lord Lome for the laureateship. Also apposite is Cockerell's Diary entry for October 17: "[Morris] said he didn't see why the queen shouldn't choose her laureate just as much as her butler & that Sir Theodore Martin, being a courtier, would be a suitable man for the post." (Martin [1816-1909] was a popular author of humorous verse.) For serious discussion of a successor, and for Morris himself as a possible candidate for the laureateship, see letters no. 2050; no. 2057; and no. 2058, and notes to these letters.

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L E T T E R S OF WILLIAM 2049 · T o THACKERAY T U R N E R

MORRIS Kelmscott

October 7 [1892] M y dear Mr. Turner By Mr. Birchalls 1 wish, h e being away I went to see Inglesham 2 today, & find that the bell-turret has been mended & put u p again; and that the nave roof is nearly finished: they were nailing the boards o n the N side, & the S side (was) only lacked t w o c o m m o n rafters (new): all the rest of the work (fre) to the roof, piecing & mending had been done and as far as I could judge satisfactorily I noticed o n e of the old stones of the bell-cot lying o n the ground, which I thought might have been used; but I suppose that supplying its place with a n e w o n e was ordered by Mr. Micklethwaite: 3 anyhow the work to the bell-cot is done & cannot be undone. I should have said that all the new w o o d is English oak, and is left rough as it comes from the saw. Yours truly William Morris MS: S.P.A.B. Archives. 1 The Rev. Oswald Birchall. 2 The long-term restoration of the Church of St. John the Baptist in Inglesham, Wiltshire, which had begun in 1887, was not completed until 1901. Morris had gone to Inglesham in August (see letter no. 2021, n. 1). For a photograph of the church today, see Volume II, p. 581. 3 J. T Micklethwaite, the architect on the project.

2050 · T o J O H N B R U C E GLASIER

Kelmscott House,

Upper Mall, Hammersmith October 11 [1892] M y dear Glasier I must say n o to the art lecture: it is with the greatest difficulty that I can get to you at all, and I must cut it as short as I possibly can. 1 I understand that I am to lecture at Edinburgh o n the Saturday evening; so I shall start from London that morning & go back to London as early as I can on the Monday morning. I am the less troubled at n o t being able to give the art lecture as I am rather sick of putting matters before people which they cannot attend to under the Present state of things—let ' e m turn Socialists! W h a t a set of ninnies the papers are about the Laureateship, treating it with such absurd solemnity! 2 Bet you it is offered to Swinburne. Bet you he takes it.

[ 454 ]

1892 I L E T T E R 2 0 5 1 Let m e see w h a t is the date of the Saturday for the Edinburgh lecture? isnt it Nov. 26th and I c o m e to you o n the 27th? Yours fraternally William Morris MS: Walthamstow. Published: Henderson, Letters, 351-352. 1 This is the second letter to Glasier referring to a planned lecture visit to Scotland that in the event was canceled completely. See letters no. 2040 and n. 2; and no. 2054. 2 Like Morris himself, Swinburne was much written about as a possible successor to Tennyson as laureate. Of particular interest is W. B. Yeats's view, expressed (p. 53) in a letter to the editor of The Bookman (November 1892). After saying he thought Morris and Swinburne the likeliest candidates, he urged that the nature of the post be changed so that the laureate would no longer be required to praise the sovereign or to celebrate court affairs, but would be expected to write as a "poet of the people." Yeats continued: "Once do this in some conspicuous fashion, and the post will become the greatest honour any country could confer upon a man of letters, and neither Mr. Swinburne or Mr. Morris will find reasons to refuse it." And Yeats's conclusion is apposite to the discussion recorded in Morris's letters (see letters no. 2057 and no. 2058): "Either would make a worthy successor to Wordsworth and Tennyson, Morris the worthier of the two, perhaps, for he is still producing work scarce a whit less moving than were the songs and stories of his youth, while Mr. Swinburne has been these many days, if we consider his verse alone, too careful of the sound, too careless of the sense." (Yeats's letter is reprinted in full in Yeats, I, 324-26.)

2051

· T o J . & J. LEIGHTON

[WALTER JAMES LEIGHTON?]

Kelmscott House, Upper Mall, Hammersmith October 12, 1892

Dear Sir I enclose cheque for £ 1 5 0

please send m e a receipt for the Turre-

cremata 1 & credit the rest to general account, and I will send a cheque for the J.B, binding 2 w h e n I can get Reeves to settle. 3 I shall call o n the chance of seeing y o u some time tomorrow. Yours truly William Morris MS: Bodleian. 1 See letter no. 2042, n. 1. 2 A Dream of John Ball was bound in limp vellum (see Cockerell, "List," p. 150). 3 It is unclear why a payment from Reeves and Turner should bear on payment to Leighton for binding John Ball. Possibly Morris means that Reeves and Turner, as distributors of the book, were to send him (as proprietor of the Kelmscott Press) an agreed-upon share of earnings from the sale of the book; and that he would pay Leighton out of what he received.

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LETTERS

OF

WILLIAM

2052 · T o MACMILLAN AND C O .

MORRIS

Kelmscott House, Upper Mall, Hammersmith October 12, 1892

Dear Sirs I regret that I am unable to attend Lord Tennyson's funeral: 1 I have only this minute returned to town or I would have sent the card back before. W i t h many thanks for sending it to me. I am Dear Sirs Yours faithfully William Morris MS: BL. Add. MS. 61896. 1 Tennyson's funeral was to be held at Westminster Abbey on October 12. See also letter no. 2053 and n. 3.

2053 · T o J E N N Y M O R R I S

Kelmscott House, U p p e r Mall, H a m m e r s m i t h O c t o b e r 13 [1892]

Dearest o w n darling This will be a very brief note, as I am going to the doctors with your mother at 10. 1 She seems better, especially this morning, & sleeps very well. After I have left the doctor, I shall have to go about doing business all day, ending with anti-scrape. Weather looks a little unsettled and I can see the clouds drifting from the East. T h e garden is not quite done here but nearly. T h e quinces turning yellow. Annie has made some jelly from the M e r t o n ones & we are to have the others stewed. I had some yesterday: they were jolly good: so flavorous. D o you know that after you were gone to bed the other night I did quite a piece of the new big border, 2 & was so pleased with it, that I took it up to town with me in hopes of doing something to it, but I don't think shall be able. I see my name is in the paper as being invited to the funeral: I beg to state that I did not go there. 3 N o w o w n dear goodbye with best love from Your loving father William Morris MS: BL1 Add. MSS. 45340. 1 On October 12, 1892, Jane Morris wrote to Blunt: "It is not that Jenny is much worse (indeed she is as well as usual) but that my nerves have given way under the great pressure

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2054

of being continually in the house with her. Dr. R. Rouse says that if I don't make a change now, either to go away for the winter or at least for 3 or 4 months, I shall break down entirely, and pass beyond the help of any doctor—he begged to see my husband so as to impress him fully with my need for leaving—We are both going to call tomorrow when we shall be able to decide where to go and how soon—I believe he recommends Algiers to most of his patients" (JM to WSB, p. 70). In the event, after a troubled period in which she seems to have been much involved with Blunt, Jane Morris went to Bordighera, Italy, Morris accompanying her and staying on briefly (see letter no. 2054, n. 3). 2 Probably for the Kelmscott Press edition of The Well at the World's End. On October 17, Cockerell, who had accompanied Morris to Kelmscott Manor that day, recorded in his Diary: "W.M. busy on the 2nd of the 4 borders which he intends to have in The Well at the World's End. . . ." For The Well, see letters no. 1966, n. 4; and no. 2081, n. 1. 3 The Daily Chronicle, October 13, 1892, in fact, twice reported Morris's presence at the funeral. Describing the procession the Chronicle said (p. 4): "[I]t is gratifying to know that William Morris walked in the procession behind the dead man whose poetry he loved. . . . " And later, listing famous literary figures in attendance, the Chronicle, after describing George Meredith weeping, wrote (p. 5): "A not less conspicuous figure was that of William Morris, with his bright clear eyes and broad forehead."

2054 · T o J O H N B R U C E GLASIER

Kelmscott House,

Upper Mall, Hammersmith October 14 [1892] My dear Glasier I suppose our letters have crossed, as I wrote to you from Kelmscott about 3 day's ago. 1 Since then I am sorry to say the aspect of things has changed: for yesterday the Doctor told m e that my wife must go away for a time; 2 and I equally must take her away though I shall only be away for a week or so: 3 but unluckily her time of departure will pretty much hit off the date you have given m e for (ou) my visit. A n d even w h e n I come back, I shall n o t want to leave my daughter alone just after having been away from her a while. T h e fact is, my dear fellow, that at present the absolute duties of my life are summed up in the necessity for taking care of my wife and my daughter, both of w h o m in o n e way or other are in bad health: my work o f all kinds is really simply an amusement taken w h e n I can out of my duty time. This of course is quite private and confidential, but I want you to understand it, so that y o u may n o t think I am shirking. N o w what is to be done? I might be able to get to you a few weeks later than the appointed time; or I might not. Would it n o t be better to p u t it off til the spring w h e n my wife is back, and I hope better? 4 It is dismal to m e all round to have to write this letter; but I cannot help it. I may say that except for an engagement at Manchester next week 5

[ 457 ]

LETTERS

OF WILLIAM

MORRIS

which I can just keep I am k n o c k i n g off all lecturing except in o u r o w n place. Yours fraternally William Morris MS: Walthamstow. Extract published: E.P.T., 584. 1 See letter no. 2050. 2 They went to Bordighera, Italy (see letter no. 2053, n. 1). 3 They left London on November 15, 1892, and Morris returned alone on November 21. 4 Morris did not go to Scotland to lecture in the spring of 1893 either. 5 There is no record in LeMire of Morris having spoken in Manchester in October 1892. However, he did speak there on October 21, 1893 (see Volume IV, letter no. 2182 and n. 3). The day of the month conforms so well to what Morris says here that a question is raised as to whether this letter should in fact be dated 1893. What militates against such dating is the clear reference to a visit to a doctor (presumably Rouse) on October 13 and the supporting evidence of Morris's letter to Jenny (see letter no. 2053) in which the visit to the doctor is mentioned and which requires a dating of 1892 because of the reference to Tennyson's funeral.

2055 · T o THOMAS ARMSTRONG

Kelmscott House, Upper Mall, Hammersmith October 22 [1892]

M y dear Armstrong Many thanks for your letters & for writing about the Leicester House. 1 I have n o t seen it, but some of our people have, and they say there is m u c h left in it: panelled rooms chimney pieces ceilings &c: I fancy their suggestion is that it might be utilized somehow, if n o t for the actual school. A n y h o w it seems a piece of perversity to fix o n a site where there is already a building of any artistic value. Yours very truly William Morris MS: Case West. Res. 1 The building to which Morris refers was listed (p. 49) in the S.P.A.B. Annual Report for 1893 as the "Old House in the Newarke" (and was so described again in the Report for 1895, p. 69; in Leicester it was known as "Shipley Ellis House," after a former resident). At hand was an issue succinctly stated, from an S.P.A.B. viewpoint, in a letter by G. P. Bankart to an unknown recipient, dated September 7, 1892: "The Corporation of Leicester have just purchased for £7,000 a fine old House in 'the Newarke' which they are going to 'renovate' and turn into a 'School of Art & Technical School' for a few years till they can afford to pull it down & build a more extensive place! Goths!!" On 16 October, Armstrong had written to Morris, apparently in reply to an earlier letter of Morris's (not located), saying that he did not think the Department of Science and Art could do anything "to hold the hands of the Corporation of Leicester and save the old house. . . . " (It was in fact pulled

[ 458 ]

The Newarke House, Leicester, c. 1890.

down during the building of the School of Art in the 1890s, when its foundations were discovered to be arches of the crypt of a medieval church. These arches now survive as part of the basement of the Leicester Polytechnic, housed in what was the School of Art.) The present letter by Morris is presumably part of an ongoing correspondence about the building among several S.P.A.B. members. Cockerell, incidentally, forwarding Armstrong's letter to Thackeray Turner at Morris's request, referred to the building as the "Jacobean House at Leicester." I am grateful to Miss Cecily Greenhill for bringing to my attention the letters of Bankart, Armstrong, and Cockerell, which are in the S.P.A.B. Archives. I am indebted also to Mrs. Y. C. Courtney for the information about the name of the house and the history of its site from the 1890s onward. For the house as it appeared at the time of this letter, see illustration, above.

2056 · T o J. & J. LEIGHTON [ W A L T E R JAMES LEIGHTON?]

Kelmscott House, Upper Mall, Hammersmith October 24 [1892]

Dear Sir I find that the vellum & paper covers of the Recuyell curl up very m u c h , and I think that this will b o t h e r people. I still think some plan must be hit on w h i c h will avoid the pasting together of the paper and vellum w h i c h to my m i n d is w h a t causes the curling up.

[ 459 ]

L E T T E R S OF WILLIAM M O R R I S I shall be in t o w n n o w for some time & shall be glad to hear from you on your return Meantime your foreman has orders from m e to go on with the sewing. I suppose you will cut a stamp for lettering the (fr) back. T h e letters should be as big as they can be made. 1 Yours truly William Morris MS: McMinn Papers. 1 By "back" Morris means the spine. O n the spines of the two volumes of The Recuyell, the title (stamped in gold) reads simply "Troye," followed by " I " and " I I , " respectively.

2057 · F R O M A L E T T E R T O JAMES B R Y C E

[October 27,

1892]

I am a sincere republican, and therefore could not accept a post which would give m e even the appearance of serving a court for complaisance sake. 1 MS. (extract as copied by Bryce): Bodleian, Bryce Papers, 12, fol. 85. Published (extract): Bell, "Laureate," TLS, July 21, 1972, 847. [See also Appendix C ] 1 These words, quoted in a letter from James Bryce to W. E. Gladstone dated October 28, 1892, are part of the correction and clarification of the story that Morris, upon Ten­ nyson's death, had been offered the laureateship and had refused it. In "Gladstone Looks for a Poet Laureate," TLS, (July 21, 1972), Alan Bell writes (p. 847) that after Swinburne and Ruskin had been considered and passed over, Morris became a third to be considered "though Gladstone had reservations from the start. Ί understand Mr. W. Morris is an out and out socialist' he wrote to Acton on October 17. Acton confirmed this, admitting that . . . 'he is quite a flaring Communist, with unpleasant associations'." But Bryce was the principal authority consulted about Morris; and he defended him, writing to Gladstone on October 18: "I hope you do not think William Morris' 'Songs for Socialists' [sic] might do damage to his claims. . . . T h o ' he is a Socialist, I do not remember in them any incitements to violence. Of his poetry I need not speak to you, for you doubtless know its brilliant merits. He is however also a very simple minded and upright man, whom we cannot know without liking: and was a most earnest and hearty fellow worker with some of us in the anti-Turkish agitation of 1876—78'." (MS. Bodleian, Bryce Papers, 12, fol. 85; quoted in part by Bell.) In response, Bell continues, Gladstone "asked Bryce to find out the extremity of Morris's views," and Bryce replied on October 26: "I have procured William Morris' "Chants for Socialists" and read them through. They are the least practical bits of his work I have seen; "but there is nothing violent in them, nothing to cause scandal. Perhaps the strongest phrase is a sort of prose motto prefixed 'The price to be paid for so making the world happy is Revolution.'" However, Bryce added, he had heard "on good authority that it is practically certain [Morris] would not accept the Laureateship if offered" (MS. Bodleian, Bryce Papers, 12, fol. 85; quoted in part by Bell). On October 28 Bryce wrote again: "I ought to lose no time in telling you that I have just had a letter from Mr. William Morris, whom, an old friend, I had privately sounded, as to whether he would let me state his claims to the laureateship, in which letter he distinctly conveys to me that he would not

[ 460 ]

1892 I L E T T E R

2057

Caricature by Phil May, 1892.

wish to have his name presented, because even if the post were offered, he would not accept it, because he feels that his independence would be hampered." At this point Bryce quoted from Morris's letter the extract given here, thus indicating that Morris had cited his republicanism as a reason for his inability to accept the laureateship. Bell's article is based on manuscripts in the BodJeian Library and in the National Library of Scodand. For a further discussion of Gladstone's search for a Poet Laureate, see Karl Beckson, London in the 1890s (New York and London: W. W. Norton and Co., 1992), pp. 95-109. For the full text of this letter, and of another to Bryce, which were located after this volume had gone into production, see A[[endix C, pp. 497-98. I am grateful to Frank Sharp for calling to my attention the two letters.

[ 461 ]

L E T T E R S OF WILLIAM M O R R I S 2058 · T o E D I T O R OF THE Daily Chronicle

Kelmscott House,

Hammersmith October 29 [1892] Dear Sir, Will you kindly contradict the report that I have been offered the Laureateship, 1 as it is n o t true? 2 I am, Sir, yours obediently, William Morris TEXT: Daily Chronicle, October 31, 1892, 4. ' Morris's discouraging interest in himself as a candidate (see letter no. 2057 and n. 1) led to a rumor he had been offered the laureateship and had refused it. (For a version of Morris's account of how the rumor reached the papers, as told by W. S. Blunt, see Blunt's Diaries [I, 82].) The Daily Chronicle, October 29, 1892, printed a "report" that read (p. 4): "We understand that Mr. William Morris has been offered the Laureateship, and has declined it. The invitation came through Mr. Bryce, the Chancellor of the Duchy of Laneester, though, of course, Mr. Gladstone is primarily responsible. The offer and the refusal do Premier and poet equal credit. Mr. Morris adorns modern English poetry as no living poet but Mr. Swinburne adorns it, and if he could have seen fit to accept a nominal service all lovers of English verse would have rejoiced." Since the death of Tennyson on October 6, the Daily Chronicle had given much space to the question of who should be the next Poet Laureate. The Chronicle considered Swinburne and Morris the only real contenders and inclined toward Swinburne. See the Daily Chronicle, October 7, p. 4; October 11, p. 3; and October 13, p. 4. 2 As background to Morris's brief denial of the report, two letters written by Bryce are apposite: On October 29, 1892, enclosing Morris's letter to himself (see Appendix C, letter no. 2057A), Bryce wrote to Gladstone's private secretary Sir Algernon West (1832—1921): "Lord Acton has just told me of a paragraph in the Daily Chronicle which . . . states that I had been authorized by Mr. Gladstone to offer the Laureateship to William Morris and that he had refused it. Of course nothing could be further from the truth . . . there was not a mention of Mr. Gladstone's name . . . nor the least suggestion that I had any authority at all . . . [Morris's answer] shows this, especially the lines at the end which I have marked with blue pencil." Bryce concluded: "The best contradiction would of course be from Morris himself, because it would not put Mr. Gladstone to the trouble of appearing to notice a newspaper paragraph—& if it is thought proper I will write Morris forthwith. I I enclose his letter which please return at your leisure" (MS. Bodleian, Bryce Papers, 12, fol. 93). The following day, writing again to West, Bryce reported that "William Morris replied to me at once that he had, as soon as he saw the paragraph in the Daily Chronicle, written a vigorous denial of it which will doubtless appear to-morrow morning. He was much annoyed, as I expected he would be, and has acted quite as I should have expected him to act. . . . So I hope we may now consider 'the incident as closed'" (MS. Bodleian, Bryce Papers 12, fol. 93). For the full text of Morris's letter to Bryce, see Appendix C, p. 498. See also letter no. 2057, n. 1. As for Morris's denial, it is oddly lacking in the "vigour" Bryce expected.

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1892 I L E T T E R

2059

2059 · T o CHARLES MARCH G E R E

Kelmscott House, Upper Mall, Hammersmith November 5 [1892]

Dear Mr. Gere 1 Any day you can get to Kelmscott will you send a note or post card to Mr. Giles c / o W Morris M a n o r H o u s e Kelmscott Lechlade to tell h i m that you are coming; he will m e e t you at Lechlade station & make you comfortable in the house. I am writing to h i m to expect you. I shall be glad of a n o t e from you telling m e w h e n you are going there which I (shall) should like to be soon; as I am leaving England in about 10 days or less for about a fortnight. 2 W h a t I want you to do is to make drawings (sketches) of the house from any points that you think w o u l d do for an ornamental drawing for a b o o k of mine (News from N o w h e r e ) n o w in press 3 —to be cut in w o o d by the way. 4 T h e sketches made we would then talk of what use is to be made of t h e m . I am sorry that I cannot j o i n you at Kelmscott: but if it w o u l d be pleasanter for you to take a friend with y o u pray do. T h e r e is a convenient train from Oxford at 4.25 p m for Lechlade. Yours very truly William Morris MS: Cheltenham. 1 Charles March Gere (1869-1957), a painter and illustrator trained in the Birmingham School of Art. He had exhibited a work titled "The Chair of Idris" at the Royal Academy in 1890, and he began his career as an illustrator by working for the Kelmscott Press. He drew the frontispiece for News from Nowhere (see note 3 below) and made sketches for a projected Kelmscott Press edition of The House of Wolfings that was never published. For Morris's protracted correspondence with Gere about the sketches, see Volume IV. 2 See letters no. 2053, n. 1; and no. 2054, notes 2 and 3. 3 The printing of the Kelmscott edition of News from Nowhere had begun in June 1892 (see letter no. 2006 and n. 2). Publication was delayed, however, by the question of a frontispiece. On October 17, 1892, Cockerell wrote in his Diary: "I suggested that a picture of a house should be given as a frontispiece and W.M. seemed to like the idea." After Gere's visit to Kelmscott, Cockerell noted (November 11): "Saw proofs of some drawings of Kelmscott made by Gere, who is to make an illustration for News from Nowhere." For early discussions of the frontispiece, see also letters no. 2062 and no. 2077, and notes to these letters. 4 Gere's final drawing was engraved on wood by W. H. Hooper, and the printing of it was completed on March 7, 1893 (see Morris's 1893 Diary entry for that date).

[ 463 ]

L E T T E R S OF WILLIAM M O R R I S 2060 · T o GILBERT REDGRAVE

Kelmscott House,

Upper Mall, Hammersmith November 13 [1892] Dear Mr. Redgrave 1 Thank you for your letter & its criticisms. 2 T h e proportions of page of print to paper seem to m e right, & (granted the page of print) I think it would ruin them if the top margin were bigger either positively or relatively. 3 T h e absence of line to the initials seemed to m e to suit my designs; I do not profess merely to follow precedent, or to imitate Ratdolt. 4 T h e arrangement of the half-title is designed: as the vols: are cut quite arbitrarily and I wished to show that. 5 There is a variation in the paper d u e to necessity: I do n o t think it a serious blemish: all the paper is made in the same deckle; but I got the paper made better & with less shrinkage after the 1st batch. 6 T h e edges could easily be trimmed w h e n the b o o k is bound, so as to get more uniformity in the size. O f course the b o o k is issued 'done up,' and not bound: 7 and under the circumstances it would have been a mistake, I think to have trimmed the edges. 8 Thanking you again I am Dear Mr. Redgrave Yours very truly William Morris MS: Franklin Coll. (Ex). 1 See letter no. 2012, n. 1. 2 Redgrave's letter probably concerned The Golden Legend. 3 The margins of The Golden Legend were designed by Morris in the following proportions: the top margin is about one inch wide and is more than doubled by the bottom, which is two and one quarter inches. The outer margins of the page are two inches, and the inner are more than halved by the %-inch gutter margins. 4 Erhard Ratdolt (1442?-1528), a German printer and type cutter, born in Augsburg. The books he printed are characterized by frequent use of ornamental borders and initials, and his edition of Euclid (1482) contains over four hundred wood engravings. He was the first printer to use a decorated title, and he was among the first to use several colors on one page (Morris owned a copy of a Latin Psalter Ratdolt had printed in 1494, with red and black type and hand-colored woodcut initials [see Sotheby Catalogue (1898), lot 869]). On November 20, 1893, Redgrave read a paper before the Bibliographical Society titled "Erhard Ratdolt and his Work at Venice." It was later (April 1894) printed at the Chiswick Press for the Bibliographical Society. 5 The Golden Legend has half-titles only in the first volume. 6 Morris refers to the fact that the paper used for The Golden Legend was delivered in batches over the course of several months.

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1892 / L E T T E R

2060

Charles March Gere, late 1920s.

7

By "done up" Morris means bound in blue boards and quarter holland. Peterson prints an extract of the present letter and notes (History, p. 109) that "Morris very soon changed his mind, perhaps because he realized that most Kelmscott Press books were not after all being bound by their owners, and Biblia Innocentium [see letter no. 2024, n. 4] which was issued on 9 December 1892, was the last volume to come from the Kelmscott Press with untrimmed edges." 8

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L E T T E R S OF WILLIAM 2061 · T o R O B E R T STEELE

MORRIS Kelmscott House,

Upper Mall, Hammersmith November 13 [1892] M y dear Steele 1 Here you are at last, if the the accompanying scrawl will suffice.2 Many thanks for the verses, both the good will and the art in them 3 I am going with my wife to the Riviera on Tuesday I believe, therefore I am rather busy or you should have had the preface before. H o p i n g to see you soon again I am Yours very truly William Morris MS: BL, Mss. 45345. 1 See letter no. 2015, n. 1. 2 Morris refers to a preface he had written for Steele's Medieval Lore (see letter no. 2015, n. 3). In his preface, Morris said in part that "at the present time those who take pleasure in studying the life of the Middle Ages are more commonly to be found in the ranks of those who are pledged to the foreward movement of modern life; while those who are . . . striving to stem . . . progress . . . are as careless of the past as they are fearful of the future" (MM, I, 287-88). 3 It might seem from context that there was to be a poetic dedication to Morris composed by Steele to use in his own book. However, no such poem appears in any edition of Medieval Lore (or any other work by Steele). Conceivably, Steele had simply written a paen of praise to Morris and had sent it to him as a gesture expressing admiration.

2062 · T o CHARLES M A R C H G E R E

Kelmscott House,

Upper Mall, Hammersmith November 14, 1892 Dear M r Geere 1 I have your drawings of the house and think them very good & pretty; but I doubt if any of them will quite do for the foundation of our cut. In fact I hardly expected this from your first visit; I rather wanted you to go there to familiarize yourself with the house, than for anything else. I should tell you that the one of the entrance front of the house is the only o n e which is about the right shape for the cut, and I think that this must be the view taken only if something more could be got in of the tapestry block, 2 and of the 2nd gable to the S. it would be better. 3 T h e very pretty drawing made from the corner of the garden by the frame comes too long I think, and I doubt the advisability of the long sloping line of the roof in a design where there will be bold containing lines. However I think I had better see you about it; and then I could give [ 466 ]

1892 I L E T T E R

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The Tapestry Room at Kelmscott Manor.

you the actual size of the woodcut & you could go on with the drawing for that. It would doubtless be much better if we could meet at Kelmscott, and I will try to get there. But tomorrow I am going out of England, and shall be back in about a week: on my return I will write to you again. Meantime I thank you very much for the trouble you have taken, and am sure that you will do what I want satisfactorily Yours very truly William Morris MS: Cheltenham. 1 See letter no. 2059, n. 1. 2 The addition made in the seventeenth century to the original sixteenth-century house, at its northwest corner. The "block" was so named because the "Tapestry Room" is on its first floor. I am grateful to the late A. R. Dufty for this information. 3 In the event, this drawing was the basis for the one from which the woodcut was made.

[ 467 ]

L E T T E R S OF WILLIAM M O R R I S 2063 · T o J. & J. LEIGHTON [ W A L T E R JAMES LEIGHTON?]

Kelmscott House,

Upper Mall, Hammersmith November 14, 1892 Dear Sir I thought I might as well tell you h o w to dispose of the copies of the Recuyells: M r Quaritch is to have 275 o n paper and two o n vellum. T h e rest are mine, to wit 25 o n paper and 3 o n vellum. 1 If you find anything w r o n g in (ev) any o n e of the vellum copies please let m e know, as it might be worth while to reprint a leaf here and there. As to the Biblia Innocentium, I believe there are 5 good overs I have spoken to Mr. Macail about them, and I am to have them: 2 please bind them up with the rest and send t h e m to me; but I pay for the binding. I should be glad to have my Flower of the C o m m a n d m e n t s soon: 3 also the b o o k which I left with you o n Friday. 4 I find I have n o t got an Appianus, so I should be glad to consider the copy you bought if you can keep it till I come back. 5 I am going t o m o r row m o r n i n g & shall be back in a week. Yours truly William Morris MS: Colby. 1 See letter no. 2000, n. 1. 2 Presumably five copies had been printed in excess of the 200 on paper to be sold by Reeves and Turner. 3 The Floure of the Commaundements of God translated from French into English by Andrew Chertsey in 1509, and described (lot 374) in the Sotheby Catalogue (1898) as featuring two woodcuts and ornamental initials. An imperfect copy, it was missing many of the front leaves including the title; and some leaves were mended. It was nonetheless a rare volume. Printed in London in 1510, the book was the third from Wynkyn de Worde's press. The Sotheby Catalogue description notes: "It is stated there is no complete copy either in the British Museum or at Oxford." Unclear is whether Leighton had purchased this book for Morris, or had simply repaired or bound it for him; possibly the firm did both. 4 Presumably a book Morris had bought from someone else but had asked Leighton to bind or mend. 5 In the Sotheby Sale of Part of the Library of Count Louis Apponyi of Hungary (November 10-14, 1892), Leighton obtained for £5 15s. (lot 82) a first edition of Alexander Appian's De Bellis Ciuilibus printed at Venice by Wendelin of Speyer in 1472. Morris purchased it, and it is now in the PML.

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1892

I LETTER

2064 · T o CHARLES MARCH G E R E

2065 [Kelmscott House?

November 15, 1892?] Dear Mr. Gere 1 As it is rather doubtful whether I shall be settled at Kelmscott by the 21st, and since you find it easy to come here o n the 7 Dec: I think it might be better for you to d o so: kindly write a line to tell m e that you are coming, & about what hour you will be here. Yours truly William Morris MS: Cheltenham. 1 The dating of this letter—both day of month and year—is very uncertain. Morris's saying it is doubtful he will be "settled" at Kelmscott by November 21 makes it possible that he was thinking of his return from Italy on that day (see letter no. 2065, n. 1). The reasons for thinking of November 15 as the date of this letter are these: Morris left for Italy on the 15th (and was unlikely to have written to Gere during his one week on the Continent, part of it spent in travel), He had sent Gere a letter on November 14 (see letter no. 2062) and it is improbable that he wrote twice in the same day without acknowledging the fact in the second letter. Cockerell's Diary entry for November 15, 1892, indicates that Morris left for Italy at 9:30 (presumably A.M.). The possibility is that before setting out Morris received a note from Gere saying he could visit Kelmscott Manor on the 21st or Kelmscott House on December 7 and that Morris sent back this present letter immediately.

2065 · T o JENNY MORRIS

Bordigherra

November 18 [1892] Friday Dearest darling Jenny I delivered your mother here in good condition last night: it was quite dark by then we got to Ventimiglia even; but I think clocks & their differences might have more to do with that than the sun; as they keep Paris time (this) the other side the frontier, & R o m a n time here (which is 47 minutes earlier) and you see we are a long way south & east of Paris, & a long way north & west of R o m e . I cannot say very much about the looks of this place yet, as I have not been o u t yet. From my w i n d o w it is all olives & olives & the sea beyond; from the balcony I can just see a bit of the coast-line handsome enough. It is warm at present, but rather close to my feeling. W h a t little wind there is seems to come from the S.E. It is greyish but not heavy. Yesterday we were rather unlucky in o u r weather: there was a beautiful sunrise a little before Valence, but it soon got cloudy, & showery, so much that at times we could see nothing much. B u t what we did see was very beautiful & interesting; a wonderful range of mountains, some part of the Jura, I suppose to o u r S.E. some way off, and on o u r west & N . the great high shaly banks of the R h o n e , [ 469 ]

L E T T E R S OF WILLIAM M O R R I S w h i c h turned up every n o w & then a great broad flood rattling d o w n toward t h e sea; the plain between with curious ledges of stone here & there, all in fruit-trees & vineyards mulberries; till near Avignon we began to come o n the olives. Avignon we had but a slight passing view of, & Aries we missed altogether because of the weather. A little before we came to Marseilles the country was very strange a sort of desert of stone ledges, quite uncultivated; and before that an enormous plain also desert and all of shingle, backed by great mountains. W h e n we turned the corner from Marseilles, we came into the regular Rivera Country; very handsome m u c h of it; but -without as m u c h character as the true French landscape. N o w I wont say more of all that, as I shall I h o p e be seeing you so soon again, my darling. I thought I had better see your m o t h e r settled here, so I shall stay Saturday as well as today, and start for h o m e o n Sun­ day, which ought to bring m e to you some time before bed-time on Monday: 1 but if I dont c o m e then, you must not be anxious, (by) my own, as trains might run awkwardly & I shall then c o m e somewhat later. I forgot to say that we went to the Cluny at Paris & saw that beautiful tapestry there, so fine! 2 M o t h e r is going to write a line: so I will say n o more about her. Goodbye till my speedy return darling Your loving father WM MS: BL, Add. MSS. 45340. Published: CW, 23, xix; Henderson, Letters, 352-53. 1 Morris did arrive home on November 21, according to Cockerell's Diary entry for the following day. 2 Probably La Dame ά La Licorne, a series of six panels. Each of five panels illustrates one of the senses, while the sixth, more problematic, has been interpreted as representing "free choice." The Cluny Museum acquired the tapestry in 1883 from the municipality of Boussac. There are, however, other important tapestries in the Museum to which Morris might have been referring. For a discussion and illustrations of the holdings at Cluny, see Alain Erlande-Brandenburg, The Cluny Museum (Paris: Ministere de la Culture et de la Commu­ nication, Editions de la Reunion des Musees Nationaux, 1979), pp. 21-23 and 59-67.

2066 · T o CHARLES EDWARD KEATES

Kelmscott House,

Upper Mall, Hammersmith November 25, 1892 Dear M r Keates, 1 T h e last block 2 is quite satisfactory. I shall be very m u c h obliged if you will kindly let m e have the other as soon as possible, as I am waiting for it. Yours vy truly William Morris 3

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1892 I L E T T E R

2067

MS: Berger Coll. 1 See letter no. 2023, n. 1. 2 Possibly for Reynard the Foxe. 3 This letter is in Cockerell's hand, but signed by Morris.

2067 · T o BERNARD Q U A R I T C H

Kelmscott House, Upper Mall, Hammersmith November 25, 1892

Dear Mr. Q u a r i t c h I enclose the note as to the Reynard: 1 as to the time of my delivery I p u t in the 1st March as a limit: You will probably have it in January. 2 I received y o u r cheque last night: many thanks for the p r o m p t paym e n t . 3 I enclose a cheque in payment for the Aponyi books 4 & shall be pleased to settle the rest of my account with you. I sent back the case containing 24 of the Recuyells on Wednesday: I have still got one to deliver w h i c h I will leave w h e n I am passing Yours very truly William Morris MS: Quaritch. 1 See next letter of same date, in Cockerell's handwriting but signed by Morris. 2 In the event, Morris finished printing Reynard the Foxe in December, and it was issued by Quaritch in January 1893. 3 Presumably for the printing of The Reatyell of the Historyes of Troye. There is a receipted invoice, dated November 25, 1892, indicating that Quaritch paid Morris £1012.10, "as per agreement," for 275 copies of the book on paper (£7) and two on vellum (£50) (B. Quaritch Archives). The contract for The Recuyell stipulated that Quaritch would pay half of the amount due a week after delivery (and the second half three months after that; see letter no. 2000, n. 1). Presumably the sum cited above was half of what Quaritch eventually paid Morris. 4 The Quaritch Sales Comm. Book indicates (p. 253) that on November 10, 1892, Quaritch purchased for Morris lots 133 and 163 at the Apponyi Sale (see letter no. 2063, n. 5). Lot 133 was a first edition of St. Augustine's De Civitate Dei, printed in 1467 as the third book from the press at the Monastery of Subiaco (Morris's copy is now in the PML). The second purchase (lot 163) was Conrad Botha's Cronecken der Sassen, a folio printed at Mainz by Peter Schoffer in 1492. (For a discussion of a type designed by Morris using the De Civitate Dei as a model, see letter no. 1999, n. 1.)

[ 471 ]

L E T T E R S OF WILLIAM 2068 · T o BERNARD QUARITCH

MORRIS Kelmscott House,

Hammersmith November 25, 1892 Dear Mr. Quaritch 1 I propose to sell you 275 copies o n paper of my edition of Reynard the Foxe, b o u n d in limp vellum, at £2.2.—per copy—I retaining 25 copies for myself: 300 copies in all to be printed. O u t of 10 copies printed o n vellum 1 propose to sell you 6 at £9.9—per copy. T h e payment for the above paper copies to b e made one half (£288.15.—) o n delivery—the other half (£288.15.—) 2 in three months time from the date of delivery. T h e vellum copies to be paid for six months from date of delivery (£56.14—). I engage to deliver the whole stock before the 1st of March, 1893. I make it a condition that you announce the approaching publication and receive subscribers' names for the book at once at the price of £3.3. — : but I leave you at liberty to close the subscription on receipt of the stock, and to raise the price after that time if you think good. I am Yours very truly William Morris 3 MS: Quaritch. Published: Peterson, Bibliog., 193. 1 Because of the regular salutation and Morris's characteristic close, I have included the above text as a letter. Peterson, however, prints it as a memorandum (Bibliog., p. 193). 2 Quaritch replied the same day, accepting Morris's terms but adding the following correction: "In your calculation of the two payments, each of £288.15.0 you have not reckoned the six copies on Vellum, viz 6 at 9.9.0. £56.14.0. This amount I propose to pay six months after delivery" (B. Quaritch Archives). 3 The letter is in Cockerell's hand but is signed by Morris.

2069 · T o P E T E R ALEXEIVICH KROPOTKIN

Kelmscott House,

Upper Mall, Hammersmith November 27 [1892] M y dear Krapotkine I fear that I have n o influence with the papers except it might be the Chronicle. O f course I quite agree with you as to the desirability of getting the appeal tried: 1 as it is obvious that if the French police can get a man extradited by merely trumping u p any pretence at evidence against him, n o o n e is safe w h o is obnoxious to the government. I have already subscribed in the sum sent by o u r Society here: but I will send Miss Henry 2 another subscription of £ 5 today. I cannot say that I

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1892 / L E T T E R

2070

have m u c h h o p e of the judges reversing the magistrates decision, unless they can do so on the grounds of the evidence being insufficient. 3 Yours very truly William Morris MS: October. 1 This letter concerns the case of Jean Pierre Francois (b. 1855?), a French anarchist who had been arrested in London on October 13, 1892, in connection with the bombing of the Cafe Very in Paris on April 25 of that year (see The Times, November 17, 1892, p. 11). Fran£ois had been remanded from week to week as the police awaited the arrival from France of evidence against him, and on November 16, 1892, Sir John Bridge, the chief metropolitan magistrate in London, had granted a warrant for extradition. The appeal to which Morris refers was an appeal to the Queen's Bench against the extradition. (For the beginning and development of the case, see The Times, October 15, 1892, p. 10; October 29, p. 12; November 15, p. 13; and November 17, p. 11.) See also note 3 below. 2 Possibly Agnes Henry, who was associated with the International Socialist School for children, founded by Louise Michel, in Fitzroy Street. See Crane, p. 258; and Freedom, October 1891, p. 74; February 1892, p. 16; and April 1892, p. 28. 3 The appeal was unsuccessful. The Queen's Bench Division handed down a decision on December 1 (see The Times, December 2, 1892, p. 9); and Francois was extradited to France, where he was tried. He was, however, acquitted (see Jean Maitron, Histoire du Mouvement Anarchiste en France, 1880-1914 [Paris: Societe Universitaire 1959], p. 215).

2070 · T o CHARLES MARCH G E R E

Kelmscott House, Upper Mall, Hammersmith November 28 [1892?]

Dear M r . Gere T h a n k you for your note. N e x t M o n d a y w o u l d suit m e very well for you to begin your visit; 1 only I shall probably be out till about 5 p m . B u t n o d o u b t you can amuse yourself w i t h your books if I happen to be a little late. We will take a j o u r n e y over to M e r t o n while you are here. Looking forward to the pleasure of seeing I am Yours very truly William Morris MS: Cheltenham. 1 The dating of this letter is problematic. Morris seems to designate December 5 as an agreed-upon date for Gere's visit. Cockerell, however, in his Diary notes that Gere called on Monday December 12 and makes no mention of an earlier December visit (see Diary entry for December 12, 1892). Possibly Morris, writing on November 28, was designating by "next Monday" the one following that of the 5th; i.e., the 12th. It is also possible that December 5 was intended in this letter, but that in subsequent correspondence not come to light a needed postponement was discussed and the 12th was the date finally agreed upon. If in fact this letter was written in 1892, what is important to add is that in recording

[ 473 ]

LETTERS

OF WILLIAM

MORRIS

a meeting between Morris and Gere on December 12, Cockerell adds: "W.M. asked him to have a shot at illustrating the Wolfings." The outcome of this request is a theme that develops in the extended correspondence with Gere in letters spanning the period 1893 through 1895.

2071 · T o A R T H U R J O S E P H GASKIN

Kelmscott House,

Upper Mall, Hammersmith November 29 [1892?] Dear Mr. Gaskin 1 Thanks for your note: I shall be very pleased to see you: I think Saturday 2 would b e best: Any time will do; only please tell m e about what time, so that I may n o t accidentally be out. Yours very truly William Morris I shall b e delighted to see your new work) 3 MS: Soc. A n t . 1 Arthur Joseph Gaskin (1862-1928) was, like C. M. Gere (see letter no. 2059, n. 1), one of the illustrators trained in the Birmingham School of Art whose work interested Morris. Gaskin and Morris had probably met in October 1891, when Morris gave a talk on the collection of Pre-Raphaelite paintings at the Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery [see Lemire, p. 285]; though possibly they had met even earlier since Gaskin had been a member of the Arts and Crafts Exhibition Society since 1890. A wood engraver and portrait painter, Gaskin drew illustrations for The Yellow Book and exhibited at the New Gallery and the Royal Academy. He also was known for his jewelery designs on which he collaborated with his wife Georgie Gaskin (see Volume IV, letter no. 2247, n. 1); and in 1903 he became the Headmaster of the Jewellers and Silversmiths School, Birmingham. Morris was to commission Gaskin to work on three separate Kelmscott Press books, but was never to be satisfied fully with his work as an illustrator. For Gaskin's commissions and Morris's responses, see Volume IV. 2 Gaskin visited Morris on Saturday, December 3, 1892; and Cockerell in his Diary entry for that date noted: "Gaskin, a young Birmingham artist, called in the afternoon with a number of very pretty drawings which Geo Allen is going to publish." See also note 3 below. 3 Gaskin may have wanted to ask Morris's advice about drawings in progress for an edition of Hans Christian Andersen's Stories and Fairy Tales, translated by H. Oskar Sommer, and published by George Allen in 1893. The edition is illustrated with decorated initials and one hundred cuts by Gaskin. See A&G Gaskin, p. 32. The Sotheby Catalogue (1898) lists (lots 6-8; 58) four copies of the book in Morris's library at the time of his death.

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1892 / L E T T E R 2072 2072 · T o BERNARD QUARITCH

Kelmscott House,

Upper Mall, Hammersmith December 1, 1892 Dear Mr. Quaritch Thanks for your letter, which I will duly consider. Only I may say this, that after the stupid blundering note in the Star, 1 it was necessary to clear up the matter by a rational statement of what books were in contemplation. 2 O f course they will n o t all come out together, or very close to each other, and I shall look to it to observe some proportion in their issue. As to the Chaucer, I do n o t think you quite appreciate the great difference between it, and the 'antiquarian' books (of which) as your corre-

Arthur Joseph Gaskin and his family, c. 1905.

[ 475 ]

L E T T E R S OF WILLIAM

MORRIS

spondent justly calls them. The point of it is that it is an illustrated work by Burne-Jones & affords him an opportunity (as the Athenaeum rightly puts it) of dealing with a subject which peculiarly suitable to him. 3 Many people would want to possess it as a collection of his designs, who would not care at all for my type or ornaments; or for Chaucer either. I am not in the least anxious about the sale of 300. Apropos of the payment for the Chaucer; I think I ought to state at once that I could not carry the work through unless I get a due proportion of the money on completion; I mean really I could not, 4 you understand. But of course I do not consider you in the least bound by anything you have said to me about the book; and you will be at liberty to reconsider the matter up to the time of our drawing up the agreement. one thing strikes me on reading your Liverpool correspondents letter viz that people won't send in their names widely until they know the price of the Chaucer. By the way most of the other books are small ones, and I think, judging by the last two, 5 small books quite certain to sell; and I count rather on getting cash to carry on the Chaucer, as the little books pay me much better than the big. My ideal of the work for 1893 is getting on as much as possible entirely with the Chaucer and a romance of my own writing: 6 but I expect it will be at least 3 months before I can begin the Chaucer & I must have something to sell while the big work is going on. Heimskringla I am waiting for one more interview with Magnusson to settle the corrections of the last sheets, which will take place in about a week; and also for the map, which I think ought to be in the 1st volume. 7 The said map has been in the hands of the engraver for about 3 weeks & will soon be done. 8 The whole book should be out early in January. Also we have begun on the 2nd vol.9 I reinclose your letters & also your prospectus with a few lines extra, which I beg you to leave out if you like.10 Yours very truly William Morris MS: Quaritch. 1 The Star published (November 21, 1892, p. 2) an article titled "William Morris Designs and Produces 'the Most Beautiful Book' Ever Published." After praising The Recuyelle, and quoting words of F. J. Furnival to the same effect as the article's heading (". . . the most beautiful book ever printed"), The Star went on to advise readers of future titles to be issued by the Kelmscott Press. Among those mentioned were "Lord Berner's 'Huon of Bordeaux,' and possibly his 'Golden Book of Marcus Aurelius'. . . [as well as] Wynken de Worde's "Vitas Retrum.'" Morris may have called it a "blundering note" because there is no evidence that The Golden Book of Marcus Aurelius was ever contemplated, and because of the misnaming of Wynkyn de Worde's Vitas Patrutn. 2

The Kelmscott Press issued an announcement dated December 1892. It lists both

[ 476 ]

1892 I L E T T E R

2072

Edward Burne-Jones, c. 1890.

[ 477 ]

LETTERS

OF WILLIAM

MORRIS

"Books already printed" and "Books in the Press"; and also "In preparation." (Copy in B. Quaritch Archives.) 3 In a column titled "Fine-Art Gossip," the Athenaeum (October 22, 1892, pp. 559-60) wrote that Burne-Jones had been "fully occupied of late with a series of designs . . . to be worked in tapestry by Mr. W. Morris [which] will represent, in life-size figures, incidents in the search for the Sant Grael." The note continued: "Lovers of Chaucer on both sides of the Atlantic will rejoice to hear that the artist has made very great progress with a series of designs, fifty or sixty in all, which are to be cut in wood under his own superintendence, and intended to illustrate the 'Canterbury Tales' and the other poems of Chaucer. These designs promise to be charmingly graceful and beautiful in execution. Indeed, we are con­ fident that since, precisely a hundred years ago, Flaxman, then at Rome, designed for the first Countess Spencer the famous 'Illustrations to the Tragedies of Aeschylus,' poet and artist have never been better fitted to each other. The text to which these designs are adapted will be collated with the best manuscripts and carefully edited by Mr. W. Morris and Mr. F. S. Ellis. The typography will be worthy of the occasion, and the volume a stately quarto." 4 On the holograph of Morris's letter, certain words are underlined in red pencil, pre­ sumably by Quaritch. They are here indicated by italics: "I could not carry the work through unless I get α due proportion of the money on completion; I mean really I could not, you understand." By the beginning of December, 1892, business relations between Morris and Quaritch were strained, as Peterson notes (Bibliog., pp. 23 and 109-110). Quaritch, already the pub­ lisher of two Kelmscott Press volumes (The Golden Legend and The Recuyell), was in January 1893 to issue a third, Reynard the Foxe. But "Morris was annoyed when Quaritch raised the price of The Golden Legend on the day of publication [November 3, 1892] and eventually decided to publish future KP books himself [see Volume IV, letter no. 2092 and n. 2; see also letter no. 2012]; hence their negotiations over the Chaucer were often tense and suspi­ cious in tone" (Peterson, Bibliog., p. 23). The outcome was that Morris published the Chaucer himself. However, Morris's language in the present letter indicates that though there was no written agreement naming Quaritch publisher of the Chaucer, it was under­ stood at this date that Morris anticipated he would be. 5 Morris seems not to have meant the two so far published by Quaritch (The Golden Legend and The Recuyell), since the first was in three volumes and the second in two. Conceivably he was referring to The Defence of Guenevere and A Dream of John Ball, both small quartos sold by Reeves and Turner. If so, putting Quaritch in mind of another pub­ lisher of Kelmscott Press books at this juncture could not have been calculated to soothe his sensibilities. 6 Presumably The Well at the World's End. See letters no. 2053, n. 2; and no. 2081, n. 1. 7 See letter no. 2047 and n. 6. 8 The map was engraved by the firm of Walker and Boutall. Walter Boutall (1857-1923) had become Emery Walker's partner in 1886. The firm, whose works were located in Hammersmith Terrace, advertised itself on its letterhead as "process and general engravers, draughtsmen, map-constructors, and photographers of art." 9 The second volume of the Heimskringla (Vol. 4 of the Saga Library). 10 Morris refers to the prospectus dated February 1893 that Quaritch issued for subscrib­ ers to Kelmscott Press volumes. (Copy in B. Quaritch Archives.)

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1892 / L E T T E R

2074

2073 · FROM A LETTER T O FREDERICK STARTRIDGE ELLIS

[December 4, 1892]1

. . . [The Press] kept a poet of its o w n 2 TEXT: Mackail, II, 280. 1

The date and recipient are provided by Mackail's notebook. Mackail explains (II, 280) that these words are from a letter to Ellis, written when Morris decided to render into poetry Ellis's prose version of "L'Ordene de Chevalerie." The French poem and Morris's translation (begun on December 3) were "added as an after-thought" to the Kelmscott Press reprint of Caxton's The Order of Chivalry (edited by Ellis), which had been finished on November 10, 1892. "L'Ordene de Chevalerie" was completed February 24, and the two were issued as a single volume in April 1893. See Cockerell, "List," pp. 153-54; and Peterson, Bihliog., pp. 36-38. 2

2074 · T o BERNARD Q U A R I T C H

Kelmscott House, Upper Mall, Hammersmith [December 6? 1892]

Dear Mr. Q u a r i t c h T h e estimate for the specimen p.p. is for the 1st 1000 £4.10.0: for the 2nd 1000 £3.5.0 1 As to the price of the C h a u c e r I think it will be quite safe to say not below £15.15 0 and n o t above £ 2 1 . 0 . 0 2 T h e A n t i p h o n a r i u m w e n t at a preposterous price certainly. 3 As to the G.L. I do n o t think it bad all things considered. 4 I will certainly do my utmost to get the w h o l e Heimskringla out next year. 5 I send you back the prospectus w i t h my additions w h i c h seem all right. I think it was judicious to p u t in the extra passage from the A t h e n a e u m . 6 W i t h many thanks for your (Y) letter I am Yours very truly William Morris MS: Quaritch. 1 Morris probably refers to specimen pages for The Recuyell, consisting of "four pages, including the explicit (p. 1), Caxton's prologue (pp. 2-4), and Morris's colophon and printer's mark" of which "Quaritch ordered 2000 copies." Peterson, who provides this information (Bibliog., p. 171), also quotes an entry in a notebook compiled by Robert Proctor for a planned bibliography of Morris, indicating that the "specimen was printed for Quaritch [the publisher] 1892." 2 After estimating what he will charge Quaritch for printing specimen pages (see note 1 above), Morris in this sentence abruptly shifts to calculating the price both he and Quaritch are to charge the public, when the book was completed, for paper copies of the Chaucer. In the event, the price was set at £20.

[ 479 ]

LETTERS

OF W I L L I A M

MORRIS

3

I have been unable to identify the Antiphonarium to which Morris refers, or to ascertain at which auction it had been sold. A sale of "The Library of a Gentleman and other Properties" was conducted on December 5, 1892, by the auctioneers Puttick and Simpson, but no Antiphonarium was included. The difficulty in identifying the book makes the dating of the letter somewhat problematic; but Morris's reference to Quaritch's prospectus supports the conjecture that the year was 1892. 4 The Golden Legend had been issued on November 3, 1892 (see letter no. 2047 and notes 1-4). 5 Only the first volume of the Heimskringla was to be issued in 1893. 6 Quaritch's prospectus (see letter no. 2072 and n. 10) includes in its announcement of the Chaucer a quoted passage from the October 22, 1892, issue of the Athenaeum that Morris discussed in his December 1 letter to Quaritch. See letter no. 2072 and (for the quoted passage) n. 3.

2075 · T o J. & J. L E I G H T O N [WALTER JAMES LEIGHTON?]

Kelmscott House, Upper Mall, Hammersmith December 12 [1892]

Dear Sir I enclose 2 leaves from Tuesdays sale catalogue w i t h 3 articles which I have marked 3 3 , 95

9 8 . 1 I do n o t care m u c h about t h e m except at a

price. 33 is the best. It is very clean and at the price I should like it. T h e other I don't suppose I should get at the prices, but if you can get t h e m at that well & good. I d o n t think things will go (hih) high. 258. Has never b e e n very good and is n o w r u b b e d & cut d o w n . I do not want it N o 2 9 3 2 in Thursdays Sale

I have given Mr. Q a commission for

£75 and I should like it if it is a good copy. I shall try to see it t o m o r r o w or Wednesday. I shall try to call in on (Wednesday) Tuesday afternoon; say about 5 as I suppose you will be back from the sale by then. I cannot c o m e in in the morning. You will have the balance of the R e y n a r d 3 early next week: if we can get it dry by then. Yours truly William Morris MS: UMaryland. 1 Morris is asking Leighton to bid for him on lots 33, 95, and 98 at the Sotheby Sale of "A Library of a Gentleman Deceased," which began on Tuesday, December 13, and ended on Wednesday December 14, 1892. Leighton bought only one item—lot 98—a fifteenthcentury French Horae, on vellum, that had a Belgian calendar, ten miniatures of Saints, twenty-five borders, and numerous capitals and letters. An octavo, bound in blue velvet, it was purchased for £21. Although it is not included in the Sotheby Catalogue (1898),

[ 480 ]

1892

I LETTER

2076

Ellis's Valuation lists the following (item 104): "Horae. French, c. 1480. Velvet. £20." Quite possibly this is the same manuscript. 2 A reference to the Sotheby Sale of the Library of Henry Walton Lawrence, which was held on Thursday, December 15, 1892, and ran the following day. Lot 293 at this sale was a copy of Triomphe des NeufPreux, printed at Abbeville by Pierre Gerard in 1487. There are, however, two problems with the identification of this book as the one discussed by Morris here. First, while Quaritch's Sales Cotnm. Book confirms Morris's commission, the Cata­ logue of the Lawrence Sale gives Leighton as the purchaser. Further, Leighton is recorded as having paid only £14 14s. Possibly Morris meant to write £15, instead of £75, since Ellis's Valuation also confirms (item 182) the book's value at £15.15. Possibly too, though less likely, Morris had been willing to spend £75, for a book that sold for much less. As for Morris's purchasing the book from Leighton, after commissioning Quartich to obtain it, one must conclude Leighton outbid Quaritch, and Morris, wanting the book, bought it from the former. 3

The Kelmscott Press edition οι Reynard the Foxe, to be bound by J. & J. Leighton.

2076 · T o CHARLES MARCH GERE

Kelmscott House, Upper Mall, Hammersmith December 16, 1892

D e a r M r . Gere T h a n k you very m u c h for sending m e the b o o k . 1 I think you are m u c h t o o hard o n your w o r k in it. I t h i n k all the designs are very g o o d except the Sleeping Beauty o n e , 2 w h i c h fails chiefly I think because of the ugly costume of the y o u n g m a n . T h e others I t h o u g h t good, all of t h e m , due allowance being m a d e for some having suffered in the processing. T h e y are nicely composed, and have w h a t o n e specially wants, t h e d u e story­ telling quality in its simplest form. I showed t h e m to Mr. Burne-Jones and he quite agreed w i t h my estimate of t h e m . I am quite sure that you will be successful in d o i n g m e some illustrations of some or o t h e r of my books, and look forward to t h e sketch w h i c h I am t o receive from you for the Wolfings. 3 Yours very truly William Morris MS: Huntington. 1 Russian Fairy Tales, translated by Robert Nisbet Bain (London: Lawrence and Bullen, 1892), to which Gere had contributed six woodcut illustrations (see note 2 below). 2 The one Morris dislikes is the illustration " T h e Tsarevna Loveliness-Inexhaustible," which shows Tsarevich Ivan retrieving a flask of living-water from beneath the pillow of the sleeping Tsarevna. The others, those Morris commends, include the book's frontispiece "The Golden Mountain," and the illustrations "Morosko," "The Princess and the Cunning Witch," " T h e Damsel Went on Further, and the Road Grew Lighter and Lighter," and "The Sage Damsel." 3 See letter no. 2070, n. 1.

[ 481 ]

L E T T E R S OF WILLIAM M O R R I S 2077 · T o CHARLES M A R C H G E R E

Kelmscott House,

Upper Mall, Hammersmith December 20 [1892] Dear Mr. Gere T h a n k you very m u c h for sending m e the drawing of Kelmscott. I think some alterations are needed. T h e chimney-stack mixes u p too much with the gable, & is m u c h too small I should say. T h e markings of the stone work joints are too black and heavy, and would give the (drawin) block a sooty look. T h e copings of the gables are w r o n g I should say; I think some indication of their mouldings must be shown I think. I think also that the stone path u p to the porch might be drawn with more literality. Again the plants against the house wall are vines and should have some indication of the(ir) habit of vines.

Λ

There is m u c h that is good about your drawing, and the general effect is good: but I think if you could spare the time in the course of a m o n t h it would be better if you could see the house again and take this drawing with you 1 I think I might be able to meet you there in that time. There is n o very great hurry about getting the b o o k o u t . 2 With best wishes Yours very truly William Morris MS: Cheltenham. 1 Gere seems to have accepted only some of Morris's suggestions for his drawing for the frontispiece for the Kelmscott News from Nowhere. He may have lightened the stone-work joints and altered the copings and the stone path to conform to Morris's wishes, since in the drawing published they do not seem "black and heavy." About the chimney-stacks and the vines he apparendy was either less persuaded or less able to make changes: the chimney stack clearly remains quite close to the gable, and the vines resemble trees. See illustration, p. 483. See also note 2 below. 2 Since printing the book was complete and issuing it was being held up only for Gere's frontispiece, Morris's assurance there was "no very great hurry" is odd. The explanation may be that even though Reeves and Turner (who were to sell the book) were presumably waiting for it, Morris feared pressuring Gere would produce adverse results. Conceivably, Morris was never quite satisfied with any version of Gere's drawing but used the one he did because in fact it was not possible to delay any longer.

[ 482 ]

Preliminary drawings of Kelmscott M a n o r by Charles M a r c h Gere, for the frontispiece of the Kelmscott Press edition of News from Nowhere,

1892.

LETTERS

OF WILLIAM

2078 · T o SYDNEY CARLYLE COCKERELL

MORRIS Kelmscott, Lechlade December 23 [1892]

M y dear Cockerell To save time I enclose the few lines w h i c h are true, & n o t lies. 1 Send it o n if you think it g o o d e n o u g h . 2 Otherwise wait till I c o m e back, and I shall be at your disposal. You might kindly send m e o n the Catalogue of the Manzoni library. 3 N u t t 4 has 3 books from C o h n 5 waiting for my inspection and of course they must wait till c o m e back; but if you or Walker care to see t h e m , well. A beautiful day today w i t h sharp frost very Christmassy. Place looks very pretty. G o o d luck. Yours very truly William Morris MS: PML. 1

See letter no. 2079. Cockerell had become a candidate for the curatorship of Sir John Soane's Museum (see letter no. 2079 and n. 3). An annotation by Cockerell on the holograph explains this and continues: "Morris and others wrote testimonials, but it went no further as I learnt that only architects were eligible." 3 Morris refers to the G. Sangiorgio Sale, in Rome, of the Library of Count Giocamo Manzoni (1816-1889), sometime minister of finances in the Republic of Rome and a noted bibliophile. The sale was held in three parts: the first, January 4-February 1, 1892; the second, May 8-June 7 1893; and the third, December 18, 1893-January 18, 1894. The second consisted of fifteenth-century books printed by Aldine, Marcolini, and Soncino. 4 Alfred Triibner Nutt. 5 Albert Cohn (1827-1905), a Berlin bookseller. He was the compiler of the Shakespeare Bibliographic from 1871 to 1899, and author of Shakespeare in Germany in the Sixteenth and Seventeenth Centuries (1865). 2

2079 · T o THE PRESIDENT A N D COUNCIL OF T H E R O Y A L A C A D E M Y

Kelmscott H o u s e ,

U p p e r Mall, H a m m e r s m i t h D e c e m b e r 2 3 , 1892 to the President and Council of the Royal Academy Sir, 1 Mr. Sydney Cockerell has been w o r k i n g for m e , (on the cataloguing of a library of ancient books, 2 and in addition I have k n o w n h i m for some years.

[ 484 ]

1892

/ LETTER

2080

H e is a man of great intelligence, and very careful & exact in his work, in w h i c h he takes m u c h interest: he has a very g o o d general knowledge of Archaeology, and I should think him

on all grounds a very suitable

person for the curatorship of the Soane M u s e u m 3 I have the h o n o u r to be Sir Yours obediently William Morris MS: (Printed photocopy) JWMS, Winter 1962, 27-28. 1 In 1892, the president of the Royal Academy was Sir Frederic Leighton (1830-1896). He held the post from 1878 until his death. 2 About Cockerell's cataloguing of Morris's library, Peterson writes (History, pp. 17071): "At the beginning of his diary for 1892 Cockerell wrote the following note (dated January 10 1893): 'Out of my stays at Kelmscott [Manor], and thanks also to Philip Webb's influence, arose my present work of cataloguing W.M.'s books, a truly enviable task, on which I have been engaged for 2 months. It will take me some time longer, and having done it I shall the more readily obtain other employment. I already begin to know some­ thing of the various 15th century types.' Morris had engaged Cockerell's services for 'two guineas a week and a copy of the Golden Legend!' (diary 3 November 1892) and aided, by the advice of F. S. Ellis and Robert Proctor, Cockerell, though inexperienced, found his way with surprising agility through the bibliographical thickets of incunabula. The Cata­ logue . . . was never completed, but one can see an indication of the form it would have taken from one of the last of the Kelmscott Press books, Some German Woodcuts of the Fif­ teenth Century (1897), where Cockerell prints as appendix, the result of this painstaking anyalses of the woodcuts in Morris's collection of early books. Ί haven't a spark of imagina­ tion, and am only good for dry-as-dust cataloguing,' Cockerell protests; but it was clear to many of Morris's friends that this unusual man possessed 'the excellent organ or orderliness' (as Ellis called it) to an amazing degree." 3

Soane Museum was established by the will of Sir John Soane (1753-1837). Housed in his home in Lincoln's Inn Fields, it contains his varied collection of art, including Hogarth's "Rake's Progress" and "Election," as well as sculpture, architectural drawings, and gems. When Soane obtained an act of Parliament in 1833 for his house and its contents to become a permanent museum, one of the clauses laid down was that the Royal Academy should nominate the curator. Such nominations were made until the 1970s. I am grateful to Sidney C. Hutchinson for the information given here.

2080 · T o JAMES LEIGH JOYNES

Kelmscott House, Upper Mall, Hammersmith December 27, 1892

1

M y dear J o n e s 2 T h a n k you letter, and we

very m u c h for your greetings; I have c o m m u n i z e d your are all very sorry that you

going o n in you.

should have so many events

H e r e , there are n o n e : Shaw is happy because (as

[ 485 ]

he

LETTERS

OF W I L L I A M

MORRIS

sleeps w i t h his w i n d o w wide open) his water-jug is frozen deeper than anyone else's. 3 This is the first time that I have b e e n here in m i d w i n t e r and I think I rather enjoy the frost as a change; t h o u g h not so m u c h as I (cou) should have 40 years ago. We all send greetings; and I for my part hope, (that) in spite of Shaw, that you will soon get o n to a big beef steak 4 It is a lovely winter m o r n i n g here, and I h o p e you are having the b e n efit of it Yours very truly William Morris MS: BL, Add. MS. 45345. Published: MM, II, 601; Henderson, Letters, 353. 1 Although Morris used his Kelmscott House stationery with the address unaltered, he wrote from Kelmscott Manor. See note 3 below. 2 The name in the salutation is a slip of the pen. The letter was written to J. L. Joynes. 3 May Morris, who in December 1892 was still married to Harry Sparling, later recorded somewhat oddly (MM, II, 600-601) that this "letter was written from Kelmscott where my father and myself were spending Christmas with Shaw and one or two other friends." Shaw in his Diaries noted (p. 882) that among others present, in addition to May and her father, were Jenny, Mary De Morgan, and Harry Sparling. Shaw's visit, which began on December 21, lasted until December 29, when he and May went back to London together. Sparling had returned the previous day. For Shaw's complete record of his stay at Kelmscott Manor, see his Diaries, pp. 882-84. 4 Shaw was a vegetarian.

2081

· T o CHISWICK PRESS

[CHARLES THOMAS JACOBI?]

Kelmscott House, Upper Mall, Hammersmith December 31 [1892]

Dear Sir I see that I have made a mistake: the first vol: should end at the end of the 2nd part. T h e 2nd vol: beginning with 3rd Part, viz the Road to the Well at the World's End.1 I will call o n M o n d a y m o r n i n g and see what we had best d o 2 W Morris MS: Bodleian. 1 The Well at the World's End is divided into four parts, Books 1 through 4: the first two make up Vol. I, the others Vol. II. The present letter refers to an early stage in the work's complicated publication history. Cockerell writes ("List," p. 162): "This book, delayed for various reasons, was longer on hand than any other. It appears in no less than twelve lists, from that of Dec. 1892, to that of Nov. 26, 1895, as 'in the press'. . . ." There were, in fact, two separate printings of The Well, which Buxton Forman says (p. 184) "must be described

[ 486 ]

1892 / L E T T E R

2081

[as] editiones principes." The intention was to issue first a Kelmscott Press edition, illustrated by Arthur Gaskin (see letter no. 2071, n. 1). But the first printing "was actually set up at the Chiswick Press from the author's finished manuscript. . . . " Printed sheets from this edition, of which Reeves and Turner were to be the publisher, were then used by "the Kelmscott printers [to] set the types for the intended first edition." To clarify what caused delays in issuing the book is difficult. Cockerell says that printing of the Kelmscott Press edition was begun on December 16, 1892, which means that the text produced by the Chiswick Press for Reeves and Turner was available by then. But Forman says (p. 187) printing by the Chiswick Press was finished "no later than December 14, 1893." If 189J is not a typographical error, then the present letter, dated as it is, December 31, 1892, signals the first of what may have been many changes requested by Morris of the Chiswick Press. However, it is conceivable that Forman is misleading and that the Chiswick Press completed the printing long before December 14, 1893, and was obliged to do nothing with the sheets because Morris's dissatisfaction with Gaskin's drawings was holding up his own edition. The Chiswick Press printing was of a thousand copies, and they all originally had a title page giving the publication date as 1894, and Reeves and Turner as the publisher. Only one copy was bound (see Buxton Forman, p. 187). (Cockerell wrote on the title page of that copy, now in the PML, that it was given to him by Morris in 1895 and was in fact the single bound copy mentioned by Buxton Forman.) The account I have so far given, though too dependent on conjecture, leads to a possibility that requires mentioning. It is that Morris was confident, at one point, Gaskin's drawings would be finished in time for him to issue the Kelmscott Press edition in 1894 and before Reeves and Turner's. It would then follow that when he realized the designs would not be ready, he withdrew consent for Reeves and Turner's edition to appear in 1894, even though the title page bearing that year had already been printed. In the event, the arrangement with Reeves and Turner was canceled, presumably sometime in 1894, perhaps because they would agree to no further delays. Longmans became the publisher of the Chiswick Press printing, with a new title page substituted, and Morris's Kelmscott Press edition, reset in Chaucer type, preceded it by a few months. Both were issued in 1896. 2

It is conceivable that Morris's error in dividing the text for the two volumes, which he admits here, increased the costs unexpectedly and led or contributed to whatever disagreement developed between him and Reeves and Turner (see note 1 above).

[ 487 ]

A P P E N D I X A.

Statement of Principles of the Hammersmith Socialist Society TEXT was written by William Morris and issued as a pamphlet under the title "Statement of Principles of the Hammersmith Socialist Society." It was printed by the Co-operative Printing Society (at 6 Salisbury Court, Fleet Street and 35 Russell Street, Covent Garden); and was published by the Hammersmith Socialist Society, at Kelmscott House. The pamphlet was priced at one penny. T H E FOLLOWING

By Socialism, the Hammersmith Socialist Society understands the realization of a condition of true society all-embracing and all-sufficing. It believes that this great change must be effected by the conscious exertions of those who have learned to know what Socialism is. This change, it believes, must be an essential change in the basis of society: the present basis is privilege for the few and consequent servitude for the many; the further basis will be equality of condition for all, which we firmly believe to be the essence of true society. As soon as any community begins to make differences in the condition and livelihood of its members, according to some imagined standard of estimation of their qualities, it finds itself driven to use a mere arbitrary system for the apportioning of responsibilities and rewards, which must of necessity injure some for the aggrandizement of others. But when a society habitually injures any group of its members, it has become a tyranny; it has ceased to be a true society, and has lost its reason for existence. As Socialists, we say, that society is embodied for two purposes, the increase of wealth by means of the combination and co-operation of the varying powers and capacities of men, and the equitable distribution of the wealth so produced; and as each man's capacities can be used for the benefit of the community, and as the needs of all men are at least similar, we claim the right for every person born into society to a full share of the sum of benefits produced by it: whosoever is kept out of this share, whether by force or fraud, is not a member of society, but has been thrust out of it, and owes no allegiance to it. [ 489 ]

APPENDIX A

But the society of the present day, that of the capitalist wage-earner, of rich and poor, by no means admits this claim; on the contrary, the essence of it is the denial of this right and the assertion of an aribitrary inequality. It is an exclusive society, a combination of privileged persons united for the purpose of excluding the majority of the population from participation in the wealth which they (the workers) make. The system whereby this privilege is sustained, is the exclusive ownership by the privileged classes of the means of production, that is to say, the land, and the tolls and appliances necessary to combined labour, namely the factories; machinery; railways, and other means of transit. The working-classes are not allowed to use these means of production except on the terms of their giving up everything to the possessing classes, save the bare necessities of life. These so-called higher classes, therefore, are enabled to live upon the labour of the workers, who are thus deprived of all the advantages gained by an advanced state of civilization: the productivity of labour has increased enormously within the last 400 years, but the working-classes have not shared in the gains of that increase in power; all that they have done is to create a large and prosperous middle-class, which consists in part of their direct employers, i.e., their masters, and in part of those who minister to the pleasure and luxury of those masters. The workers therefore, we repeat, are not a part of capitalist society, since they do not share in the wealth produced for it, they are but its machinery, and are not protected or sustained by it; for them it has ceased to be a society, and has become a tyranny; and it is a tyranny whose subjects are not an inferior race of feeble and incapable persons, but the useful part of the population. Such a society (so called) dominating populations, the useful part of which is out-lawed, cannot be stable; it holds within itself the elements of its own dissolution; and it can only go on existing by the repression by force and fraud of all serious and truthful thought and all aspirations for betterment. It is conceivable though, we believe, improbable, that it may still further degrade the working-classes, till is has crushed all resistance out of them, and made them slaves more hopeless and more haplesss than the world has yet seen. But the whole evolution of society and all the signs of the times bid us hope for a better fate than this for our epoch. It is becoming clearer day by day that the thought and the hopes of the working classes (who are being gradually educated into a knowledge of their unworthy position), and the force lying latent in them for a new order of things cannot be repressed; that the tyranny of privilege is weakening, and that we are within sight of its overthrow. It is beyond a doubt that if the workers unite to claim their heritage, the due membership of society, the tyranny of privilege must fall before them, and that true society will rise out of its ruins. [ 490 ]

HAMMERSMITH SOCIALIST

SOCIETY

For here we must say that it is not the dissolution of society for which we strive, but its reintegration. The idea put forward by some who attack present society, of the complete independence of every individual, that is, for freedom without society, is not merely impossible of realization, but, when looked into, turns out to be inconceivable. As Socialists, it is a true society which we desire. Of that true society the workers contain the genuine elements, although they are outcasts from the false society of the day, the tyranny of privilege; and it is their business to show the privileged that it is so, by constituting themselves even now, under the present tyranny, into a society of labour definitely opposed to the society of privilege. Such a society would be able to ameliorate the lot of the workers by wringing concessions from the masters, while it was sapping the strong-hold of privilege, the individual ownership of the means of production, and developing capacity for administration in its members; so that when the present system is overthrown they might be able to carry on the business of the community without waste or disaster. To further this militant society of labour we believe to be the business of all Socialists, but we would say a word about the part in this business which we believe should be the special work of the Hammersmith Socialist Society and others, who are neither State Socialists nor Anarchists. We believe then, that it should be our special aim to make Socialists, by putting before people, and especially the working-classes, the elementary truths of Socialism; since we feel sure, in the first place, that in spite of the stir in the ranks of labour, there are comparatively few who understand what Socialism is, or have had opportunites of arguing on the subject with those who have at least begun to understand it; and, in the second place, we are no less sure that before any definite Socialist action can be attempted, it must be backed up by a great body of intelligent opinion—the opinion of a great mass of people who are already Socialists, people who know what they want, and are prepared to accept the responsibilities of self-government, which must form a part of their claims. It may be, nay, probably will be, necessary that various crude experiments in the direction of State Socialism should be tried, but we say if this be so, let them be advocated by those who believe that they see in them a solution of the social question, rather than by those who, not so believing, merely wish to use the advocacy of them as a political expedient for strengthening their position as exponents of Socialism. On the other hand we deprecate spasmodic and desperate acts of violence, which will only increase the miseries of the poor and the difficulties of Socialists by alarming the timid, and giving opportunities for repression to the capitalist executive, and which must of necessity be carried on by men who know nothing of their position, except that they are suffering, and who, in consequence, will yield easily to those who may relieve their [ 491 ]

APPENDIX A sufferings temporarily. At the same time, we k n o w that it may be necessary to incur the penalties attaching to passive resistance, which is the true weapon of the weak and unarmed, and which embarasses a tyranny far more than acts of hopeless violence can do, turning the apparent victories of the strong and unjust into real defeats for them. Furthermore, as Socialists, we would remind our brethren generally that, though we cannot but sympathise with all struggles of the workers against their masters, however partial they may be, however much they may fall short of complete and effective combinations, yet we cannot fail to see that of themselves these partial struggles will lead nowhere; and that this must always be the case as long as the workers are the wage-slaves of the employers. We, therefore, earnestly urge the workers to lose no time in constituting a general combination of labour, whose object will be the abolition of privilege by means of obtaining for labour the complete control of the means of production, which must be the first step in the realization of Socialism. W i t h the object steadily in view, such a combination will gain ever fresh advantages for the workers: everyone of which, be it r e m e m bered must necessarily be gained at the expense of the capitalists. It will drive them from position after position, until at last they will find t h e m selves burdened with a responsibility which carries no privilege, and will call upon the workers to take that responsibility on themselves, and t h e m selves carry on the work of the world. It is the business of all Socialists to do their best to bring it about, that in that day the masters will be addressing m e n w h o are willing and able to accept that responsibility, because they know, that they, w h o were once outcasts from society, have n o w become society itself. In this hope, we appeal to all workers to learn to understand their true position; to understand that they have no hope of bettering their condition save by general combination; but, that, by means of that general combination they may become irresistible, that their demands must then be yielded to. But, unless they know what to demand, they will not be really strong, nay, without that knowlege, complete combination is impossible. You that are not Socialists, therefore, learn, and in learning teach us, that when we know, we may be able to act, and so realize the new order of things, the beginnings of which we can already see, though we cannot picture to ourselves its happiness. December, 1890.

[ 492 ]

A P P E N D I X B.

T H E TEXT, as given here, is taken from A Note by William Morris on His Aims in Founding the Kelmscott Press Together With a Short Description of the Press by S. C. Cockerell, & an Annotated List of the Books Printed thereat (London: The Kelmscott Press, March 4, 1898), pp. 1-6.

N O T E B Y W I L L I A M M O R R I S O N HIS AIMS IN F O U N D I N G THE K E L M S C O T T PRESS I began printing books with the hope of producing some which would have a definite claim to beauty, while at the same time they should be easy to read and should not dazzle the eye, or trouble the intellect of the reader by eccentricity of form in the letters. I have always been a great admirer of the calligraphy of the Middle Ages, & of the earlier printing which took its place. As to the fifteenth-century books, I had noticed that they were always beautiful by force of the mere typography, even without the added ornament, with which many of them are so lavishly supplied. And it was the essence of my undertaking to produce books which it would be a pleasure to look upon as pieces of printing and arrangement of type. Looking at my adventure from this point of view then, I found I had to consider chiefly the following things: the paper, the form of the type, the relative spacing of the letters, the words, and the lines; and lastly the position of the printed matter on the page. It was a matter of course that I should consider it necessary that the paper should be hand-made, both for the sake of durability and appearance. It would be a very false economy to stint in the quality of the paper as to price: so I had only to think about the kind of hand-made paper. On this head I came to two conclusions: 1st, that the paper must be wholly of linen (most hand-made papers are of cotton today), and must be quite 'hard,' i.e., thoroughly well sized; and 2nd, that though it must be 'laid' and not 'wove' (i.e., made on a mould made of obvious wires), the lines caused by the wires of the mould must not be too strong, so as to give a ribbed appearance. I found that on these points I was at one with the practice of the papermakers of the fifteenth century; so I took as my [ 493 ]

APPENDIX B

model a Bolognese paper of about 1473. My friend Mr. Batchelor, of Little Chart, Kent, carried out my views very satisfactorily, & produced from the first the excellent paper which I still use. Next as to type. By instinct rather than by conscious thinking it over, I began by getting myself a fount of Roman type. And here what I wanted was letter pure in form; severe, without needless excrescences; solid, without the thickening and thinning of the line, which is the essential fault of the ordinary modern type, and which makes it difficult to read; and not compressed laterally, as all later type has grown-to-be owing to commercial exigencies. There was only one source from which to take examples of this perfected Roman type, to wit, the works of the great Venetian printers of the fifteenth century, of whom Nicholas Jenson produced the completest & most Roman characters from 1470 to 1476. This type I studied with much care, getting it photographed to a big scale, & drawing it over many times before I began designing my own letter; so that though I think I mastered the essence of it, I did not copy it servilely; in fact, my Roman type, especially in the lower case, tends rather more to the Gothic than does Jenson's. After a while I felt that I must have a Gothic as well as a Roman fount; and herein the task I set myself was to redeem the Gothic character from the charge of unreadableness which is commonly brought against it. And I felt that this charge could not be reasonably brought against the types of the first two decades of printing: that Schoeffer at Mainz, Mentelin at Strasburg, and Gunther Zainer at Augsburg, avoided the spiky ends and undue compression which lay some of the later type open to the above charge. Only the earlier printers (naturally following therein the practice of their predecessors the scribes) were very liberal of contractions, and used an excess of 'tied' letters, which, by the way, are very useful to the compositor. So I entirely eschewed contractions, except for the '&,' and had very few tied letters, in fact none but the absolutely necessary ones. Keeping my end steadily in view, I designed a black-letter type which I think I may claim to be as readable as a Roman one, and to say the truth I prefer it to the Roman. This type is of the size called Great Primer (the Roman type is of'English' size); but later on I was driven by the necessities of the Chaucer (a double-columned book) to get a smaller Gothic type of Pica size. The punches for all these types, I may mention, were cut for me with great intelligence and skill by Mr. E. P. Prince, and render my designs most satisfactorily. Now as to the spacing: First, the 'face' of the letter should be as nearly conterminous with the 'body' as possible, so as to avoid undue whites between the letters. Next, the lateral spaces between the words should be [ 494 ]

FOUNDING KELMSCOTT

PRESS

(a) no more than is necessary to distinguish clearly the division into words, and (b) should be as nearly equal as possible. Modern printers, even the best, pay very little heed to these two essentials of seemly composition, and the inferior ones run riot in licentious spacing, thereby producing, inter alia, those ugly rivers of lines running about the page which are such a blemish to decent printing. Third, the whites between the lines should not be excessive; the modern practice of 'leading' should be used as little as possible, and never without some definite reason, such as marking some special piece of printing. The only leading I have allowed myself is in some cases a thin lead between the lines of my Gothic pica type: in the Chaucer and the double-columned books I have used a 'hair' lead, and not even this in the 16mo books. Lastly, but by no means least, comes the position of the printed matter on the page. This should always leave the inner margin the narrowest, the top somewhat wider, the outside (fore-edge) wider still, and the bottom widest of all. This rule is never departed from in mediaeval books, written or printed. Modern printers systematically transgress against it; thus apparently contradicting the fact that the unit of a book is not one page, but a pair of pages. A friend, the librarian of one of our most important private libraries, tells me that after careful testing he has come to the conclusion that the mediaeval rule was to make a difference of 20 per cent, from margin to margin. Now these matters of spacing and position are of the greatest importance in the production of beautiful books; if they are properly considered they will make a book printed in quite ordinary type at least decent and pleasant to the eye. The disregard of them will spoil the effect of the best designed type. It was only natural that I, a decorator by profession, should attempt to ornament my books suitably: about this matter, I will only say that I have always tried to keep in mind the necessity for making my decoration a part of the page of type. I may add that in designing the magnificent and inimitable woodcuts which have adorned several of my books, and will above all adorn the Chaucer which is now drawing near completion, my friend Sir Edward Burne-Jones has never lost sight of this important point, so that his work will not only give us a series of most beautiful and imaginative pictures, but form the most harmonious decoration possible to the printed book. Kelmscott House, Upper Mall, Hammersmith. Nov. 11, 1895.

[ 495 ]

APPENDIX C.

Addenda

2057A · T o JAMES B R Y C E

Kelmscott House,

Upper Mall, Hammersmith October 27, 1892 M y dear Bryce I have first to thank y o u very much for your kind and sympathetic letter: but next I feel myself obliged to say that I should have to decline the post, if it were offered me. It is certainly true that the Laureateship owing in my opinion to its having been held successively by two great poets has of late years got to be looked upon as a national, rather than a court affair; nevertheless it is a court appointment, at best say a kind of pension granted by the Court. N o w I am not a fanatic about forms of government and as you well know do not suppose that the abolition of the monarchy in England would go any way towards solving the great socio-political questions of out time; still I am a sincere republican, and therefore I could not accept a post which would give me even the appearance of serving a court for complaisance sake. Moreover, even granted the other point of view, yours I mean; I think I don't approve of even a national official recognition of the best poet. H o w often it wouldn't be the best: h o w seldom we should have the luck of a selection like the last! Again I must assure you that if it were necessary, or even decent for m e to go to court or write a court ode, I could n o t do it: absolutely could not. After all the thing comes to this that I feel that my independence would be hampered by my acceptance which would I am sure disappoint many friends whose good opinion does much to keep m e straight in life. So I must deprive you of what I am sure would be a pleasure to you, the pushing of my claims to wit. At the same time I ask you to believe that I am genuinely delighted at your friendly expression of a good opinion of my works. Yours very truly William Morris MS: Bodleian, Bryce Papers, 173, fol. 70.

[ 497 ]

APPENDIX C 2058A · T o JAMES BRYCE

Kelmscott House

Upper Mall, Hammersmith October 29 [1892] My dear Bryce I don't k n o w h o w to measure annoyance accurately but I think I was as much annoyed as you could be at the note in the Chronicle which I saw only this afternoon. Being in a great rage, I only wrote as follows Sir Please be so kind as to contradict the report that the laureateship has been offered to m e as it is untrue. I am sir WM Your suggestion is perhaps better but my letter has gone and I hope will look as if I was angry. T h e worst of it is that the whole looks as if I have been blethering, but I perhaps naturally, being pleased with your kindness, talked the matter over with a very few of my most intimate friends, n o n e of w h o m has any connection with the press. So I hope you will absolve me from being the fool I rather look under the circumstances. It seems before o n e speaks to a man at all o n e must ask h i m categorically lives by inditing 'pars'? I shall certainly write to Massingham 1 of w h o m I k n o w something and complain of you & m e in the matter. Also if you don't think my note to him explicit enough I think I could send someone over this evening. Yours very truly William Morris MS: Bodleian, Bryce Papers, 173. fol. 78. 1 Henry William Massingham (1890-1924); on the staff of the Daily Chronicle at this time.

[ 498 ]

INDEX OF C O R R E S P O N D E N T S

meeting of, 44 Coronio, Aglaia Ionides, 75, 116, 327, 330 Cours, France, striking workers at, 148 Crane, Walter, 261, 262, 270, 302, 356 Cunninghame Graham, Gabriela, 310 Cunninghame Graham, Robert Bontine, 387

Adams, Oscar Fay, 72 Allen, George, 385 Allen, Grant, 385 Archer, William, 154 Armstrong, Thomas, 109, 458 Ashbee, Charles Robert, 49 Bailie, William, 106, 131 Baillie, Edmund J., 226 Bainton, George, 154 Batchelor, Joseph, 223, 243, 245, 248, 258, 259, 260, 272, 273, 274, 279, 282, 283, 285, 290, 291, 294, 304, 305, 306, 309, 321 Berthon, Edward Lyon, 96 Blunt, Wilfrid Scawen, 219, 225, 232, 276, 330, 356, 357, 364, 383, 395 Boni, Giacomo, 372 Bowden, William Henry, 252, 254, 270, 301, 345 Boyd, Alice, 358 Brothers, Roberts, 262 Brown, Ford Madox, 14, 147 Bryce, James, 460 Burne-Jones, Edward, 447 Burne-Jones, Georgiana, 42, 55, 80, 95, 122, 170, 175, 221, 241, 306, 327 Burnett, Swan Moses, 282 Burns, John, 39, 137 Carruthers, John, 3, 132, 137, 209 Chapman, Edward C , 105, 117, 120, 122 Chiswick Press, 97, 133, 134, 210, 217, 255, 295, 314, 418, 431, 439. See also Jacobi, Charles Thomas; Whittingham and Co. Cobden-Sanderson, Thomas James, 36, 215, 221, 249, 284,296, 358 Cockerel·!, Sydney Carlyle, 424, 434, 484 Commonweal, readers of the, 62, 85, 146 Commune Celebration, Chairman of the

Daily Chronicle, editor of, 462 Daily News, editor of, 25, 53 D'Esterre-Keeling, Eleonore, 42 Dryhurst, Nannie Florence, 265 Ellis, Frederick Startridge, 14, 124, 184, 198, 201, 205, 210, 222, 250, 265, 280, 286, 292, 365,368,421, 479 Ellis, Henry Havelock, 161 Ellis, Herbert Moates, 408 Ellis and Elvey (firm of), 233, 254, 281, 307, 443 Elton, Oliver, 145 Faulkner, Kate, 151, 163, 181, 188, 198, 209 Faunthorpe, John Pincher, 190, 275, 277, 372, 397 Gaskin, Arthur Joseph, 474 Gere, Charles March, 463, 466, 469, 473, 481, 482 Gimson, Sydney Ansell, 98, 134 Glasier, John Bruce, 15, 30, 46, 51, 59, 70, 107, 113, 217, 238, 244, 317, 381, 445, 454, 457 Glasse,John, 98, 108, 112, 114, 127, 140 Halle, Charles E., 22 Hardy, Thomas, 367 Headlam, Stewart Duckworth, 46 Holiday, Catherine, 36 Howard, George James, 421

[ 499 ]

INDEX

OF

CORRESPONDENTS 321, 360, 367, 410, 450

Hyndman, Henry Mayers, 247 Irving, Henry, 65 Jack, George Washington Henry, 139 Jacobi, Charles Thomas, 81, 106, 116, 120, 123, 171, 186, 204, 205, 232, 307, 313, 315, 322, 342, 350, 409, 410, 486 Joynes, James Leigh, 131, 333, 485 Keates, Charles Edward, 425, 470 Kenworthy, John Coleman, 141, 149, 155, 222 Kitz, Frank, 442 Kropotkin, Peter Alexeivich, 3, 10, 38, 472 Lafargue, Laura Marx, 48 Lamb, Edith G., 376 Lane, Joseph, 27, 60, 68 Leighton,J. &J., 168, 208, 228, 276, 278, 281, 287, 293, 296, 302, 308, 321, 375, 388, 392, 393, 399, 403, 409, 413, 446, 448, 455, 459, 468, 480 Leighton, Walter James, 168, 208, 228, 276, 278, 281, 287, 293, 296, 308, 311, 321, 375, 388, 392, 393, 399, 403, 409, 413, 446, 448, 455, 459, 468, 480 Lethaby, William Richard, 54 Liverpool Daily Post, editor of, 264 Magnusson, Eirikr, 227, 235, 245, 293, 295, 308, 316, 317, 339, 350, 379, 386, 435 Magnusson, Sigri3ur Einarsdottir, 28 Mavor, James, 10, 17, 28 Meeres, Horace, 249 Middleton, John Henry, 255 Morgan, Edmund Henry, 71, 76 Morris, Emma Shelton (mother), 69, 123, 127, 136, 150, 159 Morris, Jane (wife), 57, 77, 115, 118, 128, 151, 152, 334 Morris, Jenny (daughter), 3, 12, 17, 24, 31, 33, 93, 103, 109, 114, 118, 184, 302, 304, 309, 332, 351, 353, 361, 376, 391, 393, 402, 403, 405, 410, 411, 414, 415, 416, 422, 423, 427, 430, 437, 440, 443, 448, 456, 469 Morris, May (daughter), 39, 83, 90, 92, 170 Mundella, Anthony John, 65, 80 Murray, Charles Fairfax, 11, 70, 298, 315,

Newberry, Francis H., 23 Nichol, Jane Stewart Bell, 31 Nicoll, David J., 178 Norton, Charles Eliot, 76 Nutt, Alfred Trubner, 311, 322, 370 Oldham, Emma Morris (sister), 217 Olivier, Sydney Haldane, 9 Pall Mall Gazette, editor, 100, 104, 242, 362 Parkes, W Kineton, 153 Payne, Peter, 380 Prince, Edward Philip, 407 Quaritch, Bernard, 142, 161, 172, 174, 179, 187, 190, 201, 209, 216, 229, 230, 233, 236, 242, 254, 284, 299, 323, 354, 399, 400, 406, 407, 450, 471, 472, 475, 479 Redgrave, Gilbert, 417, 464 Reed, Talbot Baines, 352 Reeves, Samuel, 229 Reeves, William Dobson, 83, 226, 278, 288,313,418,419 Reeves and Turner (publishers), 278, 288, 304, 313, 418, 419 Reynolds, C , 84, 92 Royal Academy, the President and Council of, 484 Salt, Henry Stephens, 21 Samuels, Henry Benjamin, 38 Scheu, Andreas, 129, 150, 177, 369 Scott, John Oldrid, 143 Scott, William BeU, 33 Shannon, Charles Haslewood, 390, 392 Shaw, George Bernard, 453 Smith, (Frank or Robert), 371 Socialist League, secretaries of branches of the, 234 Speaker, The, editor of, 156 Spielmann, Marion Harry, 160 Starr, Ellen Gates, 401 Steele, Robert Reynolds, 419, 444, 466 Times, The, editor of, 194, 204, 262 Tregaskis, James, 261, 364

[ 5 o ]

INDEX

OF

CORRESPONDENTS

Tuer, Andrew White, 243, 289 Turner, Thackeray, 48, 143, 147, 319, 384, 398, 454 unknown recipients, 40, 44, 49, 68, 104, 113, 134, 142, 175, 220, 223, 237, 253, 274, 333, 363, 365, 366, 380, 401, 430 Walker, Emery, 72, 195, 202, 211, 215, 286, 290, 299, 305, 316, 318, 320, 324,

329, 340, 342, 349, 368, 370, 374, 375, 396, 425, 440 Watts-Dunton, Walter Theodore, 248, 309, 384 Webb, Philip Speakman, 117, 335, 346, 433 Wess, Wolf, 163, 192 Whittingham and Co., 130. See also Chiswick Press Wyatt, Alfred John, 436

[ 501 ]

SUBJECT INDEX

Abbeville (France), 334, 335n, 336, 338n, 340 Abbey, Edwin Austin, 189n Abbey, Mary Gertrude (Mead), 188, 189n Abbey Church of Marguerite (near Lille), 40On Abbey Church of Saints Mary and Ethelfleda (Romsey Abbey), 96-97n Abbey Church of Saints Peter and Paul and Birinus (Dorchester), 74, 75n ACES Catalogue, 9n, 22-23n, 83n Acta Sanctorum, 206n Acton, Lord (J.E.E. Dalberg-Acton), 46On, 462 Adams, Oscar Fay, 74n Adaway, C , 11 In Addams, Jane, 401n Adoration of the Magi, The (tapestry), 12, 13n, 219n ^issop, 175 and n, 220 and n, 223 and n, 364n Albion hand-press, 245, 246 (illus.), 247n alcoholic beverages, 44 Alexander, bishop of Lincoln, 75n Aligre, Marquis d,' 335n Allen, George, 210, 21 In, 352n, 371n, 380, 385 and η, 474n Allen, Grant, 59-60n, 70 and n, 343, 344n, 385n AU Saints Church (Westbury), 57, 58n Althorp Library (sale of, by Lord Spenser), 412-13n American Indians, anecdote about Russians and, 18-19 Amiens (France), 335, 336 Anarchist-Communists, 89n, 179n anarchists (anarchism), 16, 21n, 51, 62-63, 68, 87-88n, 240, 241 η Commonweal and, 234 Congress of Valencia, 62, 65n in Paris, 387, 388n Socialist League and, 234, 239

Walsall, 388n Anarchist-Socialists, 87 Anatomy of Misery, The (Kenworthy), 122n Ancoats At Home Committee, 106n Ancoats Recreation Committee, 106n, 107n "Angels Welcoming Saints into Paradise" (Burne-Jones, border by Morris), 437, 438 (illus.), 439n Andersen's, Hans Christian, Stories and Fairy Tales (tr. O. Sommer), 474n Anglo-Saxon architecture, 59n animals. See also birds at Kelmscott Manor, 57, 402, 404 Annie. See Wheeler, Annie Annual Register, 1890, 139n Anscombe, Isabelle, 433n Anscombe, Isabelle and Charlotte Gere, 55n Antiphonarium, 479, 48On Appian, Alexander, 468 Applied Arts Section of the Society of Arts, 364n Apponyi, Count Louis of Hungary, Sotheby sale of part of the library of, 469n, 471 and η, 472n Aranieff, Sophie (Madame Kropotkin), 414 and η Arbeter Fraint (journal), 163n, 192n Arbuthnot, George, 194n Archer, William, 154n Architect, The (journal), 264n architecture, xxxv, 333. See also "Gothic Architecture" (lecture); restorations; So­ ciety for the Protection of Ancient Build­ ings (S.P.A.B.); and specific buildings Curvilinear style, 300n Decorated style, 58n, 102, 299, 300n, 336, 342 destruction of ancient buildings, 156— 58 Early English style, 102n, 299-300n

[ 502 ]

SUBJECT Early Pointed style, 100, 102n, 166 Flamboyant style, 336, 338n Geometric style, 30On Perpendicular style, 58n Second Empire (France), 336n, 338n Transitional Norman, 75n Aretinus, Leonardus Brunus (Leonard of Arezzo), 443 and η Armenia, 81 η Armenian Committee, 80, 81n Arming and Departure of the Knights, The (tapestry), 196 (illus.) Armsden, John, 85, 88n Armstrong, Thomas, 458n, 459n Arnason, Jon, 242 and η Arndes, Stephen, 253n art (arts and crafts) under capitalism, 366 as a profession, 129, 155, 365-66 Art Congress (Edinburgh, 1889), 10, H n , 33, 90, 91 (illus.), 92n, 98, 108 and n, 112 and n, 116 evaluation of, 118, 119n Art Congress (Liverpool, 1888), 10, H n Arter, Andrew, 12, 13n "Art for the People" (lecture; also tided "Of the Origins of Ornamental Art"), 108, 218n, 226, 229 and η Art of Authorship, The (ed. Bainton), 155n, 159n "Art of Dyeing, T h e " (lecture), 98, 99n, 108n, 112 and η "Arts and Crafts" (lecture), H n , 23, 30n, 31,32 Arts and Crafts Essays, 249 and η Morris's preface to, 25On Arts and Crafts Exhibition Society, xxxiii, 22 and n, 23n, 83, 105n, 25On, 261n, 296n, 353n, 356 and η 1889 exhibit, 36 and n, 109, l l l - 1 2 n 1890 exhibit, 147n, 212 (illus.), 214 and n, 215 Arts and Crafts movement, 5On "Arts and Crafts of Today, T h e " (lecture), 112n art schools, 49 Art Workers' Guild, 147n, 344n, 364n, 393, 394n, 444n Ashbee, Charles Robert, 50n, 112n, 214n Ashendene Press, 214n

INDEX Aslin, Elizabeth, 140n Atalanta's Race and Other Tales from the Earthly Paradise, 72, 74n Athenaeum, 103 and η, 278n, 447n, 479 on the Kelmscott Chaucer, 476, 478n, 480n Poems by the Way reviewed in, 384, 385n Attainment, The (tapestry), 197 (illus.) Attwood, Philip, 161n Augustine, St., 407n, 47In authority, freedom from, 63, 64, 88n Autobiographical Notes of the Life of William Bell Scott and Notices of his Artistic and Po­ etic Circle of Friends 1830-1882 (ed. Minto), 36On autographs, 113, 136 and η Avakumovic, Ivan, 39n Avrich, Paul, 106n, 156n Bachelor's Button pattern, 429n Bacon, Roger, 419n Bailie, William, 106n, 107n Baillie, Edmund J., 226 Bain, Robert Nisbet, 481n Bainton, Rev. George, 155n, 159n Baker, Oliver, 398n Bakunin, Mikhail, 21n Balfour, Arthur James, 148n, 226n Ball, Bob, 128n Ballantyne Press, 130n Balliol College, Oxford, 158 Balston, Thomas, 2 H n Balston, W and R. (firm), 21 In BSmler, Johann, 276, 277n Band, Henry, 401n Bankart, G. P., 458n, 459n "Baptism of Eadwin, T h e " (Brown), 147n Barker, H. Α., 52n Barlaam etjosophat (pr. Joannes Damascenus), 322 and η Barnett, Rev. Samuel, 401n Barnsley, Sidney, 54n Barrow, Rev. James, 128 and η Bartholomaeus Anglicus (Bartholomew de Glanville), 419 and η Barton Farm, 58, 59n Basle Roman typeface, 15n Batchelor, Joseph, 2 H n , 224n meetings with Morris, 274 and n, 279,

[ 503 ]

SUBJECT

INDEX

Batchelor, Joseph (ami.) 28On, 282n, 305 paper supplied by, xxxiii, xxxiv, 22325n, 243, 245, 248 and η, 25On, 252n, 258-6On, 267n, 272-74n, 279, 282 and n, 283-84n, 285 and n, 291 and η, 292n, 294, 304 and n, 306 and n, 309, 321 Bate, Francis, 50n Bateman, George S., 139n Battola, John, 388n Bax, Belfort, 16n, 247 and n, 333, 414,

binding. See bookbinding Binyon, Brightwen, 167n Birchall, Katherine Mary, 188, 189n Birchall, Rev. Oswald, 69 and n, 152, 454 and η birds, 55, 69, 152, 181, 403-4 Birinus, bishopric of, 75n Birkenhead, Jane Morris at, 328n "Birthplace, T h e " (Henry James), 66n Black, W. S., 119n Blackmore, Richard Doddridge, Lorna Doone, 90, 92n 415n Blackthorn pattern, 428 (illus.), 429n Bazley, Sir Thomas Sebastian, 188-89n Blackwell, James, 62, 64-65n, 87, 89n Beach, Sir Michael Edward Hicks, 188, Black & White (periodical), 160 189n Blaikie, William, 452n Beadon Road meeting (1889), 72 and η Blanc, Louis, Organisation du Travail, 309 Beaulieu Abbey, 78n and η Beauvais (France), 340, 341n blanket weavers of Cours, France, strike of, Beckson, Karl, 462n 148-49n Bedford Grammar School, 419 and η block books, 257 and η, 258n Beginning of the World, The: Twenty-five Pic­ Blomfleld, Reginald, 54n tures by Edward Burne-Jones, 430 bloomers. See ornamental letters (floriated BeU, Alan, 460-62n initials; bloomers) and other ornaments Bellamy, Edward, 59, 60n, 70-71n Bloomsbury Branch, Socialist League, 239 Bellamy, Joyce, 65n Bloomsbury (group), 50n Beltrami, Luca, 374n Blundell, William, 178, 179n Bentley, Richard, 242n Blunt, Wilfrid Scawen, 186n, 195n, 225Beowulf, 436-37n 26n, 338n, 462n. See also Love-Lyrics & Songs of Proteus, The translation by Wyatt and Morris of, xli Jane Morris and, xxxiv—xxxv, 219n, Bergomensis, Jacobus Phillipus, 281 and η 276n, 330 and η, 332n, 357-58n Berkshire, 74 Morris and, xxxiv-xxxvi, 276 and n, Bernheim, Hippolyte, 434n Bernstein, Eduard, 46n, 215 and η 332n, 383 and η Berry, Mrs. (neighbor of Emma Shelton tapestries commissioned by, 219 and n, Morris in Much Hadham), 69 and η 225 and η Berthon, Rev. Edward Lyon, 96, 97n Boccaccio, Giovanni, 256 (illus.), 281n Best of Friends (Cockerell; stage adaptation Bodleian Library, 288, 289n by H. Whitemore), 338n Bodley, George Frederick, 194n, 195n Bible des pokes, 281 Boethius, 364n Bibles, 352n Bondman, The (Caine), 187n Liibeck (pr. Arndes), xxxiv, 253 and η Boni, Giacomo, xxxix, 117 and η, 373n, thirteenth-century Latin manuscript 374n 399, 400 and η Bonnar, Thomas, 119n Vulgate edition (pr. Richel), 353n book arts, xxxi. See also ornamental letters Biblia Innocentium (Mackail), Kelmscott (floriated initials; bloomers) and other or­ Press edition, 292n, 429-3On, 45On, 468 naments; bookbinding; margins; type­ untrimmed edges of, 465n faces Bibliographical Society, 353n, 419n, 464n bookbinding, xxxii, 83n, 11 In Bibury (Gloucestershire), 188 for Blunt's The Love-Lyrics & Songs of Bidpai. See Fables of Bidpai, The Proteus (KP), 365 and n, 383

[ 504 ]

SUBJECT INDEX chintzes for, 124; The Earthly Paradise, 13On; The Roots of the Mountains, 115 and n, 124n, 125 (illus.) for The Defence of Guenevere (KP), 388 and n, 389 (illus.) for A Dream of John Ball, 358 and n, 455 for The Earthly Paradise, 130 for The Glittering Plain, 284 and n, 288 and n, 293, 409n for The Golden Legend (KP), 323 and n, 409, 446 and n, 447, 450, 452n for The History of Reynard the Foxe (KP), 480, 48In for News from Nowhere, 141n for Poems by the Way (KP), 322n for The Recuyell of the Historyes of Troye (KP), 459-60, 468 for The Roots of the Mountains, 115 and η

for Saga Library, Volume 2, 354 silk tape for, 371 "Book-binding" (lecture by Cobden-Sanderson), 446n Book of Hours (Horae), French, 297 and n, 300, 400 and n, 480-81n books and manuscripts. See also early printed books and medieval manuscripts; library, Morris's repair of, 168 and η Boos, Florence S., 298n, 299, 299n, 442n borders, 351-52n. See also ornamental let­ ters (floriated initials; bloomers) and other ornaments for Burne-Jones's "Angels Welcoming Saints into Paradise," 438 (illus.) for The Glittering Plain (KP, 1894), 272, 287n, 352n for The Golden Legend (KP), 286 and n, 300, 301n, 323 and n, 324 and n, 397 for Poems by the Way (KP), 318, 319n for The Well at the World's End (KP), 456, 457n Bordighera (Italy), Jane Morris at (1892), 457n, 458n, 469, 470 Botha, Conrad, 47In Boulanger, Georges Ernest, 25n, 32 Boulangism, 25n Boule (French politician), 24, 25n Boutall, Walter, 478n

Bouxin, Auguste, 349n Bowden, William, 141n, 252 and n, 293, 32On, 356 Bowden, William H. (son of William Bow­ den), xxxv, 252n, 255n, 301, 32On, 343 promotion sought by, 345 and η Bowers, Fredson, 447n Bow Street police, strike of (1890), 178n Boyd, Alice, 33, 358, 360 and η Bradford-on-Avon, 57, 58n Bradley, George Granville, 264n, 363n Brandis, Lucas de, 142n Brandon-Jones, John, 8-9n Breuer, Josef, 434n Breviarium (Anglo-Norman manuscript), 399 and n, 400 Bridge, Sir John, 473n Brioist, Jean Michel, 335n British East Africa Company, 139n British Museum (Library), 253n, 288, 289n Broadbent, Sir William Henry, 432 (illus.), 433, 434n Broadhurst, Henry, 99 and η, 99n Brotherhood Movement, 122n Brotherhood Publishing Company, 122n Brousse, Paul, 19n Brown, Ford Madox, 14 and n, 147 and n, 264n Browning, Robert, 298, 384, 385n Bruce, John (father of John Bruce Glasier), 34n Bryan, Mary Lynn McCree, 401n Bryce, James (Viscount Bryce), xli, 81n, 148n Morris as candidate for Poet Laureateship and, 460-62n, 497-98n Builder, The (periodical), 264n, 412 Bullivant, W. P., 19n Bullock, Kitty (Glasier), 265n Bullock, Samuel, 35n, 244n, 265 and η Bumpus, T. Francis, 341n Burdett-Coutts, Angela, 387 and η Burford (Oxfordshire), 77 "Buried Alive" (Pottier), 48, 49n Burne-Jones, Edward (also referred to as Ned, Ted, and the Master), xxx-xxxi, xxxii, xliv, l l l n , 148n, 179, 184, 323 andn, 351,431,437η, 481 The Beginning of the World: Twenty-five Pictures by Edward Burne-Jones, 430 The Golden Legend (KP), illlustrations

[ 505 ]

SUBJECT Burne-Jones, Edward (cont.) for, 323n, 367n, 41On, 414, 415n, 425n, 437, 439n; "Angels Welcom­ ing Saints into Paradise," 437, 438 (illus.), 439n Kelmscott Chaucer, illustrations for, xliii-xliv, 373n, 414, 415n, 417, 476, 478n photographs of, 449 (illus.), 477 (illus.) St. Paul's Church (American Episco­ pal, Rome), drawings of mosaics for, 7, 9n San Graal tapestry series for Stanmore Hall, 195 and n, 196-97 (illus.), 219 and n, 324 and η, 478n Burne-Jones, Georgiana ("Georgie"), xxviii, 4, 7, 42n, 43 (illus.), 78n, 108n, 114, 328n, 414 Morris and, xxix—xxxi Burne-Jones, Margaret, 7, 449 (illus.) Burnet, John, H n Burnet, John James (son of John), l l n Burnet, Son and Campbell (firm), 10, l l n Burnett, Swan Moses, 282, 283n Burnetts (fabric shop), 28 Burns, John, 16, 18-21n, 39n, 46n, 51, 52η, 94n, 96n, 139n Burrows, Herbert, 46n Burt, A. A., 208 and n, 228 Buscot Wood, 55, 151, 152, 405 business dealings, Morris's. See financial af­ fairs and business relationships, Morris's Butler, Henry Montagu, 236n ByrdclifF (Woodstock, N.Y.), 11 In Caesar, Julius, 220 and η Caesar's Camp (near Folkestone), 329 and η Cailes, Victor, 388n Caine, Thomas Henry Hall, 187 and n, 190 calendering, 124 and η Calendrier des Bergiers, 175n calligraphy, 225n, 442n Cambridge, lectures by Morris in, 236 and n, 243 and η Cambridge, University of, 157, 288, 289n request to borrow a copy of Caxton's Golden Legend from, 222 and η Cambyses, King of Persia (reference in Sha­ kespeare's Henry IV), 139n Campbell, George Douglas (Marquis of

INDEX Lome, eighth duke of Argyll), 92n Campbell, John Archibald, l l n Campbell, John Douglas (Lord Lome, ninth duke of Argyll), 453 and η Campfield, George, 286, 287n Campo Santo (Pisa), 372, 374n Candy, Rev. Herbert, 384 and η Canterbury Poets, The (ed. Skipsey), 66n capitalism, 62, 68, 89n. See also private property the arts under, 366 Cardinal and Harford, 422n Carpenter, R. H., 52n, 264n carpets and rugs, 109, 195, 421, 422n at Clouds, 7, 9n Merton Abbey looms, 325 (illus.) for Stanmore Hall, 195n Carr, Joseph William Comyns, 22, 23n, 148n Carrick.J. D., 218n Carruthers, John, 3, 132, 133 and n, 137, 209 and η Caslon, William, 125n Caslon type, 125n, 179 Casteras, Susan, 27On "Catherine" ("The Sleeve of Gold") (poem), 298 and η Catherwood, Annie, 90 Catterson-Smith, Robert, 43On Cave-Brown-Cave, Henry, vicar of Edington, 58n Caxton, William, 202n, 247n The Golden Legend, 175n, 198-99n, 201 η, 206n, 222n, 334 The History of Reynard the Foxe, 429n Le Morte D 'Arthur, 206n The Order of Chivalry, 479n The Recuyell of the Historyes of Troye, 198n Central School of Arts and Crafts, London, 54n Chamberlain, Joseph, 34, 36n Chambers, W. Α., 52n Champion, H. H., 94n, 138, 139n Champneys, Basil, 413n Chants for Socialists, 382n, 46On Chants Revolutionnaires (Pottier), 49n Chapman, Edward C , 105n Charcot, Jean Martin, 434n Charles, Fred, 388n

[ 506 ]

SUBJECT Chaucer, Geoffrey, 168n. See also Works of Geoffrey Chaucer, The, Kelmscott Press edition of Complete Works (ed. Thynne, pr. Godfray), 175 and η Chaucer type, xxxvii, xxxix, 214n, 354n, 368, 369n Chedworth Villa, Gloucestershire, 188, 189n Chelsea, London County Council (L.CC.) elections in, 381, 382n Chertsey, Andrew, 468n Chesson, F. W., 80, 81n Chesterfield Discussion Society, 123n chintzes, xxxvi for binding books, 124; The Earthly Paradise, 13On; The Roots of the Mountains, 115 and η, 124n, 125 (illus.) Merton Abbey workshop for printing of, 331 (illus.) Chislehurst (Kent), 164, 167n Chiswick, Royal Horticultural Society gar­ dens at, 136, 137n Chiswick Press (also referred to as Charles Whittingham and Co. or Whittinghams), 15n, 24n, 8In, 81-83n, 97 and n , 1 1 1 12n, 116 and n, 120 and η, 124n, 125n, 13On, 133 and n, 217, 307n Gunnlaug Saga printed by, 201n, 204 payment by Morris to, 315 and n, 322 Saga Library and, 186, 187, 209, 210 and n, 314 and n; Heimskringla, 409, 410 The Well at the World's End printed by, 487n Christianity, socialism and, 146-47n "Christianity and Socialism" (Rickarby),

INDEX class division, 45, 62 "Class Struggle, T h e " (lecture), 105n, 107n, 134 and η Clay Cross (Derbyshire), North Wingfield Church, 128 and η Cleveland Street affair, 139n climate. See weather and climate Clouds (country house of Percy S. and Madeline Wyndham), 6 (illus.), 7-9n, 8 (illus.) burning of, 4, 7 and n, 9n Cluny Museum, 470 and η Coates, Miss (Jenny's nurse-companion[?]), 362 and η Cobden,Jane, 18, 19n Cobden-Sanderson, Annie, 11 In Cobden-Sanderson, Thomas James, 36n, 37 (illus.), 39n, 83n, 107 and n, 11 In, 118, 214n, 250n, 284 and η, 401n, 442n bookbinding by, 329 and n; for A Dream offohn Ball, 358 and η on end papers, 446n Cockerell, Sydney Carlyle, xxx-xxxi, xxxix, 59η, 148η, 164n, 170n, 177n, 200η, 202η, 224n, 232n, 252n, 253, 267η, 272η, 274η, 28On, 287n, 289n, 291, 292η, 300η, 306n, 307n, 314n, 322-24n, 336, 337 (illus.), 344n, 354n, 362n, 365n, 369n, 371n, 391n, 402n, 407η, 410-12n, 415η, 416n, 423n, 429n, 435η, 447η, 455η, 459n, 471n, 472n, 479n,485-87n

biographical note on, 338n cataloguing of Morris's library by, 484, 485n first visit to Kelmscott, 424-25n recommendation by Morris for curatorship of Soane Museum, 484-85 146-47n Cockerell's Diary, 59η, 221n, 267n, 329n, Christian Socialist, The, 140, 141n 332η, 338η, 349η, 352n, 373n, 374n, Chronicle at Large and meere History of the Af394η, 416n, 424-25n, 429n, 442-44n, fayres of Englande and Kinges of the same 453η, 457η, 463η, 469n, 473n, 474n, from the Creation of the World unto the first 485n yere of the reigne of Our Sovereigne Lady Cockram, Patricia, 335n, 374n Queene Elizabeth, A (Grafton), 403 coercion, 85, 86, 88n Chronicles (Froissart, Jean), 374n coffee, 44 Chubb, Percival, 76, 77n Cole, Malcolm, 19On, 275n, 278n Cicero, 142 and n, 311 Collins, W., 329 and η Clark, Fiona, 429 Colne St. Aldwyns, 188 Clarke, William, 9n colophon (printer's mark), for Poems by the

[ 507 ]

SUBJECT colophon (printer's mark), (cont.) Way (KP), 332 and n, 343, 353, 355 (illus.) Commentaries (Caesar, pr. Schoffer), 220 and η Commonweal, 27n, 39n, 46n, 48, 49n, 51, 52n, 59n, 64n, 65n, 84n, 85, 88n, 89n, 94η, 106-107n, 114η, 151n, 192n, 209n, 244n, 247, 247η, 287η, 382n, 386n, 388n anarchism and, 234 Christians and, 146-47n circulation (sales) of, 42, 51, 132, 209 and η deletion of passage from Samuels arti­ cle, 38 and η finances of, 14n, 15-16n, 24, 47 and n, 132-33, 140, 24On four-page format considered, 15-16n Kitz and Nicoll as editors of, 178n, 179n. See also Nicoll, David J., as ed­ itor (with Kitz) of Commonweal Morris's dissatisfaction with editorial policy of, 178n ousting of Morris from editorship of, xxvii, 179n reduction of in Morris's subsidy of, 47 and n, 239 strike in Cours (France) and, 148-49n Commonweal Branch, Socialist League, 218n Commonweal Printing Fund, 14n, 16n communal system, 88-89n Commune of Paris. See Paris Commune "Communist Manifesto" (Marx and Engels), 48n Communists (Communism), 62, 63, 71n, 85-88, 88n, 89n use of the term, 85-86 compositors, 250 and n, 252 and η compulsory association, 87, 89n Conolly, Arthur, 89n Conrad, Joseph, 388n Conrad de Homborch, 279n Contemporary Review, The, 59, 60n, 344n conversion hysteria, 433, 434n Conway, William Martin, 112, 113n Cook, E. T. and Alexander Wedderburn (eds. Works of John Ruskin), 21 In, 265n, 338n,363n Coppier, Α., 149n Copyright Act of 1842, 289n

INDEX Cormack, Peter, 7n, 265n Cornish, James, 318 and η Coronio, Aglaia Ionides, xxxv, 75, 116-17, 327, 330 Morris and, 328n costumes, 28 Cote House, 214 and η Cours, France, striking workers at, 148— 49n Court House (Winchelsea), 319, 32On Courtney, Y. C , 459n Cowper, Georgiana (Lady Mount Temple), 96, 97n Cowper-Temple, William Francis (Lord Mount Temple), 97n Crane, Mary, l l l n Crane, Walter, xliii, 99n, 107 and n, l l l n , 112 and n, 113-14n, 114, 118, 119n, 200n, 249, 261 and n, 262, 267, 271 (illus.), 473n emblem for Hammersmith Socialist Society, 235 (illus.) illustrations for The Glittering Plain (KP, 1894), 269 (illus.), 270-72n, 302, 303 (illus.), 303n, 356 and η Kelmscott Press and, 124n seal for London County Council, 39 and η Crawford, W H., of Lakelands, Sotheby sale of the library of, 278, 279n, 281n, 322n Crawley, Joseph, 386n Crispi, Francesco, 373n Crittall, Elizabeth, 58n, 59n Cronecken der Sassen (Botha, pr. Schoffer), 471n Crosse, Rev. Arthur John William, 31920n "Cruel Stepmother, T h e " (poem), 298, 299n Crusaders, The (H. A.Jones), 140 Cubitt, George, 264n Cunninghame Graham, Gabriela, 310-1 In Cunninghame Graham, Robert Bontine, 20η, 52n, 84, 387 Currie, Francis Gore, 225n Curvilinear style, 300n Daily Chronicle (London), xli, 457, 462, 462n stories concerning Morris as candidate

[ 508 ]

SUBJECT for Laureateship, 462 and η Daily News (London), 53, 54n, 6On Dakers, Caroline, 9n Damascenus, Joannes, 322n Dame ά La Licorne, La (tapestry), 470 and η Daphnis and Chloe (tr. Thornley), 390n Dasent, George Webb, 148n, 242 and η David Copperfield (Dickens), 95, 96n, 241 Davies, Hugh William, 168n Davies, Laurence, 31 In, 388n Davis, Allen E, 401n Davis, H., 85, 86, 88-89n "Day Dreams" (Rossetti), 17n Deakin, Joseph Thomas, 388n De Amoris Generibus (Haedus, pr. Gerard de Flandria), 443n Dearie, John Henry, xxxvi, 11 In, 324 De Bellis Cwilibus (Appian, pr. Wendelin of Speyer), 468 De Bello Italico (tr. Aretinus, pr. Jenson), 443 and η De Bello Judaico et Antiquitatum (Josephus), 142 and η Debney, Laurence, 19On De Civitate Dei (St. Augustine, prs. Sweynheym and Pannartz), 407n, 47In De Claris Mulieribus (Bergomensis, Laurentius de pr. Rubeis), 281 and η De Claris Mulieribus (Boccaccio, pr. J. Zainer), 256 (illus.) De Consolatione Philosophiae (Boethius, pr. Arend de Keyser), 364 and η Decorated style, 58n, 102, 299, 30On, 336 de Coverly, Roger, 215 and n, 216 (illus.) Defence of Guenevere, and Other Poems, The, 153 and η, 478n De La Mare Press edition of (1904), 419n Kelmscott Press edition of, 306n, 372, 374n; binding for, 388 and n, 389 (illus.); initials and ornaments for, 374 and n, 375, 378 and n; lettering on the spine of, 388 and n, 389 (illus.), 393, 408 and n; price of, 380; printing of, 374n Degeyter, Pierre, 49n de Keyser, Arend, 364 and η De la Genealogie des Dieux (Boccaccio, pr. Verard), 281 and η Delisle, Leopold, 253n "Democracy and Diamonds" (Allen), 344n

INDEX De Morgan, Mary Augusta, 414, 486n De Morgan, William Frend, 12, 148n, 444 and η Denham, Henry, 403n De Proprietatibus Rerum (Bartholomaeus Anglicus, also known as Bartholomew de Glanville), 419 and η Steele's selections from, 466n design, teaching of, 49 Design and Industries Association, 54n "Design in Relation to Use and Material" (lecture by Crane), 112n D'Esterre-Keeling, Eleonore, 42, 43n "Development of Modern Society, T h e " (lecture), 142n Dial, The (periodical), xlii, xliii, 390 and η Dialogus Creaturarum (pr. Leeu), 220 and n, 223 Dibdin, Rev. Thomas Frognall, 297n Dickens, Charles, 26n David Copperfield, 95, 96n, 241 Our Mutual Friend, 25n, 36n, 168, 369n Dillon, John, 225-26n Diocesan Committees, 143n Diocesan Society, 143 and η Ditchfield, William, 388n Dock, Wharf, Riverside, and Labourers' Union of Great Britain, Ireland and the Netherlands, 94n dockers' strike. See London Dock Strike, The Dockers' Strike Committee, 96n Donald, Alexander Karley, 51-52n, 241n Dorchester Dykes, 74 Dorchester-on-Thames, 74, 75n Douce 310 (illuminated manuscript), 126 (illus.), 127n Douce Legacy, The (Exhibition Catalogue), 127n Douglas, David C , 167n Doves Press, 214n Doves Roman type, 214n drawing, 49 Dream of John Ball, A, and A King's Lesson Cobden-Sanderson's binding for (1888), 358 and η Kelmscott Press edition of, 306n, 391 and n, 397, 425, 450 and η, 478n; binding of, 455; frontispiece of, 391n, 397n, 426 (illus.), 442n; pres­ entation copy for Jenny Morris, 448,

t 509 ]

SUBJECT I N D E X Dream of John Ball, A, and A King's Lesson (cont.) 45On; type for, 391n; vellum copies of, 446-47 Reeves and Turner editions of (1888— 1890), 137, 391n "Dream of Sardanapolous, T h e " (Brown), U7n Dryhurst, Alfred Robert, 265n Dryhurst, Nannie Florence (Robinson), 265n Duchess of Bayeswater and Co., The (Heathcote), 177n Dudley, first earl of (William Ward), 412, 413n Duff, Edward Gordon, 452n Dufty, Arthur Richard, 56n, 58n, 78n, 181n, 378n, 405n Dundee, lecture by Morris in, 5In du Pre, Galiot, 261n dyeing, lecture by Morris on ("The Art of Dyeing"), 98, 99n, 108n, 112 and η Early English style, 102n, 299-30On Early Pointed style, 100, 102n, 166 early printed books and medieval manu­ scripts (bought or owned by Morris), xxxi, xxxii, xxxiv, xxxvi, xxxix-xl, 391, 413, 414n Bamler, Johann, illustrated books, 277n Barlaam etjosophat, 322 and η Bibles: Liibeck (pr. Arndes), 253 and n; thirteenth-century Latin manu­ script, 399, 400 and n; Vulgate edi­ tion (pr. Richel), 353n Breviarium (Anglo-Norman manu­ script), 399 and n, 400 Buch der heiligen dryer Kunig (Reges Tres) (Johannes of Hildesheim, pr. Knoblochtzer), 208 and n, 228 Calendrier des Bergiers, 175 and η Caxton's edition of The Golden Legend, 175 Chaucer's Complete Works (ed. Thynne, pr. Godfray), 175 and η A Chronicle at Large and meere History of the Affayres ofEnglande and Kinges of the same from the Creation of the World unto the first yere of the reigne of Our

[ 510 ]

Sovereigne Lady Queene Elizabeth (Grafton, pr. Denham), 403 Cicero's Orationes (pr. Valdarfer), 142 and η Crawford of Lakelands Sale purchases, 278, 279n, 281n, 322n De Amoris Generibus (Haedus, pr. Ger­ ard de Flandria), 443n De Bellis Civilibus (Appian, pr. Wendelin of Speyer), 468 and 469n De Bello ltalico (tr. Aretinus, pr. Jenson), 443 and η De Bello Judaico et Antiquitatum (Josephus, pr. Lucas de Brandis), 142 and η De Civitate Dei (St. Augustine, prs. Sweynheym and Pannartz), 407n, 471n De Claris Mulieribus (Bergomensis, pr. Laurentius de Rubeis), 281 and η De Consolatione Philosophiae (Boethius, pr. Arend de Keyser), 364 and η Dialogus Creaturarum (pr. Leeu), 220 and η Dives and Pauper (Parker, pr. Pynson), 274n Ein Buch der heiligen dryer Kunig (Johan­ nes of Hildesheim, pr. Knoblochtzer), 208 and n, 228 Fasciculus Temporum (Crawford Sale), 278, 279n The Floure of the Commaundements of God (tr. Chertsey, pr. Wynkyn de Worde), 468 and η Fortalicium Fidei (Aphonsus de Spina, pr. Richel), 353n Gesta Romanorum, 372 and 374 η Gratian's Decretum (pr. Eggestein), 365 and η Hailstone Sale purchases (Sotheby's April 1891), 287, 288n, 293 and n, 296-97n, 300 Historia Naturalis (Pliny, pr. Jenson), 176 (illus.), 177n, 250, 252 History of Florence (Leonard of Arezzo, pr. Rubeus) Horae (Book of Hours), 297 and n, 300, 400 and n, 480-81n La Legenda et la Vita del Glorioso Patre San Francesco (pr. Zarota), 353n

SUBJECT Laudivii Equitis (pr. Gerard de Flandria), 443n Lawrence Sale purchases (1892), 392 and n, 399 and n, 400 and η Meliadus de Leonnoys (pr. Galiot du Pre), 261 n, 321 Moralia (Magnus, pr. Rodt), 353n Ordo Ecclesiasticorum Graduum Pro Urbe Roma (manuscript), 399, 40On Ovid, editions of 277 and η Polybius' Les Cinqs Premiers Livres des Histoires de Polybe, 279n Psalters, 296-97n, 300, 307 and n, 399n, 40On; Huntingfield, xxxii, 179-8On; Latin (pr. Ratdolt), 464n Quadragesimale (Gritsch, pr. J. Zainer), 257n Quaritch, purchases from. See Quaritch, Bernard, as dealer in early printed books and medieval manuscripts Schatzbehalter (Fridolin, pr. Koberger), 223 Speculum Historiale (Vincent of Beauvais, pr. Mentelin), 322 and η Spiegel onzer Behoudenisse (Speculum Humanae Salvationis) (pr. Veldener), 255, 257n, 258n, 321 and η Summa de Viciis (Paraldus, pr. Rodt), 353n Thesaurus Antiquitatum (Jacques de Strada, pr. Jean de Tournes), 279n Triomphe des Neuf Preux (pr. Gerard), 481n Vita et Fabulae (