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The Kelmscott Press

12th March 2019

In 1891, William Morris rented a cottage near Kelmscott House and set up three printing presses. These formed the Kelmscott Press where Morris and the Press team designed, printed and manufactured beautifully intricate editions of over fifty books which equalled 18,000 volumes. The images within this blog were kindly sent to us by our friends at the William Morris Society and are photos from editions; ‘News from Nowhere’, ‘Nature of Gothic’ and ‘Well at the World’s End.’

Morris is famed for his interest in all the details and during this time of the Victorian industrialisation, he was passionate about keeping the traditional methods of craftsmanship and artistry. Printing books was no different and before he set up the press he was interested in fine books and their printing – it makes sense when you remember that he was a writer himself. In fact, during his lifetime he was actually best known as a poet. The medieval works that he was a fan of were full of intricate details and illustrations that you can see on the photos below. The books that he printed included the works of Shelley, Keats and Tennyson to name a few – as well as his own work of course.

It goes without saying that books such as these, printed and bound with such precision and care were expensive. The Kelmscott Press had typefaces designed by Morris himself, he made his own paper and each page was printed by hand. The result is stunning but of course, the cost was high to be able to enjoy these works. They’re works of art in their own right and are made to be treated as such. Each page is meant to be read slowly, to view the details of the designs that surround it – it’s not just the words that are important here but everything that has made up the book. We don’t appreciate these in modern books but you can see how the below builds that relationship between words and art and really makes the words more treasured as an art form as they should be.

The knowledge he already had at this time of block printing as well as his talent at calligraphy ensured his success as a type designer – at the Kelmscott Press he designed three type faces named, “Chaucer,” “Golden” and “Troy.” He was hugely inspired by 15th Century type when he designed all three fonts and studied them to see how they overcame the difficulties with using such delicate and intricate lettering.

He made over 600 designs for these borders, title pages and inscriptions throughout the final years of his life. As always, he made his work to impeccable standards – using pure linen rag instead of paper to model it on 15th century Bolognese paper. The ink used named from Jaenecke (a German firm.) He wanted to make his own but gave up on the idea because he wanted to be absolutely sure of the quality of ingredients and their longevity.

The Kelmscott Press was one of the last projects Morris worked on before his death in 1896. The Kelmscott Press was, of course, named after his beloved country house, Kelmscott Manor. You can see below the actual Press, a photo sent to us by friends at the William Morris Society. 

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The table is all set for a festive weekend dinner party 🎄 We used our William Morris Mallow design, doesn’t it look so perfect this time of year ✨ Featuring our latest floral arrangement 🌿✨
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If you’re looking for the perfect Christmas gift that will be used year-round, our kitchen sets of tea towels, aprons and ovengloves are sure to be a winner! 🌿
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Have you had any festive table set ups yet? 🎄 This was our table last year for Christmas Day and our Strawberry Thief in Red has seen a lot of use throughout the year too at many a celebration 🌿 Isn’t it amazing how many events happen around the dining table- we may as well make it as pretty as possible! 🤍
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A pink and white Christmas theme on the table today with Charlotte Rose 🌹 It matches perfectly with our Nutcracker theme flower arrangement 🤍🩰
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Did you know we offer a gift wrap service? 🎁 If you’ve got a loved one you’d like to send a floral gift to this year, you can send it straight to their door all wrapped with a note written by the Laura’s Beau elves 🎄🤶🏻 It’s an option on our website only and you can check the gift wrap box at checkout to write your gift tag that we will hand write for you (we also won’t include a reciept or anything of course, but will email it to you instead ✨) Are you giving any William Morris floral goodies to your friends and family this year? 🤍
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📸 features our William Morris Brother Rabbit blue design 🤍
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To brighten up the kitchen with florals, we love hanging our William Morris tea towels on hooks, over the oven door or kitchen sink 🌿 An easy way to add a pop of colour or design ✨ They’re a great Christmas gift this year and come in a whole range of Morris designs to suit everyone’s kitchens 🎁 
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Use Code: BF15 for 15% at checkout until Monday 27th at midnight 🌛 Happy Shopping ✨ (valid on our website only; www.laurasbeau.co.uk 🌿
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🎄 A Christmas table set up using our Red Strawberry Thief licensed William Morris design ✨ We love how perfect it is dressed up for Christmas but can be used all year round accessorised for all the seasons 🌿
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We'll keep this tab updated as and when we have fabric ready so keep checking back! Remember, we do sell all our fabric by the half metre if you find a new fave in a bundle 🤍
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These green tones together are so lovely 🌿 Can you name all of these licensed William Morris designs? Which is your favourite? ✨ If you’d like a sample of any just let us know ☺️
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Sitting at the table to admire our latest floral arrangement creation with a cuppa! ☕️ Don’t these colours look absolutely wonderful with our beautiful licensed William Morris design Compton 🧡
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Can’t forget your Strawberry Thief tote if you’re off to the shops! 🛍️
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