Rare books from MRM Books

London/Hammersmith: Kelmscott Press, 1895. Limited First Edition. hardcover. Near Fine. 6 1/16" × 4 1/16" × 1" (15.4 × 10.3 × 2.5 cm) . First Printing. Printed by and sold by William Morris. 16mo. Bound in publisher's original hardcover quarter Holland-backed blue paper boards, with white linen spine and paper title label. One of 600 [at fifteen shillings] paper copies (plus 12 [at four guineas] on vellum). Printed on fine, hand-made, Batchelor (with the first and second versions of the Primrose watermark) paper. Uncut, deckled edges. Colophon in red. [viii], 1 (title), [ii], 256, [ii]; [iv], 1 (title) [i], 238, 1 (colophon), [iii] pp. Printed in black and red throughout in the Chaucer type designed by Morris for his press. Head-title, shoulder-notes, and colophon in red. Numerous 7- and 3-line woodblock initial capitals all designed by Morris, engraved by William Harcourt Hooper. Woodcut title. The borders (15a and 15) designed by Morris for this book were only used once again, in HAND AND… Read More

London/Hammersmith: Kelmscott Press, 1897. Limited First Edition. hardcover. Very Good. 8 5/16" × 5 5/8" × 1/2" (21.1 × 14.3 × 1.3 cm) . Sir Edward Coley Burne-Jones. First Printing. Edited by Frederick Startridge Ellis, after the edition printed by J.O. Halliwell, from the Cambridge manuscript, with some additions and variations from the THORNTON ROMANCES manuscript, in the Library of Lincoln Cathedral. Illustrated by Sir Edward Coley Burne-Jones. Printed by and sold by William Morris. 8vo. Bound in publisher's original hardcover quarter Holland-backed blue paper boards, with white linen spine and black titles to cover. One of 350 [at fifteen shillings] paper copies (plus 8 [at four guineas] on vellum). Printed on fine, hand-made, Batchelor (with the second version of the Primrose watermark) paper. Uncut, deckled edges. Colophon and the smaller, rectangular printer's device designed by Morris (no. 1). 81 [1] pp. Printed in black and red throughout in the Chaucer type designed by Morris for… Read More

London/Hammersmith: Kelmscott Press, 1893. Limited First Edition. hardcover. Good+. 8 5/16" × 5 11/16" × 1/2" (21.1 × 14.4 × 1.3 cm) . First State. Printed by William Morris, and published by Macmillan & Co., Bedford Street, Strand. 8vo. Bound in custom hardcover full leather with tooled design. One of 500 [at two guineas] paper copies (plus 5 [not for sale] on vellum). Printed on fine, hand-made, Batchelor (with the second version of the Primrose watermark) paper. Uncut, deckled edges. Colophon and the smaller, rectangular printer's device designed by Morris (no. 1). All edges gilt. [iv], 69, [70, imprint] pp. Printed in black and red throughout with the Golden type designed by Morris for his press, with stanza numbers in red. Woodcut title within a floral border, facing page with full woodcut floral page-border (borders 10a and 10). Numerous other floral edge borders at stanza heads. Three 12-line woodcut initial and numerous 6-line initials all designed by Morris, engraved by William… Read More

London: Longmans, Green & Co, 1901–1902. Limited First Edition. hardcover. Very Good+. 11 5/8" × 8 1/4" (29.5 × 21 cm) . First Thus. Printed by Chiswick Press. Large 4tos. Bound in publisher's original hardcover quarter Holland-backed blue paper boards, with blue linen spine and paper title label. One of 315 (of which 300 were for sale) copies. Printed on fine, hand-made, W M and floral watermarked paper. Uncut, deckled edges. Colophon. A.o.V. 238; A.I.&W. 163; H&FfA./SoC 106; & O.o.H. 293; R.o.t.M. 284; G.t.S. 177; H.o.t.W. 161 & V.S. 113 pp. A full set of the William Morris series comprising eight large quarto books printed at the Chiswick Press with the Golden type designed by Morris for his Kelmscott Press, 1901–1902. Chapter headings in red and shoulder notes in red in some volumes. Spare labels tipped in. Loose insert from the press in "Hopes and Fears for Art, Sings of Change," that reads: "It has been found advantageous to make one volume instead of two of "Hopes and Fears for Art"… Read More

London/Hammersmith: Kelmscott Press, 1893. Limited First Edition. hardcover. Very Good. 5 13/16" × 4 1/16" × 3/8" (14.8 × 10.3 × 1 cm) . First State. Printed by and sold by William Morris. 16mo. Bound in publisher's original hardcover quarter Holland-backed blue paper boards, with white linen spine and black titles to cover. One of 500 [of a total run of 1,500, at two shillings and sixpence] paper copies (plus 45 [at ten and fifteen shillings] on vellum). Printed on fine, hand-made, Batchelor (with the second version of the Primrose watermark) paper. Uncut, deckled edges. Colophon. [ii], 1 (title), [i], 68, [viii] pp. Printed in black and red throughout in the Golden type designed by Morris for his press. Head-title and shoulder-notes in red. Numerous 6- and 4-line woodblock initial capitals all designed by Morris, engraved by William Harcourt Hooper. Morris used his four-line initials for this first time with this, his first book printed in the 16mo format. This lecture was setup at… Read More

London/Hammersmith: Kelmscott Press, 1893. Limited First Edition. hardcover. Near Fine. 5 13/16" × 4 1/16" × 3/8" (14.8 × 10.3 × 1 cm) . Second State. Printed by and sold by William Morris. 16mo. Bound in publisher's original hardcover quarter Holland-backed blue paper boards, with white linen spine and black titles to cover. One of 500 [of a total run of 1,500, at two shillings and sixpence] paper copies (plus 45 [at ten and fifteen shillings] on vellum). Printed on fine, hand-made, Batchelor (with the second version of the Primrose watermark) paper. Uncut, deckled edges. Colophon. [ii], 1 (title), [i], 68, [viii] pp. Printed in black and red throughout in the Golden type designed by Morris for his press. Head-title and shoulder-notes in red. Numerous 6- and 4-line woodblock initial capitals all designed by Morris, engraved by William Harcourt Hooper. Morris used his four-line initials for this first time with this, his first book printed in the 16mo format. This lecture was setup at… Read More

London/Hammersmith: Kelmscott Press, 1896. Loose Page(s). . Near Fine. 16 5/8" × 11" (42.2 × 27.9 cm) . First Printing. Printed by William Morris. Folio. Loose Page(s). Printed on fine, hand-made, Batchelor (with the Perch watermark) paper. Uncut, deckled edges. 539–540 pp, from book V of Troilus and Criseyde. Printed in black and red with the Chaucer type designed by Morris for his "KELMSCOTT CHAUCER."Speaking of the work, Burne-Jones, "Indeed when the book is done, if we live to finish it, it will be like a pocket cathedral - so full of design and I think Morris the greatest master of ornament in the world." Today, it is still held by many to be the most exquisite book of printed English literature. [Edward Burne-Jones, Letter to Charles Eliot Norton, 1894] Bright and clean. Only the very slightest foxing and minimal yellowing. In excellent condition for ephemera this old. Condition overall: Near Fine.

London: Macmillan and Co., Limited, 1924. First Edition. hardcover. Fine. 9 3/8" × 6 1/8" × 1" (23.8 × 15.6 × 2.5 cm) . First Printing. Printed by R. & R. Clark, Limited, Edinburgh. Tall 8vo. Bound in publisher's original hardcover quarter Holland-backed blue paper boards, with white linen spine and paper title label. Uncut, deckled edges. [ix], [1], 176, [4] pp. Photogravure frontispiece portrait of Morris engraved by Emery Walker from a photograph by Sparling, with tissue guard present. Includes 16 plates and examples of types and illustrations from the Kelmscott Press. Henry Halliday Sparling (1860–1924) provides an informative history of William Morris's Press. Sparling was a former Kelmscott Press employee and as the husband of Morris's daughter, May Morris, from 1890–1898, was keenly familiar with Morris and his Press. Sparling provides a clear account of the day-to-day workings of the Press, as well as a close examination of Morris's intentions and printing achievements. Includes… Read More

London, 1876. Loose Page . Good+. 7" × 4 1/2" (17.8 × 11.4 cm) . Loose Page [1] p. Hand-written letter by Morris, 1876, probably addressed to Mary Grant Carmichael (1851–1935) who made various compositions on the texts of Morris.Description: "Madam, you have my permission to publish my song with the music to which you have set it, though I must say I do not think it suitable for that purpose. However that is your affair. I have not heard of this having been set to music before. I am M..., William Morris." Date: 14 January 1876 Condition overall: Good+.

London: Macmillan and Co., Limited, 1924. First Edition. hardcover. Very Good+. 9 3/8" × 6 1/8" × 1" (23.8 × 15.6 × 2.5 cm) . First Printing. Printed by R. & R. Clark, Limited, Edinburgh. Tall 8vo. Bound in publisher's original hardcover quarter Holland-backed blue paper boards, with white linen spine and paper title label. Uncut, deckled edges. [ix], [1], 176, [4] pp. Photogravure frontispiece portrait of Morris engraved by Emery Walker from a photograph by Sparling, with tissue guard present. Includes 16 plates and examples of types and illustrations from the Kelmscott Press. Henry Halliday Sparling (1860–1924) provides an informative history of William Morris's Press. Sparling was a former Kelmscott Press employee and as the husband of Morris's daughter, May Morris, from 1890–1898, was keenly familiar with Morris and his Press. Sparling provides a clear account of the day-to-day workings of the Press, as well as a close examination of Morris's intentions and printing achievements.… Read More

London: Longmans, Green & Co, 1896. First Trade Edition. hardcover. Good+. 9 1/4" × 5 1/4" (23.5 × 13.3 cm) . First Printing. Printed by Chiswick Press. Tall 8vos. Bound in publisher's original hardcover quarter Holland-backed blue paper boards, with white linen spine and paper title label. One of 750 copies. Printed on fine, hand-made, Charles Whittingham & Co., watermarked "B A S" paper. Uncut, deckled edges. Pages uncut. [i–iv] v–vii [viii], 1–378 [379: printer's imprint] [380: blank]; & [i–iv] v–vi, [1–2] 3–279 p.p. [280: printer's imprint], double flyleaves at front and rear of each volume. Printed in 1893 but delayed by the Kelmscott Press edition issued the same year (which edition was being set up from this edition). Unlike other authors who wrote of foreign lands or of dream worlds, Morris was the first to describe completely invented or fantasy worlds.H.G. Wells praised the book and compared Morris to Malory, admiring his style, writing: "All the workmanship of the book… Read More

London: Reeves and Turner, 1890. Superior Edition. hardcover. Very Good+. 8 1/8" × 6 7/8" (20.6 × 17.5 cm) . First Thus. Printed by Chiswick Press: Charles Whittingham & Co. Small 4to. Bound in publisher's original hardcover Morris & Co. "Honeysuckle" printed floral chintz cloth-covered boards (designed by the author & produced by his firm), with gilt titles to spine. One of 250 copies. Printed on fine, hand-made, watermarked "J Whatman 1889" paper. Uncut, deckled edges. [i–iv], [1], 2–424 pp. Printed in Basle Roman type. "Morris bought 'the whole making' of the Whatman paper on which [this book] is printed, and used the balance for catalogues and prospectuses when he founded his own Kelmscott Press. This book so satisfied its author that he never reprinted the work at his Kelmscott Press. He declared it to be the best-looking book issued since the seventeenth century." [Colbeck II p.582]. Morris wrote to Georgie Burne-Jones on 16 November, 1889: "I am so pleased with my book—typography,… Read More

Cleveland and New York: The World Publishing Company, 1958. First Edition. hardcover. Very Good/none. 13" × 9" × 2 1/2" (33 × 22.9 × 6.4 cm) . Sir Edward Coley Burne-Jones. First Printing. Edited by Frederick Startridge Ellis. Illustrated by Sir Edward Coley Burne-Jones. Printed by Copifyer Lithograph Corporation. Small Folio. Bound in publisher's original hardcover blind-stamped cream leatherette, by The Press of the World Publishing Company, in imitation of the alum tawed pigskin binding design for the book by Morris and executed by Douglas Cockerell at the Doves Bindery. Gilt titles to spine. Printed on fine, thick and heavy, in imitation of the original Kelmscott paper paper. Uncut, deckled edges. Colophon and special printer's device designed by Morris especially for this book. [xx], 554 pp. Includes a new introduction by John T. Winterich and a glossary for the modern reader. Often called "The Most Beautiful Book Ever Published," William Morris's acclaimed masterpiece, "THE KELMSCOTT… Read More

London: Macmillan and Co., Limited, 1924. First Edition. hardcover. Fine. 9 3/8" × 6 1/8" × 1" (23.8 × 15.6 × 2.5 cm) . First Printing. Printed by R. & R. Clark, Limited, Edinburgh. Tall 8vo. Bound in publisher's original hardcover quarter Holland-backed blue paper boards, with white linen spine and paper title label. Uncut, deckled edges. [ix], [1], 176, [4] pp. Photogravure frontispiece portrait of Morris engraved by Emery Walker from a photograph by Sparling, with tissue guard present. Includes 16 plates and examples of types and illustrations from the Kelmscott Press. Henry Halliday Sparling (1860–1924) provides an informative history of William Morris's Press. Sparling was a former Kelmscott Press employee and as the husband of Morris's daughter, May Morris, from 1890–1898, was keenly familiar with Morris and his Press. Sparling provides a clear account of the day-to-day workings of the Press, as well as a close examination of Morris's intentions and printing achievements. Includes… Read More

London: Macmillan and Co., Limited, 1924. First Edition. hardcover. Good. 9 3/8" × 6 1/8" × 1" (23.8 × 15.6 × 2.5 cm) . First Printing. Printed by R. & R. Clark, Limited, Edinburgh. Tall 8vo. Bound in publisher's original hardcover quarter Holland-backed blue paper boards, with white linen spine and paper title label. Uncut, deckled edges. [ix], [1], 176, [4] pp. Photogravure frontispiece portrait of Morris engraved by Emery Walker from a photograph by Sparling, with tissue guard present. Includes 16 plates and examples of types and illustrations from the Kelmscott Press. Henry Halliday Sparling (1860–1924) provides an informative history of William Morris's Press. Sparling was a former Kelmscott Press employee and as the husband of Morris's daughter, May Morris, from 1890–1898, was keenly familiar with Morris and his Press. Sparling provides a clear account of the day-to-day workings of the Press, as well as a close examination of Morris's intentions and printing achievements. Includes… Read More