Kelmscott Press.- Morris (William) 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, one of 525 copies on Flower paper, printed in red and black in Golden type, wood-engraved frontispiece designed by Edward Burne-Jones and borders and initials by William Morris, erratum slip tipped in at beginning, with book-label 'From the Library of John Charrington,The Grange, Shenley' inscribed in ink "To Margaret Lenox February 1917" at foot of front pastedown, pencilled initials of Tom Handford Parker on front free endpaper and A.L.s. from him dated 1949 on notepaper from a house called Kelmscott presenting the book to Judge Batt and with annotated newspaper cutting loosely inserted, original holland-backed boards, upper cover titled in black, uncut, upper cover slightly faded, [Peterson A53], 8vo, Kelmscott Press, 1898.

£400 - £600

⁂ The last book printed at the press. Morris's essay had previously appeared in Modern Art No.4, Winter 1896, and Burne Jones's frontispiece was originally designed in the 1860s for an aborted edition of The Earthly Paradise.

Handford Parker's newspaper cutting concerns the sale of his Kelmscott Chaucer on vellum in 1928 for "the enormous price of £4000 paid by Quaritch". His annotation reads "This copy was in my private collection from June 1917 to Oct. 1922 T.H.P. Bought from May Morris Sold to Maggs Bros."

John Charrington, Honorary Keeper of Prints at the Fitzwilliam Museum, Cambridge from 1909 until his death in 1939. He had a large collection of prints and a significant library including an important collection of private press books.