Love is Enough, Or the Freeing of Pharamond, A Morality

Upper Mall, Hammersmith: Kelmscott Press, 1898. Near Fine. One of 300 paper copies. There were also eight vellum copies. This is one of the most desirable books to be printed at perhaps the most influential and famous of all private presses. A total of 52 books were produced during the several years it was active. In his definitive history of the Kelmscott Press, William Peterson describes this as "the penultimate book printed at the Kelmscott Press and an interesting example of how Cockerell (Sydney, who was the second Secretary of the Press.) was compelled to solve book-design difficulties on his own, as no work had been done before October 1896" (Morris died on October 3 of that year). Peterson continues to write that while the last books printed by the Kelmscott Press did not display a dramatic falling off of quality, they represent a reversion to the simpler of ornamentation of the very earliest Kelmscott books. For this edition, Burne-Jones redrew the full-page woodcut he originally prepared for the earlier print edition about 25 years prior. Frontispiece and full-page woodcut by W. H. Hooper after Edward Burne-Jones, decorative woodcut border to frontispiece and facing first page of contents, further woodcut borders in the text, three-, six-, and eight-line woodcut initials. Text printed in blue, red, and black in Troy type, stage directions mostly in Chaucer type. In the original limp vellum with yapp edges. The spine has title lettered in gilt. All six of the green silk ties are present. Light soiling to spine and covers and covers are a bit splayed. Interior pages are in beautiful condition. Housed in a custom box wiith dark green spine and page edges, with titling and press name in gilt to spine. A near fine copy of this stunning book, one of the two final works to be issued by the press. The other was a A Note by William Morris on his Aims in Founding the Kelmscott Press. Measures 11.5 x 8.25 inches. 90 pages. PRI/041726.