THE SUNDERING FLOOD

Hammersmith: Kelmscott Press, 1897. ONE OF 300 COPIES on paper (and 10 on vellum). 210 x 146 mm. (8 1/4 x 5 3/4"). 2 p.l. (including woodcut map at front), 507, [1] pp.
Original blue paper boards, front cover with titling, flat spine with replica cloth backing and new paper label, edges untrimmed (corners restored). Front pastedown with line-block map drawn by H. Cribb, elaborate woodcut border and initial on first page of text, and woodcut borders and initials at the beginning of each chapter, small woodcut initials throughout, Kelmscott device at end. Printed in red and black in Chaucer type. Front free endpaper INSCRIBED "FROM MAY MORRIS / Lond[on]. 1907"; front flyleaf with ink initials "A. C. R." [Arthur Compton-Rickett]. Peterson A-51; Sparling 51; Walsdorf, William Morris 51. Original boards somewhat smudged and vaguely faded, but the sympathetically restored binding solid; q2 with four-inch closed horizontal tear to tail margin (well away from the text), otherwise VERY FINE INTERNALLY, entirely clean and with that exceptionally fresh and bright look that the best-preserved Kelmscott titles have.

This special presentation copy of the last romance written by William Morris and the final book but two to be produced at the Kelmscott Press was given to Morris biographer Arthur Compton-Rickett by Morris' daughter May. Compton-Rickett (1869-1937) devoted a section in his 1913 "William Morris: A Study in Personality" to Morris' romances, in which he observed, "The elemental appeal in Morris . . . is a quality that gives not merely an artistic charm to his stories but a wholesome vigour. The romances of Morris are full of the open air, and brace the mind and imagination: they breathe of the springtime, and bring with them all its benison of strength." The present romance is the story of brave Osberne, who rescues his kidnapped lover Elfhild with the help of his magical sword, Broadcleaver; it brings elements of Medieval tales of chivalry into what is considered an early example of the modern fantasy genre, with supernatural elements and created worlds. Because of Morris' failing health, the last few pages of the book were written down from his dictation by Sydney Cockerell, and the work appeared posthumously, being printed from an uncorrected manuscript and seen through the press by our inscriber, May Morris. Like other medium-sized holland-backed Kelmscott volumes (for example, Voragine's "Golden Legend"), it is next to impossible to find a copy with its original fragile binding in fine condition, so almost always it's a choice among unsightly wear, restoration (as here), or a complete makeover..