The Water of the Wondrous Isles by Morris, William (1834-1896) - 1897

London/Hammersmith: Kelmscott Press, 1897. Limited First Edition. limp vellum. Very Good+. 11 1/2 8 1/2 . The Water of the Wondrous Isles; by Morris, William (1834-1896). London/Hammersmith: Kelmscott Press. Printed by William Morris, and sold by the Trustees of the late William Morris at the Kelmscott Press. 1897. Limited First Edition. First Printing. Large 4to: 11 1/2" x 8 1/2" (29.2 x 21.6 cm). Bound in publisher's original limp vellum by J. & J. Leighton, with silk ties supplied by Morris & Co., with gilt titles to spine. One of 250 [at three guineas] paper copies (plus 6 [at twelve guineas] on vellum). Printed on fine, hand-made, Batchelor (with the second version of the Primrose watermark) paper, with yapped edges. Uncut. Colophon and the smaller, rectangular printer's device designed by Morris (no. 1). [8] + 344 pp. Printed in black and red throughout, in double columns, in the Chaucer type, with a few lines in Troy type, both designed by Morris. Head-title and shoulder-notes in red. Full-page, three-quarter, and half-page woodcut borders (16a, 17a, 18a, 19, and 19a.) at section headings, numerous 14-, 7-, 6-, and 3-line woodcut initials, all of which were designed by Morris, except for the initial words "Whilom" and "Empty," which were completed from his unfinished designs by R. Catterson-Smith. This book was the last Kelmscott publication worked on by Morris.Morris's prose romance (an early influence for the modern fantasy genre) tells of the adventures of a naked heroine, Birdalone, who escapes from the claws of a witch and travels to a series of fantasy lands, including the Isle of Increase Unsought, which holds a critical mirror to Victorian Britain. Morris "began [his] new romance in verse," on 4 February 1895; but on 8 February "after seeing B[urne]-J[ones], W.M. decided to write the new romance in prose & verse, & began to rewrite it." (Cockerell diary). It was ultimately written entirely in prose and announced in June 1896. In Cockerell's diary we catch glimpses of the dying Morris attempting in vain to complete the design of the initial word "Empty." Morris read proofs of a few sections, and his daughter, May, finished the proofreading. It was not published until after his death. Morris is considered by many to be the first writer of modern fantasy to unite an imaginary world with elements of the supernatural, and thus a precursor to much of present-day fantasy literature. The novel's importance in the history of fantasy literature was recognized by its republication by Ballantine Books as the thirty-eighth volume of the celebrated Ballantine Adult Fantasy series in November, 1971. [Clark Library, Kelmscott and Doves, pp. 54-55. Peterson A45. Ransom, Private Presses, p. 330, no. 45. Sparling 45. Tomkinson, p. 120, no. 45.] Very slight toning to vellum. All six silk ties intact. Internally outstanding. No ownership marks and free from the usual spotting and foxing. Very clean. Condition overall: Very Good+.