Rare books from The Kelmscott Bookshop

London: F.S.Ellis, 1870. Hardcover. Very Good. Hardcover. A fine association copy inscribed to Arthur Hughes from Rossetti. The inscription reads: "To Arthur Hughes, from his friend, Dante Gabriel Rossetti, April 1870." These men were two of the most important artists of the Pre-Raphaelite movement. This is one of only a few copies personally inscribed to Rossetti's close friends (see D.G.R. Letters to Publishers). A collection of Rossetti's poetry including many poems about love such as The Blessed Damozel, Love's Nocturn, Love's Redemption, The Kiss, The Love-Letter, A Day of Love, and Love's Baubles. With over 100 poems, many additional topics are addressed such as dreams, time, classical figures, the seasons, death, and the loss of a child. English painter, illustrator, and author Dante Gabriel Rossetti (1829 - 1862) had love affairs with many women including models for his paintings. He married his favorite model, but before two years had passed, she died due to a laudanum overdose after the… Read More

Easthampton, MA: Cheloniidae Press, 1982. Hardcover. Fine. Hardcover. UNIQUE COPY WITH A SET OF THE 26 ORIGINAL PENCIL DRAWINGS BY ALAN JAMES ROBINSON. There were 300 copies of this book published; 200 were regular copies, 50 were deluxe copies with quarter leather binding and 50 others bound in full leather. The deluxe editions were issued with a set of proofs of the wood engravings and a set of proofs of the line-cut initials, with a large calligraphic manuscript initial beneath each image. The wood engraving proofs are lettered and signed by Robinson, and the line-cut proofs are signed both by Robinson and the calligrapher, Elizabeth Curtis. This copy shows some variation from the copies described in the prospectus. The colophon has been signed and numbered VI of L and internally seems to be a straightforward copy of the deluxe full leather edition. The binding varies somewhat from that pictured in the prospectus but uses many of the same elements. Also, the chemise is thicker that the regular… Read More

London: James R. Osgood, McIlvaine & Co, 1893. Hardcover. Very Good. Hardcover. First edition. An excellent association copy of one of James's major books of essays. It is his presentation copy to Lucy Clifford, "Mrs. Clifford from her friend & servant Henry James." Henry James (1843-1916) was one of the most important writers in American letters as well as one of its most productive and influential. Lucy Clifford (1846-1921) was a British novelist and dramatist with a wide circle of literary friends, most notably Henry James. From their letters it is clear that she held a special place in his affections and was one of his closest friends and confidantes. (See "Bravest of women, finest of friends": Henry James's Letters to Lucy Clifford, ed. Marysa Demoor and Monty Chisholm, 1999). The essays include pieces on James Russell Lowell, Fanny Kemble, Gustave Flaubert, Henrk Ibsen, and Mrs. Humphrey Ward. Bound in original beige cloth with gilt author and title to spine and front cover, and an Art Nouveau… Read More

1897. Original caricature done in ink on paper. The caricature celebrates the opening night of The Happy Life, a play by Louis N. Parker and Murray Carson, staged at the Duke of York's Theatre, London, in 1897. It depicts Parker (standing atop the Duke of York's column), Carson, and Max (top hat and wasp-waisted coat) himself drinking champagne. Both Parker and Carson were important dramatists at the turn of the century; Beerbohm would later collaborate with Carson on a one-act "curtain-raiser" in 1914, The fly on the wheel. Inscribed "Best wishes in a great success. December 6 '97" and signed "Max." Unrecorded; not in Hart-Davis's catalogue of Beerbohm's caricatures. In near fine condition and nicely framed. 20 x 25.4 cm. ORIG/011216.

London and New York: Harper & Brothers, 1899. Hardcover. Very Good. Hardcover. First Edition. An excellent Author's Presentation Copy, inscribed "C.F.A. Voysey from H.G. Wells." Herbert George Wells (1866-1946) was a prolific writer in many genres but is best remembered for his science fiction novels, of which this is one. This dystopian work was first published in 1899, but Wells revised it in 1910 and published it as When the Sleeper Awakes. He was dissatisfied with this first version, saying it was written when he was under time pressures. The recipient is Charles Voysey, an important English architect and designer who was influenced by the Arts & Crafts and Art Nouveau movements. In 1900 he was the architect for Spade House, which Wells built in 1900 and lived in for the succeeding decade. Laid in is a Raphael Tuck and Sons "real photograph" postcard of Wells that is contemporary with the book and signed in ink below the image. Such an early photograph of Wells is uncommon and signed ones are… Read More

London: Stangeways and Walden, 1869. Near Fine. First edition. A unique and most interesting offering - a scarce privately printed book accompanied by only recently published handwritten letters from Rossetti's brother, William Michael (the texts of the letters were published for the first time in "Notes and Queries," Oxford University Press, in January 17, 2011). This is a privately printed edition of a story that had first appeared in The Germ in 1850. Dante Gabriel Rossetti originally intended to include this prose story in his volume of verse, but decided not to following the recovery of his poetical manuscript notebook from the grave of his wife, Elizabeth Siddal. This short story offers a manifesto for the Aesthetic and Decadent movements. It tells the tale of a fictional Renaissance poet who realizes that the artist's only duty is to express what is in his soul. This pamphlet is an offprint from the typesetting found in proofs produced between October 30 and November 25 1869. William Rossetti… Read More

San Francisco: Terry Turrentine, 2020. One of ten copies, signed by the photographer and book artist Terry Turrentine Two copies are artist's proofs and one is a handling copy. Although she grew up in a family whose traditions included guns and hunting, as an adult Terry became an esteemed artist and wildlife photographer, specializing in capturing spectacular photographic images of birds. Her previous artist's books were of snowy owls, egrets, and gannets. This latest work offers magnificent images of falcons and a message of hope at this challenging time in our history. She writes in her colophon: " Widening Circles celebrates the ferocious beauty of the falcon, and the interdependent relationship of all beings to each other. Some may see the portraits of falcons in their protective hoods as disturbing. But those familiar with the ancient art of falconry know the hoods are a means to protect the bird from the assault of outside stimuli, as they are extremely sensitive to light, sounds, color, and… Read More

Seattle: Marquand Editions, 2013. Fine. One of 20 copies plus 5 artists proofs. This complicated and fascinating artist's book was described and exclaimed over by a number of reviewers and critics at its publication. Most simply, it is a magician's case of graphic story books, but in reality it is much more than that. Chris Byrne's obsessional graphic novel took a decade to realize and another two years to produce. He and designer Scott Newton worked with Paper Hammer Studios in Seattle to construct an audaciously ambitious bit of publishing magic. The Magician is an epic graphic novel, a bookmaking tour de force, a mesmerizing art object, and the completion of over a decade-long obsession of author Chris Byrne. This enigmatic box of wonders houses a dozen separate publications, printed and hand bound using a variety of techniques. Although individual works, they are considered parts of the whole. The twelve books include Theogony, Handmade, Down the Head, Mountain Man/She-Wolf, Letterpress… Read More

New York: Russell Maret, 2022. Hardcover. Fine. Hardcover. Number 37 of 102 copies, signed by the authors and craftspeople involved in making the book. This is one of the 77 numbered copies that includes tip-ins of original material. This magnificent production documents the life and work of Carolee Campbell, founder of Ninja Press and one of the country's most noted book artists. The foreword and afterword beautifully describe Campbell's ethos as an artist and bookmaker that has informed her work since she began making books in 1984. Russell Maret writes of her: "It takes a special kind of person to know that what one is working on is not ready to be discussed. It takes someone...who unhurriedly allows her books to germinate in her lizard brain until they are ready to be dispatched into the world. With each new book Carolee teaches the rest of us how it should be done - not how to make books like hers , but like her, to make books the way the books want to be made." The extensive annotated… Read More

[London]: n.p., 1873. Very Good. This is a particularly personal letter from the great 19th century artist, writer, designer, and Socialist William Morris. Morris wrote this four-page letter to Aglaia Coronio in 1873 when he was thirty-nine years old [See Kelvin's Collected Letters of William Morris, Volume I, letter 183]. Aglaia Coronio (1834 - 1906), was a British embroiderer, bookbinder, art collector and patron of the arts. She was a close confidante of Morris, particularly during the 1870s, and also a personal friend of Dante Gabriel Rossetti. Morris wrote to Aglaia frequently, both at home and on his travels. He also visited her periodically. Their close personal relationship allowed Morris to turn to her to ease his distress over his wife Jane's affair with Gabriel Rossetti. This letter was written during the height of Jane and Rossetti's affair, but Morris betrayed little of the delicacy or discomfort of the situation in it. Even though Aglaia was a close friend and confidante, Morris was… Read More

Munich: Bremer Presse, 1929. Hardcover. Near Fine. Hardcover. 365 copies. This is a magnificent production from the famed Bremer Presse of Germany - probably their masterpiece. They published books from 1911 to 1939, interrupted only by World War I. It was founded by Willy Wiegand, and like England's Doves Press, rejected ornament except for splendid initials draw by Anna Simons and relied upon carefully chosen types and painstaking presswork to produce its limited edition hand printed books. The colophon states that this edition was printed to commemorate the 400 year anniversary of the publication of Martin Luther's German bible. The text was based on the editions published in 1545 and 1546. The Bible (German: Lutherbibel) was the first German language Bible translation from Latin sources. The New Testament was first published in September 1522, and the complete Bible, containing the Old and New Testaments with Apocrypha, in 1534. Luther continued to make improvements to the text until 1545. The… Read More

New York: Macmillan Company, 1936. Hardcover. Very Good/Very Good. Hardcover. First Edition, First State with "published May 1936" on the copyright page. A lovely copy of this classic work in the original dust jacket. "The stirring drama of the Civil War and Reconstruction is brought vividly to life in this really magnificent novel" (jacket). Bound in grey cloth boards with dark blue title to spine and front board. Gentle bumping and light rubbing to corners. A few short closed tears to the book cloth along the spine ends. Offsetting to endpapers and light, even browning to interior. Small spot of soiling to top margin of first few pages and occasional finger smudges to margins, else clean and bright. In illustrated first edition, first issue dust jacket with dark brown title to spine and front panels. The price of $3.00 is printed on the bottom corner of the front flap and the rear panel of Macmillan Spring Novels features "Gone with the Wind" in the second column in the second position underneath… Read More

London: R. Parker, 1705. First edition of this important history of Virginia, the first to be written by a native of North America. In his bibliography U.S.IANA. Howes writes: "After John Smith, the first account of this colony, the first one penned by a native and the best contemporary record of its aboriginal tribes and of the life of its early settlers" [Howes B410]. From Encyclopedia Virginia: "Robert Beverley was a member of the House of Burgesses (1699-1706) and clerk of that body, and served as chief clerk of the governor's Council. He is best known, however, as author of The History and Present State of Virginia, In Four Parts (1705), the first published history of a British colony by a native of North America. In 1703 he sailed to England to appeal a suit he lost before the General Court, and there he penned this history, a collection of personal history, official accounts, and material borrowed from others. Beverley self-consciously identified himself as a Virginian and used the books to… Read More

[Chillicothe, OH]: The Mountain House Press, 1937. Hardcover. Near Fine. Hardcover. Number 122 of 125 copies signed and numbered by the author. Dard Hunter (1883-1966) is considered by many to be the father of hand papermaking in the United States. Hunter traveled extensively around the world, learning about papermaking and collecting artifacts related to the topic. He wrote several books on hand papermaking traditions, and also studied other paper-like materials such as papyrus and amatl. From the colophon: "The book was printed at the Mountain House Press on paper made by hand in the Orient. The specimens included with each book were gathered by the compiler during journeys in China, as well as in Indochina, Java, Sumatra, Siam, Malay Peninsula, and other Asiatic countries where the Chinese have emigrated and where their ancient customs have been retained. Due to the hand methods used in the making of this volume and to the limited number of original specimens available, only 125 copies have… Read More

Chillicothe, OH: Mountain House Press, 1927. Near Fine. Number 175 of 200 copies signed and numbered by Dard Hunter. He states on the limitation page that owing to the methods used in producing this book the edition is necessarily limited.This is a scarce groundbreaking early work by Hunter. Dard Hunter (1883-1966) is considered by many to be the father of hand papermaking in the United States. Hunter travelled extensively around the world, learning about papermaking and collecting artifacts related to the topic. He wrote several books on hand papermaking traditions, and also studied other paper-like materials such as papyrus and amatl. Primitive Papermaking was Dard Hunter's first book on international, non-Western papermaking. Most of this volume concerns the production of tapa [bark cloth] in the Pacific and in Southeast Asia. Hunter made the case that although usually termed ‘bark-cloth' by Westerners, this material, made by beating the fibers of the inner barks of trees, is actually paper.… Read More