International Kelmscott Press Day, 26 June

International Kelmscott Press Day

The William Morris Society in the United States organised an international celebration to commemorate the founding of the Kelmscott Press in 1891. The Society called for many to join them in this unique collaborative opportunity to promote the life and work of William Morris, the beauty of books, and the history of printing.

International Kelmscott Press Day on 26 June 2021 marks the 125th anniversary of the publication of the Kelmscott edition of The Works of Geoffrey Chaucer. The focus of the day, however, extends beyond it to encompass the whole of William Morris’s “typographical adventure,” which exerted great influence on the private press movement and the modern book.

Libraries, museums, and other institutions that own the Kelmscott Chaucer or other Kelmscott titles and related materials were encouraged to create special displays (online and in-person) and host activities for the occasion.

The Society hoped that participation could be truly international, knowing that there are significant Kelmscott Press collections in Australia, Japan, France, Germany, The Netherlands, South Korea, Britain, the United States and Canada.

Kelmscott Titles - Holdings of the University of Adelaide Library

The University of Adelaide Library holds a facsimile of the Kelmscott edition of The Works of Geoffrey Chaucer as well as various other Kelmscott titles, such as Beowulf, Sire Degrevaunt, The Water of the Wondrous Isles, Rosetti's Sonnets and Lyrical Poems, Ballads and Narrative Poems, The Golden Legend of Master William Caxton Done Anew and The floure and the leafe. 

The University Library also holds various works by and on William Morris as well as the Kelmscott Press as part of its special collections, resulting from the generous bequests by donors such as Emeritus Professor Eugene LeMire and Christine Macgregor.

To celebrate and contribute to International Kelmscott Press Day, an in-person exhibition has been staged on Level 1 of the Barr Smith Library of the University of Adelaide from 26 June 2021. An online version of the exhibition is also available via Adelaide Connect.