Printing of the Kelmscott Chaucer

If you're curious about the Kelmscott Chaucer, you'll find it's packed with fascinating details. William Morris and Edward Burne-Jones spent four years crafting it, combining a custom typeface, handmade linen paper, and medieval-style inks. Just 438 copies were printed using a hand-operated Albion press, with 13 luxury vellum editions priced at 120 guineas each. It's widely considered the finest example of private press printing ever produced — and there's much more to uncover about how it all came together.

Key Takeaways

• Printing began on August 8, 1894, and was completed by May 8, 1896, with finished copies delivered to subscribers in June 1896.
• The Kelmscott Chaucer had a total print run of 438 copies: 425 on handmade paper and 13 on vellum.
• Morris used only red and black inks, sourced from Gebrüder Jänecke in Hanover, formulated using traditional medieval recipes.
• Edward Burne-Jones contributed 87 woodcut illustrations, working primarily on Sundays over a collaborative four-year period with Morris.
• The handmade linen paper was modeled on 15th-century Italian paper and featured distinct Morris-designed watermarks: flower, perch, and apple.

How Long Did It Take to Print the Kelmscott Chaucer?

The Kelmscott Chaucer took four years to produce, from its earliest plans in 1891 to its delivery to subscribers in June 1896. Understanding this production timeline helps you appreciate the immense effort behind this landmark book.

Test pages were completed in 1892, with full production initiated in 1894. Printing officially began on 8 August 1894, making the printing duration roughly two years before the finished copies reached subscribers. The first two copies were delivered to artists Burne-Jones and Morris in June 1896, just months before Morris's death.

You'll also notice that preparation consumed years before a single page was formally printed. Morris designed the custom Chaucer typeface, developed borders and initials, and collaborated with engraver William Hooper throughout this extensive process. The book featured 87 woodcut illustrations by Pre-Raphaelite artist Edward Burne-Jones, whose work was seamlessly integrated with Morris's typography and ornamental borders to create a unified artistic vision. The Huntington holds two original copies of the Kelmscott Chaucer, along with several leaves from incomplete copies and facsimile reproductions.

The original Kelmscott Chaucer run consisted of 425 volumes, making it a limited production that reflected the press's commitment to exclusivity and exceptional craftsmanship over mass distribution.

The Albion Press Behind This Masterpiece

Crafted around 1820 by London manufacturer Richard Whittaker Cope, the Albion press was an early iron hand press that succeeded wooden models like Gutenberg's. Its toggle mechanism evolution set it apart from rivals like the Columbian press, delivering faster operation and easier repairs. Unlike American presses relying on long levers, the Albion's hand crank ergonomics made it lighter and less bulky, improving workflow efficiency.

After Cope's death in 1828, John Hopkinson refined the design further, cementing its dominance across England and Europe. William Morris recognized the Albion's precision and reliability, making it the press of choice for his Kelmscott Press. The Doves Press also chose the Albion, recognizing it as the premier iron hand press of the Private Press movement. You can still appreciate this legacy today, as an 1886 Albion press was donated to Kelmscott Manor in 2024. From the 1850s onwards, firms such as Harrild & Sons were licensed to manufacture the Albion press, broadening its availability across the printing industry.

Why Morris Chose Handmade Linen Paper

William Morris's choice of handmade linen paper for the Kelmscott Press wasn't arbitrary—it was rooted in a deep admiration for medieval craftsmanship. He modeled it on fifteenth-century Italian paper, rejecting wood pulp common in industrial printing. This commitment to linen longevity guaranteed pages that were thick, durable, and visually superior to machine-made alternatives.

Morris contracted Joseph Batchelor and Son of Little Chart, Kent, to handmake the paper exclusively for the Press. You'll notice the paper's non-bleached quality preserved its natural characteristics, complementing the ornate designs and dense layouts that defined medieval aesthetics. Different sizes carried distinct watermarks—a flower, perch, or apple—each designed by Morris himself. For the Kelmscott Chaucer alone, 425 copies were printed on this exceptional paper. A small number of select titles were also issued in vellum-printed copies, offering an even more exclusive alternative to the standard handmade paper editions.

The Kelmscott Press was established in 1890, founded near Kelmscott House in Hammersmith, reflecting Morris's desire to situate his printing enterprise within the broader context of his artistic and philosophical world. Much like the Sagrada Família, which has been funded entirely by private donations and tourism rather than public money, the Kelmscott Press relied on patronage and subscriber support to sustain its ambitious production goals.

The Inks That Made the Kelmscott Chaucer Stand Out

Morris's commitment to quality extended beyond paper—the inks he chose for the Kelmscott Chaucer were equally deliberate. He used only red and black inks, selecting them carefully for color and opacity to achieve stunning visual results. His pigment sourcing took him to Germany, where manufacturer Gebrüder Jänecke in Hanover supplied inks meeting his exact specifications.

Rather than accepting modern chemical-based alternatives, Morris insisted on medieval inks produced according to traditional recipes, aligning them with the press's broader commitment to historical authenticity. The inks were thicker than those used in mass-produced books, reducing the grayish appearance common in commercial printing. This dedication to traditional craftsmanship echoed the broader Printing Revolution's influence on how books were produced and perceived as cultural objects across centuries.

Printed on an Albion hand press, these carefully chosen inks elevated every decorative element—from lavish floral borders to red initials and medieval-style rubrics—across every page. Despite the striking visual results achieved with such a restrained palette, the edition sold out even at the considerable price of £20 per paper copy. The Kelmscott Press ultimately issued over fifty books across its years of operation, with the Chaucer standing as its most celebrated achievement.

How Burne-Jones and Morris Illustrated the Kelmscott Chaucer

The artistic partnership between William Morris and Edward Burne-Jones began when the two met as undergraduates at Oxford in the early 1850s, and it culminated over 30 years later in the Kelmscott Chaucer.

Their joint creative rituals shaped the book's production. Burne-Jones worked on illustrations primarily on Sundays, while Morris visited his studio to talk and read Chaucer aloud. These sessions sustained a four-year effort, producing 87 Burne Jones sketches transferred photographically onto woodblocks, reworked with bold lines, and engraved by William Hooper.

Morris contributed 14 large borders, 18 smaller borders, and 26 large initial words, framing each illustration within cohesive page layouts. One illustration, for the Prioress's Tale, drew directly from a Burne-Jones painting on Morris's wardrobe wedding gift, now housed in Oxford's Ashmolean Museum. Upon receiving the finished book, Burne-Jones described it in a letter to Charles Eliot Norton as "like a pocket cathedral".

The original print run of the Kelmscott Chaucer was remarkably limited, with only 438 copies produced, making it a rare artifact that remained largely inaccessible to the wider public for decades.

How Many Copies of the Kelmscott Chaucer Were Printed?

Four years of painstaking artistic collaboration naturally raises the question of how many people could actually own the finished product. The Kelmscott Chaucer's total print run reached just 438 copies, making both variants highly sought-after collector editions.

Morris originally planned 325 copies on handmade paper, but demand pushed that number to 425. Each paper copy sold for 20 pounds and came bound in plain paper boards. Beyond the standard edition, 13 vellum copies commanded 120 guineas each, requiring specialized printing techniques that justified their premium price. An additional 48 copies featured pigskin binding as an upgrade option.

Distribution logistics reflected the hand-printing method's constraints — the press completed all copies by May 8, 1896, with the final two leaving the binders on June 2, 1896. Kelmscott Press was founded by William Morris and Emery Walker in 1891 with the aim of replicating the elegance of 15th-century printing. The book's illustrations were designed by Sir Edward Burne-Jones, while Morris himself created the types, ornaments, and initials that gave the work its distinctive character.

What Did the Kelmscott Chaucer Actually Cost?

Pricing the Kelmscott Chaucer tells a story of dramatic appreciation across more than a century. William Morris purchased the Albion Press in 1894 for £52.10s, and handmade paper, specialty inks, and Burne-Jones's 87 illustrations pushed production costs higher. Original subscribers paid a premium that seemed steep then but looks modest now.

Today, auction results tell a different story. A 2021 Christie's sale realized $68,750 for a single copy, far exceeding its $25,000 high estimate. A 1998 transaction reached $7.2 million. Condition, provenance, and binding quality all drive valuations upward, making collector insurance essential for anyone holding an original.

If originals are out of reach, modern replicas from Easton Press or Bradford Exchange offered comparable artistry for around $600. The Easton Press edition was limited to only 425 copies, mirroring the original Kelmscott print run and contributing to its secondary market prices exceeding $1,200. The very press used to print the Chaucer was itself auctioned by Christie's in 2013, realizing $233,000 before joining the Cary Graphic Arts Collection at Rochester Institute of Technology.

How the Kelmscott Chaucer Shaped Fine Press Printing

When William Morris set out to create the Kelmscott Chaucer, he wasn't just printing a book—he was staging a revolt against industrialized publishing. Every decision he made prioritized craft revival over convenience. He rejected wood pulp paper, formulated superior inks, and revived medieval manuscript principles to govern page layouts and book aesthetics. The result established benchmarks that fine press printers still reference today.

You can trace his influence through the industry's renewed respect for handmade materials, intentional typography, and collaborative artistry. The Chaucer proved that a book could function as a unified work of art rather than a commercial product. Morris demonstrated that quality, not speed, defines lasting value—a lesson the fine press world absorbed completely and hasn't forgotten since. His impact even reached across the Atlantic, inspiring Elbert Hubbard to found Roycroft Press in 1895 near Buffalo, New York, directly modeling its mission on the ideals embodied in the Kelmscott Chaucer.

Scholars and collectors have long sought to understand the typographic foundations behind Morris's masterpiece, with research pointing to early German printers—including Peter Schoeffer, Johann Mentelin, Günther Zainer, and Anton Koberger—as likely influences, supported by Morris's ownership of more than 500 incunables. This connection between the Kelmscott Chaucer typeface and fifteenth-century German printing continues to shape how historians interpret Morris's design choices and their lasting legacy.