ONE OF ONLY 15 COPIES PRINTED ON VELLUM: LOVELY KELMSCOTT PRESS EDITION OF WILLIAM MORRIS' ADAPTATION OF AN OLD FRENCH TALE, KING FLORUS AND THE FAIR JEHANE

(KELMSCOTT PRESS) MORRIS, William. The Tale of King Florus and the Fair Jehane. (Hammersmith, England: Kelmscott Press, 1893). 12mo, original half tan cloth, raised bands, original gray paper boards. Housed in a custom half morocco clamshell box.

Kelmscott Press edition of this old French romance, beautifully designed and printed by William Morris, one of only 15 copies on vellum (out of a total edition of 365).

The Tale of King Florus and the Fair Jehane, adapted from an old French romance, concerns the plight of a young woman, Jehane, who is spurned by her new husband, her father's favorite knight, when she is accused of infidelity by another knight seeking to win a bet. Desperate to return to her husband, Jehane dresses as a man and spends years as her husband's faithful squire. When her accuser confesses to his lie and the truth of Jehane's fidelity is revealed, Jehane, still in disguise, arranges a duel in which her husband bests her accuser. Vindicated, Jehane then presents herself to her husband, revealing her deception and begging for his love. Secure in her loyalty, the couple returns to life as husband and wife, happily increasing their lands and wealth, until Jehane's husband dies a knight's death in battle. Seeking a bride after the death of two barren wives, King Florus hears of Jehane's bravery and becomes determined to seek her as a wife. Thus, Jehane becomes a queen and continues King Florus' royal line. William Morris— Pre-Raphaelite painter, designer, architect, and printer— founded the Kelmscott Press, the first modern private press, in 1891. "Morris sought to revive what he saw as the purity of the first century of printing, and to produce what he described as books which 'would have a definite claim to beauty… and be easy to read" (Feather, 152). Published as part of a series that also included The Story of the Glittering Plain and Of the Friendship of Amis and Amile. Beautifully printed in black and red with numerous woodcut initials and decorations throughout and elaborate borders on title page and first page of text. Ransom, Private Presses, 327:21. Forman 150.

Interior with only a few small spots of foxing and occasional faint yellowing, a couple small chips to rear paper at edges of spine, only slightest rubbing and a spot of soiling to spine. A beautiful copy.