Celebrating the Kelmscott Press

Join the William Morris Society US and the Book Club of Washington to celebrate the history of William Morris’s Kelmscott Press.

About this event

This program, part of the festivities associated with the first ever Kelmscott Press Day, will celebrate William Morris’s Kelmscott Press and the 125th anniversary of the Kelmscott edition of The Works of Geoffrey Chaucer. 

The William Morris Society is pleased to co-sponsor this event with the Book Club of Washington. Based in Washington state, BCW is an organization dedicated to appreciation of fine books and the desire to explore, preserve and celebrate them. 

This event will extend beyond the Kelmscott Chaucer to encompass the whole of William Morris’s “typographical adventure,” which exerted great influence on the private press movement and the modern book. ​

We are honored to welcome the following experts to our session to share in the celebration:

• A brief history of the Kelmscott Press: Sandra Kroupa, Book Arts and Rare Book Curator, University of Washington. 
• On collecting Morris: Mark Samuels Lasner, William Morris Society Board member and Senior Research Fellow at the University of Delaware, and Fran Durako, owner of the Kelmscott Bookshop. 
• The Kelmscott Goudy Press at Rochester Institute of Technology: Steven Galbraith, Curator of the Melbert B. Cary, Jr. Graphic Arts Collection, and Amelia Fontanel, Associate Curator of the Melbert B. Cary Graphic Arts Collection.