Homer.
The Odyssey of Homer Done Into English Verse by William Morris. London; New York: Longmans, Green, 1901.
Call Number: (SPL) PA 4025 .A5 M6 1901
Special Collections, Golda Meir Library

First printed in 1887 by the Kelmscott Press, this 1901 edition was reprinted at the Chiswick Press and published by Longmans, Green.

(256k)

The Golden Type used in this edition was designed by the William Morris for the Kelmscott Press. Morris had grown disillusioned by the sheer number of cheaply printed, unattractive books that were more concerned with content than form. He wanted to improve public taste, and looked to past Gothic styles for relief from the ugly realities of the Industrial Revolution. He believed that books should have a definite claim to beauty, should be easy to read, and that decoration should be found within the type. This edition, as well as other Morris-translated printings of Virgil and several Scandinavian authors, also held by Special Collections, was not illustrated and some critics felt that this printing lacked variety and needed more decorations to truly be beautiful.