KELMSCOTT PRESS: VORAGINE, Jacobus de; William Caxton (trans.).

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The Golden Legend. First Kelmscott edition, presentation copy, inscribed by Morris on the first blank one month before publication, "To Edward Burne-Jones from William Morris, Oct. 5th 1892". Burne-Jones's book label, printed in Morris's Golden type, is on the front pastedown. This is one of 500 sets printed on paper. Burne-Jones designed books for the Kelmscott Press between 1892 and 1898, including the illustrations in this book. At the end of his life, the artist wrote: "Morris's friendship began everything for me; everything that I afterwards cared for". Morris and Burne-Jones met in 1853 as undergraduates at Exeter College, Oxford. Bonded by a mutual admiration for medieval culture and a desire to resist industrialization's impact on art, they abandoned their divinity studies and, at the suggestion of their friend Dante Gabriel Rossetti, moved together to London. Their collaboration became one of the most defining creative partnerships of the arts and crafts movement, shaping its ideals through their work in painting, design, and book arts. The Golden Legend held great appeal for Morris. It was intended to be the first Kelmscott Press title, but its length and problems with the first delivery of paper delayed the release. The woodcut title is the first designed by Morris, who also worked on the initials and borders. Burne-Jones saw some proofs in October 1891 and reported that he "went crazy with pleasure" (Peterson). The text was edited by Morris's friend Frederick Star

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