William Morris Collection

In 2006, Emeritus Professor Eugene LeMire, with Oak Knoll Press, released ‘A bibliography of William Morris’. 

The bibliography was a massive undertaking, with Eugene stating in a paper presented to the Bibliographical Society of Australia and New Zealand Conference in 1993:

“There are many reasons, sensible reasons, for not starting on a bibliography of William Morris, the first and foremost being that the job is simply too large and too complicated. Indeed, there is some reason to believe that this is the basic reason why no one has attempted it since Temple Scott (i.e.]. H. Isaacs) and Harry Buxton Forman did their bibliographies of Morris in 1897, nearly a century ago.”

In spite of this Eugene put forth a proposal to write such a book, spending years on the project, seeking not only to provide an account of Morris’ writings, but also focusing on the ways by which they reached the public.

Eugene LeMire remembered his studies as an intellectual transformation -- ‘the university promised me something that I could not have defined at the time: the possibility of a true independence of mind’

This collection was put together by Emeritus Professor Eugene LeMire while researching for his book and accompanies his papers which are housed in the Manuscripts collection (MSS 0246).

Eugene passed away in August 2020.

William Morris

“...the difficulty of Morris's bibliography is partly, but only partly, his massive productive capacity and variety. A glance at the year 1888, one of his busier years as a writer, shows how all of his activities fed into the content and the forms of his publications. In that year he was still combining a very active socialist commitment to 'agitate, educate, organize’ with his normal heavy load of creative and administrative duties as head of Morris and Company.”Eugene LeMire. A new bibliography of William Morris: a report of work in progress (1993)

Born in Britain in 1834, William Morris was a textile designer, poet, novelist, translator, and socialist activist associated with the British Arts and Crafts Movement. Morris was a firm believer in surrounding oneself in beautiful things, as regularly showcased in his works.

This collection predominately consists of publications of his poems, novels and translations, accompanied by books about him written by others, as well as published examples of his designs.

“Taken all in all- as collector, calligrapher, writer, printer, designer of books and type, publisher, and initiator and spokesman for a new standard of book production - he was the greatest bookman of his day and perhaps the most important single figure in the history of nineteenth-century books, touching the 'book trade' at most points and with the most decisive impact. His own publications appeared in a continuous stream and in the greatest possible variety of forms: books, pamphlets, broadsides, articles in newspapers and magazines (the database lists over seven hundred of these), his popularity often justifying many impressions and the most expensive, hence carefully planned and produced, editions. Yet, conversely, in many instances his writing is also found in the most obscure, hastily-prepared, and ephemeral forms of print. Indeed, the history of the nineteenth-century publishing industry finds perhaps its fullest expression in the career of Morris”Eugene Le Mire. A new bibliography of William Morris: a report of work in progress.

Rare Books & Manuscripts also holds several editions of works published by Morris’ private press, the Kelmscott Press, founded in 1891.