{"meta":{"version":"2.1","_links":{"self":{"href":"https://api.vam.ac.uk/v2/object/O1407076"},"collection_page":{"href":"https://collections.vam.ac.uk/item/O1407076/"}},"images":{"_primary_thumbnail":"https://framemark.vam.ac.uk/collections/2017KB6494/full/!100,100/0/default.jpg","_iiif_image":"https://framemark.vam.ac.uk/collections/2017KB6494/","_alt_iiif_image":[],"imageResolution":"low","_images_meta":[{"assetRef":"2017KB6494","copyright":"©Victoria & Albert Museum, London","sensitiveImage":false},{"assetRef":"2017KB6498","copyright":"©Victoria & Albert Museum, London","sensitiveImage":false},{"assetRef":"2021MY0779","copyright":"©Victoria & Albert Museum, London","sensitiveImage":false}]},"see_also":null},"record":{"systemNumber":"O1407076","accessionNumber":"38041020011268","objectType":"Book","titles":[{"title":"The 'Kelmscott Chaucer', bound by designer bookbinder Dominic Riley","type":"popular title"}],"summaryDescription":"The Works of Geoffrey Chaucer published by the Kelmscott Press was the last great work of William Morris, and the icon of the private press movement, the printing revival he inspired. The volume contains 87 wood-cut illustrations by Edward Burne-Jones, who was a close friend of Morris. The Gothic-inspired type was specially designed by William Morris and named 'Chaucer' after this book.    \nThe book brought together Morris's passion for the medieval period and his commitment to beautiful hand-crafted productions and was published shortly before he died. 425 copies were printed, sold at £20 each.\nThis Kelmscott Chaucer had an undistinguished binding when acquired by the present owner, so that he felt justified in altering its condition. He selected Dominic Riley, a distinguished British designer bookbinder  for the commission. Riley studied at the London College of Printing. He has won several major bookbinding awards, and was elected a Fellow of the Designer Bookbinders in 2008. He now works and teaches in Britain and the US.\r\nThe binder conceived the work as an overt homage to Morris, basing the design upon the mirror forms of his initials: ‘W M’. Several techniques were used (including modern digital methods to produce the stamps). The final work is grand and dignified, its geometric exactness relieved with touches of naturalistic ornamentation based on the book’s border decoration, and its use of the colour red echoes the red used for the rubrics in the text (based on medieval and Renaissance practice of highlighting headings in red ink).\r\n","physicalDescription":"Hand-printed book on paper with goatskin binding.","artistMakerPerson":[{"name":{"text":"Morris, William","id":"A8676"},"association":{"text":"printer","id":"x30811"},"note":""},{"name":{"text":"Riley, Dominic","id":"AUTH345591"},"association":{"text":"bookbinder","id":"AAT25704"},"note":""},{"name":{"text":"Burne-Jones, Edward Coley (Sir)","id":"A8203"},"association":{"text":"illustrator","id":"x36173"},"note":""},{"name":{"text":"Chaucer, Geoffrey","id":"N1993"},"association":{"text":"author","id":"AAT25492"},"note":""},{"name":{"text":"Hooper, William Harcourt","id":"A9585"},"association":{"text":"engraver","id":"x30813"},"note":""}],"artistMakerOrganisations":[{"name":{"text":"Kelmscott Press","id":"A9584"},"association":{"text":"printed and published","id":"x38483"},"note":""}],"artistMakerPeople":[],"materials":[{"text":"paper","id":"x30308"},{"text":"leather","id":"AAT11845"},{"text":"hide glue","id":"AAT14823"},{"text":"millboard","id":"AAT14233"},{"text":"card","id":"x30344"},{"text":"goatskin","id":"AAT255984"},{"text":"suede","id":"AAT193368"},{"text":"ink","id":"AAT15012"}],"techniques":[{"text":"inlay","id":"AAT53850"},{"text":"printing","id":"AAT53319"},{"text":"wood engraving","id":"AAT53303"}],"materialsAndTechniques":"'The boards of the book were made of laminates of millboard, card and hand made paper, stuck together with rabbit skin glue. [...] \nThe book was covered in black Harmatan goatskin, with the same leather for the joints and doublure, black suede for the first flyleaf, and red and black Fabriano and white Bodleian paper for the paper flyleaves. The inlays were stamped off the book, using metal dyes. The edges of the inlays, as well as the sides of the cut-away areas were painted with red acrylic paint. \nThe gold tooling and board edges wwas done by Trevor Lloyd, and I tooled both the title panels and the lines on the front and back cover. The binding is signed [...] on the back doublure.\nThe book is housed in a double-walled, reinforced clamshell box lined with double red-and-white suede pads, and with a title label on the spine.' Dominic Riley, 2016","categories":[{"text":"Books","id":"THES48986"},{"text":"Bookbinding","id":"THES253015"},{"text":"National Art Library","id":"THES271541"}],"styles":[],"collectionCode":{"text":"NAL","id":"THES48605"},"images":["2017KB6494","2017KB6498","2021MY0779"],"imageResolution":"low","galleryLocations":[{"current":{"text":"NAL","id":"THES251738"},"free":"","case":"","shelf":"","box":""}],"partTypes":[[{"text":"Book","id":"AAT28051"}]],"contentWarnings":[{"apprise":"","note":""}],"placesOfOrigin":[{"place":{"text":"Hammersmith","id":"x36844"},"association":{"text":"printed and published","id":"x35383"},"note":""},{"place":{"text":"Britain","id":"x32019"},"association":{"text":"binding","id":"x43679"},"note":""}],"productionDates":[{"date":{"text":"1896","earliest":"1896-01-01","latest":"1896-12-31"},"association":{"text":"printed and published","id":"x35383"},"note":""},{"date":{"text":"2016","earliest":"2016-01-01","latest":"2016-12-31"},"association":{"text":"binding","id":"x43679"},"note":""}],"associatedObjects":[],"creditLine":"Given by the American Friends of the V&A through the generosity of Paul Chrzanowski, 2020.","dimensions":[{"dimension":"Height","value":"44","unit":"cm","qualifier":"","date":{"text":"","earliest":null,"latest":null},"part":"","note":""}],"dimensionsNote":"","marksAndInscriptions":[],"objectHistory":"On loan from the American Friends of the V&A from 2016 to 2020. Given by the American Friends of the V&A through the generosity of Paul Chrzanowski, 2020. ","historicalContext":"","briefDescription":"Book, The works of Geoffrey Chaucer, by Geoffrey Chaucer, London (Hammersmith): Kelmscott Press, [1896]. ","bibliographicReferences":[{"reference":{"text":"The Kelmscott Chaucer: a census, by W.S. Peterson and S.Holton Peterson, New Castle, DE : Oak Knoll Press, 2011.","id":"AUTH361817"},"details":"no. 2.190.","free":""}],"production":"","productionType":{"text":"Limited edition","id":"THES48862"},"contentDescription":"","contentPlaces":[],"associatedPlaces":[],"contentPerson":[],"associatedPerson":[],"contentOrganisations":[],"associatedOrganisations":[{"text":"American Friends of the Victoria and Albert Museum, Inc","id":"C2967"}],"contentPeople":[],"associatedPeople":[],"contentEvents":[],"associatedEvents":[],"contentOthers":[],"contentConcepts":[],"contentLiteraryRefs":[],"galleryLabels":[],"partNumbers":["38041020011268"],"accessionNumberNum":"38041020011268","accessionNumberPrefix":"","accessionYear":null,"otherNumbers":[{"type":{"text":"NAL barcode","id":"THES50330"},"number":"38041020011268"},{"type":{"text":"Previous number","id":"THES51695"},"number":"LOAN:AMERICANFRIENDS.716-2016"}],"copyNumber":"","aspects":["WHOLE"],"assets":[],"recordModificationDate":"2025-04-09","recordCreationDate":"2017-07-29","availableToBook":false}}