The Nature of Gothic: A Chapter of the Stones of Venice
Hammersmith: Kelmscott Press, 1892.
Limited Edition. Vellum.
One of only 500 copies on paper. Bound in stiff vellum with yapp edges and green silk ties (one lacking). Set in Golden type and printed on Batchelor’s handmade paper watermarked with a primrose. Woodcut borders, initials and press-marks cut by William Morris and printed in black. With a preface by William Morris.
This treatise, which first appeared as a chapter in Ruskin’s classic work on Venetian art and architecture, The Stones of Venice, originally was published in the mid-19th century and stimulated a Gothic revival. In The Nature of Gothic, Ruskin championed the aesthetic of handcraftsmanship and artistry which was fundamental in the development of William Morris's design aesthetic. The fourth book printed by the Kelmscott Press.
Item #9024575-3/4 x 8-1/8", full vellum with yapp edges and green silk ties, deckled edges, 128pp.
Soiling to vellum, upper rear tie missing, small chip upper corner of front yapp, half of rear yapp is missing, coffee-colored splatter of staining fore-edge that extends onto some leaves up to 1/4" (see photograph), light offsetting from ribbons on endpapers, top-edges of folded leaves uncut, printed pages quite exquisite, near very good copy of a fragile item.
Price: $3,000.00