Yiling

One of my (many) unattractive traits is my obsession with William Morris' and Emery Walker's Kelmscott Press. It is my eternal sorrow that almost none of their books are available as facsimile editions that retain the original (very beautiful) typesetting and illustrations. The most high-profile one I'm aware of is the Kelmscott Chaucer, facsimile editions of which were published in 1974 by Basilisk Press, and more recently in 2002 (as a limited edition, bound in goatskin) and 2008 (as a standard edition) by the Folio Society. Periodically, I trawl the internet for these, then gaze sadly at the astronomical prices for the 1974 and 2008 editions for a long while before closing the browser tab.

It was on one of these trawls that I learned that a facsimile edition of another Kelmscott Press book, The Poems of John Keats, had been published as a facsimile edition by Nottingham Court Press in 1979 (it seems to have been sold in unbound form). A search revealed that the average copy seemed to be selling between £200 to £250... until I came across a listing with no pictures other the plain outer binding, and no reference to the Kelmscott Press in the description. But the listed date of publication, the name of the publisher, and the name of the editor (F.S. Ellis) were all correct. The stated price was £15, so I decided to take a punt. I didn't want to ask the seller further questions that might make them realise what they had on their hands.

The book arrived today, so I can now confirm that I am, in fact, the proud owner of a facsimile edition of the Kelmscott Press Keats for the low, low price of £15.