The earthly paradise. / By William Morris ...

Vol. I. Prologue : The wanderers. March : Atalanta's race. The man born to be king -- v. II. April : The doom of King Acrisius. The proud king -- v. III. May : The story of Cupid and Psyche. The writing on the image. June: The love of Alcestis. The lady of the land -- v. IV. July : The son of Croesus. The watching of the falcon. August : Pygmalion and the image. Ogier the Dane -- v. V. September : The death of Paris. The land east of the sun and west of the moon. October : The story of Acontius and Cydippe. The man who never laughed again -- v. VI. November : The story of Rhodope. The lovers of Gudrun -- v. VII. December : The golden apples. The fostering of Aslaug. January : Bellerophon at Argos. The ring given to Venus -- v. VIII. February : Bellerophon in Lycia. The hill of Venus. Epilogue. L'envoi.

A series of 24 tales in verse, 2 for each month of the year; 12 from classical sources, the other 12 from medieval Latin, French and Icelandic.

Imprint from colophon, vol. I; place of publication from colophon, v. VIII.

"Printed by the Trustees of the late William Morris at the Kelmscott Press"--Colophon vols. IV-VIII.

"The first two volumes were published by William Morris, and the other six at the Kelmscott Press after William Morris' death." Cf. Tomkinson, p. 118.

"The borders in this edition ... were designed by William Morris, except those on page 4 of volumes ii, iii, and iv, afterwards repeated, which were designed to match the opposite borders, under William Morris's direction, by R. Catterson Smith"--Colophon, vol. VIII.

Vol. I: [6], 193, [1] p. (page [5], 1st set, and final p., are blank); v. II: [2], 121, [1] p. (pages [2], 1st set, [3], 2nd set, and final p., are blank); v. III: [2], 169, [1] p. (page [2], and final p., are blank); v. IV: [2], 157, [1] p. (page [2], 1st set, and final page, are blank); v. V: [2], 241, [1] p. (page [2], 1st set, and final p. are blank); v. VI: [2], 217, [1] p. (page [2], 1st set, and final p., are blank); v. VII: [2], 203, [1] p. (page [2], 1st set, and final p. are blank) ; v. VIII: [2], 186 p. (page [2], 1st set, is blank).

Text printed in Golden type on watermarked "apple" paper. Shoulder titles, speakers' names, and some lines printed in red.

Each vol. has individual title page, with vol. no. and contents listing. Printer's device below colophon, vol. VIII.

Vol. I has engraved half t.p.; all subsequent vols. have first 2 pages of main text sequence within engraved borders. Decorated initials throughout text and occasional decorated three-quarter borders.

Limited ed. of 225 copies printed on paper, 6 on vellum. Vol. i issued 24 July 1896; v. ii issued 17 September 1896, v. iii issued 5 December 1896, v. iv issued 22 January 1897, v. 5 issued 9 March 1897, v. vi issued 11 May 1897, v. vii issued 29 July 1897, v. viii issued 27 September 1897. Cf. Peterson.

Binding: limp vellum, narrow yapp edges, silk ties threaded through cover, spine lettered in gilt (Golden type) ; bound by Leighton. Cf. Peterson.

Peterson, W.S. Kelmscott Press, A41

Tomkinson, G.W. Modern presses, p. 117-118

Opening title page Digital image. Wellington, N.Z. : National Library of New Zealand.

The Alexander Turnbull copy 1, vols. I-IV, VIII have red silk ties, vol. VI has green silk ties, and vol. VII has grey silk ties. All copies are printed on paper with untrimmed edges. Acc. 130994-131001.

The Alexander Turnbull copy 2, vols. I, VIII have green silk ties, vols. II and IV-VII have red silk ties, and vol. III has gold silk ties. All copies are printed on paper with untrimmed edges. Provenance: bookplates and stamps of General Assembly Library. Acc. 207952-207959.

Digital image available: opening title page, Alexander Turnbull Library SPC copy 2, v.1. Details on request from Curator, Special Printed Collections.