10-30-201610-30-2016
Skinner Auctions
Skinner AuctionsBoston MA
2950BBoston
October 30, 2016 11:00 AMCalender
326

Morris, William (1834-1896)The Sundering Flood , with Autograph Letter Signed, 4 November 1891 inserted.

Sell one like this
$1,968$1,600
Auction: Books & Manuscripts - 2950BLocation: BostonDate / Time: October 30, 2016 11:00AM

Description:

Morris, William (1834-1896)The Sundering Flood, with Autograph Letter Signed, 4 November 1891 inserted. London: Kelmscott Press, 15 November 1897. First edition, one of 300 copies, all printed on paper in red and black ink, Chaucer type, wood-engraved border to first page of text, and sixty-six other decorative vignettes, all but one forming two- or three-sided borders; initials and rectangular printer's mark on colophon designed by William Morris; map by H. Cribb in place as front pastedown; in blue paper boards, with title on front board, uncut; front board discolored, with ink stains, spine label missing, 8 x 5 1/2 in.
[Together with] an autograph letter signed by Morris inscribed over two pages of a wove Kelmscott House bifolium letter paper, the conjugate uninscribed and present, old folds, 8 x 5 in. "Sir, I thought I had given your name to Mr. Reeves, but it seems I must have forgotten it. The books have all been sold months ago; but as you have been depending upon me I think I may strain a point & let you have a copy from out of a few I have kept for myself; although the processing is irregular. Please to send me £2-2-0 for it. Further I must say that by applying to Messrs Reeves 196 Strand or Mr. Quaritch 15 Piccadilly you will be able to find out about the books printed at the Kelmscott. As I pay a publisher to manage my business it is not fair that I should be bothered about it personally. By noticing the Athenaeum you will always be able to see what I am bringing out. I send the book by post. Yours truly, WMorris."
"The Sundering Flood is a fantasy novel by William Morris, perhaps the first modern fantasy writer to unite an imaginary world with the element of the supernatural, and thus the precursor of much of present-day fantasy literature. Morris' last work of fiction, it was completed only in rough draft, with the ending dictated from his deathbed. It was then edited posthumously by his daughter May and published in 1897." (Wikipedia)
Estimate $1,000-1,500


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Keywords

Quaritch, May, London