NOTE BY WILLIAM MORRIS
ON HIS AIMS IN FOUNDING
THE KELMSCOTTPRESS/M*
BEGAN printing books with
thehopeofproducing some which
would have a definite claim to
beauty, while at the same time
they should be easy to read and
should notdazzletheeye, ortrou/
intellect of the reader by eccentri
city of form in the letters. I have always
been a great admirer of the calligraphy of
the Middle Ages, & ofthe earlierprinting
which took its place. As to the fifteenth
century books, I had noticed that they
were always beautiful by force ofthe mere
typography, even without the added or/
nament, with which many of them are
ble the
so lavishly supplied. And it was the es/
senceofmyundertakingtoproducebooks
which it would be apleasureto look upon
as pieces of printing and arrangement of
type. Looking at my adventure from this
point of view then, I found I had to con/
sider chiefly the following things: the
paper, the form of the type, the relative
spacing of the letters, the words, and the
ON HIS AIMS IN FOUNDING
THE KELMSCOTTPRESS/M*
BEGAN printing books with
thehopeofproducing some which
would have a definite claim to
beauty, while at the same time
they should be easy to read and
should notdazzletheeye, ortrou/
intellect of the reader by eccentri
city of form in the letters. I have always
been a great admirer of the calligraphy of
the Middle Ages, & ofthe earlierprinting
which took its place. As to the fifteenth
century books, I had noticed that they
were always beautiful by force ofthe mere
typography, even without the added or/
nament, with which many of them are
ble the
so lavishly supplied. And it was the es/
senceofmyundertakingtoproducebooks
which it would be apleasureto look upon
as pieces of printing and arrangement of
type. Looking at my adventure from this
point of view then, I found I had to con/
sider chiefly the following things: the
paper, the form of the type, the relative
spacing of the letters, the words, and the