The Story of the Glittering Plain
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The Story of the Glittering Plain by William Morris
This beautiful volume makes one of history's most extraordinary achievements in book design and printing available in an inexpensive paperback edition. The Story of the Glittering Plain, a richly evocative medieval tale of knightly adventure written by the Victorian poet and artist William Morris, was the first publication of Morris' newly founded Kelmscott Press; its second (1894) edition, reprinted here, was one of the most influential Kelmscott books.The sumptuous look and feel of the book, its exemplary presswork and fine paper, and scrupulous attention to every detail combined to create a sensation among printers and collectors. The Story of the Glittering Plain was one of a small group of Morris' masterpieces that were to revolutionize the art of printing and transform it from a routine trade into high art. In addition to the elegant typography, which Morris based on fonts by great fifteenth-century German printers, the book features rich ornaments and initials designed by Morris as well as 23 superb woodcuts by noted artist Walter Crane. The result is a chivalrous tale that is both an aesthetic and a heroic adventure.
William Morris (1834-1896) was an accomplished writer, textile designer and artist. A utopian socialist, he was associated with the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood and the English Arts and Craft Movement, and was a founding member of the Socialist League in Britain. Greatly influenced by the medieval period, Morris helped establish the modern fantasy genre though his works The Defence of Guenevere and Other Poems, A Dream of John Ball, and The Well at the World's End. Authors like J.R.R. Tolkien and C.S. Lewis were greatly influenced by works like The House of the Wolfings, The Roots of the Mountains, and The Wood Beyond the World. Morris was also an accomplished publisher, founding the Kelmscott Press in 1891, whose 1896 edition of the Works of Geoffrey Chaucer is considered a masterpiece of book design.
| SKU | Unavailable |
| ISBN 13 | 9780486834917 |
| ISBN 10 | 0486834913 |
| Title | The Story of the Glittering Plain |
| Author | William Morris |
| Condition | Unavailable |
| Binding Type | Paperback |
| Publisher | Dover Publications Inc. |
| Year published | 2019-09-30 |
| Number of pages | 176 |
| Cover note | Book picture is for illustrative purposes only, actual binding, cover or edition may vary. |
| Note | Unavailable |