William Morris presented this copy of his ‘Poems by the Way’ to his sister Isabella Gilmore; from her it passed to Miss Morris, niece of William Morris. 300 paper copies were printed with just 13 like this, printed on vellum.
The painter Charles Fairfax Murray helped Morris compile this collection of poems, mostly published in periodicals between 1868-1889 with the exception of ‘Goldilocks & Goldilocks’. Kelmscott Press Secretary, Sydney Cockerell recalled a failed attempt to stain the vellum covers of ‘Poems by the Way’ yellow, red, dark green and indigo.
