Kelmscott Press edition of 'The Life and Death of Jason'

First published by Bell & Daldy in 1867, ‘The Life and Death of Jason’ brought William Morris literary success as a poet for the first time. Spanning over 10,000 lines, this story was originally intended to be part of 'The Earthly Paradise' (a collection of poems by Morris and his most well-received literary achievement) but became too large and had to be published separately. It became a preview to 'The Earthly Paradise', published a year later, and the two poems helped to establish Morris’s name as a serious poet.

Morris had been writing poetry since his time at university but his first publication, ‘The Defence of Guenevere’ in 1857, was poorly received and dissuaded him from publishing anything for ten years. He had matured as a writer during this period and ‘Jason’ was even admired by prominent figures such as Alfred Tennyson and Octavia Hill.

A retelling of the mythology surrounding the Greek hero Jason and the sorceress Medea, Morris’s poem is longer than Virgil’s ‘Aeneid’ and only a little shorter than Homer’s ‘Odyssey’. The poem is written in heroic couplets, a constant structure with pairs of rhyming lines, which set a marching tone to the narrative. Edward Burne-Jones once said of Morris’s poetry, ‘you cannot find short quotations in him, he must be taken in great gulps.’

This edition was produced in 1895 by the Kelmscott Press, Morris’s own publishing firm. It features two full-page woodcut illustrations by Burne-Jones and decorated borders designed by Morris. The larger typeface seen on the first page is Troy Type and the smaller one is Chaucer Type, both designed by William Morris. This is one of 200 copies printed on hand-made paper; an additional six copies were printed on vellum.