81. Morris (William, poet, artist, manufacturer and socialist, 1834-96) & May Morris, designer and craftswoman, 1862-1938. Collection of correspondence by and mostly relating to William and May Morris, many relating to Mary Sloane & The Women’s Guild of Arts, including: Autograph Letter from William Morris to Miss Bailey, 2pp. with conjugate blank and envelope, 8vo, Kelmscott House, Hammersmith, 30th August [envelope postmark 1883, “I hear from Mrs. Morris that dear Jenny [Morris’s eldest daughter who was an epileptic] has had an attack since you left town: I ought to have asked you to write and let me know also if anything of that sort happens: will you kindly do so please & tell me something about this last one: I am sorry to have to give you double trouble over it, but I get anxious & I want also to communicate with Mr. Webb [Philip Webb, architect of the Red House]”; Autograph Letter signed from Jane Morris to Miss Whitaker, 2pp. with conjugate blank, sm. 8vo, K[elmscott] Manor, 30th December 1909, “Many thanks for sending choco: to Jenny… I have excellent news from May, she is well and both throat and voice lasting well”; Autograph Letter signed and 3 Postcards signed to Dorothy Rope (letter) and Miss M.A. Sloane (postcards), 1p. and 3 cards, 8vo et infra, Kelmscott Manor, Lechlade, 7th January 1934 - 8th May 1936, on the William Morris Centenary Commemoration, 9 March 1934, “[George Bernard] Shaw writes that he will be on a voyage in March, so not available. Have you thought of Miss Maude Roydon? and how about Mr Steele, who knew W.M. well”; and a quantity of other letters and pamphlets, letters, including: Katharine Webb (née Adams, bookbinder, 1862-1952) (7); Walter Crane, Gladys Holman Hunt (1 letter, 1 postcard); Evelyn de Morgan (painter, 1855-1919); Mary Seton Watts (wife of G.F. Watts) (7); Lady Feodora Gleichen (sculptor, 1861-1922) (5); Thomas Sturge Moore (writer and designer, 1870-1944) (2); Laurence Binyon (1 letter, 3 postcards); H.S. Salt (classical scholar, founder of the Humanitarian League, 1851-1939) (3 letters, 1 postcard); Rothenstein (Sir William); pamphlets and ephemera, including: Admission ticket made out to Mary Sloane to Exhibition of New Works by Augustus John, with manuscript list on verso of items relating to Morris, Burne-Jones etc.; receipt from the Fabian Society made out to May Morris; flyer for the Collected Edition of Morris’s Works; photograph of Jane and May Morris with 2 others on the lawn of Kelmscott Manor, faded, by Carter & Co., Princes Street, Bristol, n.d. [?c. 1905]; trial copy of illustration used in The Collected Works of William Morris; Foote (G.W.) Mrs. Besant’s Theosophy, printed pamphlet, 1889; Burne-Jones (Sir Edward) The Legend of St. George and the Dragon, 1895; Merton Abbey Churches and Halls, Morris & Company, Ltd., 1925, folds, v.s., v.d. (qty)
est. £1000 – £1500
Amongst many items of interest in this collection is William Morris’s letter enquiring after his eldest daughter on hearing she had suffered from a recent epileptic attack. Also May Morris’s correspondence mentioning Bernard Shaw for whom she had a romantic attachment in 1890.