Ended

The Complete Kelmscott Press Collection of Joseph Mark Van Horn

17 December 2024 | starting at 12:00 EST

Joseph Mark Van Horn (1932-1983) was an entrepreneur and inventor, described as "a remarkable man, self-made and self-educated." An orphan, he went on to become an MIT educated engineer and computer scientist, holding numerous US and foreign patents. He was also a member of the Club of Odd Volumes, the Harvard Faculty Club, and the Grolier Club, and put together this remarkable and complete collection of William Morris and the Kelmscott Press, including related works to Morris and his vision. Van Horn bought mostly in the 1960s and 70s both at auction and from the respected book dealers of his day including Philip Duschnes and Goodspeed's, with some receipts still extant, assembling this fantastic collection featuring numerous association copies presented by Morris to important contemporaries such as Edward Burne-Jones, Sydney Cockerell, Rudyard Kipling, A.C. Swinburne, as well as copies on vellum of desirable Kelmscott titles, copies from famous collectors like Robert Hoe; Beverly Chew; and Mark Landsburgh, as well as copies of famous books that would influence Morris's designs at the Kelmscott Press, such as Koberger's Nuremberg Chronicle. Van Horn was described as having "the most remarkable taste in the arts," and the condition of most of the works in the collection would support that assessment. Remarkably, when Van Horn passed away suddenly in 1983, the collection was inherited by his fiancée, Laura Carchia, who proceeded to store it away for the next 40 years until her own passing in 2023. For the first time since 1983, this wonderful, and complete, collection of William Morris and the Kelmscott Press, with related works, is reemerging like Rip Van Winkle and offered here at auction - representing an unheard of opportunity to acquire works not seen in the market for 50 years.

The Complete Kelmscott Press Collection of Joseph Mark Van Horn

Auction highlights

Lot gallery

1 — THE FIRST BOOK FROM THE KELMSCOTT PRESS. MORRIS, WILLIAM. 1834-1896. The Story of the Glittering Plain. Which Has Been Also Called the Land of Living Men or the Acre of the Undying. Hammersmith: Kelmscott Press, 1891.

2 — THE ROBERT HOE COPY. MORRIS, WILLIAM. 1834-1896. Poems by the Way. Hammersmith: Kelmscott Press, 1891.

3 — BLUNT, WILFRID SCAWEN. 1840-1922. The Love-Lyrics & Songs of Proteus by Wilfrid Scawen Blunt with the Love-Sonnets of Proteus by the Same Author Now Reprinted in Their Full Text with Many Sonnets Omitted from the Earlier Editions. Hammersmith: Kelmscott Press, 1892.

4 — A MANIFESTO FOR THE ARTS AND CRAFTS MOVEMENT. RUSKIN, JOHN. 1819-1900. The Nature of Gothic: A Chapter of the Stones of Venice. With a preface by William Morris. Hammersmith: Kelmscott Press, 1892.

5 — PRESENTATION FROM SYDNEY COCKERELL. MORRIS, WILLIAM. 1834-1896. The Defence of Guenevere and Other Poems. Hammersmith: Kelmscott Press, 1891.

6 — MORRIS, WILLIAM. 1834-1896. The Defence of Guenevere and Other Poems. Hammersmith: Kelmscott Press, 1891.

7 — THE FIRST BURNE-JONES CONTRIBUTION TO THE KELMSCOTT PRESS. MORRIS, WILLIAM. 1834-1896. A Dream of John Ball and a King's Lesson. Hammersmith: Kelmscott Press, 1892.

8 — INSCRIBED BY WILLIAM MORRIS TO EDWARD BURNE-JONES. VORAGINE, JACOBUS DE. C. 1230-1298. The Golden Legend. Translated by William Caxton. Edited by F.S. Ellis. Hammersmith: Kelmscott Press, 1892.

9 — FIRST APPEARANCE OF MORRIS'S TROY AND CHAUCER TYPES. LEFEVRE, RAOUL. FL 1460. The Recuyell of the Historyes of Troye. Translated by William Caxton, edited by H. Halliday Sparling. Hammersmith: Kelmscott Press, 1892.

10 — MACKAIL, JOHN WILLIAM. 1859-1945. Biblia Innocentium. Being the Story of God's Chosen People Before the Coming of Our Lord Jesus Christ Upon Earth, Written Anew for Children. Hammersmith: Kelmscott Press, 1892.

11 — CAXTON, WILLIAM. C. 1422-1491. The History of Reynard the Foxe. Hammersmith: Kelmscott Press, December 1892.

12 — SHAKESPEARE, WILLIAM. 1564-1616. The Poems of William Shakespeare. Hammersmith: Kelmscott Press, 1893.

13 — MORRIS, WILLIAM. 1834-1896. News from Nowhere: Or, an Epoch of Rest, being Some Chapters from a Utopian Romance. Hammersmith: Kelmscott Press, 1892 [but 1893].

14 — INSCRIBED BY WILLIAM MORRIS TO EDWARD BURNE-JONES. LULL, RAMON. 1232-1316. The Order of Chivalry. Translated by William Caxton, edited by F.S.Ellis and L'Ordene de Chevalerie, translated by William Morris. Hammersmith: Kelmscott Press, 1893.

15 — CAVENDISH, GEORGE. 1497-1562. The Life of Thomas Wolsey, Cardinal. Hammersmith: The Kelmscott Press, 1893.

16 — FIRST BOOK PUBLISHED AND SOLD AT THE KELMSCOTT PRESS. GUILELMUS. Archbishop of Tyre. C. 1130-1186. The History of Godefroy of Boloyne and of the conquest of Iherusalem. [Reprinted from Caxtons edition of 1481, edited by H. Halliday Sparling.] Hammersmith: The Kelmscott Press, 1893.

17 — MORE, THOMAS. 1478-1535. Utopia. Translated by Ralph Robinson, with a Foreword by William Morris. Edited by F.S. Ellis. Hammersmith: Kelmscott Press, 1893.

18 — TENNYSON, ALFRED, LORD. 1809-1892. Maud. A Monodrama. Hammersmith: Kelmscott Press, 1893.

19 — MORRIS, WILLIAM. 1834-1896. Gothic Architecture: A Lecture for the Arts and Crafts Exhibition Society. Hammersmith: Kelmscott Press, 1893.

20 — MORRIS, WILLIAM. 1834-1896. Gothic Architecture: A Lecture for the Arts and Crafts Exhibition Society. Hammersmith: Kelmscott Press, 1893.

21 — MEINHOLD, WILLIAM. 1797-1851. Sidonia the Sorceress. Translated by Francesca Speranza, Lady Wilde. Hammersmith: Kelmscott Press, 1893.

22 — MEINHOLD, WILLIAM. 1797-1851. Sidonia the Sorceress. Translated by Francesca Speranza, Lady Wilde. Hammersmith: Kelmscott Press, 1893.

23 — INSCRIBED BY WILLIAM MORRIS TO EDWARD BURNE-JONES. ROSSETTI, DANTE GABRIEL. 1828-1882. Sonnets and Lyrical Poems. Hammersmith: Kelmscott Press, 1894.

24 — ROSSETTI, DANTE GABRIEL. 1828-1882. Ballads and Narrative Poems. Hammersmith: Kelmscott Press, 1893.

25 — MORRIS'S ORIGINAL MANUSCRIPT TITLE-PAGE DESIGN FOR ROSSETTI. Ballads and Narrative Poems. [Hammersmith: Kelmscott Press, c. 1893.]

26 — INSCRIBED BY WILLIAM MORRIS TO SWINBURNE. MORRIS, WILLIAM, translator. Tale of King Florus and the Fair Jehane. Translated from the French of the 13th Century. Hammersmith: Kelmscott Press, 1893.

27 — MORRIS, WILLIAM. 1834-1896. The Story of the Glittering Plain, or the Land of Living Men. Hammersmith: Kelmscott Press, 1894.

28 — PRINTED ON VELLUM - ONE OF ONLY 15 COPIES. MORRIS, WILLIAM, translator. Of the Friendship of Amis and Amile. Translated from the ancient French by William Morris. Hammersmith: Kelmscott Press, 1894.

29 — KEATS, JOHN. 1795-1821. The Poems. Edited by F.S. Ellis. Hammersmith: Kelmscott Press, 1894.

30 — SWINBURNE, ALGERNON CHARLES. 1837-1909. Atalanta in Calydon. Hammersmith: Kelmscott Press, 1894.

31 — MORRIS, WILLIAM, translator. The tale of the Emperor Coustans and of Over Sea. Translated from ancient French by William Morris. Hammersmith: Kelmscott Press, 1894.

32 — MORRIS, WILLIAM. 1834-1896. The Wood Beyond the World. Hammersmith: Kelmscott Press, 1894.

33 — INSCRIBED BY WILLIAM MORRIS TO RUDYARD KIPLING. The Book of Wisdom and Lies. Translated by Oliver Wardrop. Hammersmith: Kelmscott Press, 1894.

34 — INSCRIBED BY WILLIAM MORRIS TO HIS SISTER IN LAW ELIZABETH BURDEN. SHELLEY, PERCY BYSSHE. 1792-1822. The Poetical Works. Edited by F.S. Ellis. Hammersmith: Kelmscott Press, [1894]-1895.

35 — ELLIS, FREDERICK STARTRIDGE, editor. 1830-1901. Psalmi Penitentiales. Hammersmith: Kelmscott Press, 1894.

36 — SAVONAROLA, GIROLAMO. 1452-1498. Epistola de Contemptu Mundi. Edited by Charles Fairfax Murray. Hammersmith: Kelmscott Press, [1894]-1895.

37 — MORRIS, WILLIAM and A.J. WYATT, translators. The Tale of Beowulf. Hammersmith: Kelmscott Press, 1895.

38 — ELLIS, FREDERICK STARTRIDGE, editor. 1830-1901. Syr Perecyvelle of Gales. Hammersmith: Kelmscott Press, 1895.

39 — MORRIS, WILLIAM. 1834-1896. The Life and Death of Jason, A Poem. Hammersmith: Kelmscott Press, 1895.

40 — WILLIAM MORRIS ASSOCIATION COPY IN FINE BINDING. MORRIS, WILLIAM. 1834-1896. Child Christopher and Goldilind the Fair. Hammersmith: Kelmscott Press, 1895.

41 — INSCRIBED BY MORRIS TO F.S. ELLIS. MORRIS, WILLIAM. 1834-1896. Child Christopher and Goldilind the Fair. Hammersmith: Kelmscott Press, 1895.

42 — EDMUND GOSSE'S COPY. ROSSETTI, DANTE GABRIEL. 1828-1882. Hand and Soul. Hammersmith: Kelmscott Press, 1895.

43 — HERRICK, ROBERT. 1591-1674. Poems. Hammersmith: Kelmscott Press, 1895.

44 — INSCRIBED BY WILLIAM MORRIS TO EDWARD BURNE-JONES. COLERIDGE, SAMUEL TAYLOR. 1772-1834. Poems Chosen out of the Works of Samuel Taylor Coleridge. Hammersmith: Kelmscott Press, 1896.

45 — MORRIS, WILLIAM. 1834-96. The Well at the World's End. Hammersmith: Kelmscott Press, 1896.

46 — KELMSCOTT CHAUCER: THE FINEST BOOK SINCE THE GUTENBERG BIBLE. CHAUCER, GEOFFREY. 1343-1400. The Works ... now newly imprinted. Edited by F.S. Ellis. Hammersmith: Kelmscott Press, 1896.

47 — MORRIS, WILLIAM. 1834-1896. The Earthly Paradise. Hammersmith: Kelmscott Press, 1896-97.

48 — COCKERELL, SYDNEY C., editor. Laudes Beatae Mariae Virginis. Edited by Sydney C. Cockerell. Hammersmith: Kelmscott Press, 1896.

Specialist contacts

Ian Ehling

Books (US)

Client Services (Los Angeles)

Client Services (San Francisco)

Client Services (New York)

News and stories

Exceptional Collection of Kelmscott Press Books 100% Sold at Bonhams

Collecting 101 | William Morris

A Complete Collection of Kelmscott Press Books Offered in a Single Owner Sale at Bonhams

Additional information

Auction information

Related Departments

Conditions of Sale

1 —
THE FIRST BOOK FROM THE KELMSCOTT PRESS.
MORRIS, WILLIAM. 1834-1896.
The Story of the Glittering Plain. Which Has Been Also Called the Land of Living Men or the Acre of the Undying. Hammersmith: Kelmscott Press, 1891.

2 —
THE ROBERT HOE COPY.
MORRIS, WILLIAM. 1834-1896.
Poems by the Way. Hammersmith: Kelmscott Press, 1891.

3 —
BLUNT, WILFRID SCAWEN. 1840-1922.
The Love-Lyrics & Songs of Proteus by Wilfrid Scawen Blunt with the Love-Sonnets of Proteus by the Same Author Now Reprinted in Their Full Text with Many Sonnets Omitted from the Earlier Editions. Hammersmith: Kelmscott Press, 1892.

4 —
A MANIFESTO FOR THE ARTS AND CRAFTS MOVEMENT.
RUSKIN, JOHN. 1819-1900.
The Nature of Gothic: A Chapter of the Stones of Venice. With a preface by William Morris. Hammersmith: Kelmscott Press, 1892.

5 —
PRESENTATION FROM SYDNEY COCKERELL.
MORRIS, WILLIAM. 1834-1896.
The Defence of Guenevere and Other Poems. Hammersmith: Kelmscott Press, 1891.

6 —
MORRIS, WILLIAM. 1834-1896.
The Defence of Guenevere and Other Poems. Hammersmith: Kelmscott Press, 1891.

7 —
THE FIRST BURNE-JONES CONTRIBUTION TO THE KELMSCOTT PRESS.
MORRIS, WILLIAM. 1834-1896.
A Dream of John Ball and a King's Lesson. Hammersmith: Kelmscott Press, 1892.

8 —
INSCRIBED BY WILLIAM MORRIS TO EDWARD BURNE-JONES.
VORAGINE, JACOBUS DE. C. 1230-1298.
The Golden Legend. Translated by William Caxton. Edited by F.S. Ellis. Hammersmith: Kelmscott Press, 1892.

9 —
FIRST APPEARANCE OF MORRIS'S TROY AND CHAUCER TYPES.
LEFEVRE, RAOUL. FL 1460.
The Recuyell of the Historyes of Troye. Translated by William Caxton, edited by H. Halliday Sparling. Hammersmith: Kelmscott Press, 1892.

10 —
MACKAIL, JOHN WILLIAM. 1859-1945.
Biblia Innocentium. Being the Story of God's Chosen People Before the Coming of Our Lord Jesus Christ Upon Earth, Written Anew for Children. Hammersmith: Kelmscott Press, 1892.

11 —
CAXTON, WILLIAM. C. 1422-1491.
The History of Reynard the Foxe. Hammersmith: Kelmscott Press, December 1892.

12 —
SHAKESPEARE, WILLIAM. 1564-1616.
The Poems of William Shakespeare. Hammersmith: Kelmscott Press, 1893.

13 —
MORRIS, WILLIAM. 1834-1896.
News from Nowhere: Or, an Epoch of Rest, being Some Chapters from a Utopian Romance. Hammersmith: Kelmscott Press, 1892 [but 1893].

14 —
INSCRIBED BY WILLIAM MORRIS TO EDWARD BURNE-JONES.
LULL, RAMON. 1232-1316.
The Order of Chivalry. Translated by William Caxton, edited by F.S.Ellis and L'Ordene de Chevalerie, translated by William Morris. Hammersmith: Kelmscott Press, 1893.

15 —
CAVENDISH, GEORGE. 1497-1562.
The Life of Thomas Wolsey, Cardinal. Hammersmith: The Kelmscott Press, 1893.

16 —
FIRST BOOK PUBLISHED AND SOLD AT THE KELMSCOTT PRESS.
GUILELMUS. Archbishop of Tyre. C. 1130-1186.
The History of Godefroy of Boloyne and of the conquest of Iherusalem. [Reprinted from Caxtons edition of 1481, edited by H. Halliday Sparling.] Hammersmith: The Kelmscott Press, 1893.

17 —
MORE, THOMAS. 1478-1535.
Utopia. Translated by Ralph Robinson, with a Foreword by William Morris. Edited by F.S. Ellis. Hammersmith: Kelmscott Press, 1893.

18 —
TENNYSON, ALFRED, LORD. 1809-1892.
Maud. A Monodrama. Hammersmith: Kelmscott Press, 1893.

19 —
MORRIS, WILLIAM. 1834-1896.
Gothic Architecture: A Lecture for the Arts and Crafts Exhibition Society. Hammersmith: Kelmscott Press, 1893.

20 —
MORRIS, WILLIAM. 1834-1896.
Gothic Architecture: A Lecture for the Arts and Crafts Exhibition Society. Hammersmith: Kelmscott Press, 1893.

21 —
MEINHOLD, WILLIAM. 1797-1851.
Sidonia the Sorceress. Translated by Francesca Speranza, Lady Wilde. Hammersmith: Kelmscott Press, 1893.

22 —
MEINHOLD, WILLIAM. 1797-1851.
Sidonia the Sorceress. Translated by Francesca Speranza, Lady Wilde. Hammersmith: Kelmscott Press, 1893.

23 —
INSCRIBED BY WILLIAM MORRIS TO EDWARD BURNE-JONES.
ROSSETTI, DANTE GABRIEL. 1828-1882.
Sonnets and Lyrical Poems. Hammersmith: Kelmscott Press, 1894.

24 —
ROSSETTI, DANTE GABRIEL. 1828-1882.
Ballads and Narrative Poems. Hammersmith: Kelmscott Press, 1893.

25 —
MORRIS'S ORIGINAL MANUSCRIPT TITLE-PAGE DESIGN FOR ROSSETTI.
Ballads and Narrative Poems. [Hammersmith: Kelmscott Press, c. 1893.]

26 —
INSCRIBED BY WILLIAM MORRIS TO SWINBURNE.
MORRIS, WILLIAM, translator.
Tale of King Florus and the Fair Jehane. Translated from the French of the 13th Century. Hammersmith: Kelmscott Press, 1893.

27 —
MORRIS, WILLIAM. 1834-1896.
The Story of the Glittering Plain, or the Land of Living Men. Hammersmith: Kelmscott Press, 1894.

28 —
PRINTED ON VELLUM - ONE OF ONLY 15 COPIES.
MORRIS, WILLIAM, translator.
Of the Friendship of Amis and Amile. Translated from the ancient French by William Morris. Hammersmith: Kelmscott Press, 1894.

29 —
KEATS, JOHN. 1795-1821.
The Poems. Edited by F.S. Ellis. Hammersmith: Kelmscott Press, 1894.

30 —
SWINBURNE, ALGERNON CHARLES. 1837-1909.
Atalanta in Calydon. Hammersmith: Kelmscott Press, 1894.

31 —
MORRIS, WILLIAM, translator.
The tale of the Emperor Coustans and of Over Sea. Translated from ancient French by William Morris. Hammersmith: Kelmscott Press, 1894.

32 —
MORRIS, WILLIAM. 1834-1896.
The Wood Beyond the World. Hammersmith: Kelmscott Press, 1894.

33 —
INSCRIBED BY WILLIAM MORRIS TO RUDYARD KIPLING.
The Book of Wisdom and Lies. Translated by Oliver Wardrop. Hammersmith: Kelmscott Press, 1894.

34 —
INSCRIBED BY WILLIAM MORRIS TO HIS SISTER IN LAW ELIZABETH BURDEN.
SHELLEY, PERCY BYSSHE. 1792-1822.
The Poetical Works. Edited by F.S. Ellis. Hammersmith: Kelmscott Press, [1894]-1895.

35 —
ELLIS, FREDERICK STARTRIDGE, editor. 1830-1901.
Psalmi Penitentiales. Hammersmith: Kelmscott Press, 1894.

36 —
SAVONAROLA, GIROLAMO. 1452-1498.
Epistola de Contemptu Mundi. Edited by Charles Fairfax Murray. Hammersmith: Kelmscott Press, [1894]-1895.

37 —
MORRIS, WILLIAM and A.J. WYATT, translators.
The Tale of Beowulf. Hammersmith: Kelmscott Press, 1895.

38 —
ELLIS, FREDERICK STARTRIDGE, editor. 1830-1901.
Syr Perecyvelle of Gales. Hammersmith: Kelmscott Press, 1895.

39 —
MORRIS, WILLIAM. 1834-1896.
The Life and Death of Jason, A Poem. Hammersmith: Kelmscott Press, 1895.

40 —
WILLIAM MORRIS ASSOCIATION COPY IN FINE BINDING.
MORRIS, WILLIAM. 1834-1896.
Child Christopher and Goldilind the Fair. Hammersmith: Kelmscott Press, 1895.

41 —
INSCRIBED BY MORRIS TO F.S. ELLIS.
MORRIS, WILLIAM. 1834-1896.
Child Christopher and Goldilind the Fair. Hammersmith: Kelmscott Press, 1895.

42 —
EDMUND GOSSE'S COPY.
ROSSETTI, DANTE GABRIEL. 1828-1882.
Hand and Soul. Hammersmith: Kelmscott Press, 1895.

43 —
HERRICK, ROBERT. 1591-1674.
Poems. Hammersmith: Kelmscott Press, 1895.

44 —
INSCRIBED BY WILLIAM MORRIS TO EDWARD BURNE-JONES.
COLERIDGE, SAMUEL TAYLOR. 1772-1834.
Poems Chosen out of the Works of Samuel Taylor Coleridge. Hammersmith: Kelmscott Press, 1896.

45 —
MORRIS, WILLIAM. 1834-96.
The Well at the World's End. Hammersmith: Kelmscott Press, 1896.

46 —
KELMSCOTT CHAUCER: THE FINEST BOOK SINCE THE GUTENBERG BIBLE.
CHAUCER, GEOFFREY. 1343-1400.
The Works ... now newly imprinted. Edited by F.S. Ellis. Hammersmith: Kelmscott Press, 1896.

47 —
MORRIS, WILLIAM. 1834-1896.
The Earthly Paradise. Hammersmith: Kelmscott Press, 1896-97.

48 —
COCKERELL, SYDNEY C., editor.
Laudes Beatae Mariae Virginis. Edited by Sydney C. Cockerell. Hammersmith: Kelmscott Press, 1896.