In News from Nowhere, a utopian vision set in the 21st century, William Morris paints a picture of the socialist society of which he dreamed but was never able to realize. The house illustrated is Kelmscott Manor, a 17th century farmhouse by the River Thames which Morris rented in a joint lease with the Pre-Raphaelite […]
Decades after reading Ruskin for the first time, Morris maintained a strong belief in the virtues of the medieval guild system and the high quality hand craftsmanship it evoked. This book was printed as part of a Kelmscott Press demonstration during the Arts and Crafts Exhibition of 1893 at the New Gallery, London. Its large […]
It is fitting that John Ruskin’s essay, “The Nature of Gothic” was one of the first publications to emerge from the Kelmscott Press. His ideas about the spiritual nature of craftsmanship and the importance of the craftsman’s welfare were incredibly influential in Arts and Crafts socialist thought. Ruskin believed that Gothic architecture found its nobility […]
The Arts and Crafts Movement began in England in the late 19th century, as artists and social reformers began to react against industrialization and the resulting poor quality craftsmanship that became common in the Victorian Era. Influential writers such as John Ruskin bemoaned the contemporary craftsman’s role as a mere cog in the machine of […]
