Some Notes on Early Woodcut Books, with a Chapter on Illuminated Manuscripts

William Morris, the Victorian polymath who reshaped the very concept of the book as a physical object, turned his scholarly attention to the origins of illustrated printing in this passionate 1902 treatise. Here Morris examines the woodcut books of the 15th century, tracing the development of the earliest printed images through the influential Ulm and Augsburg printing schools, and illuminating the work of pioneering illustrators like Gunther and John Zainer. His analysis moves beyond mere cataloguing: Morris treats these books as living art forms, examining how text and image interweave, how ornamentation serves narrative, and how the values of medieval workshop culture shaped objects of enduring beauty. A concluding chapter extends his gaze backward to the illuminated manuscripts that preceded and influenced the age of print. Written by a man who spent decades perfecting every detail of his own Kelmscott Press volumes, this book offers something rare: a master designer reflecting on the masters who came before him, and finding in their work a philosophy of craft that echoes his own.