Special Collections hold more than 50,000 rare books, which are rich in documentary source materials which can be used to study Art History and Visual Culture. Particular highlights include:
Find out more about the Rare Book Collections
William Morris (1834-1896) was one of the leading figures of the Arts and Crafts movement, as a designer, craftsman and artist, his work was highly influential. Morris founded the popular Morris & Co for which he designed tapestries, wallpapers, stained glass, fabrics and furniture. Many of his designs are still in production today.
He also founded the Kelmscott Press in 1891 for the printing of fine illustrated books.
Click the next tabs for a list of books by William Morris held in Special Collections
The Yellow Book (1894-87) is a notorious periodical of the aesthetic movement featuring essays, poems, fiction and illustrations. The publication featured cover illustrations by Aubrey Beardsley who also served as art editor. Beardsley worked with other influential figures of the aesthetic movement such as Oscar Wilde, illustrating his book Salomé.
The name The Yellow Book refers to the yellow bindings often given to controversial French novels of the time - our first edition of Dracula also features a yellow cover for this reason.
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The colour expressed the risqué, sensual and often decadent spirit of Fin de Siècle culture. Wilde's title character in The Picture of Dorian Gray is corrupted by a 'yellow book' - often assumed to be Joris-Karl Huysmans’s À rebours (1884). A prominent aesthate, Wilde was often caricatured and satirised in Punch by illustrator George du Maurier (see below).
The Yellow Book was also intended as an attractive object in its own right, like the works produced at Morris's Kelmscott Press.
Read more about The Yellow Book and its context here on the British Library website.
Chris Brooks Collection
University of Exeter LibGuide is licensed under CC BY 4.0
