One of the most striking volumes produced at the Elston Press
Langland, William. The Vision of William Concerning Piers the Plowman. Elston Press, 1901. Printed in red and black by Clarke Conwell on watermarked Hammer and Anvil paper. One of 200 copies. Eight initials and illustrations by H. M. O'Kane. Edited by Walter Skeat from the author's revised edition, circa A.D. 1377. The fourth book bearing the Elston Press imprint. Measures approx. 9.75" x 13". Light blue paper-covered boards with holland spine and paper label (chipped). Wear and rubbing to edges and corners, spotting to boards, and some small splits to linen at spine. Creases to the lower corner of page xvi.
"...The Vision of William Concerning Piers the Plowman (1901) is in what Conwell called the Chaucer font, i.e., Satanick. The red shoulder running titles are in Latin and the text in two columns with black paragraph marks. The O'Kane borders and floriated initials are very Morrisian while the illustrations are again reminiscent of Burne-Jones: elongated figures, almost identical faces, back-grounds without white space" (American Book Design and William Morris, Thompson).