Printer(s)

Printer (s)

There is no indication, printed in the book, that The Land of Oz was actually printed by William Morris’ Kelmscott press, but it was the most popular printing press of the time and Morris' theories revolutionized book production and typography in both Europe and United States in 1894. L. Frank Baum would be familiar with the socialist’s issues, as well as Morris’ Arts and Crafts Movement, that was popular in late nineteenth century. There were many arguments made concerning the capitalist system.

 

Paperback Books 1831

In the United States, the first series of paperback editions appeared in 1831. They became extremely successful after 1870. By 1885, a third of the books published were a type of popular paperback called "dime novels" because they originally cost 10 cents (Ellenbogen p. 468). The mass production of paperback books led to a decline in quality. Publishers printed many books on cheap paper. Bindings were often poorly glued, and they broke. Paperback books are an example of the kind of book production and quality that took place in the late 19th century, just before Baum published his Oz series.

William Morris- 1834- 1934

William Morris was an English poet, book designer and craftsman that led the movement for restoring the quality of printed books. Morris had always been interested in the problems of book production and longed to return to the days of the illuminated manuscript. As a book designer, he believed that the best work was always done by hand. Throughout the nineteenth century, Morris saw the history of printing as declining rapidly. In 1889, Morris worked under a printer and Socialist named, Emery Walker, and began studying the craft of printing (Wilmer, p. xxi). In 1891, Morris started producing books, in which he designed and printed fifty-two volumes, by hand, including Ruskin’s The Nature of Gothic, and the Kelmscott Chaucer. The Kelmscott is noted as the most beautiful of all printed books.

Morris is known as the greatest European pattern designer since the end of the Middle Ages, because he revived the long-forgotten crafts and skills from the Middle Ages. He was successful in learning thirteen fields of decorative art including: stained glass, ceramics, painted or stenciled decoration, embroidery, wallpapers, chintzes, printed fabrics, tapestries, carpets, illuminated manuscripts, typography and book design (Wilmer, ix). His concern extended beyond the methods of design and production to his raw materials themselves: dyes, papers, inks and so on (see Printer Device post). However, he became a major authority on textile design in medieval Europe and the Middle East, as well as on illuminated manuscripts and early printed books (Wilmer, p. ix). After becoming an expert on Medieval typography, Morris wanted to motivate a happier society through the satisfactions of creative work (Wilmer, xxii).  Morris seems to be the twentieth-century-scribe, who believes that hand-made materials will promote greater happiness then a machine produced copy, such as the paper back. The only problem with Morris’ theory is that he is not considering the poor population. Hand-made books take time to make. In this case, they are generally more expensive than a machine-produced copy. More people will have access to books if they are mass produced by a machine, even if the quality is bad. Handmade items would only be available to those who could afford to buy them, such as the wealthy. Morris tries to modernize an old tradition, in bringing back the idea of scribes, but it would not work in a technologically advanced society. At least with machines the poor would have some chance of reading. Despite the theory on handmade items, Morris’ design methods influenced many publishing companies.

Kelmscott Press (1890)

In 1890, William Morris created his own publishing company called the Kelmscott Press. The press was founded based on the principles of the Arts and Crafts movement. For Morris, a machine's techniques in printing lowered the standards and quality of books, and machines were developed for mass market sales. By establishing the Kelmscott Press Morris revived the Renaissance typography and book design for the twentieth-century. Morris believed that a book is a piece of architecture, each detail should contribute to the whole, so that the paper, the ink, the type-cases, the word and line spacing, the placing of the margins and the integration of illustration and decoration all had to be considered in detail, and in relation to the complete book (Naylor, p. 111). In 1890 Morris and friends established the Kelmscott Press near London. They designed and used styles of type similar to those in incunabula. They printed books on handmade paper and binding and decorated them by hand. Other printers also worked to improve thier product. Type designers such as Rudolph Koch in Germany and Fredric Goudy in the United States developed legible and beautiful types. The Kelmscott Press was Morris' interpretation of how he thought books should look. Books should be created to give pleasure to the reader based on the look and feel of the book.The combination of appearance and structure is what revolutionized book production and typography from Europe to the United States. Morris' theory on proper bookmaking inspired private presses in England, including the "Art Nouveau book" (decorative style) and decorative experiments in the 1890s. Morris layed down the foundation for good typography, as well, which many press companies individualized. 

Arts and Crafts Movement

The idea of machine being a normal tool for civilization was not easy to grasp for society in the early twentieth century. Industrialization had brought total destruction to the purpose and meaning of life. Morris and his followers within the Arts and Crafts Movement saw the uncontrolled advance of technology as a threat to man’s spiritual and physical well-being, but at the same time had no clear understanding of the new industry (Naylor, p. 9). The issue seems to be that machines would be used to increase production and workers would have to work harder. Morris’ theory is contradictory because with machines it would produce more copies faster, which would allow many people to have access to people. For British idealists, mechanical progress equaled human misery and degradation. The destruction of human values were reflected in poverty, overcrowded slums, grim factories, and a dying countryside. For Morris, “men living amidst such ugliness cannot conceive of beauty, and therefore, cannot express it” (Naylor 8). The problem with industrialization would be the exploitation of the many for the profit of the few. Morris believed in a revolution , as well as other radicalsts within the design projection. By joining the cause, Morris inspired each designer to establish their own craft doctrine, which would prepare the way for Art Nouveau (creative artwork). In the movement, Morris came to the realization that machinery does not have to be a destructive force. Many designers worked for industries that supported programs for the improvement of industrial design standards.

Type Face

When the press was started the idea of having decorative features in a book was a fantastical idea. In 1888 Morris turned his attention away from manuscripts and into typography. Morris wanted to design a special type of his own in 1889 using the methods of the early printers. In 1890, Morris and friends established the Kelmscott Press near London. They designed and used styles of type similar to those in incunabula. They printed books on handmade paper and binding and decorated them by hand. Other printers also worked to improve their product. Type designers became popular in Europe and the United States, and the idea was to develop legible and beautiful types for readers.

Morris shows how important it is to learn the old ways of art, even when there are new developments in technology. Morris's ideology filtered to the United States, and since he was popular in 1900s it is an assumption that he influenced the typeset of The Land of Oz book.