Excerpt from The Early Romances of William Morris: In Prose and Verse William morris was'born in 1834 at Walthamstow, the son of a prosperous broker in the city of London. He was educated at Marlborough and at Exeter College, Oxford, where he was an intimate friend of Burne Jones and other members of the pre-raphaelite school. His first intention was to take holy orders, but on leaving the university he studied architecture and painting, and in 1862 founded a company to embody his views of decorative art in the production of objects of household use. This remained throughout life his chief occupa tion, and he produced examples of tapestry, carpet weaving, wall-papers, furniture, and glass which pro foundly altered the taste of his age. In 1871 he settled at the old manor-house of Kelmscott, on the upper Thames, which was to be his chief home. Later he took up printing, and from the Kelmscott Press issued many volumes which set a new standard in patient and loving craftsmanship. During the 'eighties his interest in politics made him a leader of the Socialist movement, but his ideals were not of the kind to find acceptance in the market-place; and though his inspiration was a potent force with generous minds, he was not fitted for the weary task of political organization. He died in the autumn of 1896, and was followed to his grave in Kelmscott churchyard by the workmen and students to whom he had been an adored master. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.