The Book of Geoffrey Chaucer. The Book Club of California, 1963.

Charles Muscatine.
The Book of Geoffrey Chaucer.
San Francisco: The Book Club of California, 1963.
(SPL)(FOL) PR1905 .M87x 1963
Special Collections, UWM Libraries

This book has a visible English revival influence, with its typographical layout, color palette, and inclusion of stylized drop caps. Though Kennedy was inspired by the 1890s printing tradition, he also brought a more modern approach to his publications, and had an unusual perspective on the famed English revival Kelmscott Press of William Morris. Kennedy said “No matter what William Morris said, what he printed didn’t demonstrate what he talked about in terms of readability and the revival of the book as a beautiful thing. He practically did the opposite.  He made it so confused and obscure that it defied reading by anyone except by a person with a pair of iron eyeballs” (Printing as a Performing Art, pg 50). One can see in this example that Kennedy’s interpretation of the English revival is more streamlined, easier to read, and modern when compared to the work of the Kelmscott press and Morris.  However, the publications do share visible similarities as well.