 In January 1891 , Morris began renting a cottage near to Kelmscott House , No. 16 Upper Mall in Hammersmith , which would serve as the first premises of the Kelmscott Press , before relocating to the neighbouring No. 14 in May , that same month in which the company was founded . Devoted to the production of books which he deemed beautiful , Morris was artistically influenced by the illustrated manuscripts and early printed books of Medieval and Early Modern Europe . Before publishing its first work , Morris ensured that he had mastered the techniques of printing and secured supplies of hand @-@ made paper and vellum which would be necessary for production . Over the next seven years , they would publish 66 volumes . The first of these would be one of Morris ' own novels , The Story of the Glittering Plain , which was published in May 1891 and soon sold out . The Kelmscott Press would go on to publish 23 of Morris ' books , more than those of any other author . The press also published editions of works by Keats , Shelley , Ruskin , and Swinburne , as well as copies of various Medieval texts . A number of the Press ' books contained illustrations provided by Burne @-@ Jones . The Press ' magnum opus would be the Kelmscott Chaucer , which had taken years to complete and included 87 illustrations from Burne @-@ Jones . Morris still remained firmly in an employer relation with those working at the Press , although organised outings for them and paid them above average wages . 
