Heritage Bookshop, Los Angeles, is offering for sale the Slater–Gribbel–Schimmel copy (Census 3.179), in a Doves binding (1906). A bookplate of John Gribbel is in the book, as well as a book label for Duschnes (n.d.). The book is housed in a quarter black morocco clamshell and is priced at $275,000.
Accompanying the book “is a rare bifolium proof with two conjugate trial leaves with variant typesetting for the opening page of the Chaucer and its conjugate leaf. These trial pages were set using one size smaller type than is found in the final production. By using the smaller type, one extra line of text has been added to the first page. Also included with this is a proof leaf again of the opening page, but with the text area blank. All these leaves have Burne-Jones woodcuts and these leaves in and of themselves are quite rare” (Heritage).
(Note: We do not believe that the type is smaller, because Morris possessed only two sizes of his blackletter type: the Chaucer and the Troy, the latter of which is larger.)
Provenance: James A. Slater. — Sotheby, 23 February 1906, lot 228 [Slater sale] (sold to Cockerel for £52; book then in quarter-linen binding [Census 4.78]). — John Gribbel (rebound book in Doves binding, 1906). — Parke-Bernet, 8 May 1945 [Gribbel sale], lot 293 (Census 4.414). — Sotheby Parke-Bernet 9 December 1947, lot 299 (sold for $850 [Census 4.448]). — Stuart B. Schimmel. — Christie, 17 May 1991 [Schimmel sale], lot 209 (includes the trial leaves [Census 4.692]). — Unidentified owner. — Heritage Bookshop.
[Update, 17 October 2013] The book is now advertised on Abebooks for $225,000.
The Kelmscott Chaucer 
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