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In an earlier  post , we touched upon the identity of the tragic poet Gerald C. Siordet. That post was prompted by  the auction—still ongoing—of an  Earthly Paradise  volume signed by Jane Morris to Siordet . Why is the book still up for sale after its first auction's end date? Well, it had to be taken down for a while, for very interesting reasons. The book was originally posted to ebay with a second item grouped in with it for free. This second item, a book, wasn't in prime condition, so it seemed a mere token to accompany the Jane-inscribed book. It soon emerged, however, that this free book was extremely rare, and quite valuable. The book is a rare volume of Siordet's poetry, published after he died in battle in Mesopotamia during WWI. It includes a portrait of Siordet, pictured here. It's so rare that no copies seem to exist in the US, and only two can be found in the UK. The book is on its way to a new home, where the public will be able to view it (more on that l

Dr David Taylor, Hon. Research Fellow, University of Roehampton; and Project Archivist, Lushington Archive, Surrey History Centre,   gave a fascinating Morris-related talk at the "Places, Spaces, and the Victorian Periodical Press" conference at the University of Delaware. Here's the abstract for the talk, which is called "Dreaming Spires and Radical Roots, Oxford in the 1850s: Godfrey Lushington and the Oxford and Cambridge Magazine." "The Oxford and Cambridge Magazine appeared in 1856. It was founded by William Morris and Edward Burne-Jones while both were students at Oxford University. They were joined in the venture by other undergraduates including the twins Vernon and Godfrey Lushington who became disciples of Auguste Comte and leading advocates of Positivism and the Religion of Humanity. Although always known and recognised for their role in the attempt to spread Positivism during the second half of the nineteenth century, the Lushington brothers re