Colour in the Home: an extract from 'Lecture IV: Making the Best of It' from Hopes & Fears for Art by William Morris, first published in 1882 by Ellis & White

Wrappers. 130 copies printed, "the majority for the deluxe copies of Parenthesis 32, hand-set & printed at the Old School Press . . . in a spirit of Europeanism in Fournier types on Magnani paper". "We must, in short," writes Morris, "be very careful of bright greens, & seldom, if ever, use them at once bright and strong. On the other hand, do not fall into the trap of a dingy, bilious-looking yellow-green, a colour to which I have a special and personal hatred, because (if you will excuse my mentioning personal matters) I have been supposed to have somewhat brought it into vogue. I assure you I am not really responsible for it. The truth is, that to get a green that is at once pure and neither cold nor rank, and not too bright to live with, is of simple things as difficult as anything a decorator has to do . . .".