William Morris, early 1890s by Henry Halliday Sparling

Henry Halliday Sparling (1860–1924)

by George Charles Beresford
sepia-toned platinotype, 1 August 1919


May and Henry married 14 June 1890 at FulhamRegister Office. The marriage broke down in 1894 as a result of her affair with a former lover, playwright George Bernard Shaw. The Sparlings were divorced in 1898 and May resumed her maiden name.

There were no children which is interesting. 

Anna Oscara Steffen (née Von Sydon); Halliday Sparling; May Morris; Gustaf Steffen

by Unknown photographer
bromide print, circa 1892-1893

Henry Halliday Sparling to Mr. J.E. Sadler, January 2, 1893.

Advertising list of Kelmscott Press services, 1892.

In his typewritten letter to Mr. Sadler of Oxford, Henry Halliday Sparling refers to the list of Kelmscott Press books.