Arts and Crafts Movement founder William Morris was known for his intricate floral textile art, revolutionary ideas about design, and as the author of The Earthly Paradise. He championed a principle of handmade production that didn't chime with the Victorian era's focus on industrial 'progress.'
Morris's first wallpaper designs, "Trellis," "Daisy," and "Fruit," or "Pomegranate," belong to 1862–64; he did not arrive at his mature style until ten years later, with the "Jasmine" and "Marigold" papers.
Morris's first wallpaper designs, "Trellis," "Daisy," and "Fruit," or "Pomegranate," belong to 1862–64; he did not arrive at his mature style until ten years later, with the "Jasmine" and "Marigold" papers.
William Morris
Trellis 1864
Fruit (or Pomegranate) ca. 1866
Jasmine 1872
Marigold 1875
In 1871 Morris took a joint lease on the Elizabethan manor house of Kelmscott in Oxfordshire with Dante Gabriel Rossetti. These two were very close friends, and some even described their relationship as Morris's 'hero worship' of Rossetti.
Jane Morris, William's wife, was a famous English embroiderer, model, and muse for her husband and his friend Rosetti. The most fascinating fact is that Dante and Jane had a well-known affair.
Later, William and Dante grew apart, likely due to Rossetti's chemical dependencies and his affair with Jane.
Jane Morris, William's wife, was a famous English embroiderer, model, and muse for her husband and his friend Rosetti. The most fascinating fact is that Dante and Jane had a well-known affair.
Later, William and Dante grew apart, likely due to Rossetti's chemical dependencies and his affair with Jane.
Wallpaper 1875
Pimpernel 1876
Sunflower 1879
St. James Ceiling 1881
Strawberry Thief (furnishing fabric) by William Morris, 1883
In 1875 Morris began his revolutionary experiments with vegetable dyes, which in 1881 resulted in its most delicate printed and woven fabrics, carpets, and tapestries.
Registered in May 1883, this fabric was named after the blackbirds who stole strawberries from the garden at the Kelmscott Estate. It was an expensive fabric to produce, incorporating sophisticated dyeing techniques, and proved one of the most commercially successful designs.
Morris wallpaper design is based on plant forms, whether in a luxurious naturalistic style (for example, "Acanthus" or "Pimpernel") or a flatter and more formalized (for example, "Sunflower" or "St. James Ceiling"). During his career, he has released more than 50 wallpaper designs.
In 1891 Morris started The Kelmscott Press with the printer and type designer Emery Walker. Morris designed three types of styles for his press: Golden type, modeled on that of Nicolas Jenson, the 15th-century French printer; Troy type, a gothic font on the model of the early German printers of the 15th century; and Chaucer type, a smaller variant of Troy, in which The Works of Geoffrey Chaucer was printed during the last years of Morris's life.
Golden type
Chaucer type
Troy type
