My research into William Morris's work and the Arts and Crafts Movement has made me increasingly interested in the history of printed textiles in Britain which became increasingly popular in the mid 18th century. One of the reasons behind this was the development of printing technology and increasingly more sophisticated, precise and faster production methods.
Engraved copper plates that enabled the printing of detailed and finely drawn designs on a large scale were first introduced in 1752 and from 1783 the introduction of engraved metal rollers significantly increased the speed of production and decreased labour costs.
Multi-colured fabrics were printed using wood blocks, but the development of copper-plate printing in the 1750s enabled printers to transfer detailed fine drawings onto textiles and thus achieve a more detailed and precise effect that was not possible using woodblock-printed textiles. This new technology also enabled the production of large scale pattern repeats suitable for bed hangings as shown in the images below.
THE 18TH CENTURY
Robert Jones 1769
This fabric can be seen in the background of my photograph. Unfortunately because of the lighting and the fabrics being protected behind glass, they did not show properly in my photographs. This fabric
· Place of origin:
Old Ford (made)
· Date:
1 January 1769 (designed)
· Materials and Techniques:
Linen and cotton, printed from engraved copper plates and wood blocks with pencilled (painted) blue
· Museum number:
T.140-1934
· Gallery location:
British Galleries, Room 118a, case 7 []
Object Type This furnishing fabric has been printed using engraved copper plates. The introduction of copper-plate printing in the 1750s encouraged new possibilities in the development of printed textiles design, allowing a fineness of detail and delicacy of drawing which had not been achieved in earlier woodblock-printed textiles. It also allowed much larger pattern repeats, which made it particularly suitable for bed hangings.
Places Robert Jones's factory at Old Ford, Middlesex (now London), where this fabric was printed in 1769, was one of the leading textile printing works in England at that time. The importance of the factory can be assessed by the advertisements for the sale of its premises and equipment in 1780. These show that the printworks occupied 67 acres and the assets included '200 copper plates and 2,000 blocks and prints, most of which are esteemed patterns calculated for a general course of foreign trade'.
Materials & Making The fabric is a fustian, woven with a linen warp and cotton weft, as British law prohibited the production of all-cotton cloth at the time it was printed. (The legislation was brought in originally to protect the wool and silk industries.) In 1774, under the influence of developments in the home production of cotton pioneered by the textiles industrialist Richard Arkwright (1732-1792), the previous ban on printing all-cotton fabric was finally removed.
Nixon & Co. textiles; 1770-1780
· England (printed)
· Date:
1770-1780 (printed) 1770-1780 (made)
· Artist/Maker:
Nixon & Company (printer)
· Materials and Techniques:
Plate-printed cotton with linen and wool trimming
· Credit Line:
Given in memory of Mr and Mrs F. W. Hefford
· Museum number:
T.612&613-1996
· Gallery location:
British Galleries, Room 118a, case 7 []
Object Type The furnishing fabric from which this bed curtain and valance were made was printed using an engraved copper plate. The introduction of copper-plate printing in the 1750s meant new possibilities in the development of printed textile design, allowing a fineness of detail and delicacy of drawing which had not been achieved in earlier wood-block printed textiles. It also allowed much larger pattern repeats, which made it particularly suitable for bed hangings.
People Francis Nixon was a pioneering printer who, at the Drumcondra Printworks near Dublin in 1752, was the first to use copper plates successfully. By 1757 he had moved to England, joining George Amyand in his calico-printing factory at Phippsbridge in Surrey. The partnership continued until their deaths in the mid 1760s, and the firm continued as Nixon & Company, under which name this fabric was produced, until 1789.
Materials & Making China blue, which has been used here, was a complex process for printing with indigo known abroad as 'English blue'. It gave beautiful fast blues, but by a technique that could not be used with those needed for other colours, so 'pencilling' (hand-painting) of indigo was still needed for polychrome designs. The indigo was printed directly onto the cloth by plate or block as a finely-ground paste. The cloth was then immersed alternately in baths of lime (to dissolve the indigo) and iron-sulphate (to reduce it) as many times as was necessary to achieve the desired strength of blue.
Ollive and Tallwin: 1780
My photograph was too dark and reflective so a better version of the design can be found in the V&A archives shown below:
This furnishing fabric has been printed using an engraved copper plate. The introduction of copper-plate printing in the 1750s meant new possibilities in the development of printed textile design, allowing a fineness of detail and delicacy of drawing which had not been achieved in earlier woodblock printed textiles. It also allowed much larger pattern repeats, which made it particularly suitable for bed hangings.
Materials & Making China blue, which has been used here, was a complex process for printing with indigo known abroad as 'English blue'. It gave beautiful fast blues, but by a technique that could not be used with those needed for other colours, so 'pencilling' (hand-painting) of indigo was still needed for polychrome designs. The indigo was printed directly onto the cloth by plate or block as a finely-ground paste. The cloth was then immersed alternately in baths of lime (to dissolve the indigo) and iron-sulphate (to reduce it) as many times as was necessary to achieve the desired strength of blue.
Richard Ovey 1799
The pattern shown above by Richard Ovey (1799) is much clearer see on the V& A archives
found on:
· Object:
Furnishing fabric
· Place of origin:
Bannister Hall (made)
· Date:
1799 (printed)
· Artist/Maker:
Ovey, Richard (made for)
· Materials and Techniques:
Block-printed cotton and pencilled
· Credit Line:
Given by the Henry Francis du Pont Winterthur Museum
· Museum number:
CIRC.86-1960
· Gallery location:
British Galleries, Room 118a, case 7
Object Type For the first 20 years of the19th century the finest and most expensive printed furnishings were polychrome woodblock-printed cottons, the technique used here. This fabric might have been used for curtains or upholstery. In this period it was fashionable for the different furnishings used in a room, including window curtains and upholstery fabric, to match or complement each other. People Richard Ovey, for whom this fabric was printed, was a leading linen draper of the time whose customers included the Prince of Wales. Although he styled himself 'furniture printer', he did not actually print any fabrics. Instead, he commissioned designs from different printworks, which he then sold at his shop in Covent Garden, London. Materials & Making This fabric is blockprinted in a colour scheme known as 'drab style', which originated about 1799 and was particularly fashionable in the years up to 1807. It continued to be used for block-printed chintzes until about 1815. It had a restricted range of browns, yellows and greens which were made by adding blue to yellow, plus occasionally blue by itself. The availability of the dye quercitron for a fast yellow encouraged the style. The 15-year patent on that dye ran out in 1799, after which it became generally available.
EARLY 19TH CENTURY
The image below is also a Richard Ovey design from 1805
Here is its description from the V&A archives:
Furnishing fabric
· Place of origin:
Preston (probably, printed)
· Date:
ca. 1805 (made)
· Artist/Maker:
Ovey, Richard (manufacturer)
· Materials and Techniques:
Furnishing fabric of block-printed cotton in blue on a red background. The pattern includes a design of 'Indian' chintz.
· Credit Line:
Given by Miss Josephine Howell
· Museum number:
CIRC.496-1956
· Gallery location:
British Galleries, Room 118a, case 7
Object Type For the first 20 years of the 19th century, the finest and most expensive printed furnishings were polychrome woodblock-printed cottons, the technique used here. This fabric might have been used for curtains or upholstery. In this period it was particularly fashionable for the different furnishings used in a room, including window curtains and upholstery fabric, to match or complement each other.
Places Bannister Hall, near Preston, Lancashire, where this fabric was probably printed, was the leading works for woodblock furniture chintzes and set the fashion for other factories. Printing was carried out for London linen-drapers, such as Richard Ovey of Covent Garden, who from 1790 to 1831 was the leading London merchant for 'furniture prints'. He commissioned designs from skilled artists and sent them to Lancashire or to Carlisle in Cumbria to be printed.
Design & Designing The design of this cotton is very similar to one produced at Jouy, in France, in 1788, which was printed on a white background. This English fabric may be copying the Jouy design, or they might both have taken their inspiration from the same Indian source.
Victorious images of Empire:
The images bellow show some early 19th century fabric designs celebrating the victories of the British Empire. The first example celebrates Nelson's victory at Trafalgar and the style is a mixture of naturalistic floral elements and the image of a triumphant Nelson -making it a mix and match of Indian and Classical influences.
The other example of early 19th century fabric design also shows a mixture of nature and mythology and history. The pattern combines exotic natural forms such as parrots and sea-shells with human forms such as an Asian man and boy with the mythological figure of Britannia in her chariot. The image of Britannia as a goddess in an exotic setting combines is the Neo-Classical style with traditional chinese wallpapers and naturalistic forms with only one purpose: the celebration of British Empire.
CONCLUSION AND REFLECTION:
Although we tend to think that William Morris revolutionized British textile design and developed new handicraft methods and dying techniques, he benefited from inheriting wood block printing and copper plate and metal roller printing technologies which are still used today by the Anstey Wallpaper factory.
It has made me reflect on the role of technology in design development and wonder whether better, more precise technolgy leads to better design.