Owen Jones and One Thousand and One Letters

Illustration: Owen Jones. Letter 'O' from One Thousand and One Letters, 1864.

In 1864, Owen Jones published One Thousand and One Letters. In many respects, it was a gothic themed book produced in the middle of the enthusiasm gendered towards the phenomenon known as the High Victorian Gothic Revival. It managed to capture the zeitgeist of mid-nineteenth century Britain, its new found confidence in its perceived medieval roots and its projection of that confidence into medieval revival themes that ranged from public architecture down to printed and written calligraphy.

The book itself contained twenty-seven full colour plates, one for each letter of the alphabet and one extra for the numbers one to ten in both Roman and Arabic numerals. Some of the letters were copies from original medieval manuscripts from various sources. However, many more were originals produced by Jones himself. It is interesting how closely he followed the medieval theme so that it is hard to distinguish, without being told, which are his creations and which are the originals.

Illustration: Owen Jones. Letter 'W' from One Thousand and One Letters, 1864.

It is perhaps difficult for us today to understand how large and seemingly all encompassing the Gothic Revival really appeared to be in mid-nineteenth century. The decorative style might well have wandered from early gothic to Elizabethan with a great deal of exaggerated and fictional embellishment in-between. However, from the Palace of Westminster to private villas, the style permeated the fabric of the nation, so much so that in some respects at least the gothic styling of this period has come to represent for many in contemporary Britain today, the whole Victorian era.

The enthusiasm in Britain for early documents of the medieval era was, if anything, even more pervasive than those concerning the remnants of architecture still readily available to view across much of Britain. Illuminated manuscripts were particularly interesting to those concerned with surface pattern and decoration. William Morris himself had a genuine interest in some of the foliage borders that often edged medieval publications and he admitted himself that some of his early experiments in pattern work were fed by this enthusiasm.

Illustration: Owen Jones. Letter 'E' from One Thousand and One Letters, 1864.

It should also be remembered that all original medieval manuscripts and illuminations would have been hand-produced. For an era that saw more and more craft and industry being rapidly replaced by mass production, the intriguing and often romantic notions of labour intensive pastimes could verge on the intoxicating. Many saw medievalism as the apex of design, decoration and craft and by imitating or at least using the period as inspiration, they hoped to reproduce at least an element of the high creative standards achieved during this early period in British design history.

Illustration: Owen Jones. Letter 'N' from One Thousand and One Letters, 1864.

Jones lent a particular emphasis to the gothically inspired. He owned a number of different manuscripts from the medieval era, some of which he used in the One Thousand and One Letters, but also in his more famous The Grammar of Ornament published in 1856. Although many saw the revival of the gothic in Victorian Britain as a means to resurrect a period before the influx of European Classicism, which was to some extent ideologically led, whether politically or religiously, Jones himself saw it much more within the framework of design. He saw the movement as allowing a retrospective analysis of medieval design and decoration and hoped that lessons learned during this period would be a source of rediscovery and even possibly a new direction for the decorative arts in Britain. In fact, this medieval inspired revival indirectly and directly influenced all aspects of the decorative arts in Britain from textiles through to ceramics, metal and wood. It can be said to have both inspired and given direction to the Arts & Crafts movement, which had medievalism at its early core, and flavoured the second half of the nineteenth century and beyond. It is not an exaggeration to say that the Gothic Revival in Britain has had an influence well beyond its initial and more obvious trappings.

Illustration: Owen Jones. Numbers '1 to 10' from One Thousand and One Letters, 1864.

Reference links:
The Gothic Revival (World of Art)
Gothic Revival
Gothic Revival A&I (Art and Ideas)
Viollet-Le-Duc: The French Gothic Revival
Victorian and Edwardian Furniture and Interiors: From the Gothic Revival to Art Nouveau
Victorian Gothic House Style: An Architectural and Interior Design Source Book
A. W. N. Pugin: Master of Gothic Revival
Studies in Gothic Revival (Ucd Studies in the History of Art)
Magic in Medieval Manuscripts (Medieval Life in Manuscripts)
The Wollaton Medieval Manuscripts: Texts, Owners and Readers (Manuscript Culture in the British Isles)
Medieval Manuscripts from the Collection of T. R. Buchanan in the Bodleian Library, Oxford
Medieval Calligraphy: Its History and Technique
Introduction to Manuscript Studies
Courtly Love in Medieval Manuscripts (Medieval Life in Manuscripts)
Trades and Crafts in Medieval Manuscripts
Medieval Texts and Images: Studies of Manuscripts from the Middle Ages
Flowers in Medieval Manuscripts (Medieval Life in Manuscripts)
Medieval Rural Life in the Luttrell Psalter (Medieval Life in Manuscripts)

Wallpaper Design by Richard Redgrave

Illustration: Richard Redgrave. Wallpaper design, 1849.

The English artist and designer Richard Redgrave was an influential voice within the design reform movement of Britain during the mid-nineteenth century. Along with Henry Cole he produced the Journal of Design and Manufactures, a ground breaking once a month publication that was produced between the years 1849 and 1852. It concentrated solely on the relationship between creativity and industry, promoting the idea that design and the designer were part of a relationship between the product and industry and not, as many industrialists saw it, one of the least important elements of the process. That the designer should represent a more significant and much truer reflection of the finished product seemed to both Cole and Redgrave, an obvious conclusion.

This particular wallpaper design produced by Redgrave in 1849 was actually an example printed within the Journal of Design and Manufactures. It was meant as a wallpaper design for a specific purpose, as a backdrop for fine art exhibitions. Redgrave who was also an accomplished and popular fine artist was the perfect individual to straddle the two worlds of fine and decorative art. The idea may seem strange to us today of using pattern work as a backdrop to fine art. We have become institutionalised as to the format of plain white walls in galleries, judging that they are the most neutral and therefore less inclined to distract from any form of artwork. However, in the nineteenth century, wallpaper was still common in galleries and museums, and Redgrave's example was considered a good pattern in which to balance art work. Many of the wallpapers used during this period were considered wholly unsuitable, often being garish in both pattern and colour. Complaints about the clashing between background walls and fine artwork in galleries and museums were common and sometimes vociferous. The criticism of inapropriate wallpaper design was so acute that this particular wallpaper design was hung as a small example in an exhibition space at the Society of Arts in London. The wallpaper specimen was sandwiched between examples of fine art painting so as to judge its suitability as a harmonious partner to fine art work.

This red-berried bryony design was seen by the Journal as well as critics in general, as a particularly subordinate design that although catching the eye with its pattern work, was deemed retiring enough to allow the paintings to predominate. It is a simple stencilled design that plays on its simplicity. However, when considering the time period of mid-nineteenth century design and decoration it is staggering in its straightforwardness, its clarity and easiness on the eye. In some respects it pre-empts much of the philosophy, but also the practicality that was behind large sections of the craft level design and decoration work that was be produced in the name of the English Arts & Crafts movement.

There is something almost naive and undisciplined about this particular wallpaper design that borders on what has been termed peasant or folk art. The design might well have been mistaken as being part of a decorative effect often seen in poor rural settings, such as stencilling on bare woodwork on ceiling beams for example. However, although the naivety of this design does play an important role in its overall effect, it is also very much a designed piece. There is a good sense of balance and harmony within the composition with colour and tone being particularly well controlled as can be seen in the restraint used between the muted leaves and background, the middle toned leaves and then the red berries.  

Although it should be born in mind that this wallpaper had the specific purpose of being produced for the use as a gallery backdrop, and was not meant for general domestic use, Cole and Redgrave were still making a point. Their Journal of Design and Manufactures stated that many who were used to mid-nineteenth century excess, particularly within the discipline of wallpaper design, would see this particular pattern as being daring, even shocking in nature. However, that an obvious contrast between the standard excess of the age and the toned down and disciplined design work of Redgrave should be made was not in doubt by either man. It is a good and clear example of the direction that the Journal felt design within the manufacturing industry should at least explore, if not take on board wholeheartedly. The fact that over one hundred and fifty years later surface pattern is still largely treated with a degree of casualness by industry is born out by the use of television celebrities producing wallpaper design work, despite the fact that few have any surface pattern experience. This along with the inapropriate use of both wallpaper and textile mediums to promote ill thought out movie and TV media merchandising motifs, shows how little progress we have really made, and in some respects shows that we have even retreated from the position that Cole and Redgrave found themselves in 1849. A need for real design reform is perhaps even more pressing today than it was even in the mid-nineteenth century.

Reference links:
Manual of Design: Compiled From the Writings and Addresses of Richard Redgrave R.a. [1882]
Richard Redgrave
Century of British Painters (Landmarks in Art History)
Richard Redgrave C.b., R.a; A Memoir, Compiled From His Diary
Inventory of the Pictures, Drawings, Etchings &c. in the British Fine Arts Collections ... Being for the Most Part the Gift of John Sheepshanks
Fifty Years of Public Work of Sir Henry Cole ... Accounted for in His Deeds, Speeches and Writings [Ed. by a S. and H.L. Cole].
King Cole: A picture portrait of Sir Henry Cole, KCB 1808-1882
A Hand-Book for the Architecture, Tapestries, Paintings, Gardens,

Lace Work of Alcide Roussel

Illustration: Alcide Roussel. A flounce of alencon point lace, 1867.

At the 1867 Universal Exhibition held in Paris, many different forms of the decorative arts were included within the myriad displays. These included all forms of metal and wood work, furniture, glass, ceramic, stained glass and any number of personal items not associated with interiors, such as jewellery and other fashion orientated items. Textiles was, as always at these nineteenth century events, thorougly well represented, with carpet, tapestry, printed, woven, embroidery and lace examples from across Europe and North America.

Being a French sponsored, although international event, the domestic lace industry dominated the lace contingent at the exhibition, although there were entries by other European nations such as Austria and England. A number of French companies as well as individual designers were represented including that of Auguste Lefebure who were based at Bayeux in northern France. The three pieces illustrated here were designed for them by Alcide Roussel.

The 1850s and 1860s saw lace production in Europe expand as it become a more desirable and status driven commodity. Much of this was prompted by some very selective product placement, such as the timely patronage of the Empress Eugenie wife of Napoleon III, until 1871 still Emperor of France. By gaining Eugenie's public patronage French lace production was assured of a very public display for the work of both companies and individual designers.

Illustration: Alcide Roussel. Lace parasol cover in point a l'aigulle, 1867.

During this period of the mid-nineteenth century, lace pattern work became much more complex and ever more accomplished. Many of the pieces, such as the ones illustrated in this article, were deliberately over-produced in order to show as examples of the complexity of both the industry and the companies involved. However, royal patronage did also mean that ever-finer examples had to be produced in order to both flatter and engage the individual involved, but also in order to exaggerate the strength and creativity of the domestic market in France.

It would be untrue to say that all French lace production during the 1850s and 1860s was of the same standard as Roussel's pieces for international exhibition status. Much of the domestic work was of a lower and more durable standard, which was meant to keep many of these companies in profits during this period.

Perhaps the most important purpose for displaying these complicated lace pieces at both international exhibitions as well as for the arrangement of royal patronage was the increasingly real prospect of genuine competition from machine made lace. Machinery had been involved within the lace making industry long before the 1867 exhibition in Paris. However, much of the work produced during the early nineteenth century had been crude and a derisory reflection of lace compared to the craft of hand lace making, but by the mid nineteenth century, machine lace was becoming more apparent, more flexible and much more accomplished. By continually complicating the pattern work of hand lace production, it was hoped that the craft would be able to stay one step ahead of the machine lace rival. However, this strategy was limited as the complexity of the patterns used in hand lace made it so exorbitantly expansive for both the company and the public that eventually no one could really afford these showpieces.

Illustration: Alcide Roussel. Point colbert lace band, 1867.

The extraordinary illustrations shown in this article can only give a glimpse of the staggering complexity of the work shown at the Paris exhibition. Trompe l'oeil features, complicated and undulating foliage, along with detailed and almost kaleidoscopic features within the design work, show the status that French hand lace production had reached by the mid nineteenth century. In some ways irrelevant to us one hundred and fifty years later, as to why these complex patterns were produced. It is much more a case of admiring both the design work of Roussel as well as the infinite patience and dexterity of the lace makers involved, many now anonymous.

Reference links:
Reports of Artisans Selected by a Committee Appointed by the Council of the Society of Arts to Visit the Paris Universal Exhibition, 1867
Reports On the Paris Universal Exhibition, 1867. Vol.2-6 [And] Index To, Volume 5
List Of The Objects Obtained During The Paris Exhibition Of 1867 By Gift, Loan, Or Purchase And Now Exhibited In The South Kensington Museum
Recollections of the Paris Exhibition of 1867THE ART-JOURNAL ILLUSTRATED CATALOGUE OF THE PARIS UNIVERSAL EXHIBITION 1867
De la Dentelle & Des Hommes / The Lace-makers of Calais (French Edition)
BB-French Lace
A History of Hand-Made Lace: Dealing with the Origin of Lace, the Growth of the Great Lace Centres, the Mode of Manufactures, the Methods of Distiuguishing and the Care of Various Kinds of Lace
Creating Original Hand-knitted Lace
A MANUAL OF HAND-MADE BOBBIN LACE WORK
Pillow Lace, a Practical Hand-Book
A History of Hand Made Lace

Embroidery Design Work by Fairfax B Wade

Illustration: Fairfax B Wade. Buttercup embroidered border, 1880.

Fairfax B Wade was a British architect who produced a prodigious amount of architectural pieces both domestic and public, during the latter part of the nineteenth century. However, perhaps less well known was his embroidery design work, some of which from the year 1880, is reproduced in this article.

Although by no means unusual for an architect of the period to be involved in a number of disciplines, many architects designed furniture for example, it was perhaps more unusual to be involved not necessarily with the subject of textiles itself, but more certainly with that of textile crafts.

Illustration: Fairfax B Wade. Design for applique, 1880.

The images of Wade's embroidery design work come from an 1880 publication by L Higgin called Handbook of Embroidery. The book gave not only short lessons in how to start and achieve results through the embroidery craft including materials, tools and stitches, but also that of pattern work by some of the most popular designers of the period, including Edward Burne Jones, Walter Crane, George Aitchison, William Morris, Selwyn Image, Gertrude Jekyll, and indeed Fairfax B Wade.

To be fair the book was only intended as an introductory example of what could be achieved through contemporary embroidery. It was expected that for the novice practical lessons would have been sought before attempting any of the design work reproduced by the likes of Morris and Crane. Interestingly the book itself was edited by Lady Marian Alford a gifted and accomplished artist as well as a generous patron of the arts. Perhaps more relevant still was the fact that she was the founder of the Royal School of Art Needlework, which had also given its full backing to the 1880 publication. In some ways this book was meant as both an introduction too and an advertiser for the work of the Royal School.

Illustration: Fairfax B Wade. Design for wall panelling or curtains, 1880.

As to the design work itself, there were a range of styles from figurative to floral. The more complex tended to be the work supplied by both William Morris and Fairfax Wade. Wade supplied decorative panels to be used within borders and as all over pattern work. The third illustration in this article, which was meant for either detailing on a curtain or a wall panel, was probably the most complex of all. It shows at least an element of both the amount of work that could go into a single piece of craft embroidery, but also the level of skill that was often thought at the time as being relatively achievable by many women.

It is the level of hand skill that was deemed normal during the latter part of the nineteenth century, which we would find extraordinary in our own contemporary era. It perhaps makes us aware of how much has been lost due to some extent the distractions of the media. However, perhaps more importantly still is the disinterest, at least as far as the UK is concerned, that has been shown by successive governments in integrating art and craft into the state educational curriculum. Craft in particular has been repeatedly sidelined and downgraded, so much so that many often see it now as extra-curricular, rather than part of the wider educational makeup.

Illustration: Fairfax B Wade. Design for a quilt or couvre-pied, 1880.

To deny an individual even the chance to express their creative ability, something which everyone shares no matter at what level they personally believe themselves capable, is to deny an individual the chance to grow as a person. To be able to develop beyond the constricting remit of creating revenue for the state and endlessly consuming for the profit of others, is a right that we should all be encouraged to partake in. Craft and the larger creative world of the arts can change an individuals perspective on a number of intriguing levels including themselves and perhaps more importantly world they see around them, a perspective not actively encouraged by our peers. The art of embroidery may be a small and fairly insignificant step to many, but it is a creatively empowering step nonetheless.

Reference links:
Handbook of Embroidery
Royal School of Needlework Embroidery Techniques
The Royal School of Needlework - Book Of Needlework and Embroidery
Royal School of Needlework Handbook of Embroidery (1880)
Art in Needlework: A Book About Embroidery
The Art of Embroidery: Inspirational Stitches, Textures, and Surfaces
Machine Embroidery & Textile Art
Freestyle Machine Embroidery: Techniques and Inspiration for Fiber Art
Doodle Stitching: Fresh & Fun Embroidery for Beginners
The Development of Embroidery in America