Czech-born Jacqueline Groag created this pattern for David Whitehead Limited of Rawenstall, Lancashire in 1952. Formed in 1927, David Whitehead Limited had established a reputation by the 1950s for producing innovative designs, which their director, John Murray, wanted to be available to a mass market. In 1951, the company launched 'Contemporary Prints', which specialised in roller-printed patterns on spun rayon. Groag's creative use of colour and abstract shapes in this print are typical of the type of pattern which emerged from the Festival of Britain and which were quickly described as 'contemporary'. These patterns had a lasting influence on textile design in Britain throughout the 1950s, and the colourful designs were a welcome change from the dull colours used for textiles during the Second World War.