Hunting was a passion and the major occupation of their leisure time for many wealthy English men, and some women, in the 18th and 19th centuries. A stag hunt is depicted here, and the design of the fabric allows it to be read like a story, progressing in a series of scenes, as the huntsmen and hounds gallop in pursuit of the stag, and finally bring it to bay. The Englishness of the scene is emphasised by the background and landscape. The hunt is pursued through the estate of a great house seen in the distance. Nearer is a Gothic hunting lodge, and picturesque ruins. This interest in medieval architectural styles reflected a romantic nostalgia for England’s past.

The cotton has been printed using an engraved metal cylinder. This development in technology allowed fabrics to be printed much more quickly and cheaply than they had been before, when fabric was printed with either woodblocks or flat metal plates. It could take just four minutes to roller-print by machine a length of cotton which would have taken six hours to print by hand.