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Insulin 8.27

Wallpaper
1951 (made)
Artist/Maker
Place of origin

This is one of a series of wallpapers which were designed and produced for the Festival of Britain in 1951. Each pattern in the series was inspired by the crystalline structure of a chemical compound, in this case insulin. The crystallographer in this instance was Dorothy Hodgkin. The series was developed as the result of a collaboration between the Festival Pattern Group and the wallpaper manufacturer John Line & Sons Ltd. The four wallpapers produced for the Festival were used extensively in the Festival site - in the Regatta Restaurant, the Exhibition of Science and in the Dome of Discovery.


Object details

Category
Object type
TitleInsulin 8.27 (assigned by artist)
Materials and techniques
Colour screenprint, on paper
Brief description
Portion of 'Insulin 8.27' wallpaper, a design based on the crystalline structures of insulin, pattern group 8.27, featuring flower-like motifs, on a dark ground; Colour screenprint, on paper; Lettered with manufacturer's name etc.; Designed by William Odell; Produced by John Line & Sons Ltd for the Festival of Britain; 1951.
Physical description
Portion of 'Insulin 8.27' wallpaper, a design based on the crystalline structures of insulin, pattern group 8.27, featuring flower-like motifs, on a dark ground; Colour screenprint, on paper; Lettered with manufacturer's name etc.
Dimensions
  • Height: 74.5cm
  • Width: 54cm
Marks and inscriptions
  • (Lettered with manufacturer's name etc.)
  • WALL PAPER, the design by Robert / Sevant based on the crystal structure / of 8.7 Insulin and manufactured by / John Line & Sons Ltd., for the / Festival Pattern Group. ENGLISH; / 1951. / Given by the manufacturers. C.19357 (Lettered on paper label attached to front of design.)
  • LENT BY THE / VICTORIA AND ALBERT MUSEUM (Lettered on paper label attached to front of design.)
Object history
Prroduced by John Line & Sons Ltd., for the Festival of Britain, 1951.
Production
Produced by John Line & Sons Ltd for the Festival of Britain.
Subject depicted
Summary
This is one of a series of wallpapers which were designed and produced for the Festival of Britain in 1951. Each pattern in the series was inspired by the crystalline structure of a chemical compound, in this case insulin. The crystallographer in this instance was Dorothy Hodgkin. The series was developed as the result of a collaboration between the Festival Pattern Group and the wallpaper manufacturer John Line & Sons Ltd. The four wallpapers produced for the Festival were used extensively in the Festival site - in the Regatta Restaurant, the Exhibition of Science and in the Dome of Discovery.
Bibliographic references
  • Lesley Jackson From Atoms to Patterns. Crystal structure designs from the 1951 Festival of Britain Shepton Beauchamp, Somerset: Richard Dennis, 2008. ISBN: 978 0 9553741 1 1.
  • Oman, Charles C., and Hamilton, Jean. Wallpapers: a history and illustrated catalogue of the collection of the Victoria and Albert Museum. London: Sotheby Publications, in association with the Victoria and Albert Museum, 1982.
Collection
Accession number
E.884-1978

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Record createdNovember 14, 2007
Record URL
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