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'BOARD OF TRADE - LONDON

Print
24/05/1948 (designed)
Artist/Maker
E., L.S. (designed)
Place of origin
London (designed)

Dye-line printed design for a trestle dining table for the Utility Furniture series. The printed design is on a piece of cream-coloured paper folded into eight.


Object details

Categories
Designs
Prints
Furniture
Object type
Print
Titles
  • 'BOARD OF TRADE - LONDON (manufacturer's title)
  • UTILITY FURNITURE (manufacturer's title)
Materials and techniques
Ink on paper
Paper
Ink
Printing
Brief description
Dye-line print of utility furniture made during 1941-1953
Physical description
Dye-line printed design for a trestle dining table for the Utility Furniture series. The printed design is on a piece of cream-coloured paper folded into eight.
Dimensions
  • Height: 49.4cm
  • Width: 76.4cm
Marks and inscriptions
  • 'PERMISSABLE ALTERNATIVE CONSTRUCTIVE TO / MODEL NO.6600/1/0 TRESTLE DINING TABLE / UTILISING ARMY SURPLUS PICKETS IN OAK, BEECH. /ASH OR CHESTNUT / DRAWINGS TO BE READ IN CONJUNCTION WITH / MODEL NO.6600/1/0 (Textual information; Bottom left; printing; ink)
  • ' DRAWN BY:- L.S.E. / CHECKED BY :- E.B. / APPROVED BY:- E.J.W. (Textual information; bottom right; printing; ink)
  • 'DRG No A/15 (Textual information; bottom right corner; printing; ink)
  • 'ISSUE FIRST / DATE 24-5-48 / AMENDMENTS \ / REVISION SHEET No 277 (Date; left of centre; printing; ink)
Credit line
Given by Mr. O. Tybulewicz
Object history
'With the outbreak of the Second World war in 1939, nearly all design and manufacture in Britain went towards the war effort. After two years, Britain experienced problems with materials supply, particularly wood from the USA. In 1941 the Government Board of Trade set up the Utility Furniture Scheme as a means of rationing production and consumption of furniture. The board introduced specifications for controlling the dimensions and materials of pieces of furniture for all over the home: from chairs, kitchen cupboards and wardrobes to babies' play-pens. The resulting furniture was straight edged, plain and unembellished, in which form very much followed function and construction. The restrictions went on until 1953, and although Utility furniture furnished many middle-and lower-class homes, it was seen as an austere necessity during the war, and was soon therefore rejected after the restrictions were lifted.'
Fiona Leslie Designs for 20th-century Interiors London: Victoria and Albert Museum, 2000, p.18.
Subjects depicted
Utility Furniture
Trestle Dining Table
Dining Table
Bibliographic references
  • Denney, Matthew. Utility furniture and the myth of Utility 1943-1948. In:. Judy Attfield, ed. Utility reassessed: the role of ethics in the practice of design. Manchester : Manchester University Press, 1999. pp110-124. ISBN 0749052777
  • Leslie, Fiona. Designs for 20th-century Interiors. London: Victoria and Albert Museum, 2000.ISBN 1851773223.
Collection
Prints, Drawings & Paintings Collection
Accession number
E.634-1999

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Record createdJanuary 20, 2000
Record URL
https://collections.vam.ac.uk/item/O20137/board-of-trade---print-e-ls/
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