Trellis

Physical description

Specimen of 'Trellis' wallpaper, design of a thorned rose bush, with pink flowers, growing on a wooden trellis, with birds and flying insects, with a blue ground; Block-printed in distemper colours, on paper; Inscribed on the back in ink with title, number etc.
Part of a pattern book containing 23 Morris & Co. patterns (E.3698-3704, 3706-3718, 3720-3722-1927).

Place of Origin

England, Great Britain (made)

Date

11/1862 (designed (pattern))
01/02/1864 (design registered)
1864 (manufactured)

Artist/maker

William Morris, born 1834 - died 1896 (designer)
Webb, Philip Speakman, born 1831 - died 1915 (designed the birds, designer)
Morris & Co. (publisher)

Materials and Techniques

block-printed in distemper colours, on paper

Dimensions

Height: 54.6 cm average size of pattern book contents (E.3698-3704, 3706-3718, 3720-3722-1927), Width: 77.5 cm average size of pattern book contents (E.3698-3704, 3706-3718, 3720-3722-1927)

Object history note

Bequeathed by J. R. Holliday.
Originally in a volume, this paper was part of a set that was split up, E.3705, 3719-1927 are missing.

Descriptive line

Specimen of 'Trellis' wallpaper, design of a thorned rose bush, with pink flowers, growing on a wooden trellis, with birds and flying insects, with a blue ground; Block-printed in distemper colours, on paper; Inscribed on the back in ink with title, number etc; Designed by William Morris; Birds designed by Philip Speakman Webb; Part of a pattern book containing 23 Morris & Co. patterns (E.3698-3704, 3706-3718, 3720-3722-1927); England; Designed 1862; Registered and produced 1864.

Bibliographic References (Citation, Note/Abstract, NAL no)

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.
The relevant text of the entry is as follows:

'1065
Two pattern books, containing patterns (25 and 27, on 168 sheets, including different colourways): each inscribed on the back in ink with title, number and price
1862-96
68.5 x 53.3 cm (size of each volume)
Given by Morris & Co.
E.441-608-1919

These are the original patterns as kept together by William Morris. The numbers after the names of the patterns are taken from Morris & Co.’s log books.

Volume 1 (1862-81)

...

'Trellis', November 1862, produced 1864 (E.450-453 CT 4206 (see col pl, p 363). The first paper Morris designed, but the third to be issued. The birds were designed by Phillip Webb. AV, pl 4 (colour); SE, pl 109 (colour); FC, no 3. Another portion is Circ.247-1964.'

NB: Within this book there is a handwritten comment that it would be ‘unlikely’that these patterns would have been kept together specifically by William Morris.

'AV' refers to; Vallance, Aymer. The Art of William Morris. A Record. 1897.
'SE' refers to; Sugden, A. V., and Edmondson, J. L. A History of English Wallpaper. 1509-1914. London, 1926.

'FC' refers to; Clark, Fiona. William Morris Wallpapers and Chintzes. New York. 1973.
Parry, Linda, ed. William Morris London : Philip Wilson in association with the Victoria and Albert Museum, 1996. Published to coincide with an exhibition at the Victoria and Albert Museum, 9 May-1 Sept. 1996, p.206.
The full text of the entry is as follows:

'L.1 Trellis wallpaper
a Original design William Morris, birds drawn by Philip Webb, November 1862
Pencil and watercolour, 66.0 x 61.0 cm
William Morris Gallery
(London Borough of Waltham Forest) (BLA472)

b Wallpaper sample, Trellis, 9
Designed by William Morris, birds by Philip Webb, registered 1 February 1864
Printed by Jeffrey & Co. for Morris Marshall, Faulkner & Co.
Block-printed in distemper colours, 68.6 x 50.0 cm
V&A (E.452-1919)
Given by Morris & Co.

The precise date of this, Morris’s first wallpaper design, is given by Mackail (p.156). The layout is complete but additional detailing would have been necessary for etching or block cutting. As in the other early patterns, there is some depth in the drawing but no integration between the motifs and the ground.

Flower trellises also appear elsewhere in the work of Morris and his associates, for example in 1862 stained glass for St Helen’s, Darley Dale (cat. No. H.6) and All Saints, Selsley, and in Burne-Jones’s 1863 sketch design for an embroidery for Ruskin illustrating Chaucer’s Legend of Goode Wimmen. Mackail (p.143) described the ‘wattled rose-trellises inclosing richly-flowered square garden plots’ at Red House. This is a typical medieval garden plan, illustrated in numerous manuscripts.

The delay between design and registration was a result of the firm’s attempt to print using oil colours and etched zinc plates. After the failure of this previously untried method, production was handed over to Jeffrey & Co., a reputable wallpaper manufacturer, who used the standard woodblock process and distemper colours.

Morris remained fond of the early, simple patterns and hung a blue-ground version of Trellis in his bedroom at Kelmscott-House.'

‘Mackail’ refers to: Mackail, J. W. The Life of William Morris. London, 1899

‘cat. No. H.6’ refers to a: ‘Cartoon for stained glass from the series The Song of Solomon for St Helen’s Darley Dale, Derbyshire’. Birmingham Museums and Art Gallery (176’00).

Production Note

Part of a pattern book containing 23 Morris & Co. patterns (E.3698-3704, 3706-3718, 3720-3722-1927).
The first paper William Morris designed, but the third to be issued (1864).
The birds were designed by Phillip Webb.

Materials

Paper; Distemper

Techniques

Block printing; Colour woodblock print

Subjects depicted

Birds; Insects; Trellis; Flowers, roses; Rose bush; Woodpecker

Categories

Prints; Wall coverings

Collection code

PDP