Jeffrey & Co. produced this nursery paper in the 1880s. They included it in their range of Patent Hygienic Wallpapers. The range was promoted as being free from arsenic (a poisonous substance) and also washable. In 1880 they re-issued the design, without the figures, as a block print called The Briar Rose. Walter Crane (1845-1915) was also an illustrator of children’s books. Many of his illustrations were adapted for nursery wallpapers.
Physical description
Portion of 'The Sleeping Beauty' wallpaper, featuring characters from Sleeping Beauty, dogs and peacocks amidst bracnhes of briar rose; Colour machine print, on paper.
Place of Origin
England, Great Britain (made)
Date
1879 (made)
Artist/maker
Crane, Walter (R.W.S.), born 1845 - died 1915 (designer)
Jeffrey (manufacturer)
Materials and Techniques
Colour machine print, on paper
Dimensions
Length: 310 cm, Width: 56.8 cm
Object history note
Another portion of this wall-paper is in the Department of Prints and Drawings, E.4036-1915.
Descriptive line
Portion of 'The Sleeping Beauty' wallpaper, featuring characters from Sleeping Beauty, dogs and peacocks amidst bracnhes of briar rose; Colour machine print, on paper; Designed by Walter Crane; Produced by Jeffrey & Co.; England; 1879.
Bibliographic References (Citation, Note/Abstract, NAL no)
Saunders, Gill. Wallpaper in Interior Decoration. V&A Publications. London, 2002. pp. 133. pl 118.
An excerpt of the entry is as follows:
'This nursery paper was included in the range of Patent Hygienic Wallpapers produced by Jeffrey & Co. in the 1880s, and promoted as being free from arsenic and also washable. The same design, without the figures, was reissued in 1880 as a block print called The Briar Rose (see plate 102).
Victoria & Albert Museum Department of Prints and Drawings and Department of Paintings, Accessions 1968 London: HMSO, 1969.
The full text of the entry is as follows:
"CRANE, Walter, R.W.S. (1845-1915)
[…]
Portion of nursery wall-paper entitled ‘The Sleeping Beauty’, produced by Jeffrey & Co., 1879. Unused.
Colour machine print. (309 x 56 cm.) E.60-1968
Given by Mrs. Elsibet Hidemark
Note: Another portion of this wall-paper is in the Department of Prints and Drawings, E.4036-1915.”
Materials
Paper
Techniques
Colour machine print
Subjects depicted
Dog; Peacock; Briar roses; Sleeping Beauty
Categories
Illustration; Children & Childhood; Wall coverings
Collection code
PDP
