Not currently on display at the V&A

Furnishing Fabric

1909 (made)
Artist/Maker
Alexander Morton & Co. (designed for)
Ronald Simpson (designer)
Place of origin
Carlisle (made)

This cotton furnishing fabric was designed by Ronald Simpson, a textile designer and woodworker from Kendal in Cumbria, England. Simpson joined the Carlisle firm of Alexander Morton & Co. in 1908, and produced many designs for their printed ranges, including this example. This fabric has been roller-printed, a method that was patented in 1783, and came to be used on a large scale in the 19th and 20th centuries as a quick patterning technique--one machine could print thousands of yards of fabric in one day.


Object details

Categories
Access_to_Images 2003
Textiles
Interiors
SCRAN
Object type
Furnishing fabric
Materials and techniques
Roller-printed cotton
Cotton
Printed
Brief description
Furnishing fabric of roller-printed cotton, designed by Ronald Simpson for Alexander Morton & Co., Carlisle, 1909
Physical description
Furnishing fabric of roller-printed cotton with a repeating pattern of vines.
Dimensions
  • Length: 50.8cm
  • Width: 71.1cm
  • Width: 28in
  • Length: 20in
Production typeMass produced
Credit line
Given by J. W. F. Morton, Esq.
Production
Reason For Production: Retail
Subject depicted
Vines
Summary
This cotton furnishing fabric was designed by Ronald Simpson, a textile designer and woodworker from Kendal in Cumbria, England. Simpson joined the Carlisle firm of Alexander Morton & Co. in 1908, and produced many designs for their printed ranges, including this example. This fabric has been roller-printed, a method that was patented in 1783, and came to be used on a large scale in the 19th and 20th centuries as a quick patterning technique--one machine could print thousands of yards of fabric in one day.
Collection
Textiles and Fashion Collection
Accession number
CIRC.867-1967

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Record createdJanuary 16, 2004
Record URL
https://collections.vam.ac.uk/item/O89623/furnishing-fabric-ronald-simpson/
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