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Lea

Furnishing Fabric
1885-1889 (made)
Artist/Maker
Morris & Co. (manufacturer)
Morris, William (designer)
Place of origin
Merton Abbey (made)

This discoloured cotton fragment is the printer's end from a length of block-printed cotton of the William Morris design 'Lea', which was registered on 2 February 1885.


Object details

Categories
Textiles
Access_to_Images 2003
SCRAN
Object type
Furnishing fabric
TitleLea (manufacturer's title)
Materials and techniques
Block-printed and painted cotton
Cotton (Textile)
Block Printed
Painted
Brief description
Printer's end of cotton 'Lea' , designed by William Morris, manufactured by Morris & Co., Merton Abbey Works, 1885-1889
Physical description
Printer's end of cotton. Discoloured scrap from a length of pink block-printed cotton. The end shows the legend 'REGD MORRIS AND COMPANY' and 'H.H'.
Dimensions
  • Height: 21.5cm
  • Width: 96.5cm
  • Height: 8.5in
  • Width: 38in
Marks and inscriptions
  • 'REGD MORRIS AND COMPANY'
  • 'H.H' (Almost certainly stands for Harry Hill)
Credit line
Given by S. Franses Ltd
Object history
Registered File number 1985/119. William Morris's design 'Lea' was registered on 2 February 1885. Harry Hill, a block printer with Morris & Co., was employed by Morris in about 1883 soon after the opening of his Merton Abbey works and was listed as the printer of two printed fabrics designed by William Morris, and exhibited in the 1889 Arts and Crafts Exhibition (Nos 426, 427).
This scrap was found by the donor stitched into the lining of an early tapestry which Morris & Co. restored at the beginning of the twentieth century.
Summary
This discoloured cotton fragment is the printer's end from a length of block-printed cotton of the William Morris design 'Lea', which was registered on 2 February 1885.
Bibliographic reference
Parry, Linda (ed.), William Morris London : Philip Wilson, 1996 M.55
Collection
Textiles and Fashion Collection
Accession number
T.105-1985

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Record createdJanuary 16, 2004
Record URL
https://collections.vam.ac.uk/item/O89661/lea-furnishing-fabric-morris-william/
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