Vignette with the perspective view of the front for a villa
Drawing
circa 1850 - 1870 (made)
circa 1850 - 1870 (made)
| Artist/Maker | |
| Place of origin |
This design is from the packaging company Willetts & Sons, which was based in London from 1910 until the 1960s. The company made paper bags, card boxes, labels and tickets for a range of different clothes stores. Sometimes they employed artists to illustrate these items.
This example was drawn by a commercial artist at the little-known Roseland Studio. It shows a pretty young woman wearing historic clothes and the choice of image is clearly aimed at customers with a taste for nostalgia.
The V&A holds over 40 similar designs from Willetts & Sons.
This example was drawn by a commercial artist at the little-known Roseland Studio. It shows a pretty young woman wearing historic clothes and the choice of image is clearly aimed at customers with a taste for nostalgia.
The V&A holds over 40 similar designs from Willetts & Sons.
Object details
| Categories | |
| Object type | |
| Title | Vignette with the perspective view of the front for a villa (Assigned by artist) |
| Materials and techniques | |
| Brief description | Design by by Charles James Richardson (1806–1871), Vignette with the perspective view of the front of a villa, from "Picturesque Studies, Villas, and Details", a small folio of architectural designs for villas and cottages. Pen and ink and wash, Britain, ca. 1850 - 1870. |
| Physical description | An architectural drawing depicting the front of a villa. Signed in ink |
| Dimensions |
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| Marks and inscriptions | Front for a Villa (There is a faint pencil annotation below the signature, clearly reading a date (Jul 1867 CJR)) |
| Subjects depicted | |
| Summary | This design is from the packaging company Willetts & Sons, which was based in London from 1910 until the 1960s. The company made paper bags, card boxes, labels and tickets for a range of different clothes stores. Sometimes they employed artists to illustrate these items. This example was drawn by a commercial artist at the little-known Roseland Studio. It shows a pretty young woman wearing historic clothes and the choice of image is clearly aimed at customers with a taste for nostalgia. The V&A holds over 40 similar designs from Willetts & Sons. |
| Associated object | E.3239-2004 (Version) |
| Bibliographic reference | Charles James Richardson (1806 – 1871) was an English architect and writer, pupil of Sir John Soane. In 1824 at the age of eighteen, he joined Soane’s office and was eventually promoted as Soane’s assistant by 1830. While he continued to work for Soane until the latter’s death in 1837, from 1832 onwards he also worked on his own projects, setting up an evening school for architectural design in his house at 24 Manchester Street. He exhibited at the Royal Academy from 1837 to 1862 and taught at the School of Design in Somerset House from 1845 to 1852. During the same period, he was a regular contributor to The Builder. As a surveyor to the Harrington Estate, he was involved in the property development of South Kensington and designed numerous houses in the area. Around 1853, he carried out various works at Belsize Park, Hampstead, and designed a block of mansions in Queen's Gate, Hyde Park, built by William Jackson between 1856 and 1858. The Print Room at the Victoria and Albert Museum houses most of his drawings, which form a collection of 549 original pieces by English architects. Richardson compiled this collection, which includes several volumes of studies, tracings of designs by Vanbrugh, Robert Adam, Thorpe, and Tatham, as well as drawings of buildings, furniture, and ornaments predominantly from the Elizabethan period. The Sir John Soane Museum in Lincoln's Inn Fields has a sketchbook of views and details of his house at Ealing, along with a collection of drawings used during his architectural lectures. Some of his designs are also available in the library of the Royal Institute of British Architects and in the Guildhall Library.
Richardson’s Publications
• Observations on the Architecture of England during the Reigns of Queen Elizabeth and James I. London: John Weale Architectural Library, 1837.
• A Popular Treatise on the Warming and Ventilation of Buildings: Showing the Advantages of the Improved System of Heated Water Circulation, &c. London: John Weale, 1837.
• Architectural Remains of the Reigns of Elizabeth and James I from Accurate Drawings and Measurements Taken from Existing Specimens. London: Richardson, sold by Ackerman, 1840.
• Studies from Old English Mansions: Their Furniture, Gold & Silver Plate, &c. London: T. McLean, 1841.
• The Workman's Guide to the Study of Old English Architecture: In Sketches of Enriched Ceilings, Cornices & Friezes, Carved Woodwork, Furniture, &c. of the Reigns of Elizabeth and James 1st. London: Thos. Mc Lean, 1845.
• A Letter Addressed to the Council of the Head Government School of Design, October 6, 1846. London: publisher not identified, 1846.
• Studies of Ornamental Design. London: John Weale, 1851.
• Design for Economically and Effectually Raising Holborn Valley and Rendering the Same a Great Public Benefit. London: Cox & Wyman, 1863.
• The Smoke Nuisance and its Remedy. London: Archley and co., 1869.
• The Englishman's House, from a Cottage to a Mansion: A Practical Guide to Members of Building Societies, and All Interested in Selecting or Building a House. London: J.C. Hotten, 1872.
Bibliographic Reference
- De Divitiis, Bianca. “A Newly Discovered Volume from the Office of Sir John Soane.” The Burlington Magazine 145, no. 1200 (2003): 180–98.
- Dictionary of National Biography, 1885-1900, Volume 48, Richardson, Charles James by Campbell Dodgson |
| Collection | |
| Accession number | 7781: 42 |
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| Record created | July 15, 2004 |
| Record URL |
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