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Seasons

Furnishing Fabric
1955 (designed)
Artist/Maker
Place of origin

Edinburgh Weavers was founded in 1928 by the textile manufacturer James Morton (1867-1943) as an experimental design and marketing unit of Morton Sundour Fabrics. Originally based in Edinburgh, the firm merged with Morton Sundour Fabrics' weaving factory in Carlisle in 1931. They achieved success in the UK and US under the enlightened directorship of Alastair Morton (1910-63), who commissioned freelance designers and artists to produce work for interpretation as printed and woven fabrics. Following Alastair Morton's death, Edinburgh Weavers was taken over by Courtaulds in 1963.


Object details

Categories
Object type
TitleSeasons (manufacturer's title)
Materials and techniques
Printed cotton satin
Brief description
Furnishing fabric, 'Seasons' of screen-printed cotton satin, designed by Olive Sullivan for Edinburgh Weavers, Carlisle, 1955
Physical description
Cotton satin, printed, machine sewn top, cut left and bottom, selvedge right side, design of sun faces, female figure with cornucopia and seasonal motifs including holly and profusion of hedgerow and other plants. Line-drawn, red on white ground.
Dimensions
  • Length: 35cm
  • Width: 63cm
Credit line
Given by Sara Lee Courtaulds
Object history
From Courtaulds Design Library, group D3
The Courtaulds Design Library principally contained records from Courtaulds’ factories at Halstead and Bocking, Essex, and Halifax, and the large collection that came into Courtaulds’ possession through its acquisition of Morton Sundour and Edinburgh Weavers in 1963. The library was used by designers within Courtaulds and was also available for the use of Courtaulds’ customers. Following the acquisition of Courtaulds by the international corporation Sara Lee and the subsequent change in the business it was decided that the V&A would be the most appropriate location for the collection to enable it to be appreciated and used more fully. The Library was donated to the V&A by Sara Lee Courtaulds in 2001.

Also known as "Elements" according to catalogue entry for CIRC.685-1956.
Summary
Edinburgh Weavers was founded in 1928 by the textile manufacturer James Morton (1867-1943) as an experimental design and marketing unit of Morton Sundour Fabrics. Originally based in Edinburgh, the firm merged with Morton Sundour Fabrics' weaving factory in Carlisle in 1931. They achieved success in the UK and US under the enlightened directorship of Alastair Morton (1910-63), who commissioned freelance designers and artists to produce work for interpretation as printed and woven fabrics. Following Alastair Morton's death, Edinburgh Weavers was taken over by Courtaulds in 1963.
Associated objects
Bibliographic reference
The Mortons : Three Generations of Textile Creation (exhibition catalogue, V&A, 1973), cat. no. 253.
Collection
Accession number
T.152-2009

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Record createdAugust 10, 2009
Record URL
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