Edward Bawden (1903-1989) was a printmaker, painter, illustrator and designer. He studied and later taught at the Royal College of art, served as a war artist in WW2 and worked extensively as a commercial artist for companies including London Transport, Twinings, Fortnum and Mason, Shell-Mex, the Folio Society and Chatto and Windus.

This design shows sketches, projections and details for the Bilston Garden Seat, produced in 1956 for Bilston Foundries Ltd, Staffordshire. The idea of the cast-iron garden furniture range - which comprised individual seats, a two-seater bench and a low table – was apparently that of Robert Harling, Bawden’s friend who worked in advertising and who had hired Bawden to illustrate the Fortnum and Mason’s catalogue, as well as Wisden’s Cricketers’ Almanack.

The design shows Bawden’s typically bold use of pattern, which in this instance was used to create the perforations necessary to create a light but strong cast iron structure. It also demonstrates his inventiveness, often inspired by his sense of humour: the motif on the back of the chair is reminiscent of a spider’s web, such as one might find hanging from a piece of garden furniture. Despite the detailed level of information supplied by the drawing and annotations, which suggest an advanced stage of design development, the chairs as executed do not have the cobweb motif, indicating that further changes were made before the design was finalised for production.