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Image of Gallery in South Kensington

Mistress Mary

Wallpaper
1903 (made)
Artist/Maker
Lightbown, Aspinall & Co. (manufacturer)
Crane, Walter (designer)
Place of origin
England (made)

Portion of the wallpaper frieze, 'Mistress Mary', based on the popular English nursery rhyme 'Mary, Mary, Quite Contrary'; A woman with a watering can, stands infront of a hedge and flowerbed lined with cockle shells, a sculpted tree to her left, on a pale ground; Lettered above the image; 'Mistress Mary quite contrary How does your garden grow? With silver bells & cockleshells And pretty maids all of a row'; Machine-printed from engraved rollers, on paper.

Object details

Categories
Wall Coverings
Designs
Object type
Wallpaper
TitleMistress Mary (manufacturer's title)
Materials and techniques
Machine-printed from engraved rollers, on paper
Paper
Machine Print
Roller-Printing
Engraving (Printing Process)
Brief description
Portion of the wallpaper frieze, 'Mistress Mary', based on the popular English nursery rhyme 'Mary, Mary, Quite Contrary'; A woman with a watering can, stands infront of a hedge and flowerbed lined with cockle shells, a sculpted tree to her left, on a pale ground; Designed by Walter Crane; Machine-printed from 6 engraved rollers, on paper; Produced by Lightbown, Aspinall & Co.; England; 1903.
Physical description
Portion of the wallpaper frieze, 'Mistress Mary', based on the popular English nursery rhyme 'Mary, Mary, Quite Contrary'; A woman with a watering can, stands infront of a hedge and flowerbed lined with cockle shells, a sculpted tree to her left, on a pale ground; Lettered above the image; 'Mistress Mary quite contrary How does your garden grow? With silver bells & cockleshells And pretty maids all of a row'; Machine-printed from engraved rollers, on paper.
Dimensions
  • Height: 53.3cm
  • Width: 64.7cm
Dimensions from: Oman, Charles C., and Hamilton, Jean. Wallpapers: a history and illustrated catalogue of the collection of the Victoria and Albert Museum. London: Sotheby Publications, in association with the Victoria and Albert Museum, 1982.
Style
Arts and Crafts
Subjects depicted
Watering Can
Trees
Hedge
Cockle Shell
Flowers
Hat
Peacocks
Literary referenceBased on the popular English nursery rhyme 'Mary, Mary, Quite Contrary'. The rhyme was first printed in Tommy Thumb's Pretty Song Book (c. 1744). There are a number of versions of the rhyme and its origins and meaning are disputed.
Associated objects
Bibliographic references
  • Oman, Charles C., and Hamilton, Jean. Wallpapers: a history and illustrated catalogue of the collection of the Victoria and Albert Museum. London: Sotheby Publications, in association with the Victoria and Albert Museum, 1982.
  • Jennings, A. S. Wallpaper Decoration, 1907.
  • Victoria and Albert Museum, Department of Engraving, Illustration and Design & Department of Paintings, Accessions 1919, London: Printed Under the Authority of His Majesty's Stationery Office, 1921
Collection
Prints, Drawings & Paintings Collection
Accession number
E.5161-1919

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Record createdApril 17, 2009
Record URL
https://collections.vam.ac.uk/item/O225485/mistress-mary-wallpaper-crane-walter/
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