This is a sample of block-printed cotton furnishing. It is edged in a green plush braid which suggests that it was recommended for curtains or upholstery. The design shows a design of rambling roses and morning glory, particularly popular floral motifs in the mid-19th century.Velvet and other pile fabrics have always been popular because of their associations with luxury.

With the arrival of cotton velvets (called velveteen) in the mid-19th century, pile fabrics became more easily available. Many such fabrics had printed patterns, as this example, and this cheaper form became widely used in Victorian homes.

The manufacturer of this furnishing is not known. It may have been produced in Lancashire, the centre for cotton production and printing by the mid-19th century, although manufacturers in Scotland and the south of England (Crayford and Dartford) still produced such work. The brownish-purple ground is the result of the overprinting of a number of colours. It was not until the discovery of an artificial purple or mauveline by William Perkin in 1856, that a solid purple was available for use in the textile industry. This example was exhibited at the Great Exhibition of 1851 and probably shown in Class XI which concerned cotton goods.