- A significant collection of textile works from a prolific yet often-overlooked designer, whose influence is felt to this day - Dresser stands out among his contemporaries, both for his efforts to make good designs affordable and his embracing of mechanisation - Written by a renowned expert on Christopher Dresser Dr Christopher Dresser is best remembered for his pioneering advances in design and associated technology. In the new industrial world of the nineteenth century, Dresser was the first designer to understand that machinery was a good servant but a poor master; he made it his business to understand how machines worked. His success gained him credibility. Dresser became a sought-after consultant to several textile manufacturers, most notably Barlow & Jones, Tootal, Warner & Sons, Turnbull & Stockdale, and Wardle, which allowed him to establish the largest design practice in Britain by 1870. Equally, it was his success in promoting textiles at affordable prices that attracted his popular following in the press. Unlike his contemporaries, he was interested in making designs available to everyone. However, Dresser is less celebrated in comparison to other designers of the era, such as William Morris, because Dresser was obliged to abandon this campaign to improve British taste due to an unexplained illness in the early 1880s. At the same time, Morris was expanding his business just as the Arts and Crafts movement was beginning to gain momentum. Despite being the first Victorian to address the decorative needs of all the population, there is a severe lack of appreciation for Dresser's work - whose influence can be found in many textiles that we take for granted today. This book redresses that balance, giving Dresser the monograph he deserves.

Christopher Dresser (1834-1904) was arguably the first British industrial designer, and this 1862 work was his most influential book. He worked in a variety of media, from wallpaper and textile design to metalwork and ceramics, but was also a botanist, and his two professorial roles in fine and ornamental arts, at the South Kensington Museum and the Crystal Palace, included the teaching of botany. Unlike William Morris, Dresser believed that good design could and should be mass-produced by industrial methods, so that it became affordable to all classes. He describes here how decorative ornament should be used in design, the importance of taking inspiration from natural (usually plant) models, and issues of proportion, balance and gradation. The book, which encouraged the rising middle classes to decorate their homes themselves, is highly illustrated: the colour plates can be viewed online at www.cambridge.org/9781108080408, by clicking on the 'Resources' button.

In Christopher Dresser's own words, "I have prepared this Work with the hope of assisting to bring about a better style of decorations for our houses. My book is intended to help the decorator and to enable those who live in decorated houses to judge, to an extent, the merit of the ornament around them." Indeed, in this reprint of the classic Studies in Design, the timeless designs and wisdom of Christopher Dresser are reintroduced. Originally published in 1875, Studies in Design features Dresser's exquisite design and classic theories that have enduring appeal. Christopher Dresser is considered by many to have been the most influential designer of the nineteenth century, and his designs later had a major influence on the Arts & Crafts and Modernist movements. Dresser's designs, which later influenced other artisans such as William Morris and Charles Tiffany, reveal exotic influences from such locations as Egypt, Japan, China, India, and Morocco.

Borders in the style of medieval manuscripts, patterns based on Greek and Persian pottery, designs adapted from Venetian lace—this unique sourcebook abounds in splendid original ornaments. Its gorgeous black-and-white drawings include such diverse influences as German Gothic, Japanese, Arabic, Indian, Celtic, and ancient Roman art. A pioneer of modern design, Christopher Dresser (1834–1904) was one of the Victorian era's most important and influential stylists, whose works are eagerly sought by artists and craftspeople. A botanist by training, Dresser was particularly skilled in the execution of floral motifs. This versatile collection of his designs can be easily adapted to art and craft projects, textiles, interior decoration, wall hangings, lacework, carvings, and much more.

"Published in conjunction with Christopher Dresser's first comprehensive museum retrospective, organized by Cooper-Hewitt, National Design Museum, then traveling to the Victoria and Albert Museum, this extensively illustrated survey affirms his achievement as the first professional industrial designer - in effect, the inventor of the modern-day career of product designer. Dresser (1837-1904) trained both as a designer and a botanist, deriving his design vocabulary initially from observations of nature. As the first European designer to visit Japan in an official capacity, he made comprehensive study of Japanese art during his four-month visit. The experience confirmed his belief in the supremacy of form over ornament and resulted in designs that were truly radical in relation to contemporary Victorian taste. Dresser was also a pioneer in his vision of industry as a means to spread the tenets of good design, working with over fifty manufacturers in a wide variety of media to produce an astonishing range of reasonably priced, widely available consumer goods." "Seven essays from leading specialists in the field explore the impact of Christopher Dresser's theories and work in the context of his contemporaries such as Pugin, Owen Jones, and Godwin. His achievement is seen in relation to the late industrial revolution and the development of modern design. The 300 illustrations illuminate the vast scope of his output, from Gothic-Revival cast-iron Coalbrookdale hall stands and the stark, geometric forms of James Dixon & Sons silver plate to the experimental and highly innovative shapes and glazes of Linthorpe ceramics. The catalogue also features previously unattributed designs for textiles, wallpaper and glass, and expands the sum of Dresser scholarship into new and illuminating areas."--BOOK JACKET.