Morris & Co. Design and Manufacture at Warner & Sons

Carefully selected items from the Archive’s Collection of historic textiles and designs explore the creative relationship between Warner & Sons and Morris & Co., including their mutual appreciation for the natural world within design and craftsmanship. Beautiful woven and block-printed textiles, as well as paper designs and photographs, come together to uncover a new dimension to Morris’s celebrated legacy, demonstrating important developments in the dyeing industry, and changes in the way design was accessed by the population. Drawing upon recent research exploring the relationship between Morris and celebrated dyer Thomas Wardle, the display also highlights their reverence and mutual appreciation for the technical skills required for textile manufacture. Among the items on display is an important handwoven velvet, Acorn, absent from the main national collections and on display for the very first time.