Christopher Dresser

Christopher Dresser 1834-1904
Born in Glasgow in 1834, the same year as William Morris and, like his famous contemporary, a champion of the Arts and Crafts movement, Dresser originally trained in botany. Amongst the first of what we would identify today as industrial designers, Dresser provided designs in fields as diverse as textiles, wall coverings, ceramics, glassware and metalware.

Strongly influenced by nature, Japanese culture and aesthetics and the design principles of such men as Owen Jones, Dresser had a long and active career in Nineteenth Century design and manufacturing and the formation of the public’s taste.

Our prints are from his Studies in Design, published between 1874 and 1876. In his preface he states that “I have prepared this work with the hope of assisting to bring about a better style of decoration for our houses.”

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