An Introduction to the Arts and Crafts Movement

The Arts and Crafts Movement was ignited due to the declining quality of book design and production as a cause of the Industrial Revolution. This movement is also seen as the transition period from Victorian designs to that of Art Nouveau as some artist started experimented with the organic nature of this new style.

Regarding the way in which book design quality became a casualty of the Industrial Revolution, there were some notably merciful exceptions, such as the book designs of William Pickering.

Having a deep love for books and outstanding scholarship, William Pickering opened his own bookstore specializing in old and rare books. He played an important role in separating Graphic Design from printing production as his passion for design led him to commission new woodblock ornaments, initials and illustrations. He maintained control over format, type selection, illustrations and all other visual considerations. But Pickering never printed his own books. Printers, who were closely supervised by him, produced his books.

Pickering established a pleasant relationship between designer/publisher (himself) and printer, being Charles Whittingham of the Chiswick Press. Whittingham was an excellent craftsman. His craftsmanship complimented Pickering’s demands for quality. Pickering’s book design evolved into a more classic simplicity with the production of his books on poetry and prose in which he revived Caslon types. These books include his 1844 Book of Common Prayer and his 1847 edition of The Elements of Euclid.

William Pickering, title page for the Book of Common Prayer, 1844.

The intricacy of Gothic architecture and heraldic devices are convincingly depicted in this red and black title page.    

Despite the efforts of Pickering and other designers, the decline in book design continued until the late 19^th century.  The attempts to revive this dying industry, which influenced commercial production by treating a book as a limited edition art object, was mainly a reaction against social, moral and artistic confusion of the Industrial Revolution.  Design and a return to handicraft were encouraged, and the “cheap and nasty” mass-produced goods of the Victorian era were rejected. 

The leader of this movement in England was William Morris, who was a pivotal figure in the history of design. After getting married and having his house designed for him by Phillip Webb, Morris came to realize the weak quality of Victorian product and furniture design.  So he spent the next several years designing and supervising the production the furniture, stained glass and tapestries for his house, also known as Red House. This led to him joining up with 6 friends in 1861 to establish an art-decorating firm called Morris, Marshall, Faulkner and Company. This company rearranged in 1875 and so it became Morris and Company.

Morris proved to be a brilliant 2D pattern designer. He designed over 500 patterns for wallpapers, textiles, carpets and tapestries inspired by medieval arts and botanical forms. In 1883 he designed two fabric patterns that demonstrated his close study on botany and drawing fluency. His pattern called Rose demonstrates how his willowy patterns wove decorative arabesques of natural forms.  Morris, being concerned about the problems of industrialization and the factory system, tried to apply John Ruskin’s philosophies and combine arts with crafts.

John Ruskin inspired the philosophy for the Arts and Crafts Movement. He rejected the mercantile economy and believed that the tastelessness of mass-produced goods and the lack of honest craftsmanship could be addressed by the union of arts and crafts in service to society.

William Morris, Rose fabric design, 1883.    

Morris was also concerned over the exploitation of the poor, which led him to embrace socialism. He also founded the Society for the Protection of Ancient Buildings (or Anti-Scrape) as a reaction to him dismay over the malicious destruction of the architectural heritage. At a later stage he also joined the Society for Checking the Abuse of Public Advertising, which confronted offenders directly.

During the 1880s and 1890s the Art and Craft movement was underpinned by a number of societies and guilds tat sought to establish democratic artistic communities united for the common good.