W
illiam Morris’s first wallpaper was designed in 1862 and released two years later. New Morris & Co. wallpaper designs appeared regularly until the early twentieth century. This is one area where Morris was happy with using commercial contractors, and most Morris & Co. wallpapers were printed by Jeffery & Co. of Islington, London using traditional hand-printing with woodblocks.
“Morris often used British plants and flowers for his repeating wallpaper patterns.”
Morris often used British plants and flowers for his repeating wallpaper patterns. Early designs included the Daisy, the Trellis, and the Fruit. Many of Morris’s wallpaper designs doubled up for use in the company’s chintzes. With the continued reprinting of Morris wallpapers in the twenty-first century, it is worth noting that Morris & Co. reproduced its own designs: for example, in 1904 a reproduction of Fruit wallpaper, matched to the original colourway, was used to replace the thirty-five-year-old original wallpaper at Eton College.