Title: Christopher Dresser: The People's Designer 1834-1904
Author: Harry Lyons
Publisher: Antique Collectors Club Dist A/C
Publication Date: 2005-02-01
ISBN: 1851494553
Type: Hardcover
Condition: New
Jacket condition: New
Notes: Brand new hardcover book, purchased directly from publisher. Wrinkle on spine of jacket appears to have occurred in manufacturing. Still in gift worthy condition. NO publisher's/remainder mark. A beautiful book.
About the Book
- With a foreword by Alberto Alessi
- Published to commemorate the centenary of Dresser's death and to coincide with the exhibition at the V&A from 9 September - 5 December 2004, and a travelling exhibition which started at the Dorman Museum, Middlesborough in October 2004
- Features an illustrated 'Grammar of Ornament' for Dresser designs, and also includes marks where appropriate
- Showcases more than 250 colour illustrations of Dresser's wallpapers, ceramics, metalware, carpets, glass and furniture
- 'Dresser was a prime example of the Moderate Transgression I seek in design. His projects show he knew the techniques of metal production better than any designer who has come to Alessi.' - Alberto Alessi
Christopher Dresser (1834-1904) was a Victorian from a humble provincial background, who pushed back the frontiers of class privilege to claim his place as the first designer of the industrial age with the household in mind.Harry Lyons believes that the legacy of Dresser has still to unfold. Dresser is already well appreciated for his silver-plated work and ceramics, but even in these fields there must be many more, as yet unnamed, companies that used Dresser's designs. Why is it, Lyons asks, that Dresser is reported as a designer of silver in 1876 by a Chicago newspaper, a full two years before his ground-breaking designs for Hukin & Heath were even launched? Why was Dresser invited to be a member of the International Jury at the Philadelphia Centennial Exhibition, 1876, surely not on the basis of his work for Minton and Wedgwood alone? We already know that he exhibited porcelain in the London Exhibition of 1871, but what did these pieces look like and where are they now?
In this extensively researched and profusely illustrated book on Dresser, Lyons seeks to answer these questions as well as examining the overlooked areas of Dresser's work in textiles, wallpapers and graphic design. Lyons also suggests firms that he believes manufactured Dresser designs. Lyons reaches out to help the collector find the Dresser wares to suit every budget. The trick, says Lyons, is recognizing Dresser's hand, and trying to distinguish it from his many followers. Once you get your eye in, there is a strength and a feeling of satisfaction, that is unmistakably Dresser and distinguishable from the best of others who worked in similar styles. To assist the reader, Lyons has also included a dictionary of over 600 of Dresser's designs, in a similar vein to Owen Jones Grammar of Ornament.About the Author
Harry Lyons' passion for Dresser goes back many years; he has searched out a huge range of previously unrecognised Dresser designs and objects. Lyons' interest in Dresser was first aroused by Dresser's simple philosophy of widening the circle of those who could afford good design, and he has spent a number of years researching the designer's life and work. He has frequently lectured and written on Dresser, and held a groundbreaking exhibition of the designer's work at the New Century Gallery in 1999. He is also a contributor to the V&A's 2004 Dresser exhibition catalogue.
Cover price: $59.50
