Arts and Crafts I

Small sketches featuring mainly floral designs, the majority of which are preliminary or rough pencil or ink sketches on tracing paper, and as such are very fragile. 'Arts and Crafts' was an international design philosophy that originated in England and flourished between 1860 and 1910, instigated by the artist and writer William Morris (1834–1896). It had its earliest and most complete development in the Britain, and was largely a reaction against the impoverished state of the decorative arts and the conditions by which they were produced. The philosophy was an advocacy of traditional craftsmanship using simple forms and often medieval, romantic or folk styles of decoration. It also included advocacy of economic and social reform and has been considered as essentially anti-industrial. There is one design by F.J. Weideman, and there are a number of designs which resemble the work of W.H. Batley, but none have been signed or ascribed as such. The designs have been attached in multiples to single sheets of paper and in such cases, no dominant colour has been recorded.