The Decorative Arts

Fine printing is considered one of the most important of Britain's decorative arts, in which Britain maintained a high standard from the days of Caxton until the nineteenth century, when it fell into decline like so many of the other crafts. When Morris began his work at the Kelmscott Press, he drew his inspiration from the art of Caxton's age. Since his time, great strides forward have been made in the making of pleasing typefaces, such as those designed by the celebrated sculptor Eric Gill, and in the arrangement of pages and the fitting of illustrations to the subject or model.

The progress of the art of book illustration and book decoration has been closely bound up with the modern renaissance that appeared in Britain in the art of wood engraving and its ornament. The revival of engraving, like the revival of the other crafts, goes back to the Pre-Raphaelite movement. But those artists specialized only in making the drawings from which the engraver — a trained craftsman — made blocks for printing. In the late nineteenth century there appeared in Britain artists such as William Nicholson and James Pryde, who learned to engrave their own designs on wood.

After Nicholson there sprang up the excellent modern school of wood engraving, from which emerged Eric Gill, Blair Hughes-Stanton, Agnes Miller Parker, and John Farleigh, who completed the blocks for the illustrations printed in Bernard Shaw's book "The Adventures of the Black Girl in Her Search for God," which made the look of wood engraving familiar among the public. Agnes Miller Parker also made the blocks for illustrations printed in cheap, popular books issued by Gollancz. But we may say in general that the art of wood engraving has been devoted for the most part to expensive editions of the classics, such as "The Four Gospels," "The Canterbury Tales," and "Aesop's Fables."

Outstanding personal skill has had a clear effect on weaving and embroidery in Britain. But there was a widespread tendency, particularly in the country districts, to fall back on patterns ugly in form. The late Mary Hogarth was able to persuade great artists such as Roger Fry, Duncan Grant, and Vanessa Bell to make special designs for her patterns, and in this way she obtained brilliant results in her work.

In Britain today there are several different kinds of decorative work, among which we may single out printing on china and engraving on silver or glass; and it is quite probable that British decorative work is today passing through its finest golden age since the Middle Ages.