M. Whiteway - Christopher Dresser (1834-1904) - 2012

Christopher Dresser (1834-1904)
Edited by Michael Whiteway

Christopher Dresser. A designer at the court of Queen Victoria
Triennale Palace, Milan
30 October 2001 – 3 March 2002

1851 represents a turning point in the history of fashion, architecture, and European design: indeed, with the Universal Exposition at the Crystal Palace designed by Paxton, the first great utopian project of modern architecture is realized. In the same period a number of designers and artisans in England were working with the idea of building a new modern taste through newly conceived objects produced industrially. Among them, Christopher Dresser is the one who pushes this reflection to its extremes, producing in the second half of the 19th century some pieces of the highest value: teapots, cups, pots and everyday objects, conceived according to unitary criteria, with a taste that anticipates by fifty years the Cubist and Bauhaus experiments, demonstrating a refined and unique research.

The volume collects and documents in detail, thanks to a rich critical and photographic repertoire, about 250 objects designed by Dresser (currently dispersed mostly in private collections), tracing on the one hand Victorian England and the Arts and Crafts movement, and on the other the works, the few writings and the remaining drawings by Dresser, offering a complete picture of the production of this great pioneer of design.

The volume is presented in excellent overall condition. Cover with slight signs of use. Soft cover firmly bound. Inner pages clean with no folds or stains. An excellent copy for collection/research.