The Arts and Crafts Exhibition Society of 1888

What the sources do and do not establish

This page is planned as an institutional history of the Exhibition Society, and the honest answer is that the evidence is not yet in place. No supplied source states when the Society was founded, who its members were, what its stated aims were, or what it exhibited. Writing that history now would mean inventing it, and this page will not do that.

Before the Society's history can be published, the page needs a named institutional source covering at least the following points:

• The Society's founding date and founding body, with the source named.
• Its stated aims, ideally in the Society's own words from a primary text.
• Its membership and officers, with dates of service.
• A record of its exhibitions, including which objects were shown.
• Any disputed points, with the differing institutional views attributed.

What the evidence does contain is a group of museum-documented objects made in the circle around William Morris. They are described below, with every attribution credited to the Victoria and Albert Museum, which is the source for each record.

Documented beginnings: the St George Cabinet and the 1862 International Exhibition

The earliest documented object on this page is the St George Cabinet. The Victoria and Albert Museum credits its design to Philip Webb and its painting to William Morris, and dates it to 1861 to 1862 in London. Both attributions rest on a single source, the museum's own record, so they are stated here with that credit.

The cabinet has a documented exhibition history. According to the V&A, Morris, Marshall, Faulkner & Co. exhibited it at the International Exhibition of 1862. That makes it a concrete example of the firm showing decorative art to a public audience early in its life, a useful anchor for any later account of exhibition culture in the movement. For the earlier exhibition that shaped Morris's outlook, see our guide to the Great Exhibition.

The object itself is described in detail by the museum. It is made of painted and gilded mahogany, pine and oak, with copper mounts, and its doors are painted with scenes from the legend of St George. The subject gives the cabinet its name and its painted programme.

A later commission: the 1897 altar table

At the other end of the period stands an altar table that the V&A dates to 1897 and credits to Philip Webb as designer. As with the cabinet, the design attribution comes from a single source, the museum's record, and is credited accordingly.

The commission is documented in some detail. According to the V&A, the table was designed for the Rochester and Southwark Diocesan Deaconess Institution at Clapham Common, London, and commissioned by Isabella Gilmore. The same record describes Gilmore as the sister of William Morris. The excerpt covering the loan and gift arrangements for the altar table and lectern is incomplete, so the full object history is not established here.

The cloth for the altar table was embroidered by May Morris, William's daughter, and is recorded by the V&A under museum number T.379-1970. The attribution again rests on the museum's record alone. It is a useful reminder that the movement's output was collaborative and that women in the circle, including May Morris and Isabella Gilmore, held documented roles as makers and commissioners.

Decorative art beyond furniture: the 1883 Broadwood piano

A third documented object shows collaborative making across several hands. The V&A records a grand piano designed by Edward Burne-Jones, decorated by Kate Faulkner and made by John Broadwood & Sons for Morris & Co. in 1883. Each of these attributions comes from the museum's record, which is the single source for them.

The museum also documents the piano's patron. It was built in 1883 by John Broadwood & Sons for A.C. Ionides, described in the V&A's record as a friend and client of William Morris, Sir Edward Burne-Jones and other Pre-Raphaelite artists. The case is oak, stained and decorated with gold and silver-gilt gesso, with birds, fruits and flowers in relief. Objects like this sit within the wider story of the Arts and Crafts movement, where design, decoration and manufacture were often split between named specialists.

Why this page needs further sourcing before publication

Three gaps stand out. First, the evidence contains no quotation by William Morris about the Exhibition Society, so none can be used. Second, no source identifies which objects were shown at the Society's exhibitions, so no examples of its shows can be given. Third, no source records any disputed points or differing institutional views about the Society, so none can be reported.

The Society's history section must therefore wait for a named institutional source covering its founding, aims and exhibitions. Until that evidence arrives, this page confines itself to the objects above, each traced to the Victoria and Albert Museum's records.