Hawthorn and Blossom in William Morris Designs

A note on the name: what the records actually show

Searches for a hawthorn and blossom motif in William Morris's work usually land on the wallpaper 'Jasmine', and that is where the documentary trail leads. The Victoria and Albert Museum holds specimens of the wallpaper, attributes it to William Morris and dates its first issue to 1872.

One caution matters here. The hawthorn identification rests on the V&A's own description of the pattern, not on an independent botanical authority, and this article treats it as the museum's observation. No design named 'Hawthorn and Blossom' appears in the collection records used for this study. For the wider picture of how Morris and his firm used flowers, see the botanical guide to flowers in Morris designs in our botanical guide.

Hawthorn in the 'Jasmine' wallpaper

The V&A describes 'Jasmine' as an all-over pattern of hawthorn leaves, blossoms and branches set on a disguised vertical meander, with a scrolling tracery of jasmine running across the foreground. The hawthorn therefore forms the background structure of the design while the jasmine carries the name.

The wallpaper was block-printed in distemper colours on paper and made in England, according to the museum's record.

A second documented impression survives in the United States. The Metropolitan Museum of Art holds a 'Jasmine' wallpaper sheet, accession number 23.163.4j, which it attributes to William Morris and dates to 1872, block-printed in distemper colors. According to the Met's record, the sheet measures 21 7/16 x 22 1/2 in. (54.5 x 57.2 cm) and is classified as wallpaper.

The surviving specimens and what they record

The V&A holds three specimens of 'Jasmine', with museum numbers O248505, O248508 and O248509. Each is inscribed on the back in ink with the title, number, price and the name William Morris.

These specimens are part of 'Volume 1', a pattern book in the V&A containing 25 Morris & Co. patterns, under the museum number E.441-529-1919. The inscriptions make 'Jasmine' one of the more clearly documented wallpapers of the period, since the firm recorded its own title, price and designer on the sheets themselves.

According to the Metropolitan Museum of Art, its sheet is dated 1872 and block-printed in distemper colors. The Met sheet and the V&A specimens together give a good sense of the pattern as issued.

A difficult pattern to print

The surviving printing record shows that 'Jasmine' caused trouble in production. Parry, writing in the V&A's account of the pattern, notes:

So the hawthorn background of 'Jasmine' was costly to produce in its first form. The block count fell by nearly half, and the attempt to print it in wash colours in 1874 seems to have failed. The pattern survived, but the record suggests the firm had to simplify its making to keep it in production.

What the evidence does not establish

Honesty about gaps helps readers judge what they are looking at. No evidence consulted for this study confirms that William Morris wrote about hawthorn or hawthorn blossom. Nor does any named-author interpretation of the hawthorn motif appear in the records used here; the only quoted commentary, Parry's note above, concerns printing difficulties rather than the motif itself.

Two related wallpapers deserve a mention for completeness, with a clear limit on what can be said. The Metropolitan Museum of Art holds a wallpaper titled 'Blackthorn', accession 23.163.4d, which it attributes to John Henry Dearle and dates to 1892. The Met also holds a wallpaper titled 'Fruit (or Pomegranate)', accession 23.163.4g, which it attributes to William Morris and dates to around 1866.

Neither of those Met records states whether hawthorn appears in the designs. Their titles suggest blossom and fruit subjects, but the distinction between blackthorn and hawthorn, or the presence of either in those patterns, cannot be confirmed from the records used here. Readers wanting a firm identification would need to consult the objects themselves or the museums' fuller documentation.

Blossom motifs beyond hawthorn

Flowers appear across Morris's wallpapers and textiles in many forms, and each motif rewards its own close look. If the hawthorn in 'Jasmine' has caught your eye, there is more on Roses in Morris's designs in our Roses guide, where the climbing rose plays a comparable structural role in several patterns.

Two other leafy motifs make useful comparisons. The acanthus leaf shows how Morris handled a classical foliage form in large-scale patterns, told in the story of the Acanthus Leaf here. Tulips, by contrast, show a stylised garden flower treated with flat, bold colour, set out in the story of Tulips in our Tulips study.