Q&A · Questions
Is Morris & Co. Wallpaper Still Printed With the Original Blocks?
The V&A documents that designs like Fruit are still available today, and traces how Morris's early wallpapers were block printed. What no supplied source confirms is whether wallpaper sold now is actually printed from the original blocks.
On this page
No supplied institutional source states outright whether Morris & Co. wallpaper sold today is printed from the original woodblocks. What the V&A does document is that designs such as Fruit are still available from the Morris & Co. division of Sanderson, who own the original printing blocks, and that Morris's early wallpapers were block printed by Jeffrey & Co. from traditionally cut pearwood blocks.
This page sets out that evidence, shows the objects behind it, and marks clearly where the record stops.
The short answer
The honest answer is that the question cannot be settled from the best available records. According to the V&A, Fruit is still available from the Morris & Co. division of Sanderson, who own the original printing blocks. Ownership of the blocks is documented; their current use in printing is not stated by any source consulted for this page.
The V&A also describes Fruit as one of the most enduringly popular of William Morris's designs, used in many artistic homes of the period. That popularity explains why the question of how it is printed today keeps coming up, but popularity is not evidence of printing method.
What the V&A records about the blocks
The documented printing history begins with a failure. According to the V&A, Morris first tried to print his designs at his studio in Red Lion Square in oil colours from etched zinc blocks. The process did not work, so he ordered traditional pearwood blocks to be cut for Fruit, and production was subcontracted to Jeffrey & Co. of Islington, which specialised in hand-printing.
The firm behind those first commissions took shape in April 1861, when Morris, Marshall, Faulkner & Company was formed with premises in Red Lion Square; the other members were Ford Madox Brown, Rossetti, Webb, and Burne-Jones, according to Encyclopaedia Britannica.
A surviving pattern book shows the printing arrangement in practice. The V&A holds a wallpaper sample of Scroll by Morris & Co., museum number O152971, dated 1871 and described as colour prints from wood blocks, with William Morris listed as the artist. According to the V&A object history for Scroll, the volume of 25 wallpapers contains the original patterns as kept together by William Morris, and all were printed by Messrs. Jeffrey & Co.
The Fruit sample as evidence
The clearest physical evidence is a wallpaper sample in the V&A's collections. It holds a sample of Fruit (or Pomegranate), museum number O73421, block-printed in distemper colours on paper. The V&A dates it to 1865 to 1866, with a production date of 1866, and says it was first issued around 1866. The V&A lists William Morris as the designer.
The sample carries its own paperwork. According to the V&A, it is inscribed on the back in ink with title, number and price, and it belongs to Volume 1, a pattern book containing 25 Morris & Co. patterns from 1862 to 1881.
An earlier design drawing shows how the pattern reached the block cutter. The V&A holds a design for Fruit wallpaper, museum number O250928, dated 1862, in pencil, pen and ink, watercolour, and bodycolour on paper. The V&A lists both William Morris and Philip Speakman Webb as designers of this drawing, and records that the design was made by William Morris for Morris, Marshall, Faulkner & Co, about 1862.
The design itself shows an olive branch, a branch of unripe lemons, a branch of oranges and a branch of pomegranates, painted in naturalistic colours and arranged in four quarters. It is the kind of drawing that would have been translated onto the pearwood blocks described above.
Where the record stops
Several questions remain open, and this page does not guess at them. The gaps matter for anyone trying to answer the original question precisely.
The main uncertainties are:
- No supplied source states whether the blocks Sanderson is said to own are used for current printing. The V&A records ownership, not use.
- No Morris quotation about the woodblocks or their printing appears in the evidence consulted for this page.
- The V&A statement on Jeffrey & Co. of Islington and its hand-printing specialism is incomplete in the record available here.
- The V&A gives two different accession years for the pattern book volume, E.441-529-1919 in one record and E.441 to 529-1881 in the object history for Scroll, so the correct year cannot be confirmed from this evidence.
- The relationship, if any, between the pearwood blocks cut for Fruit and the blocks said to be owned by Sanderson is not established by any supplied source.
Related questions
These are the questions most often asked alongside this one, answered only as far as the evidence allows.
Frequent questions
Who printed William Morris's early wallpapers?
According to the V&A object history for the Scroll sample, the volume of 25 wallpapers kept together by William Morris were all printed by Messrs. Jeffrey & Co. The V&A also records that production of Fruit was subcontracted to Jeffrey & Co. of Islington, which specialised in hand-printing.
Is the Fruit (Pomegranate) wallpaper still available today?
According to the V&A, Fruit is still available from the Morris & Co. division of Sanderson, who own the original printing blocks. The V&A does not state in the records consulted here how the current production is printed.
Did Morris print his own wallpapers at first?
Not successfully. According to the V&A, Morris first tried to print his designs at his studio in Red Lion Square in oil colours from etched zinc blocks, but the process did not work. He then ordered traditional pearwood blocks to be cut for Fruit and subcontracted production to Jeffrey & Co.
Does any museum say whether today's Morris & Co. wallpaper uses the original blocks?
No. The V&A documents that Sanderson owns the original printing blocks and that designs like Fruit remain available, but no supplied institutional source states whether wallpaper sold today is printed from those blocks. Anyone claiming otherwise would need a manufacturer or museum statement that this page does not have.
For the wider story behind the firm that commissioned these blocks, continue with William Morris's life, timeline and famous designs, or see a closer look at Morris art lessons if you are teaching this material.
Sources & further reading
- Victoria and Albert MuseumV&A O73421: FruitMuseum collection databaseRead source
- Victoria and Albert MuseumV&A O152971: ScrollMuseum collection databaseRead source
- Victoria and Albert MuseumV&A O250928: FruitMuseum collection databaseRead source
- Encyclopaedia BritannicaWilliam Morris | Biography, Designs, & Facts | BritannicaEncyclopediaRead source
