William Morris Pocket Mirror

A pocket mirror featuring a design inspired by William Morris’ iconic print, The Strawberry Thief.  

About William Morris:

William Morris (1834-1896) was an influential writer, craftsman and social reformer. He founded a decorating firm in 1861 that would eventually become Morris & Co. Through commissioned designs, he produced a broad range of decorative arts, from furniture to stained glass to wallpaper. Morris’ celebrated textile and wallpaper patterns are still in commercial production today.

This range is based on one of William Morris’ most popular textile designs, The Strawberry Thief. The subject is based on the thrushes that Morris found stealing fruit from the kitchen garden of his countryside home, Kelmscott Manor in Oxfordshire. To print the pattern, Morris used the ancient and painstaking indigo discharge method that he admired above all forms of printing. Strawberry Thief was one of Morris & Co.’s most expensive cottons, but customers were not put off by the high price, and it proved to be one of the company’s most commercially successful patterns.

The British Museum’s Britain, Europe and Prehistory department currently holds several earthenware tiles designed by William Morris and painted at Morris & Co.

A lovely gift celebrating British art.