How Voysey Saw The Writing on The Wall
Charles Voysey (1857-1941) was among the first designers of the Victorian age to appreciate the significance of industry.
29/08/2017 20TH CENTURY ART & DESIGN
Charles Voysey (1857-1941) was among the first designers of the Victorian age to appreciate the significance of industry.
An architect by trade, it was ultimately the creation of countless designs suitable to the mass production of soft furnishings that really paid the bills.
Voysey sold his first wallpaper design in 1883 and a decade later his reputation was well-established. In 1896 The Studio magazine wrote: “Now a 'Voysey wall-paper' sounds almost as familiar as a 'Morris chintz' or a ‘Liberty silk’."
The 69 x 56cm watercolour and pencil design titled Heraldic to be offered in our Twentieth Century Decorative Art and Design sale on October 10 is signed and dated September 20, 1904. This characteristic pattern combining flattened silhouettes of birds and crowns with power-bile sashes of Tudor roses, was one of several hundred wallpaper designs Voysey made for Essex and Co. from the early 1890s until well into the 20th century. It was apparently given by Voysey to his friend Edmund Hunter (1866-1937), founder of the St Edmudsbury Silk Weaving Works in Bedford Park and in Letchworth. The estimate is £3000-5000.
Contact: johnblack@sworder.co.uk
Recent News
From the Sir Thomas Longmore Library
A fascinating group of 42 lots from the Sir Thomas Longmore library feature in our Books, Manuscripts and Maps auction, offering a rare insight into Victorian military medicine and reform. Highlights include two letters by Florence Nightingale, alongside annotated books and personal volumes from Longmore’s own collection.
16 April 2026
A Scholar’s Library
A remarkable group of books from the library of Professor C.J.F. Dowsett will feature in our April Books, Manuscripts and Maps sale. The collection reflects a lifetime of scholarship in Armenian, Iranian and Near Eastern studies.
16 April 2026
Mr. Fish | A Peacock Revolution
Our first Jewellery and Luxury sale of the year will feature a collection of Mr. Fish garments and other late 1960s clothing.
13 April 2026