Trellis

This 1864 wallpaper design represents one of Philip Webb's earliest ventures into decorative arts with Morris, Marshall, Faulkner & Co., the firm he co-founded in 1861 with William Morris, Edward Burne-Jones, and Dante Gabriel Rossetti. Webb, known as the 'Father of Arts and Crafts Architecture,' brought his architectural sensibility and commitment to honest craftsmanship to this block-printed pattern. The 'Trellis' design emerged during the same period when Webb was building country houses and expanding his skills in furniture, metalwork, and glass—expertise he developed while constructing Morris's Red House in 1859. Block-printed in distemper colors, this wallpaper demonstrates the firm's dedication to traditional techniques and rejection of industrial manufacturing methods. The design likely reflects Webb's interest in vernacular architecture and natural forms, principles that guided his architectural work and aligned with the Arts and Crafts movement's philosophy of returning to handcrafted quality. Webb's partnership with Morris proved enormously influential, extending beyond design to social activism—together they would found the Society for the Protection of Ancient Buildings in 1877 and advocate for preserving historic structures unchanged, a revolutionary conservation approach that still influences preservation practice today.