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12th May 2020
Born on this day in 1882, Dante Gabriel Rossetti (born Gabriel Charles Dante Rossetti) a British poet, illustrator, painter and translator. He’s perhaps remained best known, alongside his art, for co-founding the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood along with William Holman Hunt and John Everett Millais.
The Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood was one of the most influential movements of it’s day and remains not only as an influence in art today but also, as a period in history that remains to describe a whole group of artists united by a set of ideas and a great love of art.
The Brotherhood was founded in 1848 and in it’s second generation, included well known figures on this blog; William Morris and Edward Burne-Jones. Rossetti was a huge influence for both and was a main reason for their joining the Brotherhood.
He originally wanted to be a poet and went to King’s College School in London, but also had a talent and passion for painting. Hi sister Christina Rossetti did go on to be a poet; you’ll know her from a few of her works I assume, but particularly, “In the Bleak Midwinter.” (It was later set to music into our famous Christmas carol.) Back to Dante, he went on to study at Henry Sass’ Drawing Academy from 1841 – 1845. Then the Antique School of the Royal Academy. He then went on to study under Ford Madox Brown; they had a close lifelong friendship.
To explain the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood, we can go ahead and let William Michael Rossetti, Dante’s brother do that for us. He summarised four declarations in an early doctrine as a statement of intent.
One random fact we love about Rossetti that could only (or should we say, should only) be a part of the Victorian era was his eccentric menagerie. He had kangaroos, wallabies, armadillos, a raccoon and larger animals such as a zebu. He even is known to have discussed the potential of having an African elephant with Charles Jamrach. Jamrach was a leading dealer in wildlife, birds and shells in 19th century London. He’s also a fascinating read if you have time. All of this, in a garden in Chelsea!
His wombat is something that’s been well recorded about Rossetti, seemingly because of his affection for it. In writing to his brother he described it as, “a Joy, a Triumph, a Delight, a Madness.” He named it “Top” after Morris who had the nickname, “Topsy.” Rather horribly, Top didn’t live long in England and died November 1869, after which, Rossetti had him stuffed and he was displayed in the entrance to the house. We mention the poor animal’s death because Rossetti’s self portrait mourning Top is a hugely famous piece of Rossetti’s work.
In 1860, he married Elizabeth Siddal (Lizzie) who was a Pre-Raphaelite model and one of his favourite muses. He even banned any other artists from using her as their model. She passed away in 1862 from an overdose of laudanum and afterwards, Rossetti increasingly spiralled into depression. Rossetti is well known for having a long lasting affair with Jane Morris – William Morris’s wife. This obviously caused great pain to Morris.
He held great influence within the artistic circles of the time. He remains a great influence amongst both artists and writers today. He was pioneering in his ideals, there’s just too much about him to fit into one blog! There was no shortage of eccentricities in his life and we encourage you to read more into his life and menagerie; it always really captures our imagination to think of the Victorian menageries, does it you?
Posted in News by Laura
For the keen baker or chef, a beautiful oven glove is such a perfect Christmas gift 🫶🏻🎄 This is our beautiful William Morris Daisy design ✨
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Black Friday Giveaway! ✨ We thought we’d do a fun little giveaway of a bundle of half metres of our licensed William Morris fabrics to celebrate there being 20% off our entire website for Black Friday! 🤎 Whether you want to win them to create some beautiful crafts or to give to your favourite quilter and crafter this Christmas, we hope you enter! 🎄
To enter, just:
- make sure you’re following us
- like this post
- tag everyone you think would love this prize (every comment is an entry)
- for an extra entry, share on your stories
Winner will be chosen at random on Wednesday 4th December so be quick to enter! 🫶🏻
What’s included; a half metre of Blue Strawberry Thief, Pimpernel Green, Willow Bough blue, Sweet Briar, Brother Rabbit blue and Daisy, all cotton fabric 🪡🧵
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We made these little Christmas trees using our Morris fabrics a few years ago and this year altered them from a garland to ornaments for our tree 🎄 Aren’t they so cute, they add so much colour ✨
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How to fold our favourite napkin fold of the year- a Christmas tree! 🎄 Super easy but super effective, we love putting it on the plates to lay the table with some little chocolate coins slotted in as if they’re baubles! 🎄✨ Will you try this napkin fold? ✨
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#williammorris #williammorrisfabric #williammorrisdesign #shopsmall #shopsmallbusiness #napkins #napkinfolding #napkinfolds #christmastable #christmastable
Can’t stop posting this Christmas table set up 🎄 Christmas table florals have our heart! 🫶🏻
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#flowerarranging #yorkshirebusiness #williammorris #williammorrisdesign #mallow #flowersmakethehome #florals #christmasflorals #christmastable
Free gift wrap? Oh go on then! 🎁 From now until Christmas, if you message us immediately after ordering with your order number and your gift wrap message (optional!) we will wrap your order for free ✨ We just want to make Christmas as easy as possible for everyone so if you find wrapping a faff, want us to write the tag to keep secret Santa a suprise or you’d like to send the gift straight to your loved one, we’re here to help 🎄 From our website straight under the tree, spend more time enjoying Christmas and less trying to find the sellotape 👏🏼
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#williammorris #williammorrisfabric #williammorrisdesign #williammorrisfabrics #fabric #florals #smallbusiness #familybusiness #christmasgifting #christmasgiftideas
Did you know all our fabrics are printed in the UK and all our products manufactured in the UK too? 🇬🇧 We hope you enjoy shopping small this Christmas 🎄✨
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We think you’d be very popular if you made one of these beautiful Morris advent calendars for your loved ones! 🫶🏻 So easy to make, let us know if you would like a tutorial on how to make your own using our Morris fabric🎄
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Isn’t this time of year so beautiful, we love our candle table floral arrangement, perfect for dressing up for dinner or down for hot chocolates! ☕️🍫
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#williammorris #floraltable #floraltablescape #florals #myfloraldays
We love the idea of setting the table with a little stocking gift hanging from everyone’s chair ✨
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#williammorrisdesign #williammorrisfabric #williammorris #williammorrisprint #florals #christmasflorals #christmastable #shopsmall #shopsmallbusiness #christmascrafts #stockings
We absolutely love setting the table this time of year, aren’t Christmas tablescapes so magical ✨ This central floral arrangement is the star of the show this week 🫶🏻🕯️ Anyone want a tutorial on how to fold these Christmas tree napkins? 🎄
On the table; William Morris Mallow Wine pvc fabric and matching napkins ✨
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#williammorris #williammorrisfabric #williammorrisdesign #williammorrisfabrics #fabric #florals #christmasflorals #candlelight #floralarrangement #floralarrangements #christmastablesetting #christmastablescape
Beautiful Strawberry Thief ovengloves are back in stock! 🍓 A perfect Christmas gift, remember you can always gift wrap your items at checkout to make Christmas a little easier, then either send it to yourself or we’ll write the tag with your message and send it straight to your loved one 🥰
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#christmasgift #christmasgifts #shopsmall #shopsmallbusiness #independant #williammorris #williammorrisfabric #williammorrisdesign #strawberrythief #ovengloves
Christmas tablescapes are a go! ✨ Our Brother Rabbit blue pvc fabric and napkins are on the table and look so beautiful paired with our dressed up garland! 🎄 If you’re planning your Christmas table, remember there’s 20% off everything right now with code: floralfriday at checkout 🌿
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#williammorris #williammorrisfabric #williammorrisdesign #williammorrisfabrics #florals #floraldesign #morris #preraphaelite #christmastable #christmastablescape
Every Morris lovers best friend needs one of our new beautiful dog bandanas! 🐾 Hand made in Yorkshire, aren’t they adorable! 🐕🦺
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#williammorris #williammorrisfabric #williammorrisfabrics #fabric #fabrics #dogbandana #dogbandanasuk #dogbandanas #labrador #christmasgiftideas #giftsfordogs #giftsfordoglovers
Beautiful Willow Bough, one of our all time fave Morris designs 🌿 The matching set is a beautiful Christmas gift to brighten up their home all year! 🫧 20% off now for Black Friday too if you use code; floralfriday 🌷
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#williammorrisdesign #williammorrisfabric #williammorris #williammorrisfabrics #morris #willowbough #floralprinteverything #floralprint
Yippee it’s here! ✨ Use code: FLORALFRIDAY at checkout on our website only for 20% off everything - including sale items! 🫧
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#williammorris #williammorrisfabric #williammorrisdesign #williammorrisfabrics #morris #blackfriday #florals #floralsyourway #myfloraldays #christmasflorals
Get ready for flower arranging class with us 🌷 Our beautiful Willow Bough William Morris pvc apron is perfect to protect your outfit from splashes when cooking, crafting or cutting your stems! 🌿🫶🏻
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#williammorris #williammorrisfabric #williammorrisdesign #williammorrisfabrics #fabric #fabrics #pvc #pvcfabric #apron #willowbough #floralapron #flowerarranging #flowerarrangingclass #labradorable #labrador
We couldn’t resist another pic of our bonfire night set up! 🫶🏻 our PVC fabric is such a popular option for the table as it’s wipe clean, so any spills can just be quickly fixed 🫧 We wouldn’t reccomend lighting sparklers in the house or over your tablecloth though! 🙃
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🎆 Take 15% off our whole website for 48 hours only using code: BONFIRE at checkout 🔥 (we’ve also launched gift sets including half metre gift sets for the quilters and crafters in your life, you get a half metre free when you purchase the set and they come gift wrapped… this is is soft launching Christmas Incase everyone says we’re too early.. but also our Christmas trees are already up so we’re ready to talk about it when you are? Let us know?) 🎄
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#williammorris #williammorrisfabric #williammorrisdesign #williammorrisfabrics #fabric #florals #discountcode #bonfirenight #christmasflorals
Had to video us cutting beautiful William Morris Willow Bough today, this heavyweight fabric is off to be made into curtains, it’ll look so stunning! 🫶🏻 If you’d like a free sample just let us know ☺️
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#williammorris #williammorrisfabric #williammorrisdesign #williammorrisfabrics #fabric #florals #preraphaelite #floraldesign #fabrics #curtainfabric #ukbusiness
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