Vintage William Morris Acanthus Tea Towel

Decorating this product is 'Acanthus' a large-scale, repeat pattern wallpaper created in 1875 by one of England’s best known textile designers, William Morris. Acanthus was published in two colour combinations - one in shades of green and the other in mostly reddish-brown tones and was printed for Morris' company by the London firm Jeffrey & Co., a specialist in high quality 'Art' wallpapers. It required thirty wood blocks to print the full repeat that artfully used fifteen different colours - more than any previous design by Morris. Acanthus was an expensive wallpaper to produce and so it was pricey when it entered the marketplace. The success of the production of Acanthus would pave the way for comparable designs like: Pimpernel (1876), Wreath (1876), Rose (1877) and Chrysanthemum (1877).