Victorian Social Tradition meets Craftsman Socialist Tradition

The best part of traveling to Europe is hanging out in cafes and museums and shopping for sentimental jewelry. In the Victoria and Albert Museum in London, I found this hairwork memorial for William Morris, the Arts and Crafts designer, socialist, and associate of the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood.

Gilt memorial plaque designed with flowers, “William Morris 1834 – 1896,” and Morris’ hair.


Morris is often remembered today for his wallpaper designs, book printing, poetry, stained glass, commitment to safe and comfortable working conditions for craftsmen (in opposition to the cramped, dangerous factories of industrial mass production) and, of course, the Morris chair, an early recliner popularized by Stickley. Gustav Stickley dedicated the first issue of “The Craftsman Magazine” 1901 to William Morris.

William Morris

Wallpaper design by Morris