Christopher Dresser: A Design Revolution

Originally published to accompany the first complete retrospective of Christopher Dresser’s work at the V&A in 2004, this extensively illustrated survey affirms Christopher Dresser’s status as the first, and most innovative professional product designer. Dresser was a pioneer and he worked with over fifty manufacturers to spread the tenets of good design. With clear commercial vision, he produced an astonishing range of reasonably priced, widely available consumer goods. His belief in the supremacy of form over ornament resulted in designs that were truly radical in relation to contemporary Victorian taste. Seven leading specialists in the field explore the impact of Christopher Dresser's work in the context of that of his contemporaries such as Pugin, Owen Jones and Godwin. Over 290 illustrations illuminate the vast scope of his output, from Gothic-Revival cast-iron to the experimental and highly innovative shapes and glazes of Linthorpe ceramics and his astonishingly modern metalwork. This ground-breaking book reassesses not only individual designs, many of them previously unattributed, but also his varied sources and the profound impact his work has had on future generations of designers and manufacturers.