Patterns: the printed image and a century of colonial-made furniture

The Team from Alexander Turnbull Library

The Friends of the Turnbull Library supports the work of the Alexander Turnbull Library, and promotes public interest in the Library’s collections.

A Friends of the Turnbull Library event

Date: Thursday, 13 June, 2019
Time: 5:30pm to 6:30pm
Cost: Free. You don't need to book. Koha from non-members appreciated.
Location: Te Ahumairangi (ground floor), National Library, corner Molesworth and Aitken Streets, Thorndon

Art history of material culture
Art Historian Dr William Cottrell specialised in colonial furniture. He says that new research now reveals a formerly unrecognised art history of material culture.

Dr Cottrell's presentation will examine the influence of printed patterns over one hundred years of colonial furniture design.

He will discuss the three aspects of pattern production that influenced colonial domestic furniture design;
•the designer
•the manufacturer’s trade catalogue, and

•the publisher’s subscription magazine.
About the speaker
Dr William Cottrell is an art historian specialising in colonial furniture, and the award-winning author of 'Furniture of the New Zealand Colonial Era: an illustrated history 1830-1900' (Reed, 2006).



Image: 'Dining room interior' from North & Scoullar Ltd. Illustrated catalogue [Dunedin, ca.1882] p.10 EPH-B-FURNITURE-1882-01-010