The Reach of William Morris and Co.
Caricature of Morris by D.G. Rossetti, image via the Rossetti Archive ( © The Trustees of the British Museum ) While searching through W. E. Henley’s Scots Observer lately for a conference paper on newspaper poetry, I encountered an anonymous satiric poem on Morris & Co. In the eyes of the satirist, clearly, Morris and Co. designs had spread everywhere. But the writer also zeroed in on what concerned Morris himself and continues to engage Morriseans today, the conflict between the ideal of beauty accessible to all and the high price of Morris & Co. goods. Here is the poem, from the 7 December 1889 Scots Observer (p. 65): Playnte Dolorous Who clothed my chairs with coloured chintz, In arabesques of pear and quince That make the very bravest wince?— My Morris! Who on my curtains told the tale Of Arthur and the Holy Grail, Yet built my bath of Chippendale?— My Morris! Who made my rooms (like chimney-shafts) A mighty colony of draught