{"id":260,"date":"2022-01-13T14:00:03","date_gmt":"2022-01-13T13:00:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.homesandantiques.com\/?p=25238"},"modified":"2022-01-13T14:15:17","modified_gmt":"2022-01-13T13:15:17","slug":"what-is-wood-block-printing","status":"publish","type":"rss_feed","link":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/homesantiques\/rss_feed\/what-is-wood-block-printing\/","title":{"rendered":"What is wood block printing?"},"content":{"rendered":"

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By Celia Rufey\n \t\t<\/p>

Published: Thursday, 13 January 2022 at 12:00 am<\/p>

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The rarity of antique printed fabrics in a length and condition to hang as curtains or cover a sofa<\/a> has made machine-printed designs copied from period textiles the main option for filling the void. Modern copies are all well and good, but what about block prints? Fabric hand printed from sets of original carved wood blocks with a known date may not offer the complete antique<\/a> package, but as many blocks are more than 150 years old, this ups the provenance rating considerably. <\/span><\/p>\n

What is wood block printing?<\/h2>\n

Wood block printing is the grown-up version of potato printing that children enjoy. A design is carved in reverse, colour is applied to it and the pattern is stamped onto paper or fabric. This technique, first found in ancient civilisations in China, Egypt and India, took root in England in the 17th century, when printed and painted textiles from India<\/a> became more widely available. <\/span><\/p>\n

English block printing reached a high point in the 18th century and continued through the 19th, with William Morris<\/a> hand block printing his designs using natural dyes. Although gradually overtaken by machine printing, block printing for designs of high esteem carried on into the early 20th century.<\/span><\/p>\n

\""Hand\"<\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture><\/div>
Block printing tables are 14 metres long and the colour table runs on a roller, moving along with the printer. The design in progress is Abbotsford by Hazelton House<\/span><\/figcaption><\/div>\n

Block prints are in the spotlight again at the moment, with several fabric companies including them in their collections. Most are one-colour motifs cut into a single block and stamped onto cotton or linen. The work is still done by hand, usually in India. <\/span><\/p>\n

Even at this basic level, block printing is exacting but there is a huge jump between printing a single motif and block printing intricate patterns with many colours from antique wood blocks. A dance sequence of multiple complex steps, or working up a difficult jigsaw puzzle, are useful comparisons.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Printing from antique wood blocks continues today largely thanks to the determination of Paul Turnbull of textile printers Turnbull Designs<\/a>. He describes Turnbull as custodians of block printing and the last company with the skills necessary to produce these complex historical patterns. <\/span><\/p>\n

The company has been in continuous production since 1881, and for the last 20 years it has been printing from its specialist unit in Thailand, where the historical blocks are repaired and blocks are cut for new designs.\u00a0 <\/span>Leading fabric houses that commission Turnbull to block print designs for their collections on linen and cotton include Jean Monro<\/a>, Hazelton House<\/a>, Ralph Lauren<\/a>, Lee Jofa and Schumacher, among others, all either based or represented in the UK.<\/span><\/p>\n

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