Christopher Dresser Makers Marks and Information

Christopher Dresser (4 July 1834 in Glasgow – 24 November 1904 in Mulhouse) was a designer and design theorist, now widely known as one of the first and most important, independent designers. He was a pivotal figure in the Aesthetic Movement and a major contributor to the allied Anglo-Japanese or Modern English style, both of which originated in England and had long-lasting international influence. Reference: Wikipedia

 

He was a nineteenth century designer who saw himself more as a tradesman with an understanding of industrial production embracing new technologies for a mass market. In 1847 at the age of only thirteen he was sent to the Government School of Design in London which had been set up ten years earlier in Somerset house to meet the challenges of Continental competition. He studied at the school for the next seven years and won awards for his designs but his main interest was botany and after his graduation he was appointed lecturer in botany at the Metropolitan School in Gower Street. The next year he became botany lecturer at the School of Design where he stayed until 1869. He exhibited ceramic designs for Minton and Wedgwood and cast iron for Coalbrookdale at the 1868 Paris Exposition.He also designed interiors, carpets, wallpaper and metalwork. He wrote extensively on design and spent time in Japan and the U.S. where he lectured on design as well as studying manufacturing processes. He died in 1904 while on a business trip to France. Reference: British Museum