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Gallery Guide Marx-Lambert Collection Compton Verney

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1 Marx-Lambert Collection Gallery Guide Marx-Lambert Collection Compton Verney

The Marx-Lambert Collection Gallery Guide and re-display was Written and compiled by made possible by funding from: Dr Steven Parissien, Director and Penelope Sexton, Curator The DCMS/Wolfson Museums and Galleries Improvement Fund Compton Verney and

With support from The Estate of Enid Marx

Gallery guide: Designed by Anne Odling-Smee and Ana Gomes, O-SB Design, London

Marx-Lambert Galleries: Curated by Penelope Sexton, Compton Verney Designed by O-SB Design, London and Jeremy Akerman

All works by Enid Marx © The Estate of Enid Marx Photographs by Harminder Judge

All other works © Compton Verney Photographs by Harminder Judge

Photograph of Enid Marx © University of Brighton Design Archives Introduction 7 Biography 8

Collection Introduction 9

Cooking Utensils and Decorative Containers 10

Eating and Drinking 14

Furniture 28

Ornaments 32

Pictures 42

Textiles 48

Toys and Miscellanea 52 Introduction

Enid Crystal Dorothy Marx (1902–1998) was one of the brightest stars to emerge from the Design School of London’s (RCA) during the interwar years. Her generation at the RCA – an outstanding cohort which artist and RCA tutor Paul Nash (1889–1946) subsequently hymned as ‘an outbreak of talent’ – included her close friends (1903–1942) and (1903–1989), as well as future giants of British painting such as John Piper (1902–1992).

Marx’s own artistic talents were prodigious: she excelled as a textile designer, an author, designer and illustrator of children’s , a printmaker and a painter. However, it was her skills as a product and graphic designer, working in a more abstract and modernist idiom than many of her friends and contemporaries, which cemented her reputation.

Equally importantly, Marx deserves recognition for her pioneering enthusiasm for, and study of, what has become known as British Folk Art. Working in close collaboration with her lifelong friend, the historian Dr Margaret Lambert (1906–1995), Marx identified the importance of the Popular Art tradition in Britain, and effortlessly wove quotations from the rich Folk tradition into her designs.

7 Biography Collection Introduction

Born in London in 1902, Enid Marx was the Board of Trade Utility Furniture team. From the late 1930s onwards Enid was reissued in a new edition by Merlin educated at Roedean, the famous school Cheap and cheerful utility furniture was Marx and Margaret Lambert began Press in 1982). for girls, near Brighton. At Roedean her designed to be made in large quantities to translate their growing interest in evident enthusiasm for drawing was for homes that had suffered bomb British Folk Art into a collection of print The appearance of English Popular Art, encouraged by the school’s enlightened damage; Marx’s task was to create as ephemera, scrapbooks, valentines, together with the formation of the Marx- Head of Art, Dorothy Martin, who let her great a variety of furnishing fabrics as peepshows, children’s books, ceramics, Lambert Collection of British Folk Art, young pupils draw from nude models – a possible from the very limited wartime corn dollies and toys. Illustrations of was of central importance in igniting scandalously novel idea for the time. supply of yarns and colours. some of this collection featured in the awareness of the value of traditional pair’s first on a Folk subject,When Folk Art in Britain. Marx and Lambert’s Having arrived at the Central School of At the same time, Enid ventured into Victoria Began to Reign: A Coronation Year English Popular Art was not only highly Arts and Crafts in 1921, Marx transferred writing and illustrating her own books Scrapbook, published by Faber under influential; it was also very timely. In to the RCA, where she began by for children, producing a series of titles Lambert’s name in 1937, the year of explaining why Folk Art was important to immersing herself in textile production. including the successful Bulgy the Barrage George VI’s Coronation. an industrialised nation in the aftermath While she learned much there, Marx also Balloon of 1941. of a shattering global war, it galvanised a proved an unorthodox student, refusing In the aftermath of World War II, Marx post-war generation of British designers to churn out the strictly representational After the war, Marx designed book and Lambert became increasingly into combining English Folk traditions work the RCA tutors seemed to want. jackets for Penguin, calendars for Shell fascinated by local craft traditions. Marx with – a synthesis which not Marx – or Marco, as she was known to her Oil and posters for London Transport. envied the contemporary interest in only found expression in Marx’s own friends – was, as a result, banned from Queen Elizabeth II’s Coronation in 1953 America and Scandinavia in what she work but was, helpfully, at the core of the Sir Frank Short’s wood- class; Press, with whom she collaborated gave Marx the chance to explore yet termed ‘Popular Art’, and lamented itself. nevertheless, after hours her friend Eric on their celebrated book of sample another design medium: postage stamps. the absence of any similar awareness in Ravilious would arrive at her home (or on patterned of 1928, published with Possibly Marx’s most famous work, Britain. ‘The innocent eye is disappearing While Marx’s campaign to establish a occasion sneak her in to the RCA itself) an introduction by Nash himself. though, was Marco’s Animal Alphabet of in ,’ she bemoaned, declaring national museum for British Folk Art fell and would carefully rehearse what she linocut . Finally completed in that, ‘As the countryside becomes more on deaf ears, the Folk Art collection that had missed. In 1937 Marx was invited by the 1979 (and ultimately published by the urbanised … the country craftsmen are Marx and Lambert built up in their own legendary , Chief Executive Incline Press after her death, in 2000), the dying out and with them the individuality home over the decades is preserved In 1926 Marx started her own workshop, of London Transport, to develop designs Alphabet is consistently witty, engaging in design and decoration that gave life to today at Compton Verney. In 1998, Marx designing and making textiles printed for ‘moquette’, a hard-wearing, wool- and playful. the old popular art.’ loaned items from her Folk collection from handmade woodblocks. Her based seating fabric for the new London to be displayed alongside the Folk designs, which were invariably abstract Underground trains. The results were The Alphabet’s letter ‘R’ was illustrated Whilst American artists, academics Art displays at Compton Verney, and and geometric, became extremely strong, colourful and timeless geometric by Dürer’s celebrated rhinoceros print and collectors had long recognised the subsequently left much of her personal fashionable and sought after, and her designs, which were not only hugely of 1515 – a reference to Marx’s first book significance of Folk Art as a major and collection to the gallery in her will. customers soon included celebrities of successful in their original context cover commission. continuing influence on product and the day such as Gerald du Maurier and – upholstering London Transport’s pattern design, Folk Art in Britain was, Gertrude Lawrence. revolutionary trains of 1938 – but which At the age of 63, when many people are before the 1930s, largely dismissed as an still sell well today. considering retirement, Marx became amateur footnote to design history. Publishers also recognised that Marx’s Head of the Department of Dress, Textiles sparse, economical yet colourfully Marx had a busy war. In 1944, she and Ceramics at Croydon College of Marx and Lambert’s enthusiasm for the audacious designs would work well became the first woman to be appointed Art. Retiring from this post in 1970, she amateur Folk tradition was evident in a for book jackets. Appropriately (given a Royal Designer for Industry, while then successfully battled to save the slim and scholarly book they wrote for her fascination with two-dimensional the Pilgrim Trust commissioned her to Agricultural Hall in Islington (now the Collins: English Popular and Traditional design), the first of Marx’s book covers, a series of watercolours recording Business Design Centre) from demolition. Art of 1946. Five years later the pair produced in 1929, was for a monograph notable British buildings threatened by Having spent the last years of her life expanded and contextualised their work on the German engraver German bombing. Marx was also invited securing the future of her impressive into a more accessible : English Albrecht Dürer. Simultaneously, Marx was by the furniture designer Gordon Russell collection of British Folk and Popular Art, Popular Art, which Collins brought out for introduced by Paul Nash to the Curwen (1892–1980) to become a member of she died at the age of 96, in 1998. the Festival of Britain in 1951 (and which

8 9 Cooking Utensils and Decorative Containers

In the late 1930s, Enid Marx and Margaret Lambert began to collect all types of household items from the recent past, from jelly moulds to salt cellars. Even the most mundane of domestic objects, they believed, could embody local craft traditions – traditions that were, they lamented, now vanishing rapidly.

10 11 Pewter tankards Baluster shaped caster Swan ornaments Rolling pins the outside. Sometimes it would Cheese strainer Jelly mould Pewter, c.1830s–1850s Pewter, date unknown Pewter, dates unknown Glass, c.1840s feature an appropriate scene, White tin-glazed with Cream, salt-glazed pottery, Pewter has long been favoured This was possibly used as a salt These ornaments were possibly These rolling pins would have a ship, flags or a well known chamfered sides, date unknown date unknown as a drinking vessel because cellar, but more likely as a sugar used as salt containers. been filled with cold water, as a landmark such as the Sunderland This would probably have been The mould is in the shape of a of its durability and ability to sifter in lieu of a silver equivalent. cold rolling pin would make Bridge. used for straining curd when strawberry, and the edges are keep liquids cool. Interestingly, better pastry. Often glassware making cheese. fluted. favoured customers were was used for love-tokens. Sailors allowed to keep their own and soldiers often gave a glass or tankards in their local pubs, rolling pin, with flowers, an which explains why some of the affectionate motto or the name vessels have names or initials of their loved one painted on inscribed on them, as here. Cooking utensils and Decorative Containers

Vase Baluster vase Flasks flasks were made in the early Cow creamers the mouth was a spout and the Baluster shaped casters Stirrup cup Continental pottery, date unknown Delft pottery, date unknown Brown-glazed pottery, to mid-19th century. Political Staffordshire pottery, c. 1850 tail a handle. These fancy cow- Transfer-printed, dates unknown English pottery, date unknown c. 1830s controversies over the Reform Bill Cow creamers were first made shaped jugs made by potters and A caster is a small vessel with a A stirrup cup was known as a Brown-glazed earthenware is and the Corn Laws were popular in Holland in the early 18th proved so popular perforated top used to dispense ‘parting cup’ being given to often referred to as treacle-ware, subjects, as were royal female century and then made in this that the production of them has salt or sugar. The caster illustrating guests when they leave. They which is a simple iron-oxide portraits. country in salt-glazed stone- continued today. silhouettes of trees is a ‘spit- are frequently decorated on brown glaze. The sailor’s flask ware in the mid-18th century, pattern’ design, having been both sides, as here. This cup here depicts a mermaid. The flask when the fashion for taking tea influenced by patterns made by is decorated with two heads of Queen Victoria portrays her at became extremely popular. spitting tobacco-juice. There is a depicting Janus. In Roman her accession in 1837 wearing her The hollow cows could be filled Half-pint featuring the same mythology Janus was the God crown and evening dress. Portrait through an opening in the back, pattern in the Marx-Lambert of Gates, doorways and the Collection. beginning and the end.

Fish-shaped container Ashet Hand-decorated tray Biscuit mould Basket/woven, date unknown Brown-glazed, date unknown Black, lacquer pâpier maché, date Carved wood, date unknown This container was created to An ashet is a large, shallow, oval unknown Biscuit moulds date back to look like a fish, complete with dish used for serving food. This the 1300s and were popular in fins. Examples of the craft, such dish is decorated with cream Germany. They often depicted as this, sold for just a few pence. trailed slipware in the design of a specific holidays or religious It is possible it was the work of a bird in a bush. symbols. This mould has three French prisoner of war. carved designs: a regal figure playing a lyre, figures carrying a bunch of grapes (representing ‘Grapes of Canaan’), and a ship.

12 13 Eating and Drinking

Mugs 16 Teacups 18 Teapots 20 Jugs 21 Plates and Saucers 22 Dishes and Bowls 25 Glassware 26

Marx and Lambert’s collection of mugs, teaware, dishes, bowls and glassware sought to prove that there was visual interest, historical awareness and intrinsic beauty in even the most everyday utilitarian vessel. Not all of these objects, though, are by nameless makers.

14 15 Mugs

‘Remember me when this you ‘The Farmer’s Arms’ mug ‘God Speed the Plough’ mug Mug Celebratory mug Mug Mug Coronation mug see’ mug Lustre two-handled, Lustre two-handled transfer- Cream ground transfer-printed Cardigan Pottery, 1982 English pottery mug transfer- English pottery transfer-printed Designed by Eric Ravilious Lustre two-handled transfer- date unknown printed and painted, mug, date unknown This mug was produced by the printed on ivory ground with gold mug, date unknown (1903–1942) printed and painted, date unknown Many such mugs were decorated date unknown The image on this mug is of a National Trust to celebrate the band, date unknown This mug is decorated with transfer-printed with invented coats of arms These lustre two-handled view of the cast-iron bridge over birth of Prince William on 21 June Oriental figures and pattern. cream earthenware, 1937 of various trades, possibly mugs were often decorated the River Wear in Sunderland. 1982. This was the first design which derived from inn signs. The with mottoes or memorable Ravilious produced for Wedgwood. Mariner’s Arms, Mason’s Arms inscriptions. The mug was designed to celebrate and Farmer’s Arms were all the Coronation of Edward VIII who popular decorations. abdicated before it took place. It was subsequently adapted for the Coronation of George VI in 1938. Eating and Drinking

Celebratory mug ‘The Landlord’s Caution’ mug ‘A Present for my Father’ mug Mug Alphabet nursery-ware mugs the Wedgwood company in 1935. Mug Mug Transfer-printed and painted, Ivory-ground mug, date unknown English pottery mug with gilt Lustre-decorated mug with scroll Designed by Eric Ravilious He designed commemorative Brown-glazed pottery Copper lustreware mug, date c.1826 The design on this mug handle, date unknown handle, date unknown (1903–1942) ware, patterns for dinnerware mug, date unknown unknown This mug celebrates Mr Matthew incorporates moral text on Wedgwood transfer-printed cream and nurseryware. Bell’s victory in an election drinking and drunkenness, which earthenware, 1937 in Northumberland in 1826. you read from right to left and from These nursery-ware mugs display Transfer allowed bottom to top. Marx and Lambert Ravilious’ preference for multiple reasonably good, if sometimes said of this mug:’Conviviality has motifs. Each letter is represented rather crude, portraits to be naturally close associations with by an appropriate symbol, from produced for the first time. pottery, and drunkenness is an A for Aeroplane to Z for Zeppelin. age-old joke.’ Eric Ravilious was introduced to

‘Express’ mug Mug Commemorative mug Mug Mug Mug Mug Teacup, or possibly Coffee cup Transfer-printed , date unknown Cream pottery mug with a hand- Designed by Dorn Williams Transfer-printed mug, c. 1830 English pottery transfer-printed English pottery mug transfer- English pottery transfer-printed Transfer-printed, date unknown The advent of the railways in painted design, date unknown Bone china, 1987 Transfer printing was often mug, date unknown printed, date unknown mug, date unknown the 1830s provoked a growth This mug features agricultural This mug was produced by the used to celebrate or parody This blue and white mug features of railway decoration on a large scenes and is decorated with a National Trust to commemorate important events, victories a scene of figures skating on number of pottery items. Images coat of arms, possibly invented. the 300th anniversary of the start or leaders. This mug features one side and figures raking the of Stephenson’s Rocket and of William III and Mary II’s reign images of King William IV (who ground on the other. famous railway events captured in 1688. reigned from 1830 to 1837) and something of the excitement of Queen Adelaide. this new mode of travel.

16 17 Mugs

Tea, or possibly Coffee cup Tea, or possibly Coffee cup Tea, or possibly Coffee cup Teacup Teacup Teacup Teacup English black transfer-printed, date English, date unknown English transfer-printed, date English bone china transfer-printed, English bone china transfer-printed, Transfer-printed, date unknown English bone china transfer-printed, unknown unknown date unknown date unknown date unknown The images in the cup are a scene The Oriental scenes on this This teacup is Oriental in style of a country house on one side cup are fluid in style and depict and features trees beside a and a comparative scene of a flower-filled gardens, figures and pagoda and a figure carrying a rugged castle on the other side. a dog. pole with two birds perched at the end.

Teacups Eating and Drinking

Set of Tea, or possibly Set of Teabowls and saucers Teacup Teacup and saucer Commemorative teacup Teacup Coffee cups , date unknown English bone china transfer-printed, English pottery, date unknown Lustreware, c.1817 English pottery, date unknown English black transfer-printed, This set has a geometrical pattern date unknown This highly illustrated pottery set This teacup is inscribed ‘To the date unknown around the inside rim. Marx depicts a figure sitting under a memory of Princess Charlotte’. This set of cups features images might have been influenced by pagoda, with a crouching and Princess Charlotte was the of a bridge, a scene of two rabbits the pattern on this porcelain set. bearded figure holding a long daughter of George IV and died eating, a dog chasing a hare or pipe. in childbirth in 1817. The image rabbit through undergrowth and depicts the tomb of Princess a country house. Charlotte in St George’s Chapel, Windsor, a weeping Britannia and figures with crucifixes.

Half-pint mug Teacups Teacups Teacup Teacup Teacups Transfer-printed, date unknown English, date unknown English bone china transfer-printed, English bone china transfer-printed, Green transfer-printed, date Transfer-printed, date unknown There is a Baluster shaped salt Marx and Lambert called this date unknown date unknown unknown The interior bases of these cellar featuring the same pattern type of ware ‘New Hall’. This cup features Oriental-style teacups are decorated with in the collection. This mug is scenes, including images of images of classical architecture. featured in Marx’s oil painting buildings on the base and a entitled Winter Flowers which is floral border on the inside rim also on display. of the cup.

18 19 Teacups Jugs

Set of Tea, or possibly Coffee Teabowls, or possibly handle- Ewer, or large jug Jug Jug Jug cups less cups or slop bowls English blue transfer-printed with Sunderland lustreware, transfer- Sunderland pink lustreware, c.1796 Sunderland lustreware,transfer- English, date unknown English pottery, date unknown scroll handle, date unknown printed, date unknown The image is a west view of the printed, c.1796 These cups, including a campana- A ewer is a large jug with a This jug is inscribed ‘William Iron Bridge over the River Wear. The view is of the Iron Bridge shaped cup, are decorated with wide mouth, formerly used for and Hannah Nutley, The Sailor’s The reverse has a transfer-printed over the River Wear. This souvenir images of buildings beside a river, carrying water for someone to Farewell’. On the reverse is a verse inscription beginning ‘Swiftly jug was made to celebrate the landscape and trees. All the mugs wash in. entitled ‘The Sailor’s Tear’. see each moment flies’. This is an opening of the bridge in 1796. have a decorative gold border. example of Sunderland souvenir It was designed by James Paine pottery which flourished from (1717–1789) and is considered c.1780 until the 1900s. to be a major engineering feat of the day.

Teapots Eating and Drinking

Teapots richly decorated and often Teapot Teapot Jug Jugs Jug Jug, or possibly a sauce boat By Mason, Cash & Co featuring a scroll with the names Staffordshire pottery, with a Staffordshire pottery, date English pottery, date unknown Copper lustre with scrolled handles, English baluster transfer-printed, English pottery, date unknown English brown-glazed barge-ware of a donor inscribed, as here. dragon’s head spout, date unknown dates unknown with scroll handle, date unknown pottery , c.1870s William Mason was a Derbyshire unknown The blue Oriental theme on this Giant teapots, some three feet potter and his pieces are often This teapot is featured in Marx’s jug shows two scenes, the first a high and with a miniature teapot referred to as Measham-ware, painting with seated and flanked by palm forming the lid, were popular barge-ware or motto-ware. He dog and tulips, which is also on trees with a landscape beyond. among canal boatmen in the was working during a period of display in the Marx-Lambert The second scene is of two late 19th century. They were industrialism, yet these teapots Collection. Oriental figures, one elaborately often glazed dark brown, like show the best qualities of Folk Art. dressed and the other in plainer traditional Rockingham teapots, clothes.

Teapot Chocolate pot Coffee, or chocolate pot Miniature teapot Jug Jugs Jug Jug Cream transfer-printed, date English delftware, c.1890–1910 Pink lustre, date unknown Staffordshire pottery, date English pottery with lustre rim, date Transfer-printed baluster, Lustre-ribbed decoration, date English pottery, date unknown unknown Delft-ware was used for a great This pot is unfortunately missing unknown unknown c.1837–1901 unknown This jug features an Oriental variety of objects like mugs, a lid. design with a repeated panel of cups and plates. However, larger a pagoda, and a figure carrying objects, such as this pot, were two birds. more ornamental and painted in a freer brush style. Delft pottery was made in and around Delft in the Netherlands from the 16th century.

20 21 Jugs

Jug Jug Jug Jug Plate Saucers Soup, or possibly dessert plates Saucer English fluted pottery with ornate English pottery, date unknown English baluster, date unknown Royal porcelain, c.1920 English, date unknown English hand-painted, date English hand-painted pottery, date English transfer-printed and handle, date unknown This beautifully designed jug This is another jug with an This abstract Art Deco-style jug is unknown. Made by the Coalport unknown painted, date unknown has an agricultural theme and agricultural theme. It features angular in style and is obviously Porcelain Factory Although all slightly different, The saucer depicts a man features a man with a pickaxe scenes such as a wheatsheaf, with much later in design compared to The Factory each plate features a central ploughing, with a verse and spade, and a woman with a verse relating to farming on the the others in Marx and Lambert’s was the first porcelain factory in image of a cottage set within surrounding the scene: ‘He that a butter churn. They are also reverse. collection. Coalbrookdale, Shropshire. It was the landscape. This set of plates by the plough would thrive’. surrounded by various other founded by John Rose in 1795, all have a moulded border On the bottom of this saucer agricultural implements. and was served by the Coalport with a detailed painted pattern is a label: Marx 13088. This Canal. Coalport is now owned by featuring butterflies and birds or would imply that Marx had the Waterford Wedgwood Royal leaves, ears of corn and berries. a cataloguing system for her Doulton group (WWRD). collection. Eating and Drinking

Jug, possibly a sauce boat Jug Plate ‘Der Dey von Algiers’ Plate ‘The Bishop of Heliopolis’ English pottery, date unknown English pottery, date unknown English pottery, date unknown Transfer-printed pottery, German, Octagonal pink lustre pottery, date Octagonal transfer-printed pottery, This jug is decorated with a The subject matter on this plate c.1820s unknown date unknown repeated pattern of flowers, features three smartly dressed This image is of a Moorish soldier. The edge is decorated with The plate depicts the baptism of foliage and birds. The birds have boys playing. They may be The last Dey of Algiers (‘Dey’ was moulded but unpainted a baby by the Bishop. head plumage similar to that of schoolboys as there is a the title given to the ruler of the patterning. peacocks. Marx sometimes bought boater on the ground near them, Regency of Algiers, under the pieces which reminded her of and a man to the right watching Ottoman empire from 1671) was traditional pottery designs – often them with his arms folded. deposed by the French in 1830, they were for sale at her local suggesting that this plate was market in Chapel Street, London. made prior to that date.

Plates and saucers

Plate Miniature Plate ‘Better be alone than in bad Plates and soup bowl ‘Robinson Crusoe’ ‘The Doves’ ‘Our bread untaxed, our English pottery, date unknown English transfer-printed, date company’ English, date unknown Octagonal transfer-printed pottery, Octagonal transfer-printed pottery, commerce free’ This moulded and coloured plate unknown English transfer-printed miniature The design on these plates has a date unknown date unknown Octagonal transfer-printed plate features a central panel with a The plate depicts a sleeping plate, date unknown khaki border decorated with vine The imagery on this plate depicts with lustre border with moulded maroon-coloured verse. fisherman in a flat-bottomed leaves, bunches of grapes and a girl with a cage and two doves. unpainted flowers, date unknown boat, with reeds behind the boat tendrils. The image in the centre of the and birds circling overhead. plate shows various farming implements with a motto. This plate was a piece of propaganda in the anti-Corn Law campaigns of the 1820s, 1830s and 1840s.

22 23 Plates and Saucers Dishes and Bowls

Wedgwood plates , dates unknown This selection of simple yet beautifully designed cream pottery plates and dishes with continuous borders were made by and Sons. Josiah Wedgwood (1730–1795) was a descendant of a family of Staffordshire potters. He established his site in Stoke-on- Dishes Dish Dish Sugar or slop bowl Trent where he also built a village Latticed creamware dishes, dates Glazed pottery, with panels Creamware dish with a pierced White English porcelain, date called Etruria for his workers, in unknown and pierced lattice border, date border, date unknown unknown 1759. At the time of establishing unknown his company, pottery was a minor industry, but his skills, taste and abilities transformed it into one of great importance and aesthetic appeal. He acquired a reputation for cream-coloured earthenware producing decorative objects such as candlesticks and also produced jasperware best known for its delicate blue and white with figures. This has been in continuous production since 1774. Wedgwood also produced wares for royal and Eating and Drinking noble patrons. The pottery was turned into a large, worldwide commercial empire, which is still in existence today.

Sugar or slop bowl Sauce tureen Sauce tureen Sugar bowl White English porcelain, date Beige oval with handles and White oval with two large scroll White porcelain with matching unknown matching cover, date unknown handles, and decorated with floral cover and shell-shaped handles, This tureen is decorated with a motifs, date unknown date unknown continuous olive green border of Margaret Lambert and Enid Marx vine leaves and tendrills. used this item as a container for sugar lumps.

Pottery set Hand-painted pottery, date unknown This set is hand-painted with a green and pink cockerel, and has a red rim. Lambert and Marx referred to this as Quimper-ware, i.e. from Quimper in Brittany.

24 25 Glassware

Selection of Victorian Victorian stemmed glass Victorian stemmed glass Victorian stemmed glass Victorian stemmed glass Victorian stemmed glass stemmed glasses With rounded bowl, a knop at the With rounded bowl, short stem and With rounded bowl tapering to the With trumpet shape, bowl and stem Trumpet form, c.1837–1901 c.1837–1901 top of the stem, and a faded gold bowl-width foot, c.1837–1901 rim, short stem and bowl-width are fluted, with a knop cut into the There is a bubble decoration These glasses were possibly used ribbon decoration around the foot, c.1837–1901 top of the stem, c.1837–1901 on this glass, with a ring of six for dessert wine or liqueurs. The outside rim, c.1837–1901 This glass was possibly used for bubbles and a large central glass on the right was used as a This glass was possibly used for liqueurs or spirits. bubble. toastmaster’s glass. liqueurs or spirits. Eating and Drinking

Victorian wine glass Victorian glass tumbler Victorian glass tumbler Victorian stemmed champagne With tapering bowl, c. 1837–1901 Mould-blown and stipple- Mould-blown and stipple- flute Thick tapered stem and thick engraved, engraved in 1869 engraved, engraved in 1855 With trumpet shape, flaring to the circular foot. This glass was Glasses were often used as This tumbler is engraved with top, c.1837–1901 possibly a toastmaster’s glass. mementos or souvenirs. The a design of thistles and a bird engraving is amateur and could which hides a mistake in the have been done by a sailor (hence engraving of ‘born’ in ‘Benjamin the anchor and ship design). It Houldswoth [sic]. Married records a family event, in this November 1855, Born at West case the birth of a daughter, and Melton 1821’. is inscribed ‘Sarah Houldsworth 1869, Born West Melton’.

Victorian stemmed glass, Victorian stemmed glass Victorian stemmed glass Victorian stemmed glass possibly a champagne flute With straight sides widening to With straight sides, the bowl With straight-sided bowl tapering The bowl flares uniformly from foot the rim, c.1837–1901 widening to the rim, c.1837–1901 slightly towards the rim, c.1837– to rim, and the foot is rim-wide, The stem has a knop midway 1901 c.1837–1901 down it and the foot is the same It has a very short stem and width as the base. wide foot, and was possibly a large drinking glass known as a ‘rummer’.

26 27 Furniture

The Marx-Lambert furniture collection includes a number of variations on the classic, amateur- made Windsor chair, traditionally made in the Chilterns from beech and elm. The collection also features examples of canal- ware furniture, painted in a colourful, free style that reflected an enduring craft tradition. Marx and Lambert celebrated their enthusiasm for English canal-ware in their seminal 1946 book English Popular Art and Traditional Art.

28 29 Bench-style stools a scene of a castle, a bridge in the Easy armchair Side chair Side chair Rocking armchair Canal-ware, wood, date unknown foreground, a yacht, and a lake and Square tapering legs, with inlaid wood Wood with wicker seat, with yoke Wood with wicker seat, with yoke Wood with interwoven green and red Barges and narrow boats were more mountains in the background. The to the arms, date unknown shaped top-rail and twisted splats, date shaped top-rail and twisted splats, date seat, date unknown than just cargo vessels, they were two best-known patterns for canal- The pattern for the yellow velvet seat unknown unknown This ‘shaker’ style rocking armchair also homes to the bargees and their ware are roses and castles. covering was designed by Marx, and This is possibly in the ‘Cottage Orné’ The chair is painted in light green, has a fabric seat and back. It is families. To liven up the appearance comprises leaves and foliage. style. This pattern of the twisted with a foliage and red rose motif decorated with a diagonal pattern of the boat, it became common splats could have influenced Marx’s across the top of its back. made from green and red interwoven to paint interior woodwork and designs, especially her fabrics. strips of tape. This pattern and everyday domestic objects in bright colouring of the seat could have colourful patterns. These examples of influenced Marx’s designs. canal-ware are elaborately painted in a free style using geometric patterns and multi-petalled daisies and roses.

The larger stool is decorated with Furniture

Windsor chairs Armchairs Buckinghamshire elm, ash and Wood with wicker seat, with a yoked beechwood, date unknown top-rail and twisted splats, date These solid-seat Windsor chairs with unknown ‘Gothic’ arched back and turned legs These armchairs are in the ‘Cottage were inherited by Marx from the Orné’ style, which was popularised by potter Katherine Pleydell-Bouverie. John Claudius Loudon (1783–1843).

30 31 Ornaments

The delightfully diverse Marx- Lambert Collection of ornaments ranges from decorative eggs (some hand-painted by Marx) to ceramic animals. Pieces from her collection, such as the Staffordshire Wally Dogs and the Cornucopia vases, often inspired Marx’s own artwork.

32 Boy with Wally dog Queen Victoria Jardinaire Wally dogs Cows Victorian glass baluster inexpensive vases, candlesticks Candlestick Staffordshire earthenware pottery, Staffordshire pottery, date Pottery modelled swan with a White Staffordshire earthenware Staffordshire earthenware pottery, candlesticks and similar ornaments. They Decorated white enamel on copper, date unknown unknown downscrolled neck, date unknown pottery with gold highlights, dates transfer-printed and painted, date Moulded, silvered and lustred, were also often decorated date unknown On the base of this figurine is unknown unknown dates unknown with floral designs. Marx and inscribed ‘Queen of England’. The Wally dog was the inspiration This pair of cows have an Oriental Like earthenware, silvered Lambert referred to these as There is also a hole on the reverse for Marx in her painting entitled scene painted in blue and white glass was often used as a cheap ‘fairground ornaments’,as they which might have been used for Still Life with Staffordshire dog on their backs. substitute for silver. At one time were popular prizes that could be hanging the piece. and tulips, also on display in this churches in the poorer parishes won in various games of skill at gallery. used altar vessels of silvered fairgrounds. glass. The glass also proved popular for secular use, including Ornaments

Wally dog William Wallace St George Cat Victorian text plaques Figure of a lady Minerva, Goddess of Wisdom Staffordshire earthenware Staffordshire earthenware pottery, Staffordshire earthenware pottery, Mexican pottery model of a seated Lustre and transfer-printed earthen- Staffordshire earthenware pottery, Staffordshire earthenware pottery, pottery by Copeland and Garrett, date unknown date unknown cat with the inscription ‘F. S. ware, c.1837–1901 date unknown date unknown c.1833–1847 Legendary Scottish figure William St George is modelled as a knight Mexico’ on base, date unknown These show the effects of She holds a shield in her left This spaniel was made by Wallace is modelled wearing a on horseback, spearing a dragon Marx had a great love of cats, combining transfer-prints with hand, with Medusa’s head on Copeland and Garrett, a kilt, sash and plumed headdress, which has a serpent’s tail. especially Siamese, of which painting and banding in lustre. it. Below the shield is a bird on manufacturer of holding a shield and sword. she had two herself. You will The plaques bear cautionary a rectangular plinth, and the and fine porcelain, based in see images of her cats in her texts such as “Prepare to meet thy base is inscribed ‘Minerva’. This Stoke. were succeeded in own prints. God” in picture frame-shaped figurine inspired Enid Marx to c.1833 by Copeland and Garrett, designs. execute two designs, one of them who continued to use the name a Christmas card. Spode.

Figure of a boy Richard III Figure of a girl Figures with goat St Mark Clockcase Wally dog Seated cows Staffordshire earthenware pottery, Staffordshire earthenware pottery, Staffordshire earthenware pottery, Staffordshire earthenware pottery, Prattware pottery, date unknown Staffordshire pottery, c.1860 Staffordshire earthenware pottery, Continental porcelain models date unknown date unknown date unknown dates unknown St Mark stands beneath a tree This clockcase or watch stand date unknown of seated cows, date unknown Often stage characters appeared Made in England, mainly in the These models show a boy and a holding a book (possibly a is modelled with two figures This small seated spaniel, is on earthenware in the same county of Staffordshire, these girl standing before a goat. Bible). There is also a lion at his standing either side of a turreted known as a ‘Wally Dug’ or ‘Wally vivid colours and heroic stance earthenware figures were made feet, which is historically used to castle. dog’. The Scottish term ‘Wally’ as the tinsel pictures (see Picture between c.1740 to 1960. These represent St Mark. derives from the Gaelic word for section). Here is an image of naive pieces resonate with social ‘made of china’. Richard III from Shakespeare’s history and echo Folk Art. play.

34 35 Candlestick holder and piggy Cornucopia, otherwise known used as a repeat on hand-blocked Flecked pigs Sailor’s flask Fish Wheatsheaves Grapes of Canaan bank as a Horn of Plenty fabrics, wood-engravings and Blown glass models, hollow but Lambeth , light-brown Varnished plaster model, date Varnished plaster model , date Varnished plaster model, from a Cream glazed slipware, dates Green-glazed -mounted vases, curtain designs. The cornucopia sealed, date unknown glazed, date unknown unknown unknown gingerbread mould, date unknown unknown c.1890 is an emphatically feminine The internal glass of these This has been made to look like These tied wheatsheaves The image depicts a biblical These vases have an oval cartouche symbol – it was usually held by modelled pigs has a pale a loaf for Easter in the shape of a have been made to look like a scene relating to The Twelve decorated with a female figure a female figure, and typically purple tinge with blue and fish and is most likely taken from traditional harvest loaf. Spies from the Book of Numbers. holding a cornucopia, which is overflowed with fruits of the multicoloured speckles. a bread mould. It represents the twelve men surrounded by acanthus leaves harvest – and has been frequently who went to the land of Canaan, and scrolls. The ‘cornucopia’ was used since classical antiquity to and came back with a very large a recurrent motif of Marx’s design depict peace, plenty and wealth. bunch of grapes as evidence of work. Often converting it into Canaan’s riches. purely decorative forms, it was Ornaments

Figure of a bridled and saddled Victorian heart shaped bottle Ship in a bottle Weavers in a bottle Bearded figures Cat Horseriders Saint Nicholas horse Nailsea glass, c.1788–1873 Wooden model, glass bottle, date Wooden model, glass bottle, 1894 Varnished plaster models, from Varnished plaster model, from a Varnished plaster model, from a Varnished plaster model, from a Blue-brown blown glass and clear Nailsea glass is well known for its unknown This Swedish model is of two gingerbread moulds, date unknown gingerbread mould, date unknown gingerbread mould, date unknown gingerbread mould, date unknown spun glass, date unknown coloured ribboning and ‘latticino’ This is a model of the Preussen. small dolls seated at a handloom. Gingerbread moulds are made of Possibly Dutch in origin, this The figure is Saint Nicholas, The twisted glass looks stripings. Nailsea, near Bristol, Jointed models of ships have The bottle is inscribed ‘Minne pear or boxwood, and are often refers to the story of the Four Sons whose feast day is celebrated on remarkably like spun sugar and was the location of a glassworks amazed people for generations. from Stockholm’. beautifully carved. They are a of Aymon. It is a medieval folktale 6 December. He is one of is likely to have been originally which opened in 1788. The works The process involves building a relic of the Elizabethan age of of Renaut de Montauban, his the most popular saints derived from confectioners’ closed in 1873 but Nailsea glass model outside the bottle with the cooking. Carved moulds are still three brothers Guichard, Allard commemorated in the Eastern decorations. is still sought after by collectors sails and masts collapsed, then used in many countries today for and Richardet, and their magical and Western Churches and now around the world today. once the ship is placed inside the spiced biscuits. horse Bayard. traditionally associated with the bottle you raise the sails and mast festival of Christmas. by pulling a thread.

Crucifix in a bottle Straw models (known as in triangular shapes. Sometimes It is a worldwide craft and Alphabet board Punch and Judy Hunter Horse Wooden model, glass bottle, date Corn dollies) straw ornaments represented examples have also been found in Varnished plaster model, from a Hand-painted by Enid Marx Victorian cast-iron doorstop, Victorian cast-iron doorstop. unknown Woven straw and corn, ribbon, animals, such as a goat or ram, a tombs in Egypt. gingerbread mould, date unknown (1902–1998) c.1837–1901 c.1837–1901 This upright bottle containing a crepe paper and wool, dates cornucopia or spiral shapes which Victorian cast-iron doorstops, This hunter is depicted standing This doorstop is in the form of a white model crucifix is suspended unknown became popular with Marx. Corn c. 1837–1901 smoking next to a tree, with a bridled horse resting on acanthus by baluster columns. It also has Corn dollies were made at dollies were and still are used in Doorstops first appeared in Britain hound beside him. scrolls and berries. tassels of wind-bells hanging on harvest time from the last sheaf pagan ceremonies but today are in the late 1700s. Later cast-iron the wooden frame. of corn. Corn dolly shapes varied more of a decorative art form. ornamental doorstops often by county; for example, in Essex They are used to thank Mother depicted horses, contemporary they made long twists whilst in Earth for the Harvest and also as a figures and rural emblems. Gloucestershire straw was plaited symbol of good luck and fertility. These Punch and Judy figures were hand-painted by Marx. 36 37 Seated hound Wheatsheaves Beetle Military figure from the Boer War Snuffbox Circular Circular box Circular container Victorian cast-iron doorstop, Victorian cast-iron doorstops, Victorian cast-iron bootjack Carved wood, c.1900 Victorian papier mâché, with a Gilt-metal, mounted, moss agate, Horn, containing four , date Lacquered, carved and turned c.1837–1901 c.1837–1901 modelled as a beetle, c.1837–1901 The Boer War was between hinged rectangular lid inlaid with date unknown unknown wood, date unknown This is an example of something the British Empire and the mother-of-pearl, c.1837–1901 The top of this box is decorated This open container was probably which is elaborately decorated, Afrikaans-speaking settlers of Victorian papier mâché was with agate and (hard used for applying ointment. yet is a mundane household two independent Boer republics, made from sheets of paper. The stone). There is a geometric object. the South African Republic and advantage of sheets rather than decoration in gilt-metal borders. the Orange Free State. It ended is that the finished article is The box contains pen nibs, pins, a with both republics eventually stronger and the finished surface locket and a tooth. incorporated into the Union of can be given a smoother and South Africa, a dominion of the more regular surface. British Empire, in 1910. Ornaments

Needle case Needle cases Container Pen stand Swan containers Cone shell (Conus litteratus) Agate stone Decorative tray Mauchline-ware in ochre-coloured Cylindrical wooden pokerworks, Coloured scrollwork, made from Opaque dark glass, with white Milk glass, dates unknown Marx often used natural forms Polished oval agate stone with Papier mâché and lacquered, wood, date unknown decorated with a repeated woven and lacquered coloured flecks, date unknown These were possibly used as a as a source of inspiration for brown and white bands, with a c.1837–1901 Mauchline-ware souvenirs were silhouette, dates unknown straw This pen stand was possibly used sugar bowl, or salt bowl. her design work. Her still-life drilled hole at one end. This was This dish was possibly used to made by the Smith family of One of these needle cases Straw was very by Marx and Lambert. paintings often featured unusual possibly used as a necklace or hold the hand-painted Easter Mauchline in Ayrshire, Scotland, contains twenty-eight hair grips; popular for decorating , juxtapositions of flowers, dried decoration. eggs. and were favoured by affluent it was used by Lambert on a daily baskets and hats in the 18th flowers, feathers, shells and Victorians travelling abroad. This basis and kept on her dressing century. This example shows the pottery from her own collection. ware was often decorated with table . craft to perfection. Cone shells are predatory marine scenes of tourist sites and this snails found in coral reefs. piece has an image of ‘Ryde Pier, Isle of Wight’.

Ashtray Ashtray Patchbox lid Box Paperweights (Italian for ‘thousands of Egg cosy Green glazed pottery, decorated Clear glass, modelled as a leaf and Ceramic, date unknown Continental white metal, with Clear and coloured glass, flowers’). They contain thin cross- Knitted wool, date unknown with a geometric patterned border, engraved The lid is printed with a scene of decorated hinged lid , date c. 1837–1901 sections of cylindrical composite This egg cosy takes the form of a date unknown This ashtray was produced a bear in a zoo, being fed with unknown Glass paperweights began to canes made from coloured glass head, knitted in wool. There are This was possibly made by one of in Finland, a country whose long tongs. The box lid is decorated with be produced in France around rods and they usually resemble small openings for the eyes, nose Marx’s potter friends. glassware production Marx and a nautical scene and the sides 1845 and were also exhibited little flowers. The souvenir and mouth. Lambert admired. It contains depict scenes of classical figures. to great acclaim in London’s paperweights show images of circular-cut steel buttons Marx and Lambert collected Great Exhibition of 1851. There Stonehenge and a waterfall. decorated with flower rosettes a number of different types of was a sustained revival and rise and a gold pendant, which might boxes of varying sizes and shapes. in popularity in the middle of have been one of a set of toggles the 20th century. The flower for buttoning up a garment. paperweights here are Millefiori 38 39 Hand-decorated Easter eggs from a paste compound. The Egg box creature Seal Multiple seal stamp Multiple seal stamp Intaglio seal Blown white eggs, hand-decorated, other eggs were hand-decorated By Enid Marx (1902–1998) Carved ivory, date unknown Metal with a circular, revolving Brass, supporting six scroll Clear glass, incised with an image dates unknown with -tip pens by Marx. , coloured card and felt- A seal is a device for making an bevel holding six engraved gilt- branches, each with a seal (one and motto, date unknown Eggs are associated with fertility tip pen, date unknown impression in wax or clay and for metal intaglio seals, date unknown missing), date unknown These intaglio seals are often and new life, and the customs This creature was made by Marx embossing paper. The original This seal stamp is moulded in two incised with motifs such as and traditions of using eggs have from an old egg box – she gave purpose was to authenticate a parts, with the six stamp moulds animals, plants, flowers, insects, been associated with Easter for it large eyes, feet, eyes, nose and document, or act as a sealant for projecting on alternating lyre and angels, boats and trains, and centuries. Seven of the eggs here mouth, with the details added in a letter (similar to an ). leaf ‘spokes’. mottoes in French or English. are painted Easter eggs from felt-tip pen. Northumberland and are made Ornaments

Coloured sand souvenirs Woven panel Selection of ribbons Wooden spoon Leather case containing twelve Blue case containing eleven Blue case containing ten Snuff mull Glass and coloured sand from the Cotton and wool, date unknown Production dates unknown Wood, hand-painted, date intaglio seals intaglio seals intaglio seals Brass, horn and cork, date unknown Isle of Wight, date unknown The cloth is woven with two Marx’s first memory of her interest unknown Light brown leather, glass intaglios, Blue cardboard, glass intaglios, Blue cardboard, glass intaglios, Snuff became the most popular These paperweights and matching geometric motifs in textiles was a collection of ribbon This souvenir spoon illustrates dates unknown dates unknown dates unknown form of taking tobacco (in candleholder contain layers of sand within a faded border with a samples given to her by the local The Maiden’s Tower, also known The seal is essentially a mould These seals were bought by The dealership Jewels powder form) in the early 1700s. with decoration depicting ‘The tassel at the centre. Marx was draper’s ribbon department. She as Leander’s Tower, or ‘Kiz Kulesi’ with the image represented on Marx and Lambert from Jewels & Antiques had a royal patron: It became socially acceptable Needles, Isle of Wight’. Natural very interested in traditionally was aged four at the time: in Turkish. It is a tower which lies it making an impression. An & Antiques, Cameo Corner, ‘By appointment, dealer in antiques and gave rise to a range of multicoloured sands of Alum Bay made textiles, and this item is ‘I remember the ribbons well… I was on a small islet near the the coast intaglio is a design incised into Museum Street, London. to H.M. Queen Mary’. Queen Mary smaller boxes or snuff mulls. on the Isle of Wight have been possibly South American. especially pleased when he gave me of Üsküdar in Istanbul, Turkey. a material, such as glass. It is the (1867–1953) was a consummate They lent themselves to delicate collected and made into souvenirs wide samples of fancy ribbons, with opposite process to a cameo collector and a patron of the arts. decoration and this example has since early Victorian times. plaids of flowers and edges.’ which is engraved in . She was the wife of George V and the appearance of a creature with grandmother to Elizabeth II. a curled tail.

Christmas decorations Christmas present tags Fish Crocodile Huntsman or poacher Handmade, date unknown Handmade, date unknown Reticulated metal with a hinged Horn, date unknown Brass, date unknown These handmade Christmas tree A selection of handmade head and red eyes, date unknown This two-piece divided container This miniature figure is a decorations were made for, and Christmas present tags from Enid Production of low value toys and is a crocodile. Its head has an traditional mantelpiece by, Marx and Lambert from and Margaret’s friend, Dorothy. ornaments sold in the streets was open mouth, carved teeth and ornament. The brass different materials such as fabric, popular by the mid-19th century. red tongue. The legs are missing, construction allowed it to be wood, velvet, ribbon, sequins but there are two holes in which more sophisticated than cast- and straw. they would have been situated. iron equivalents. The design of the figure might well have been taken from an older or even engraving.

40 41 Pictures

The Marx-Lambert picture collection includes works by Marx herself, alongside objects which she and Lambert collected – objects such as the Coventry ribbon ‘Stevengraph’ pictures. The images of cats appear regularly in her own work. Marx was a great cat-lover, and her Siamese cats generally accompanied her in her studio when she worked.

42 Warrior Triton Archer Mr Palmer as Sir Glorion Moses in a basket Penelope (from Homer’s Queen Victoria’s Coronation The Good Old Days Scrapwork and hand-coloured Scrapwork and hand-coloured Scrapwork and hand-coloured Ribemont Threadwork picture on painted Odyssey) Procession Produced by Thomas Stevens print, known as a ‘tinsel picture’, print, known as a ‘tinsel picture’, print, known as a ‘tinsel picture’, Scrapwork and hand-coloured print, silk, in a gilt frame, with ebonised Threadwork picture on painted silk, Published by E. Elliot Stevengraph panel, woven in date unknown date unknown date unknown known as a ‘tinsel picture’, date surround, date unknown date unknown Hand-coloured print, 1838 coloured silk, c.1879–1880 A typical tinsel picture represents unknown Sometimes these embroidered This print was adapted from This image of a Royal Mail the hero in theatrical stance, In the 18th century there was a pictures are in raised relief. They drawings taken in situ, showing stagecoach is a ‘Stevengraph’, sometimes brandishing weapons. fashion for decorating prints with are nearly always naive in style, the procession travelling through a woven silk picture, produced The characters are predominantly silk, satin or coloured paper. At and the subject matter is often London and approaching by Thomas Stevens of Coventry. masculine, though the occasional the beginning of the 19th century religious, mythological, or figures Westminster Abbey on the 28 Stevens learnt the art of ribbon heroine appears. publishers printed special ‘stick- of royalty. June 1838. from the Coventry firm on’ coloured metal foil, embossed Pears & Franklin. In 1854 he set and backed with paper. up his own business in the city. Pictures Joseph Grimaldi The Triumph of Innocence Her Majesty Queen Caroline Lord Nelson’s Funeral Car Called to the Rescue Are you Ready? The Finish The Present Time Scrapwork and hand-coloured print, over Prosecution Published by W.D. Walker Reverse-painted print, c.1900s Produced by Thomas Stevens Produced by Thomas Stevens Produced by Thomas Stevens Produced by Thomas Stevens known as a ‘tinsel picture’, 1823 Published by W.D. Walker Reverse-painted print, c.1820s Glass painting was practised by Stevengraph panel, woven in Stevengraph panel, woven in Stevengraph panel, woven in Stevengraph panel, woven in This image is possibly Joseph Reverse-painted print, c.1820 Queen Caroline is enthroned both amateurs and professionals. coloured silk, c.1879–1880 coloured silk, c.1879–1880 coloured silk, c.1879–1880 coloured silk, c.1879–1880 Grimaldi (1778–1837), a famous This image depicts Queen and surrounded by Justice The technique involved glueing This depicts a lifeboat rowing This depicts the famous Oxford This depicts a horse-racing This illustrates two railway dancer and clown during the Caroline who briefly became a and Britannia. a print to the back of a sheet of towards a large ship in a and Cambridge Boat Race. The scene. Stevengraphs were carriages pulled by the Lord Regency era. Tinsel pictures national heroine between 1820– glass and then rubbing away stormy sea. subject matter of the Stevengraph commemorative in character Howe engine. usually depicted theatrical 1821 when her husband, King the paper, leaving only the lines was varied and included portraits, and they were woven in silk on celebrities, but sometimes royalty George IV, attempted to divorce of the print as a guide for oil historic events, sporting events, a jacquard loom to create a new and popular heroes. her and then barred her from painting the image on the back travel, nursery rhymes and market for the ribbon weavers his Coronation. of the glass. famous buildings. when work was slow.

Nelson’s tomb The Choice of Paris Young girl in a rock landscape Music Grace Darling Three-masted ship at sea Election poster A Sampler Reverse-painted print, c.1900s By S. Sainton By Lambert & Co. By Lambert & Co. Produced by Thomas Stevens Oil painting on panel, c.1814 Printed paper, 1945 By Grace Hastwell This print is dedicated to Horatio Cut paper on black silk backing, Silk and threadwork picture, in a Silk and threadwork picture, in a Stevengraph panel, woven in This painting was rescued from This poster advertises a series of Stitched wool and cotton, 1837 Nelson, who was buried in the date unknown moulded gilt frame, date unknown moulded gilt frame, date unknown coloured silk, c.1879–1880 an old coaching inn in Bromley, open air meetings with Margaret This 19th-century sampler was crypt of St Paul’s Cathedral on This papercut image depicts a The seated figure in this picture This shows a girl, probably Grace Kent. The inn was decorated with Lambert’s father, George. He was produced by Hastwell at the age 9 January 1806. In the centre is country scene of figures. Paper possibly represents Music – Darling, rowing a boat in choppy a series of similar panels. The style later made First Viscount Lambert. of twelve. It reflects Victorian Nelson’s tomb, surmounted by was often cut to resemble playing the triangle and with a seas. Darling was a lighthouse is after the 17th-century Dutch Although he was a Liberal early in sentiment, but also the youthful his bust and being crowned with or in a technique which is tambourine and garlanded staff keeper’s daughter, famed for artists the Van de Veldes (father his political career, by 1945 he was spontaneity of popular art. laurels by Fame and Britannia. somewhere between at their feet. participating in the rescue of and son). standing as a Conservative. Samplers in Victorian times and carving. Papercut was ideal survivors from the shipwrecked were a method of recording and for Valentines, for decorating Forfarshire in 1838. circulating ideas and stitches were sketches and framing mottoes. often taken from pattern books. 44 45 Still life with Staffordshire dog Winter Flowers P for Porcupine (from Marco’s R for Rhino (from Marco’s and tulips By Enid Marx (1902–1998) Animal Alphabet) Animal Alphabet) By Enid Marx (1902–1998) Oil on canvas, c.1950–1955 By Enid Marx (1902–1998) By Enid Marx (1902–1998) Oil on canvas, c.1950–1955 This still life shows one of Marx Original linocut on paper, 1979 Original linocut on paper, 1979 Marx often used her own and Lambert’s mugs illustrating The twenty-seven alphabet The linocuts are accompanied by collection and things around her silhouettes of trees in a ‘spit- linocuts for Marco’s Animal running rhymes and the work is as inspiration for her work. This pattern’ design. The mug is Alphabet were completed in imbued with joy and a sense of still-life painting shows an image being used as a vase for the 1979; however the book was fun which is so typical of Marx’s of one of the Wally Dogs, and flowers. The mug is in the Marx- published posthumously in an work. The appreciation of Folk Art a Staffordshire teapot used as a Lambert Collection. Marx often edition of 160 copies by Incline is also evident on each . vase for tulips. Both can be seen juxtaposed unusual combinations Press in 2000. in the Marx-Lambert Collection. in her still-life compositions. Pictures Pasht Tyger Tyger Marionette in Wedding Dress Marionette in Cossack Costume By Enid Marx (1902–1998) By Enid Marx (1902–1998) By Enid Marx (1902–1998) By Enid Marx (1902–1998) Two-colour wood block print on Four-colour linocut on paper, 1958 Oil on board, c.1940s Oil on board, c.1940s paper, 1961 The title comes from William A marionette is a puppet Marx and Lambert wrote in Marx was attracted to the texture Blake’s poem: ‘Tyger, Tyger, controlled from above using wires English Popular Art: ‘English of a piece of plank wood and burning bright, in the forests or strings. These from the 1850s marionettes and glove puppets... from this she carved the main of the night’. It originated as a were from a private collection. are often admirable examples of block for this picture. Cut in a design for a large They are in traditional costumes design, moving most beautifully, simple, yet dynamic way, her to be made by Marx‘s Croydon and illustrate an unusual mix of whilst the carved heads are seated Siamese also resembles an College students, which is why craft, drama and the , extremely dramatic and often Egyptian mummified effigy. there is cross-stitch patterning which Marx found captivating. witty characterisations of the used on the moon. more or less stock personages.’

Watermelon, pumpkin and Fishing Boats at Crail Sturgeon in water Seahorses cucumber By Enid Marx (1902–1998) By Enid Marx (1902–1998) By Enid Marx (1902–1998) By Enid Marx (1902–1998) Watercolour on paper, c.1956– in ink, foil, plastic and Collage in ink, pastel, paint and foil, Three-colour linocut on paper 1961 paper, date unknown date unknown c.1950s Between 1956 and 1961 Marx This collage acknowledges Marx used the textures and and Lambert lived in Scotland, Marx’s interest in Popular Art, patterns of natural forms where Lambert took up a position especially her tinsel pictures. to inspire her own style of as a Lecturer in Modern History It also references some of the decoration. Here, the markings at St Andrew’s University. Marx illustrations which she produced on the melon skin influence the found a great deal of inspiration for her books for children. style of the background. in the coastline around Fife.

46 47 Textiles

Enid Marx pioneered the revival in handblock printing, and all of her strong textile designs were produced by hand. Following the Arts and Crafts tradition of (1834–1896), she made no attempt to simulate three-dimensionality, but instead revelled in the two-dimensional medium. She related directly to the flat plane of the textile on which she printed, this approach derived from her passion for traditional printing techniques.

48 49 Curtain fabric with cornucopia Curtain fabric with jungle Curtain fabric with geometric Curtain fabric with abstract repeat pattern repeat pattern block pattern block pattern By Enid Marx (1902–1998) By Enid Marx (1902–1998) By Enid Marx (1902–1998) By Enid Marx (1902–1998) Brown/black block printed undyed Black and green/yellow block Black block printed undyed linen, Black and brown block printed linen, printed undyed linen, date with yellow cotton lining, date undyed linen, with yellow cotton with yellow cotton lining, 1938 unknown unknown lining, date unknown Marx was well known for her The design is reminiscent of tree This fabric design features rows striking fabric and grain and zebra stripes, with of rectangles and squares all designs, which were often following lines. The pattern has a containing abstract geometric inspired by objects around her. central ‘eye’. line patterns. Marx and Lambert owned two vases and a corn dolly of the cornucopia. Here the design is a black vertical pattern with alternating repeated columns of oval nut-like shapes, with flower- filled cornucopia. Textiles

Curtain fabric with serrated Curtain fabric with Printing block pattern diamond pattern By Enid Marx (1902–1998) By Enid Marx (1902–1998) By Enid Marx (1902–1998) Metal and copper printing block, Black block printed undyed linen, Brown block printed undyed linen, date unknown with pink cotton lining, date with blue cotton lining, date This block was made and used unknown unknown by Marx for printing. The The pattern consists of a large design is in the form of stylised diamond and block pattern in hanging flowers, and a bunch of brown. The brown print was grapes or other fruits. originally black, but has since faded.

50 51 Toys and Miscellanea

Marx and Lambert always stressed the importance of ‘fantasy and humour’ in Folk Art, qualities which they asserted were responsible for the ‘lush and colourful exuberance’ of Popular Art. Marx’s own approach to design was similarly witty and absurd, and she refused to take herself wholly seriously. The Marx- Lambert Collection of toys and miscellanea demonstrates how wide-ranging their collecting interests were, and how they took delight in even the most bizarre and mundane of objects.

52 53 Figurehead Mexican creature Fantastical animal head Eagle Kaleidoscope Wood, carved and hand painted, Pattern by Enid Marx (1902–1998) Carved wood, hand painted, date Polychrome carved wood cresting, Green cardboard, decorated with c.1850 Papier mâché, date unknown unknown date unknown gold paper, date unknown Few of the figureheads seen This anthropomorphic painted This fantastical animal has a The kaleidoscope was invented today date from earlier than creature has a dragon’s crested bird’s beak and tiger striped in 1816 by Scottish scientist, Sir 1815. Many were portrait busts, head, goat horns, wings and tail, decoration. It is possible Marx did David Brewster. The invention and half or three-quarter figures with cloven feet. some of the decoration herself. was named after the Greek words were also quite common. Marx ‘kalos’ for beautiful, ‘eidos’ for and Lambert used to say that the form, and ‘scopos’ for watcher. figure was that of a ‘Christian So kaleidoscope means the Turk’ and that the book he is ‘beautiful form watcher’. holding is a Bible.

Clock Longcase clock Rocking horse Doll Made by J Marsh & Co. Wood case, glass, metal movement Wood, hand painted, hair, glass, Fabric, paper and felt-tip pen, date Wooden-faced wall clock with and mechanism, hand painted, date c.1880s unknown arched rectangular dial, with unknown Closely related to the roundabout This small handmade doll with mechanism and chain, c. 1837– Otherwise known as a Grandfather horses of fairgrounds, carved an oversized head wears a cotton 1901 clock, this is a tall, freestanding, wooden rocking horses flower dress and is decorated Toys Miscellanea and weight-driven pendulum clock were traditionally found in with red buttons in felt-tip pen with the pendulum held inside children’s nurseries. They and twisted paper. It was possibly the tower, or waist, of the case. display a considerable degree made by Marx herself. The English clockmaker William of naturalism, and usually Clement developed this form of have extra decoration on their clock in 1670. trappings and saddle.

Chinese doll Chinese figure Games counter (or staking Pipe Wood, hand painted, date Ceramic, date unknown board) Clay, c.1680–1700 unknown Wood decorated in green, red Clay pipes were first used in with gilt , c.1800 Britain after the introduction of This counter is for a card game tobacco in the late 16th century. known as ‘Pope Joan’. The eight They are the most common of compartments of the board are English decorated pipes. Such for counters played during the pipes were commonly moulded game. It is a game of cards for and decorated with grotesque three to eight players and was images or designs in relief, such popular during Victorian times. as the acorn and leaves here.

54 55 Other Enid Marx collections in the UK

British Postal Museum & Archive, London Braintree District Museum, Braintree, Essex Central Saint Martins Museum and Study Centre, London Crafts Study Centre, University of the Creative Arts, Farnham, Surrey Design Museum, London London Transport Museum, London Pallant House Museum, Chichester, Sussex University of Brighton, Design Archives, Brighton Victoria and Albert Museum, London

Interior design specifications for Marx-Lambert Collection galleries

Wallpaper from Borderline. Main ‘Cornucopia’ and in window spaces and plinths is ‘Prunes’. Paint from Farrow and Ball: Rectory Red, Card Room Green and Pale Ground. Card Room Green being the darker of the two greens. Carpet floor: Sisal Boucle

57 This guide is available to view online at www.comptonverney.org.uk

Compton Verney Warwickshire CV35 9HZ T. 01926 645 500 [email protected] www.comptonverney.org.uk Registered charity no. 1032478

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