Lewis Foreman Day (1845-1910) is one of the most neglected figures in late nineteenth-century design. In exploring Day’s dual career as an industrial designer of extraordinary range and versatility as well as a major writer and critic, this well-illustrated book restores his place among the influential figures of his time. Day’s relationships with colleagues William Morris, Walter Crane, W.A. S. Benson and others placed him in the vortex of development of design in Britain. Joan Maria Hansen, design historian, examines Day’s work as a prolific industrial designer whose mastery of pattern, color, ornament and superb draftsmanship resulted in tiles and art pottery, clocks and furniture, wallpapers, textiles, stained glass, and interiors of remarkable diversity and beauty. Day embraced modern technology. His views on the role of the designer for industry, along with his unshakable belief that a marriage of design and industrial processes was essential to produce beautiful furnishings for the majority of people, reveal him to be startlingly modern in his attitudes and practice in the changing world of industrial production. Today collectors prize Lewis F. Day’s clocks, furniture, tiles and art pottery, and books – which he both wrote and designed – along with reproductions of his patterns for wallpapers and textiles which are enjoyed by enthusiasts. Day’s textbooks on design continue to influence designers, and his magazine journalism provides insightful and balanced commentary on developments in late nineteenth- and early twentieth-century design. This book – the very first full treatment of this major figure – is the definitive reference on Day’s life and work and is an invaluable reference for collectors and dealers, decorative arts professionals, designers, business historians and enthusiasts of late nineteenth- and early twentieth-century design.
Joan Maria Hansen is an independent scholar and design historian specializing in the design and marketing of 19th- and early 20th-century home furnishings in Britain and America.