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Bitten By Witch Fever
Lucinda Hawksley
‘As to the arsenic scare a greater folly it is hardly possible to imagine: the doctors were bitten as people were bitten by the witch fever.’ ― William Morris on toxic wallpapers, 1885.
Bitten by Witch Fever presents facsimile samples of 275 of the most sumptuous wallpaper designs ever created by designers and printers of the age, including Christopher Dresser and Morris & Co. For the first time in their history, every one of the samples shown has been laboratory tested and found to contain arsenic.
Interleaved with the wallpaper sections, evocative commentary guides you through the incredible story of the manufacture, uses and effects of arsenic, and presents the heated public debate surrounding the use of deadly pigments in the sublime wallpapers of a newly industrialized world.
Bitten by Witch Fever presents facsimile samples of 275 of the most sumptuous wallpaper designs ever created by designers and printers of the age, including Christopher Dresser and Morris & Co. For the first time in their history, every one of the samples shown has been laboratory tested and found to contain arsenic.
Interleaved with the wallpaper sections, evocative commentary guides you through the incredible story of the manufacture, uses and effects of arsenic, and presents the heated public debate surrounding the use of deadly pigments in the sublime wallpapers of a newly industrialized world.
GENRE
History; Interior Design; Non-Fiction
UK PUBLICATION
October 2016
History; Interior Design; Non-Fiction
UK PUBLICATION
October 2016
Praise
"Lucinda Hawksley's intriguing Bitten By Witch Fever is surely the most beautifully designed and produced book this year."
The Art Quarterly
"In Hawksley's engaging prose, Morris comes across as a contradictory figure - just like the poisonously beautiful wallpaper that adorned so many Victorian homes and like the sumptuous pages of this handsome book, hiding a dark social history within."
World of Interiors
"The book is beautifully made, with 275 wallpaper designs from the Victorian period printed full-bleed in all their glory..."
It's Nice That
The Art Quarterly
"In Hawksley's engaging prose, Morris comes across as a contradictory figure - just like the poisonously beautiful wallpaper that adorned so many Victorian homes and like the sumptuous pages of this handsome book, hiding a dark social history within."
World of Interiors
"The book is beautifully made, with 275 wallpaper designs from the Victorian period printed full-bleed in all their glory..."
It's Nice That
Also by Lucinda Hawksley
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Rights Sales for BITTEN BY WITCH FEVER
World Rights: Thames & Hudson