Book Illustration, Studies in Design, Ceiling Pattern, plate XXX

Dresser argues in his book that while “[d]ecoration is a luxury . . . the desire for decoration is natural to the human mind.” As he saw England growing wealthier and and home decoration becoming economically feasible for more people, his stated mission was to bring a better style of decoration to English houses. To this end, he designed a series of patterns suitable for various surfaces throughout the house. Dresser specifies this plate, which shows a snowflake pattern, as appropriate for either a narrow ceiling of a passageway or, colored in “maroon, low-toned yellow and black,” as suitable to create a dado for a long hall of a business house.