Sample book

This linen fabric is a sample from a book of fabrics that Mariano Fortuny (1871-1949) designed in 1927. The book, however, probably dates to the 1950s when Fortuny's successor was working with Lee Limited in England and America. Fortuny was a textile and dress designer living in Venice, Italy who was interested in antique textiles. He experimented with reproducing lavish fabrics such as silks and velvets, which he hand-printed with metallic pigments.

Sample book · Venice · 1950s. Embossed linen. By Mariano Fortuny. Victoria and Albert Museum, London.